strange stuff

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

Stories 4061 - 4080 | << Prev   Next >>

South American Superhero Makes ... $160 a Month

Meet Lima, Peru's Superman, Avelino Chavez

(Newser) - If crime doesn't pay, then fighting crime doesn't, either. Lima's own resident superhero makes just $160 a month—though, to be fair, he's not known for making daring rescues. Instead, Avelino Chavez dons Superman garb every day to appear at notable weddings and political rallies; he...

Guy Calls 911 to Complain About Sandwich Order

Dispatcher advises him not to purchase the sandwich

(Newser) - Yet another case of someone calling 911 to complain about food : This time, a Connecticut man called the emergency number after a deli fouled up his sandwich order. The man can be heard on a recording of Wednesday's call complaining that he "specifically asked for little turkey and...

Cops: Weird Hitchhiker Shooting Was a Hoax

Ray Dolin did get shot—by himself

(Newser) - It did seem a little too bizarre to be true: The hitchhiker who told police he got shot on a Montana highway has admitted that he shot himself, reports AP . The case drew national headlines because Ray Dolin said he was hitchhiking to gather tales for a memoir he was...

Bound Kids Found Outside Walmart, Parents Busted

Illinois couple's 5 kids placed in protective custody

(Newser) - A suburban Chicago family's road trip to Arizona came to a bizarre end in Lawrence, Kansas, when cops spotted the family's two youngest children bound and blindfolded next to their car in a Walmart parking lot. The kids, ages 5 and 7, are now in protective custody along...

Arizona Saving You From Dust Storms —With Haiku

Public safety campaign leans on poetry

(Newser) - Arizona transportation officials are getting the message out about dust storm safety—in precisely 17 syllables. The Arizona Department of Transportation is encouraging Twitter users to tweet haikus around the theme of safe driving in haboobs, the severe dust storms that hit Phoenix in the summer. An example, from Phoenix...

Oklahoma City Is America's Manliest

New survey takes home improvement stores, steak houses into account

(Newser) - Oklahoma City has been named America's Manliest City by those well-known experts on manliness, the people at Mars Chocolate, who also make the ever-so-manly snack food COMBOS. The company has run the COMBOS-sponsored survey for four years now, taking into consideration such data as "manly occupations" and the...

Gates Drops $1.1M on Bracelets to Tell if Kids Are Bored

Foundation bets $1.1M on 'galvanic' wristbands

(Newser) - Bill and Melinda Gates want to ensure kids are engaged in the classroom—so their foundation is plunking down $1.1 million on testing futuristic bracelets that "measure engagement physiologically," based on "galvanic skin response" levels. The Gates' Measuring Effective Teachers project is testing all kinds of...

Woman Busted Thanks to 'ZOMBIE' License Plate

You're not too hard to find when you're cruising in a car advertising the undead

(Newser) - One Pennsylvania woman's apparent affection for the undead has led to some unforeseen consequences. Yardley Joy Frantz allegedly ran into a man and his nephew with her car around 7pm on Friday. When the man's son came to help and confronted her, she reportedly zapped him with a...

Massachusetts Town's Fine for Swearing in Public: $20

Keep it clean in public, folks

(Newser) - Say it with us: "Oh, fudge." Anyone traveling to Middleborough, Mass., will want to make sure such phrases are part of their vocabulary, because anyone caught swearing in a public area will now be slapped with a $20 fine. Town residents voted 183-50 last night in approval of...

&#39;Lungs&#39; Found on Los Angeles Street
 'Lungs' Found on LA Street 
Jun 12, 2012 1:49 AM CDT

'Lungs' Found on LA Street

Coroner conducting tests

(Newser) - Somebody apparently left their lungs on a southern California street, and local cops are trying to find the owner. The "lung-like" organs were discovered on an avenue in South LA, reports AP. The passerby who spotted the items immediately called police. The county coroner is conducting tests to determine...

Greek Politician Sues Women He Attacked

Ilias Kasidiaris dodges arrest over televised slaps

(Newser) - Last week, extreme-right Greek politician Ilias Kasidiaris slapped one woman and dumped water on another on live television. This weekend, he managed to duck an arrest; now it's Kasidiaris who is suing the women, the AP reports. He says that he was insulted on the talk show, and that...

Stranger Shoots Hitchhiker Writing Kindness of America

Raymond Dolin of West Virginia was looking for a ride in Montana

(Newser) - It's so ironic that it almost seems made up: A West Virginia man hitchhiking across America while penning a memoir—working title The Kindness of America—was apparently shot for no apparent reason by a total stranger in Montana on Saturday night. The Billings Gazette reports that Raymond Dolin,...

Discover New Jersey&#39;s &#39;Bermuda Triangle&#39;


 Discover New Jersey's 
 'Bermuda Triangle' 
in case you missed it
Jun 9, 2012 7:00 AM CDT

Discover New Jersey's 'Bermuda Triangle'

Round Valley Reservoir home to mystery

(Newser) - Conspiracy theorists, rejoice! There is no need to travel all the way to the Florida/Bermuda/Puerto Rico area to dig into a triangular mystery. The Star-Ledger dives into the tale of the mysterious "Bermuda Triangle of New Jersey": the Round Valley Reservoir, whose 2,000 acres come stocked with trout...

Man's Foiled Plan: Sell Bear Cubs at Gas Station

Says he shot their mother in self-defense

(Newser) - What do you do with an extra pair of bear cubs? A California man wasn't sure—so he tried to pawn them off at a gas station, according to wildlife authorities who stopped him. Chris Puett says he had shot the cubs' mother when she charged him at his...

India's Bizarre Asthma Cure: Sardines, Swallowed Live

Tens of thousands down the fish in annual ritual

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of asthma-sufferers mobbed a southern Indian stadium today to swallow live sardines smeared with a yellow herbal paste they believe will cure their breathing problems. Despite doctors' criticism, the Goud family has drawn throngs of people for years with a secret fish and herbal formula it says...

Boy Wakes Up at His Own Funeral

...but not for long: witnesses

(Newser) - As his family mourned around an open casket in Brazil, the boy inside woke up—but only long enough to ask for some water, witnesses say. Then Kelvin Santos lay back, "dead again," according to his father, in a case that's prompted a police probe. Suffering from...

Casino 'Mugger' Was Really Sleepwalking: Lawyer

Says alleged mugger has history of sleepwalking

(Newser) - A man accused of an attempted mugging at a Connecticut casino can't be blamed for his actions, his lawyer says: He was sleepwalking. Winston Riley is accused of trying to rob a woman at knifepoint in a casino elevator. After she pushed him away, he ran for it, but...

Paris Jackson: Masks Were So We Could Be Normal

Paris tells Oprah she was 'confused' when younger, but understands now

(Newser) - Paris Jackson was "confused" about why she had to wear a mask in public when she was younger, she tells Oprah on Oprah's Next Chapter, via the BBC . "I understand it now, why my dad would want our face to be covered," she said. "Like...

Louisiana Cops Bust Another Face-Chomper

Victim survives bites; but bath salts are again suspected

(Newser) - More evidence for those fearing a zombie epidemic: Yet another man has been arrested over face-eating, and once again, bath salts are reportedly involved. This time, a Louisiana man "bit a chunk" off his ex-wife's husband's face, police say. Carl Jacquneaux bit Todd Credeur multiple times, "...

School Staff Slammed for Moose Poop Prank

Teens tricked into eating 'chocolate almonds'

(Newser) - If you're ever in the Canadian wilderness and somebody offers you a "chocolate-covered almond," beware. It might be moose poop. The parents of two Manitoba teenagers are furious after adults tricked their children into eating moose droppings on a school canoe trip, the CBC reports. One mother...

Stories 4061 - 4080 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser