strange stuff

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

Stories 4021 - 4040 | << Prev   Next >>

Drunk Guy Who Tied Kids to Car: I Thought They'd Like It

Because who wouldn't? Plus, other tales from the bottle...

(Newser) - An Indiana man who thought it was a good idea to drunkenly strap four kids to the hood of his car and go on a three-block joy ride has pleaded guilty to several charges. Aaron Stefanski, 29 of Fort Wayne, was arrested in May after a witness called 911. Stefanski...

Well Sure, Strangers, You Can Borrow My BMW

Hooters patron hasn't seen it since

(Newser) - An apparently absurdly kindhearted Virginia man got taken for a ride recently, when he lent out his BMW to people purporting to be travelers with a hard-luck story. The man was at a Hooters in Fairfax City, when a couple came in saying their car had broken down on the...

Teen Jumps Off Chair Lift to Escape Storm

New Jersey's Melanie Rossomando is OK

(Newser) - New Jersey's Melanie Rossomando became a YouTube sensation for her 17th birthday, though not by choice. A video shows the teen jumping off a chair lift at a beachside amusement park over the weekend as a storm rolled in and the power stopped. She kicked off her shoes and...

Home Intruder Orders Woman to Cut Her Grass

But 'intruder' turns out to be overzealous Georgia county employee

(Newser) - When it comes to victims of home invasion, you could do a lot worse than Erica Masters. The Georgia woman says she woke up one morning to find a man standing in her bedroom's doorway—to rebuke her for neglecting her lawn. "I didn't have my glasses...

Politician Pulls Gun on Debate Rival

Threat follows insults, shoe-throwing in Jordan

(Newser) - A live TV debate between a Jordanian lawmaker and a guerrilla-turned-activist deteriorated into a loud volley of accusations ... then the MP whipped out a pistol. And shoe-throwing was involved! A court is considering charges against Mohammed Shawabka after the not-so-diplomatic incident. "He was going to shoot me and he...

Cape Cod Kayaker Dodges Great White

Man has close encounter on 1st kayak trip

(Newser) - It might be a while before Walter Szulc Jr. decides it's safe to go back in the water. He was kayaking—for the first time—at a Cape Cod beach on the weekend when he saw the fin of a great white shark longer than his kayak just 10...

Cat Poop Raises Owners&#39; Suicide Risk

 Study: Cat Poop 
 Raises Owners' 
 Suicide Risk 
in case you missed it
Jul 7, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

Study: Cat Poop Raises Owners' Suicide Risk

Parasite infection linked to higher rate of attempts

(Newser) - More bad press for cat poop: A parasite found in cat feces has been linked to an increased likelihood of owners committing suicide, reports NPR . The study of more than 45,000 Danish women over the course of 30 years found that those infected with toxoplasmosis (possibly from changing cat...

Duke CEO Resigns After 1 Day—With $44.4M

Board preferred old boss's management style

(Newser) - Hours after Bill Johnson became CEO of Duke Energy, its board sought his resignation—which it received at 12:01am the day after he took the job. Such a quick change is practically unknown in US history, the Wall Street Journal notes—and nearly as shocking is the $44.4...

Couple Pays Off Mortgage in Pennies

Massachusetts man had been saving them for 35 years

(Newser) - A man who pledged for decades to make the last mortgage payment on his home with pennies has made good on his promise. After warning his bank, Thomas Daigle of Milford, Mass., dropped off about 62,000 pennies weighing 800 pounds in two boxes for the final payment on the...

World's Tiniest Fly Beheads Tiny Ants

Found in Thailand, E. nanaknihali smaller than a grain of salt

(Newser) - It's the tiniest fly species known in the world, smaller than a grain of salt, and apparently it likes to eat ant heads, reports LiveScience . Euryplatea nanaknihali, a newly discovered species from Thailand, is from a fly genus known for decapitating ants and is believed to attack some of...

Theft of 'Vote Satan' Sign a Hate Crime, Couple Says

Police, neighbors think it's not such a big deal

(Newser) - Sometimes being a Satanist can be a hell of a burden. That's what Luigi and Angie Bellaviste have discovered after someone stole their "Vote Satan" sign from their Colorado front porch—an act they'd like to be considered a hate crime. But police aren't biting, reports...

Hit-And-Run Driver: I Was Afraid Ice Cream Would Melt

Flora Burkhart didn't have time to stop after rear-ending pickup

(Newser) - When cops showed up at Flora Burkhart's house asking her why she didn't stop after rear-ending a pickup truck on her way home Sunday night, she had quite an interesting excuse: "I left because I did not want my ice cream to melt." The 58-year-old Arkansas...

Feds: Sorry, Mermaids Aren't Real

Agency takes a stand after gullible TV watchers wondered

(Newser) - We know you've been holding your breath, but you can stop now: The US government has officially declared that there is no evidence mermaids exist. The strange announcement came about after Animal Planet ran a show about mermaids called Mermaids: The Body Found in May. Apparently, some people thought...

Maine Woman Finds 12-Year-Old Message in Bottle

It had floated down from Canada

(Newser) - Volunteers picking up trash in a coastal Maine community found a message in a bottle that apparently floated down the coast from Canada. Becky Lee of Downeast Coastal Conservancy says she discovered the note as she and others cleaned up Tibbett Island off of South Addison. The plastic soda bottle...

California Senator: Let Kids Have 3 Parents—or More

Mark Leno says 'there are more than Ozzie and Harriet families today'

(Newser) - Meet Mom, Dad, and Dad? Maybe, if California state Sen. Mark Leno has his way. He has introduced a bill that would do away with the law that says kids can have a maximum of two legal parents, reports the Sacramento Bee . So if a lesbian couple conceived a baby...

Pennsylvania High School Puts Itself on eBay

Cash-strapped school for troubled teens tries 'Hail Mary pass'

(Newser) - A Philadelphia-area high school has put itself on eBay to offset crippling budget cuts. The Learning Center—an alternative school for at-risk teens—describes itself as "slightly used but extremely successful" in the listing, ABC reports. The buyer won't get the school itself, which belongs to the Neshaminy...

Man Attacks Women With Sword and ... Sandwich

Mark Christopher Miller allegedly smeared lady with peanut butter

(Newser) - Two Florida women were likely scared when Mark Christopher Miller rushed them with a 4-foot sword, but maybe not quite as terrified by his second weapon: a peanut butter sandwich. The 50-year-old man is accused of poking one of the women, who is six months pregnant, with the sword after...

Couple Razes Home Being Built Too Far From Curb
Couple Razes Home Being Built Too Far From Curb
$150K MISTAKES...
Jul 2, 2012 12:38 PM CDT

Couple Razes Home Being Built Too Far From Curb

Construction boo-boo meant no room for a pool

(Newser) - Really ridiculous real estate decisions apparently aren't the sole province of West Coast couples. The New York Post reports that a Hamptons couple decided to tear down their rising home and demolish its 2,025-square-foot foundation because the under-construction home was being built too far from the curb, squashing...

Face-Eater Nailed in China
 Face-Gnawer Nailed in China 
Jul 2, 2012 12:26 AM CDT

Face-Gnawer Nailed in China

Drunken bus driver attacks woman in Wenzhou

(Newser) - America's zombie apocalypse seems to have infected China. A bus driver drinking with friends during lunch in the city of Wenzhou in southeast China suddenly ran into the streets, pounced on a random woman, and began gnawing on her face until bystanders pulled him away, according to officials. The...

Michigan's New DUI Weapon: Talking Urinal Cakes

Some sing and light up too, in effort to combat drunk driving

(Newser) - Michigan is trying a novel technique for cutting down on drunk driving: filling bathrooms with responsible talking urinal cakes, formally known as Interactive Urinal Communicators. Step up to a urinal equipped with one of these, erm, ingenious devices, and it will utter the following message: "Listen up. … Had...

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