strange stuff

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

Stories 4421 - 4440 | << Prev   Next >>

Dentist Used Paper Clips —in Root Canals

Michael Clair also charged with Medicaid fraud

(Newser) - Paper clips and stainless steel posts: Basically the same thing, right? A former Massachusetts dentist has pleaded guilty to a host of charges, including the accusation that he used parts of paper clips rather than stainless steel posts to support root canals in an attempt to save money. Michael Clair'...

Girl Hears Mom Having Sex, Calls 911

Tells police she felt 'disrespected,' asks for children's shelter

(Newser) - Plenty of people get creeped out by the thought of their parents having sex. But few are as extreme as one Florida teenager, who called 911 and asked to be placed in a Christian children's shelter because she heard her mother having sex. The 15-year-old girl said she had...

Aretha Franklin Calls Off Her Wedding

Singer worried relationship was moving too fast

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin won't be getting fitted for a wedding gown after all: She's called off her engagement . A statement released yesterday by her rep said Franklin's wedding to Willie Wilkerson wasn't going to happen. "Will and I have decided we were moving a little too...

Warren Buffett Jams on Ukulele for Chinese New Year

 Warren Buffett 
 Jams on Ukulele 
chinese new year
Jan 23, 2012 8:54 AM CST

Warren Buffett Jams on Ukulele

Sings 'I've Been Working on the Railroad'

(Newser) - Festivities for China's biggest holiday are in full swing, and Warren Buffett is getting in on the fun. The 81-year-old billionaire played ukulele and sang "I've Been Working on the Railroad" for one of the most-watched TV programs in the world—China Central Television's New Year'...

Brit Busted for Hawking the Butt of Saddam Statue

Brit firm founder an ex-soldier who removed section of toppled Baghdad statue

(Newser) - A British company official has been arrested after auctioning a buttock section of the massive Saddam Hussein bronze statue toppled when US forces stormed Baghdad in 2003. The arrest was made after the Iraqi government issued a complaint to British police following an auction in Derby, where the two-foot hunk...

Portions Too Big? Change Your Plate Color
Portions Too Big?
Change Your Plate Color
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 22, 2012 7:00 PM CST

Portions Too Big? Change Your Plate Color

Dish colors that match food lead to larger meals

(Newser) - Trying to cut back on calories? Pay attention to the color of your plate. A new study reveals that people who use a dish that matches the color of the food they're eating will pile on more grub than if the plate is a different color, reports Scientific American...

High School to Teams: No, You Can&#39;t Be &#39;Cougars&#39;
 High School 
 to Teams: No, 
 You Can't Be 
 'Cougars' 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 22, 2012 10:42 AM CST

High School to Teams: No, You Can't Be 'Cougars'

Yes, it's because of the reason you're thinking

(Newser) - Students at a high school near Salt Lake City will be cheering on their Chargers next season, even though they picked "Cougars" as the school mascot. It seems some well-meaning school board members overruled the results of the student vote because they thought Cougars would be offensive to women...

In South Korea, Human Ashes Become ... Beads

South Korea firm turns human ashes into pretty beads

(Newser) - South Korea, with its Confucian heritage, has long honored the dead, but these days there's little space for outdoor burials and many people find the thought of stowing a loved-one's ashes in an urn distasteful. That's where a company called Bonhyang comes in: It transforms the ashes...

Oops: Plane Mistakenly Warns Passengers of Crash
Oops: Plane Mistakenly Warns Passengers of Crash
in case you missed it
Jan 21, 2012 12:16 PM CST

Oops: Plane Mistakenly Warns Passengers of Crash

False alarm panics people on British Airways flight

(Newser) - It's 3am and you're snoozing on an overnight flight to London when a message plays over the PA: This plane may be about to crash. That's what happened to passengers on a British Airways flight from Miami last week, before the cabin crew told everyone it had...

Nail Gun Fail: Yes, He&#39;s OK
 Nail Gun Fail: Yes, He's OK 
Jan 21, 2012 7:25 AM CST

Nail Gun Fail: Yes, He's OK

Victim Dante Autullo even posted the X-ray photo onto Facebook

(Newser) - It's not your typical nail-gun-shoots-nail-into-guy's-head story: This one involves a proud Facebook upload on the way to the hospital. Dante Autullo was building a shed on Tuesday and unknowingly shot a 3-inch-plus nail into his brain, reports AP . He thought it had just nicked him while whizzing by...

For Your Next Trip, a $123 Towel

Or you could just buy a microfiber one for $10...

(Newser) - No suitcase is completely packed without TravelTeq 's Travel Towel, an apparent wonder that promises to absorb more and dry faster … all for the low, low price of $123. That's more than your actual plane ticket might cost, Wired points out. The Travel Towel is also highly...

Iraq Seeks Return of Saddam's Bronze Butt

British soldier's cheeky keepsake is 'cultural property,' Iraq says

(Newser) - Iraq is fighting for the return of Saddam Hussein's giant bronze buttock. The 2-foot cheek was brought back to Britain by former special-forces solder Nigel Ely, who, with the help of US Marines, pried it off a toppled statue soon after the fall of Baghdad in 2003. Iraq's...

More Body Parts Found Near Hollywood Sign

Cops collect hands, feet

(Newser) - A day after dogs came upon a severed human head near the Hollywood sign , police have amassed several more body parts. Some 30 officers and dogs combed seven acres in a homicide probe yesterday, and a cadaver dog discovered two hands. Then, just before police called it a day, they...

Gossip Is Good for You
 Gossip Is Good for You 
study says
Jan 18, 2012 4:06 PM CST

Gossip Is Good for You

And it helps society, too, says a new study

(Newser) - Dishing dirt behind someone's back is a beneficial activity, say scientists. Spreading gossip—defined as alerting others that a person has behaved badly—helps maintain social order and even lowers the stress of the gossiper, according to a new study out of UC Berkeley and reported by the San ...

Can Birdsong Cut Crime?
 Can Birdsong 
 Cut Crime? 
Jan 17, 2012 3:30 PM CST

Can Birdsong Cut Crime?

California mayor says it already has

(Newser) - Crime has dropped in a California town, and residents should be thanking their fine feathered friends, says the mayor. Last year, he began piping recorded birdsong to 70 speakers on a highway. Minor crime dropped 15% from 2010 while serious crimes dropped 6%, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's...

Iran Bans Barbie, Offers US a Toy Model of Downed Spy Drone
Sorry, Kids: Iran Bans Barbie 
Jan 17, 2012 10:04 AM CST

Sorry, Kids: Iran Bans Barbie

But luckily, a replica of the downed US stealth drone will be on sale soon!

(Newser) - As the US tries to crack down on Iran , Iran is doing some cracking down of its own—on that oh-so-American symbol, the Barbie doll. The country's morality police have begun enforcing a Barbie ban issued in 1996. (Authorities blasted the doll's "destructive cultural and social consequences"...

Singer Fined for Bad-Mouthing the Bible

Polish pop star Doda slapped with $1,450 fine for offending religious feelings

(Newser) - A Polish pop singer has been fined for disparaging the Bible. Dorota Rabczewska, who goes by the stage name Doda, said in an interview that she doubted the Bible because "it's hard to believe in something that was written by someone drunk on wine and smoking herbs."...

Nevada Prostitutes 'Pimpin' for Ron Paul'

Clients encouraged to donate to his campaign

(Newser) - The latest group to get into Ron Paul's corner: prostitutes. Working girls at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel in Nevada, launched a "Pimpin' for Paul" campaign weeks ago that's getting new attention thanks to a recent CNN segment. "If a client comes into the...

Mind-Reading Remote, Other CES Gizmos You Missed

There was more to electronics show than TVs

(Newser) - This year's Consumer Electronics Show had the predictable high-tech TVs and other conventional items—but the 3,100 exhibitors also showed off some rather bizarre devices. A few highlights:
  • Solowheel. An electric unicycle with no seat and footboards that allow riders to stand and lean in the direction they
...

Cops: Man Poisons Rice Krispies to Kill Wife

Fernando Porras busted as he flees from hospital

(Newser) - A California man spiked his wife's bowl of Rice Krispies with enough chemicals to kill her, say Azusa police. Suspect Fernando Porras' 17-year-old daughter called 911 after her mother said the cereal smelled and tasted awful. It had been doused with the household cleaner Goof Off, according to investigators....

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