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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It's a Rough Time to Be a Taco Bell Employee

...or former employee, in one case

(Newser) - These are not the best of times to be a Taco Bell employee. Evidence:
  • The employees tasked with manning the drive-thru at a Buffalo Grove, Ill., location got an unpleasant surprise at 1:23am on May 27, when the three adults they served promptly "threw the drinks at the
...

Cell Network Wiped Out by ... Beer Fridge

Engineers say motor's electric sparks caused blackout

(Newser) - Beer truly is the cause of (and solution to) all of life's problems. Or at least this problem: An Aussie telecom company investigating the cause of network blackouts near Melbourne tracked the disturbance to ... a bloke's beer fridge. Technicians believe electric sparks emitted from the fridge's motor...

China City to Fine Unwed Moms
 China City to Fine Unwed Moms 
Jun 4, 2013 2:37 PM CDT

China City to Fine Unwed Moms

Wuhan plans to add 'social compensation fee'

(Newser) - It's no scarlet letter, but the central China city of Wuhan's plan to fine mothers who have a child out of wedlock has sparked charges of discrimination and could lead to an increase in abandoned babies. It would be the first time that out-of-wedlock children have been expressly...

Survey Finds Proof of Orgasms During ... Childbirth

Midwives report 'orgasmic births' 0.3% of the time

(Newser) - Good news for those of you dreading childbirth: It doesn't have to be all pain and agony. There have long been stories of so-called "orgasmic births," and now a new study by a psychologist looks at the actual numbers. The study author surveyed French midwives, some of...

Women Tormented Ex With Pig's Head: Cops

Sisters, mother face harassment charges

(Newser) - Three Swedish women—two sisters and their mother—managed to scare the daylights out of 11 people with a disturbing roadside display: They put "parts of slaughtered animals" on dolls, a police spokesman says. "We had a slaughtered pig's head that was sitting on a doll in...

Overly Long 'Test Drive' Gets Man Arrested

Lloyd Kraft took Ford F-250 for a spin ... didn't come back: police

(Newser) - It's kind of like that episode of Seinfeld, just with a less glorious ending. Police say a Florida man visited Belleview's Prestige Auto on Friday with a fairly typical request: He wanted to test drive a 1997 Ford F-250. Lloyd Kraft reportedly ponied up a phone number and...

Why Pakistan Made Workers Stop Wearing Socks
Why Pakistan Made Workers Stop Wearing Socks
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 2, 2013 7:00 PM CDT

Why Pakistan Made Workers Stop Wearing Socks

Because it's hot, and the electricity grid is a hopeless mess

(Newser) - Just how bad are Pakistan's power grid problems? This bad: The government has ordered civil servants to stop wearing socks, reports Reuters . The weird order goes hand in hand with another edict that forbids government offices from turning on their air-conditioners. That makes things so unbearably hot that the...

For Sale: &#39;Used&#39; Morgue Fridge
 For Sale: 'Used' Morgue Fridge
Jun 2, 2013 10:20 AM CDT

For Sale: 'Used' Morgue Fridge

New York state has a chilling eBay listing

(Newser) - That special someone who has everything most definitely does not have this: New York's Office of Mental Health is hawking a "used" but "fully operational" morgue refrigerator, and the New York Post highlights the rather grisly listing it has posted on eBay . It's a Norlake Scientific...

Cops: Man Painted Crosswalk on City Street

Californian jailed on vandalism charges

(Newser) - Anthony Cardenas really, really thought an intersection in his neighborhood of Vellajo, California, needed a crosswalk. So the 52-year-old painted one himself. Now he's in jail on felony vandalism charges. Police made sure nobody used the makeshift crosswalk until a state transportation crew came along and painted over it....

Woman Runs Over Herself, Dies

No one's sure why Isabel Huerta got out of the car

(Newser) - A 67-year-old Texas woman was killed yesterday morning when her own car ran her over. Isabel Huerta pulled over her PT Cruiser front of a San Antonio high school and got out of the car, but left it in gear, the Express-News reports. Huerta then fell over—just as the...

Word for French Kiss Finally Enters French Lexicon

But 'galocher' isn't in the official dictionary yet

(Newser) - The most popular word of the day seems to be "galocher." As multiple stories are happily pointing out—like these at Global Post and the Huffington Post —it is a new French word that means "to kiss with tongues." Yes, it seems that France has...

Missing Man Walks Into News Report About Himself

Maine TV crew was preparing an update about senior with dementia

(Newser) - A TV crew from WMTW News 8 in Maine was setting up to do an update about missing 73-year-old Bob McDonough when McDonough himself walked into the shot. McDonough, who has dementia, had gone missing the previous day, and police were out with canine units looking for him. He appears...

New Cologne Lets You Smell Like a Boston Firefighter

Scents include rubber and smoke

(Newser) - Is there any better way to pay tribute to Boston's first-responders than trying to smell like them? Probably, but Demeter is putting out a new cologne anyway called First Response—Boston, which has scents "overlaid with white rubber and smoke." It also has plenty of spices and...

Guy Lives With Pencil in Head for 15 Years

4-inch writing implement probably lodged there after childhood fall

(Newser) - When a 24-year-old man sought help after years of headaches, constant colds, and worsening vision in one eye, he probably wasn't expecting this to be the reason: Doctors found a 4-inch pencil lodged from his sinus to his pharynx, which had injured his right eye socket. They say he...

Couple Plans 'Dolphin-Assisted Birth'

Adam, Heather Barringer in Hawaii for the experience

(Newser) - A South Carolina couple is getting quite a bit of attention for their, shall we say, unconventional birthing plan: Adam and Heather Barringer headed to Hawaii last month, where they plan to welcome their baby in July via "dolphin-assisted birth," the Charlotte Observer reports. The Barringers are studying...

Lady in Red? Might Be Fertile
 Lady in Red? 
 Might Be Fertile 
study says
May 28, 2013 2:05 PM CDT

Lady in Red? Might Be Fertile

New study finds women at peak fertility more likely to wear red, pink

(Newser) - Today's entry in the Things You Never Thought to Research category: In a new study, women who were wearing red or pink were more likely to be at the peak of their fertility cycles than those wearing other colors. And not just a little bit more likely, but three...

Burger King Worker Hid Robbers' Getaway Car: Cops

Forcing alleged robbers to flee on foot; they didn't make it far

(Newser) - As far as foiled crimes go, this one belongs in the Hall of Fame: After allegedly robbing a Stockton, Calif., Burger King on Thursday night, two men emerged to find their getaway car had vanished. CBS Sacramento reports that Gabriel Gonzalez, 19, and Jeremy Lovitt, 23, then attempted to flee...

Russian &#39;Ghost Ship&#39; Vanishes
 Russian 'Ghost Ship' Vanishes 
May 27, 2013 8:39 AM CDT

Russian 'Ghost Ship' Vanishes

Lyubov Orlova hasn't been heard from since March 12

(Newser) - Months after a Russian "ghost ship" turned up adrift off the Irish coast , she's gone missing again. The Lyubov Orlova's tow line broke back in January, as the cruise ship was being hauled from Canada to the Dominican Republic as scrap. The ship, empty except for an...

Man Butt-Dials 911 While Discussing Murder Plans
Man Butt-Dials 911 While Discussing Murder Plans
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 26, 2013 8:00 PM CDT

Man Butt-Dials 911 While Discussing Murder Plans

Scott Simon charged with first-degree murder after Waffle House dispute

(Newser) - You know that person at the top of your contact list, the one most likely to get an unintended call from your butt? Well, if you're the murderous type, make sure that number isn't 911. This lesson comes too late for Scott Simon, who unintentionally dialed 911 while...

How Smoking Ban Increases Bowling Shoes Lawsuits

Bowlers go outside to smoke, then fall; but New York state is on the case

(Newser) - It has to be the granddaddy of unintended effects of New York state's 10-year-old ban on indoor smoking: more lawsuits from clumsy bowlers. As the Albany Times-Union explains, bowling centers have seen a spike in lawsuits in recent years from bowlers who step outside for a smoke while wearing...

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