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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'Speechjammer' Gun Will Shut You Up

Speech-jamming gun makes it difficult for speaker to keep talking

(Newser) - Wouldn't it be nice if you could somehow force the people behind you at the movies to stop talking? With the "Speechjammer," a new "weapon" developed by Japanese scientists, you could. The speech-jamming gun works by recording speech, then playing it back after a delay of...

School Locked Down After Auto-Correct Texting Mishap

Phone changes 'gunna' to 'gunman' in message sent to wrong number

(Newser) - A Gainesville high school student who apparently flunked Texting 101 caused a school lockdown yesterday. The West Hall student intended to peck out "gunna be at west hall today," but his cell phone's automatic spelling correction feature changed "gunna" to "gunman" in a text message...

Oops: Waiter Dumps Beer on Merkel

German chancellor gets her back soaked

(Newser) - Bad: Being a waiter and dumping several glasses of beer on a world leader. Worse: It's caught on video. A 21-year-old waiter in Germany emptied his tray onto the back of Chancellor Angela Merkel last week, though she took it like a good sport, reports USA Today . The Daily...

School's Plan to Boost Test Scores: Feed Kids Placebos

Florida elementary school students given 'FCAT PowerBars'

(Newser) - A Florida elementary school wants its students to perform better on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test … so it's feeding them "placebos." Hagen Road Elementary students will be given an "FCAT PowerBar"—aka an apple-flavored cereal bar with a label reading, "Warning: Improves Writing...

Infant Killed After Fight Over Baby Shower Seating?

Grandmother thinks fight escalated into tragedy

(Newser) - What was initially reported as a tragic gang-related shooting in Detroit may in fact be something else entirely: Hundreds of people visited a funeral home last night to mourn a 9-month-old who was sleeping on a couch in the wee hours of Feb. 20 when he was killed by a...

Hey, Virgins, Vote for Putin!


 Hey, Virgins,  
 Vote for Putin! 
PRESIDENTIAL AD CAMPAIGNS
Feb 28, 2012 10:22 AM CST

Hey, Virgins, Vote for Putin!

He's a 'safe' pick for the 'first time,' suggestive ads declare

(Newser) - Good old Vladimir Putin is usually good for a wacky headline: This time, his backers are appealing to "virgin" voters in a new ad campaign, in which doctors and others advise young ladies on their "first time." Turns out they're actually urging the women to vote...

Va. Senate Candidate: Hank the Cat

Feline is facing off against Tim Kaine, George Allen for Jim Webb's seat

(Newser) - Virginians have a couple of predictable picks in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Jim Webb: Democrat Tim Kaine, a former governor, or Republican George Allen, also a, uh, former governor. But for those yearning in their souls to vote for a non-former governor, meet Hank. The Springfield native is...

Maine Reels in Record-Size Lobster

But don't worry: 27-lb 'Rocky' doesn't end up on a dinner plate

(Newser) - A big catch in Maine: a 40-inch, 27-pound lobster was trapped in a shrimp net two weeks ago, and it turns out that "Rocky" is the largest crustacean ever landed in the state. "All the weight is in the claws," said a Department of Marine Resources official....

The Strange Story of the Blue People of Kentucky

How scientists figured out the story of the Fugates

(Newser) - America is home to people of all colors: White, black, and… blue? Strange but true: ABC News this week unearthed a story from 1982 about a family of blue-skinned people that once lived deep in Kentucky. The blue people first came to the fore when a baby named Benjamin Stacy...

Woman Scams Nigerian Scammers

 Woman Scams 
 Nigerian 
 Scammers 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 26, 2012 7:00 AM CST

Woman Scams Nigerian Scammers

Aussie was supposed to keep 8% of scam, kept 100%

(Newser) - Most of us just want to throttle the scam artists that line our spam boxes with get-rich-quick schemes and pleas for help with million-dollar bank transfers, but Sarah Jane Cochrane-Ramsey went one better: She scammed the cons who were using her in their scam, reports the Courier-Mail . Seems the 23-year-old...

Woman Allegedly Sought Hitman to Kill Fur-Wearer

Meredith Lowell attempted to recruit killer on Facebook: Cops

(Newser) - An animal rights activist in Ohio had a plan for an anti-fur protest that went just a bit further than any stunt PETA has pulled: Meredith Lowell, 27, is accused of attempting to hire a hitman to kill a random fur-wearer in public. Lowell allegedly created a phony Facebook profile...

Mining Company: Those 2-Headed Fish No Big Deal

Images of two-headed trout tucked into appendix of safety study

(Newser) - If you reel in your fishing line in southern Idaho to find a two-headed trout staring back, it's ... no big deal? The New York Times explains: The JR Simplot Company wants the federal government to allow higher levels of the mining byproduct selenium to appear in local waterways. The...

Mom Gets an Awful Obituary Thanks to Squabbling Kids

Josie Anello's son pens passive-aggressive swing at sis

(Newser) - Josie Anello's obituary ran in the Tampa Tribune on Feb. 14—but it wasn't exactly teeming with love. The wording of the 93-year-old woman's obit has brought her Internet fame after death, and turned the spotlight on her not-exactly-chummy kids. Its third line read: "She is...

Einstein Wrong? Maybe Just Faulty Wiring

A simple loose cord may explain last year's controversy

(Newser) - More evidence that last year's furor over the accuracy of Albert Einstein's work got blown way out of proportion: Physicists believed they'd seen particles traveling faster than light , a phenomenon that would disprove the theory of relativity. But the controversial observations may have been the result of...

Swedish Hospital Hiring 'TV-Hot' Nurses

Hospital says phrase came from a former patient

(Newser) - If you've ever been admitted to the hospital and thought, "Man, these nurses really aren't as attractive as the ones on TV," apparently you should visit Sweden's Stockholm South General. In a recent job advertisement, that hospital recruited nurses who are "motivated," "...

Bullet From Mexico Hits Woman in Texas

El Paso woman injured by Juarez shootout

(Newser) - El Paso is considered one of America's safest cities, but it was painfully reminded of its proximity to one of the world's most dangerous yesterday. As cops battled carjackers in Ciudad Juarez, a stray bullet crossed the border and struck a Texas woman in the leg as she...

Town Considers &#39;WTF&#39; Slogan
 Town Considers 'WTF' Slogan 
Feb 20, 2012 3:34 PM CST

Town Considers 'WTF' Slogan

Fruita, Colorado residents would translate that as 'Welcome to Fruita'

(Newser) - A Colorado town with the motto "Honor the Past, Envision the Future" is considering three more letters to advertise itself: "WTF"—as in, "Welcome to Fruita." A couple printed out 500 stickers with the term and handed them out to businesses in downtown Fruita, sparking...

Coming Soon to the Moon: Volcanoes?

Core magma could rise to surface as moon cools

(Newser) - The globe might be warming, but the moon is getting cooler—and that means someday, the magma inside it could erupt. It wouldn't be the first time: The moon also had volcanoes hundreds of millions of years ago, the Daily Mail notes. Now scientists in Amsterdam say the cooling...

Monaco Prince Hospitalized in Fight Over Supermodels

Pierre Casiraghi finds himself in brawl with former club owner

(Newser) - Prince Pierre Casiraghi of Monaco, the 24-year-old grandson of Princess Grace, found himself in less-than-classy circumstances on Saturday when a fight over vodka and supermodels broke out between his entourage and another group at a Manhattan nightclub, sending the prince to the hospital. Casiraghi had been partying with a group...

Woman Plows Car Into Slow Drive-Thru Customer

Jennifer Lynn Betterly wasn't pleased with the speed at a KFC/Taco Bell

(Newser) - It's called fast food, people. Or so may have gone the thought process of one Jennifer Lynn Betterly, a Florida woman who had just about enough of waiting in line at the KFC/Taco Bell drive-thru in Largo on Saturday night. And so she did what any hungry diner would...

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