strange stuff

From strange crimes to strange celebrity deaths, read all of the latest weird and strange stuff news stories on Newser.com

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In Malawi, a Fierce Fight Over the Fate of 4 Dogs

It all boils down to custody

(Newser) - In Malawi, a tug-of-war over four elite guard dogs has turned into a full-blown political drama. The Wall Street Journal reports that former President Lazarus Chakwera had the animals moved from the presidential palace in Lilongwe to his private home after losing last year's election, insisting they're part...

On the Go This Winter? Suck on a Soup Drop

Progresso drops 2 new flavors for its limited-edition 'soup you can suck on' candies

(Newser) - Soup fans who like their broth in unconventional formats have another chance to suck on it instead of sip it. Progresso is bringing back its oddball Soup Drops hard candies and adding two new varieties, the company said in a press release . Joining the returning Chicken Noodle flavor are Tomato...

On Rural Irish Road, a 'Very Unusual Scene'

15K crabs worth $70K spill out of truck after crash in Ireland's Donegal, then make a run for it

(Newser) - Drivers on a rural Irish road were confronted with an unusual traffic problem this week: thousands of live crabs scuttling toward nearby fields after a seafood truck crashed into a ditch. The McLaughlin Transport trailer was hauling an estimated 15,000 crabs from Inishowen, in County Donegal, bound for restaurants...

'In My 25 Years, I've Never Handcuffed an Emu'

That changed Friday when a Fla. deputy captured one of the large flightless birds that had escaped

(Newser) - A Florida deputy has captured a runaway emu and safely returned the large flightless bird to its home. A St. Johns County deputy responded last Friday to a rural area west of St. Augustine following reports of the bird's escape, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post...

Tennis Player Celebrates Victory, Promptly Loses

Nishesh Basavareddy takes advantage of Sebastian Ofner's apparent choke

(Newser) - A tennis player learned Wednesday not to celebrate victory before the match is really won. Before Sebastian Ofner lost in Australian Open qualifying, the 29-year-old Austrian had raised his arms and walked toward the net after taking a 7-1 lead in the decisive tiebreaker against Nishesh Basavareddy, per the AP...

LA to Repeal Law Threatening Jail for Playing Catch

Council vote targets decades-old ban on ball games in streets, parks

(Newser) - An odd law in Los Angeles bans playing catch or kicking a soccer ball on many city streets, sidewalks, even in many public parks—but perhaps not for long. City council voted unanimously Tuesday to direct the city attorney to draft a repeal of Municipal Code Section 56.16, on...

'Joe Dirt' Wannabe Wins Farm Show's Mullet Contest
Contest Brings
Mullets Out in Force
Jan 13, 2026 11:08 AM CST

Contest Brings Mullets Out in Force

Drew Fleschut, 10, carried a Joe Dirt -style mop to win top prize at hair-centric Pennsylvania competition

(Newser) - A packed crowd celebrated the much-maligned but enduring mullet on Monday in a competition at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. The contest celebrating the short-in-the-front, long-in-the-back coiffure, once the province of Canadian hockey players and hair metal bands, attracted about 150 competitors and more than a thousand spectators for...

Man's Crazy Immune Reaction Tied to Red Tattoo Ink
Man's Crazy Immune Reaction
Tied to Red Tattoo Ink
CASE STUDY
Jan 13, 2026 7:16 AM CST

Man's Crazy Immune Reaction Tied to Red Tattoo Ink

Patient's flower tat caused skin on entire body to became inflamed, killed his ability to sweat

(Newser) - A Polish man's decision to get a red-ink tattoo turned into a yearslong medical mystery that ultimately cost him every patch of skin containing the pigment. Roughly four months after receiving a flower tattoo featuring red ink on his right forearm, the man, said to be in his 30s,...

Monkeys Have Been Roaming St. Louis for Days

Residents warned to avoid the primates as the search intensifies

(Newser) - Monkeys have been running loose in St. Louis for days amid an effort to track them down and figure out where they came from. The city's Animal Care and Control Division said Friday that multiple monkeys had been spotted near O'Fallon Park, after initial reports Thursday indicated four...

Homeowner Finally Boots Bear From Crawl Space

Wildlife group clears out ursine intruder from underneath Ken Johnson's California residence

(Newser) - For one Southern California homeowner, the thumping under the floorboards has finally stopped—and it wasn't pipes. Ken Johnson of Altadena says a 550-pound black bear that slipped into the crawl space beneath his house just before Thanksgiving was finally evicted this week, ending more than a month of...

NJ Bar Just Wants Its Walrus Penis Back

Customer swiped antique walrus bone from Donkey's Place

(Newser) - A South Jersey cheesesteak landmark is missing one of its stranger attractions. Donkey's Place in Camden, praised by Anthony Bourdain for serving what he called the best cheesesteak in the Philadelphia area, says someone walked off with the bar's beloved walrus penis bone, NJ.com reports.

Cops Probing Cemetery Theft Make Horrific Find

DA describes Pennsylvania man Jonathan Gerlach's home as a 'horror movie come to life'

(Newser) - Bones and skulls visible in the back seat of a car near an abandoned cemetery on Philadelphia's outskirts led police to a basement filled with body parts, which authorities say were hoarded by a man now accused of stealing about 100 sets of human remains. Officers say a Tuesday...

New Docs Detail RFK Jr.'s Role in Central Park Bear Dump

NYC documents show investigation into black bear cub's corpse that Kennedy ditched in 2014

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long-ago Central Park bear stunt has resurfaced, thanks to city records that show how baffled officials were by the mystery cub he dumped under a bush near West 69th Street. Documents obtained by Wired from New York City's Parks & Rec Department, including...

Marriage Proposal High on a Michigan Bridge Goes Awry

Dropped ring falls 118 feet to snow below

(Newser) - A Michigan man's big question briefly turned into a big nightmare. Trevor Van Camp was proposing to longtime girlfriend Danielle Jenkins on the illuminated SkyBridge at Boyne Mountain, a 118-foot-high pedestrian suspension bridge in northern Michigan, when nerves got the better of him. After popping the question, he opened...

The Wackiest New Year's Eve Drops in the US

Moon Pies, peaches, and crustaceans, oh my!

(Newser) - Why let New York City have all the fun with its Times Square ball drop on New Year's Eve? Dozens of places across the US rang in 2026 by dropping a quirky assortment of fruits, vegetables, sea creatures, and balls of all shapes and sizes. Many had a hometown...

400 Victorian Shoes Wash Ashore in Wales

Locals believe 19th-century boots may have come from a shipwreck

(Newser) - Victorian-era footwear is turning up in huge numbers on a stretch of Welsh coastline, and nobody can yet say exactly why. Volunteers restoring rock pools on Ogmore By Sea Beach in the Vale of Glamorgan have uncovered more than 400 old hobnailed boots in recent months, most of them black...

Meet Baltimore's Hubcap Collector
Meet Baltimore's
Hubcap Collector
Dec 21, 2025 11:27 AM CST

Meet Baltimore's Hubcap Collector

Cyclist Barnaby Wickham is using car junk to create pieces of art

(Newser) - Cyclist Barnaby Wickham has collected more than 700 lost hubcaps, mostly on bike rides around Baltimore. They've inspired a quest to turn litter into art, including Christmas wreaths, a giant fish, and a large Snoopy head. It's a hobby that developed nearly two years ago from his love...

Air India Slapped With 13-Year Bill for Forgotten 737
Air India Parked a 737, Then
Forgot About It for 13 Years
in case you missed it
Dec 20, 2025 3:52 PM CST

Air India Parked a 737, Then Forgot About It for 13 Years

Airline pays Kolkata airport $120K after decade-long oversight

(Newser) - Air India just got a reminder that nothing is ever really lost: The airline learned it had racked up a 13-year parking tab for a Boeing 737 it apparently forgot it owned. The 43-year-old 737-200, tail number VT-EHH, was parked on a remote pad at Kolkata Airport in 2012 and...

Cops: Woman Stuffed Razor Blades Into Walmart Bread

Texas' Camille Benson has been arrested for incidents at 2 Walmarts in Biloxi, Mississippi

(Newser) - A woman who allegedly pushed razor blades into loaves of bread at two Walmart stores in Biloxi, Mississippi, was arrested on Tuesday. Camille Benson, 33, of Texas has been charged with attempted mayhem, per the AP . Her bond is set at $100,000. Customers reported finding the razor blades at...

Historic Garden Discovers Its Ginkgo Isn't What It Thought

Beloved ginkgo revealed as female, coating grounds with foul fruit

(Newser) - Visitors to Nova Scotia's Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens might want to watch where they step. Staff there had long believed their ginkgo tree, planted in the early 1980s, was male. That mattered because male ginkgos are typically the only ones sold in garden stores. The garden explains female trees...

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