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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This Is Why You Shouldn't Let Your Kid Play With Your Phone

Kentucky boy, 8, ordered 70K lollipops from Amazon

(Newser) - Parents tempted to hand their phone over to their kid to steal a few minutes of peace, be warned: Holly LaFavers of Lexington, Kentucky, says that cases and cases of Dum-Dums lollipops showed up on her doorstep after her young son ordered them on Amazon while playing with her phone...

After Driver Detained, Things Take Unusual Turn

Police in Ohio found a raccoon holding a meth pipe in driver's seat of vehicle

(Newser) - Police in Springfield Township, Ohio, say a woman was allowed to have the raccoon they found in her vehicle, but it was the meth pipe the animal was holding that got her in trouble. In a Facebook post describing a "strange incident on patrol" on Monday, the police department...

Teens Found With 5K Ants in Test Tubes Are Sentenced

Belgium's Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijck can choose between a fine and prison

(Newser) - Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya were on Wednesday given a choice of paying a fine of $7,700 or serving 12 months in prison—the minimum penalty for the offense—for violating wildlife conservation laws. Magistrate Njeri Thuku said in her ruling that despite the...

Judge Rejects Lawsuit: 'The Court Is Not a Cartoon'

He found the cartoon dragon watermark on each page too distracting

(Newser) - It might be the weirdest reason so far this year for a judge to toss a lawsuit—he found the big cartoon dragon on each page a little too much. "Use of this dragon cartoon logo is not only distracting, it is juvenile and impertinent," wrote federal judge...

'One of the Most Electric Moments I've Ever Seen in a Courtroom'
Lawyer Earns Rare Standing
Ovation From SCOTUS
in case you missed it
May 3, 2025 12:00 PM CDT

Lawyer Earns Rare Standing Ovation From SCOTUS

High court has 'moment of unanimity' for veteran attorney Edwin S. Kneedler at his final argument

(Newser) - If you've never heard of Edwin S. Kneedler, that's probably because you don't hang out around the Supreme Court chambers. The seasoned attorney presented his 160th case on Wednesday in front of the high court, set to be the 79-year-old's last argument—an accomplishment recognized by...

Runaway Kangaroo Shuts Down Alabama Interstate

'We see a little bit of everything here,' says sheriff of marsupial on the lam

(Newser) - A runaway kangaroo named Sheila shut down a stretch of interstate in Alabama on Tuesday before state troopers and the animal's owner wrangled the wayward marsupial. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the kangaroo was spotted Tuesday hopping along the side of Interstate 85 in Macon County, which is...

After His Car Was Stolen, He Accidentally Bought It Back

A strange case happened in the UK

(Newser) - The faint odor of old beer was one of the telltale clues that helped a UK man realize a remarkable truth: He had managed to buy back his own stolen car. As the BBC reports, Ewan Valentine paid upward of $26,000 for a used Honda Civic after his own...

Aussie Twins' Interview in Unison Leaves Viewers Stunned
This Is One of the Stranger
News Interviews We've Seen
in case you missed it
Apr 26, 2025 6:00 AM CDT

This Is One of the Stranger News Interviews We've Seen

Identical twins Bridgette and Paula Powers speak in unison while discussing Aussie carjacking

(Newser) - Reporters seeking witness statements about a carjacking in Australia got that and a lot more in interviewing identical twin sisters. Bridgette and Paula Powers, dressed in matching outfits, spoke in unison for a full minute uninterrupted as they told 7NEWS how their mother ran to help after seeing the carjacked...

Man Mired in Quicksand Leaves Beach With New Girlfriend

An unusual love story from the shores of Lake Michigan

(Newser) - A Michigan man who had a frightening day at the shore earlier this month at least has a new girlfriend to show for it. Mitchell O'Brien is now officially dating Breanne Sika after a two-year friendship, following their day trip to Van's Beach along Lake Michigan. On that...

Latest Gift to Trump: Bronze 7-Foot Statue of Himself

'Monument' bestowed by MAGA businessman will apparently reside at Trump's Florida golf club

(Newser) - A businessman and former GOP New York congressional candidate wanted to make an impression on President Trump, and he certainly has, with his "Defiance Monument": a 7-foot bronze statue in Trump's likeness, which Anthony Constantino says will now be a "permanent fixture" at the commander in chief'...

9-Year-Old Missed Bus, Drove Self to School in Family Chevy

Police in Maize, Kansas, decline to cite parents after son's successful commute to school

(Newser) - A concerned citizen reported seeing an individual who "appeared too young to drive" operating a pickup truck in Maize, Kansas, on Wednesday before police discovered a 9-year-old boy had driven himself to school, per Fox News . Maize Police found the white Chevy and its driver in the parking lot...

Brazil Judge Used Fake British Name for Entire Career

Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield was not who he seemed

(Newser) - A judge in Brazil went by the name Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield for his entire career but it was only after he retired that authorities discovered it was fake. Investigators say his real name is Jose Eduardo Franco dos Reis, which the Guardian notes is "a...

In One Maternity Ward, 5 Nurses Have Brain Tumors

Boston-area hospital's investigation came up empty on cause of benign tumors; nurses' union steps in

(Newser) - A Boston-area hospital is stumped by a medical mystery: why five of its nurses, who all work on the same floor, have brain tumors. All five nurses from the fifth-floor maternity unit at Mass General Brigham's Newton-Wellesley Hospital have benign tumors—two of them being meningioma, the most common...

Fear an Alien Invasion? These States May Be Safe Havens

Virginia is most likely to survive an alien attack, per GIGAcalculator.com ranking

(Newser) - If you've ever watched a sci-fi film about an alien invasion and wondered how you and your family would fare if something that fantastical ever happened—well, maybe it depends on where you live. Citing stats analyzed by the folks who run the online calculator site GIGAcalculator.com , Mental...

It's the Most Famous Lemon in Spy History

New exhibit features 110-year-old fruit used by a German spy to write 'invisible ink' letters

(Newser) - It's the stuff of spy novels, except in this case it's the stuff of actual spycraft. A new exhibit opening in London features a 110-year-lemon—now desiccated, of course—used by a German spy to write messages in invisible ink about British troop movements during World War I,...

For Years, Exec Compiled List of People's Verbal Gaffes
For Years, Exec Compiled a List
of Co-Workers' Malapropisms
in case you missed it
Mar 30, 2025 3:00 PM CDT

For Years, Exec Compiled a List of Co-Workers' Malapropisms

'Board Words' became a lighthearted hit at Ford

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal reports on the retiring of a Ford sales exec whose farewell email to colleagues came with an unusual attachment—a list of more than 2,200 verbal gaffes he catalogued over the years during meetings and conversations, with details on who said it and when. It...

Behold, the 'Sharktopus'
Shark's Orange
'Hat' Leaves
Researchers
Stunned
in case you missed it
Mar 29, 2025 4:15 PM CDT

Shark's Orange 'Hat' Leaves Researchers Stunned

It was actually an octopus, making this a 'sharktopus' sighting

(Newser) - "One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea," writes Rochelle Constantine of the University of Auckland, who did not expect to come across an octopus riding a shark. That's exactly what researchers...

How'd Iguanas Get to Fiji? Looks Like a Raft Made of Plants
Mystery of How Iguanas
Got to Fiji May Be Solved
NEW STUDY
Mar 23, 2025 1:30 PM CDT

Mystery of How Iguanas Got to Fiji May Be Solved

Research suggests lizards floated to remote islands from North America on a vegetation raft

(Newser) - Researchers have long wondered how iguanas got to Fiji, a collection of remote islands in the South Pacific. They thought maybe they'd scurried there through Asia or Australia before volcanic activity pushed Fiji far away. But new research published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

'Fish Doorbell' Helps Out in a Jam
'Fish
Doorbell'
Helps Out
in a Jam
Mar 22, 2025 1:45 PM CDT

'Fish Doorbell' Helps Out in a Jam

Dutch city lets viewers of livestream sound the alert when fish need help at a river lock

(Newser) - The central Dutch city of Utrecht has installed a "fish doorbell" on a river lock that lets viewers of an online livestream alert authorities to fish being held up as they make their springtime migration to shallow spawning grounds. The AP explains:
  • Simple idea: An underwater camera at Utrecht'
...

Dead Fish, 'Unusual' Foam Cover Australia Beaches

Tests pending as microalgal bloom leaves surfers with cold-like symptoms

(Newser) - An Australian state closed two beaches after dead fish and an unusual off-white foam washed ashore while surfers reported feeling unwell, per the AP . A microalgal bloom created by unusual weather conditions was suspected to have sickened humans and marine life as well as creating the foam that has covered...

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