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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How You Could Win Your Very Own Bakery

Submit essay, $75—and cupcake recipe

(Newser) - With just $75, an essay, and a cupcake recipe, you could win a Vermont bakery. Vermont Public Radio reports that those interested in owning the Mix Cupcakerie and Kitchen in Waitsfield have to write about why they want it and submit the essay along with an idea for a cupcake...

How a Single Number Threatens Technology

2,147,483,647 is almost too much for some computers to handle

(Newser) - As complex and incredible as our latest gadgets are, they can be foiled by something very simple: a number that's just too big. The BBC explains the phenomenon in terms of an odometer that only goes up to 99,999 miles. Drive another mile, and it would roll to...

Thomas Edison's Creepy Dolls Can Finally Talk Again

New technology re-creates voices from wax cylinders

(Newser) - We can thank Thomas Edison for plenty of things, but the world had little use for one of his inventions. Edison's talking dolls were among the first of their kind, NPR reports. But even in the 1890s, they scared kids—and were expensive—and only about 500 of them...

Couple Admits Planting Goofy Skeletons in River

Sheriff's office is laughing about it, so no charges will follow

(Newser) - A Phoenix couple has claimed responsibility for putting two fake skeletons sitting in lawn chairs in the Colorado River in far west Arizona. Today's News-Herald reports the husband and wife approached the La Paz County Sheriff's Office earlier this week a little apprehensively and brought a photo as...

Woman Caught at Border Carrying Boy in Suitcase

Police in Spain say she was paid to smuggle him in; he's OK

(Newser) - It is one of the strangest X-ray scans you'll ever see: When Spanish authorities scanned a woman's suitcase at the border with Morocco, it revealed the unmistakable image of a small human body. When they opened the case, out popped a scared and confused 8-year-old boy from the...

Japan's Baby Monkey Will Stay 'Charlotte'

The royals took no offense: Oita officials

(Newser) - A monkey born in a Japanese zoo will keep its name Charlotte after all. Oita city officials settled a national debate over whether calling the monkey Charlotte offends its British royal namesake . The officials announced today they will stick to their first choice because there was no protest from Britain'...

Skeleton 'Tea Party' Found in Colorado River

Thankfully the skeletons are plastic

(Newser) - A man snorkeling in the Colorado River received quite the fright on Monday when he spotted what he thought were human remains about 40 feet below the surface near the Arizona-California border. With a little investigating, however, a diver with the Buckskin Fire Department uncovered a scene much more comical...

Mystery in Ukraine: Where Is the Golden Loaf?

Symbol of corruption now symbol of incompetence

(Newser) - In Ukraine, a symbol of the corruption of the ousted Viktor Yanukovich has disappeared and is now a symbol of the new regime's failure to deal with the legacy of that corruption, the Wall Street Journal reports. The "golden loaf"—a golden replica of a loaf of...

Chicago Roadwork Site Could Hide Thousands of Long-Buried Bodies

Oak Park Avenue was a burial site for the 'forgotten' a century ago

(Newser) - Workers are preparing for improvements to a road on the Northwest Side of Chicago, and their work could lead to the unearthing of thousands of bodies, a cemetery researcher tells the Chicago Tribune . That's because the area of Oak Park Avenue in question was once a cemetery and now...

Couple Will Give Goat Farm to Winner of Essay Contest

Plus $20K to boot, in Alabama

(Newser) - If you've ever yearned to be a goat farmer, a couple in Alabama has an essay contest just for you. They plan to give away their 20-acre farm—complete with house, goats, and equipment—to the winning essay writer, reports WAAY-TV . Paul and Leslie Spell of Elkmont hope to...

Developer May Have to Rebuild Old Pub It Razed

London officials preparing unprecedented order after destruction

(Newser) - Those who rail against developers for valuing the almighty dollar over character can raise a glass to this story out of London: Local officials will try to force developers to rebuild an old pub they tore down without permission, reports the Evening Standard . It seems that Tel Aviv developer CLTX...

Family's Attic Find Yields a Pirate Tale

Is the severed hand real? Well, that's not clear

(Newser) - A woman in Tampa doing some spring cleaning in her grandfather's attic says she found a box with some strange stuff inside, including a severed hand, old-looking coins, and a weathered map, reports USA Today . The woman and her brother say it could be authentic pirate booty that belonged...

Bar Owner: 2-Way Bathroom Mirror Is Staying

'It's just old-school fun house fun'

(Newser) - The two-way mirror in the women's bathroom of a bar in suburban Chicago is only there for harmless Halloween pranks and it's not going anywhere, vows the owner of Cigars & Stripes. Ronnie Lottz's bar started getting attention when comedian Tamale Rocks posted a video on YouTube...

Judge: Taking Girl to Pink Concert Not Bad Parenting

Ruling: Mom's move didn't damage 11-year-old

(Newser) - Taking a preteen to a Pink concert does not make you a bad mother. That's the upshot of Judge Lawrence R. Jones' ruling. The case decided in New Jersey family court centered around a Dec. 11, 2013, concert that a mother (all parties identified by pseudonyms) attended with her...

Dog's Wild Ride on Tractor Causes Traffic Jam

Don the border collie had a more exciting morning than usual in Scotland

(Newser) - The old joke postcard about traffic jams in rural Scotland and Ireland pictures sheep cramming narrow country lanes, but this morning it was a different critter to blame altogether: It seems Don the border collie was out with his human, Tom Hamilton, on their sheep farm in Abington, Scotland, when...

Denmark Shuts 'Animal Brothels' With Bestiality Ban

Law passed with a narrow 91-75 vote yesterday

(Newser) - Up until recently it was legal, in certain circumstances, to have sex with an animal in Denmark, but the country passed a law officially prohibiting bestiality with a 91-75 vote yesterday, Mashable reports. Sex with an animal had previously been allowed as long as the animal wasn't harmed, which...

NSA Recycling Mascot Is a Bit Scary

Apparently a recycling bin needs huge arms

(Newser) - The NSA has revealed its mascot for Earth Day tomorrow, and though the fact that the agency has a recycling mascot is odd enough, Gizmodo reports it's "an anthropomorphized and oddly buff recycling bin named Dunk" that "breaks new ground creepiness-wise." The Verge , meanwhile, thinks he'...

Sizzler&#39;s Patriotic &#39;91 Promo Is Insane
 Sizzler's Patriotic 
 '91 Promo Is Insane 
in case you missed it
Apr 18, 2015 6:00 PM CDT

Sizzler's Patriotic '91 Promo Is Insane

It's gone viral, deservedly so

(Newser) - You already knew Sizzler was pretty amazing ( cheese toast , anyone?), but you can now thank the Internet for reminding you just how amazing it truly is. Someone posted a 1991 promo video produced by the restaurant chain on YouTube , and, well, it is amazing and has deservedly gone viral....

How One Aquarium Is Helping Penguins Get Frisky

New England Aquarium giving them 'honeymoon suites'

(Newser) - The New England Aquarium wants its endangered African penguins to get a little steamy. Aquarium experts are playing matchmaker behind the scenes to encourage eight pairs of African penguins to breed more chicks. Biologists say that will help a population that's expected to be extinct in the wild by...

Vermont Lawmakers: Make Pot Legal or We Ban Booze

Pair introduces bill to reinstate Prohibition in the state

(Newser) - Two Vermont lawmakers fed up with delays to legalize marijuana in the state introduced a headline-grabbing measure this week designed to move things along: one that would outlaw alcohol. Legislators Chris Pearson and Jean O'Sullivan admit they have no interest in reinstating Prohibition, but they want to make a...

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