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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World's Most Expensive Pigeon Sells for $328K

Chinese tycoon snaps it up for racing

(Newser) - Who knew? A pigeon, apparently a very fast pigeon, has sold for a record $328,000, notes the Wall Street Journal . A Chinese tycoon named Hu Zhen Yu bought the Dutch bird in an online auction run by the company Pipa. It will presumably be a rock star in the...

&#39;Vets for Weed&#39; Swipes Logo, Sparks Melee
 'Vets for Weed' 
 Swipes Logo, 
 Sparks Melee 
'SEMPER HIGH'
Feb 1, 2012 2:44 PM CST

'Vets for Weed' Swipes Logo, Sparks Melee

And group has no intention of ceasing its use: rep

(Newser) - The VFW is stirring up quite a bit of controversy—no, not Veterans of Foreign Wars, but Veterans for Weed. In addition to co-opting the VFW acronym, the pro-marijuana-legalization group also uses a logo that looks like the POW/MIA icon, except with the soldier smoking a joint. The real VFW...

Police Arrest Zamboni Driver for Possible DUI

Man allegedly had a few before resurfacing the ice

(Newser) - A Minnesota man with three drunk-driving convictions on his record was busted yet again Monday night ... but this time, instead of a car, he was driving a Zamboni. A PeeWee hockey coach called 911 after players, parents, and spectators at the Hayes Arena noticed the driver weaving and running into...

Behold: Oldest 'Yo Mama' Joke of All Time?

Ancient Babylonian tablet analyzed by researchers

(Newser) - At 3,500 years old, researchers may have deciphered the world's most ancient "yo mama" joke. Using images of a tablet discovered in 1976 but since lost, the pair dissected a series of jokes carved by a Babylonian student thousands of years ago, and their conclusions, originally published...

'Art' Urinals Spark Rolling Stones Museum Furor

Women slam mouth-shaped toilets as sexism

(Newser) - A war has broken out over urinals in a German museum. Women's rights activists are furious over the mouth-shaped men's toilets at the Rolling Stones museum in a northern town, Der Spiegel reports. "Why does it have to be a woman's mouth?" asked one, saying she...

Facebook Post Garners 1M Comments

Users shatter Guinness World Record

(Newser) - A team of about 100 Facebook pals has collaborated to comment more than a million times on a post—setting an official Guinness record, KTXL-TV reports. The initial post was made in October in the Facebook group Ffgpioneers/gwr/attempt . (It was an innocuous post made just for this purpose.) To...

Seattle Woman 'Marries' Abandoned Building

Occupier Baylonia Aivaz protesting gentrification

(Newser) - An Occupy Seattle protester "married" an abandoned warehouse on Sunday, not because of a weird fetish, but in order to protest gentrification, the Los Angeles Times reports. "I'm doing this to show the building how much I love it, how much I love community space, and how...

For Sale: Obama's Chrysler, $1M

300C owned by future president for sale on eBay

(Newser) - Before he helped bail out Chrysler, President Obama drove one. The 2005 Chrysler 300C once leased by the future president is now for sale on eBay —for the not-too-shabby starting bid of $1 million, reports the New York Times . (Note to Chrysler: If you could have made this business...

Court Orders No-Show Juror to Hold Sign

'I failed to appear for jury duty,' it reads

(Newser) - A 22-year-old Indiana man skipped out on jury duty last month, and everyone who came to the courthouse this morning knows it: As punishment for leaving jury selection early on Dec. 5 without permission, the unnamed man was ordered by a judge to carry a sign reading "I failed...

Brit Tourists Refused US Entry Over Twitter Jokes

Pair did not really want to 'destroy America'

(Newser) - Note to would-be US tourists: Be careful with your Twitter jokes before setting foot on our soil. Two Brits were detained and then sent back home after landing in Los Angeles last Monday, all because the Department of Homeland Security was unhappy with two tweets one of them had posted...

Grandkids of 10th President John Tyler Still Alive

He was born in 1790, became president in 1841

(Newser) - A leading candidate for the week's most bizarre story: Two of John Tyler's grandchildren are still alive. And yes, we're talking about the Tyler who was the 10th president of our country. The one who was born in 1790 and became president in 1841. Sounds impossible, but...

Pennsylvania Middle School Bans Uggs

Not because they're ugly ... because kids were hiding cell phones in them

(Newser) - Administrators at a middle school in Pennsylvania were tired of kids hiding cell phones in their boots—so they banned the boots, the Mercury reports. The new rule applies to "outdoor, open top boots" in general, but the biggest culprits are Uggs, says a district official, particularly those that...

Errant Click Crashes German Parliament's Email

'Babette' will think twice next time

(Newser) - Another entry in the "reply to all" fail category: A staffer in the German Parliament brought the government's email system to a standstill for about a half-hour after accidentally including all 4,032 co-workers in an email loop, reports Reuters . After the employee named Babette sent her email—...

No More Prayer Cards for Alaska Airlines Fliers

Airline started giving cards to passengers in the 1970s

(Newser) - For more than three decades, Alaska Airlines has been serving up prayer cards on the meal trays that passengers receive, but no longer. "This difficult decision was not made lightly," the CEO and president wrote in an email to customers yesterday. "Some of you enjoy the cards...

PM Loses Shoe in Australia Day Protest

Julia Gillard stumbles as she tries to pass through indigenous right supporters

(Newser) - It sounds perfectly routine: Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott appeared at a restaurant in Canberra today—which just so happens to be Australia Day—to preside over an awards ceremony. What it turned into was an ugly mess, as some 200 supporters of indigenous rights...

Got $2.5M? This Emerald Is for You

25-pound record-breaker goes up for auction

(Newser) - The biggest cut emerald in the world will be auctioned Saturday and is expected to go for up to $2.5 million. The gigantic green stone weighs 57,500 carats—or 25 pounds—and was discovered at an undisclosed location in Brazil, reports Pravda . The emerald, dubbed Teodora, meaning God'...

Uzbekistan Bans Valentine's Day

Nation cancels concerts, other official events

(Newser) - Lonely hearts rejoice: There's at least one place in the world where you'll feel at home. The central Asian state of Uzbekistan will not observe Valentine's Day this year. Russia's RIA-Novosti news agency reports the unofficial ban on the romantic holiday follows years of irritation with...

Museum Reports Stolen Painting, 12 Years Later

Gallery wanted to make sure it hadn't been misplaced first

(Newser) - When a $200,000 painting went missing from Australia's National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the gallery wanted to be sure it did not falsely accuse a staff member of theft when the painting could simply have been misplaced. So it searched for Richard Parkes Bonington's Low Tide...

Porn Star Mayor Candidates Hosting Pole Dance Night

Election issues will also be discussed, of course

(Newser) - Only in Italy: Two porn stars are running against each other for mayor in the city of Taranto. And as if that's not wacky enough, one of their campaign events will be … a pole dancing night. Apparently Amandha Fox and Luana Borgia will also discuss civic issues, the...

Teen Killed by Toy Cannon
 Teen Killed 
 by Toy Cannon 
Jan 25, 2012 2:00 AM CST

Teen Killed by Toy Cannon

Replica cannon held shot, fired accidentally

(Newser) - A 14-year-old Utah boy playing with a small replica of an 18th-century cannon was killed Monday when the toy accidentally fired and struck him in the face, reports the New York Daily News . The cannon may be a toy, but it can hold a 0.50-caliber round and black powder...

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