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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Alaskan-Style Lottery: When Will the Ice Break Up?

Hundreds of thousands try to guess exact moment for Tanana River

(Newser) - People who want to participate in Alaska's biggest guessing contest have until Sunday to buy tickets for the Nenana Ice Classic. Thousands of people each year pay to try to guess the exact date and time the ice will break up on the Tanana River in Nenana. Each guess...

Former Mayor Throws Vaseline at Maine Governor

It was a reference to crude remark he made 2 years ago

(Newser) - Let's be honest: A former Maine state lawmaker and mayor essentially threw a jar of Vaseline at Gov. Paul LePage yesterday. But WGME will only go so far as to say in its headline that Joanne Twomey threw the jar "near" the guv, and the Bangor Daily News...

Behind Grandma's Criminal Charges: 25-Year-Old Hot Chocolate

Woman reportedly served family drink that expired in 1990

(Newser) - What should have been a sweet treat has reportedly resulted in charges for a 77-year-old grandmother in Italy. Three kids and at least two adults—one of whom was the woman herself—got sick after they drank the stuff, which came from a bag that expired 25 years ago, UPI...

Man Killed by Mother-in-Law's Headstone

He and his wife were visiting cemetery when it toppled

(Newser) - Bizarre, sad, and true: A Pennsylvania man visiting his mother-in-law's grave site was killed when her headstone toppled on him, reports WNEP . Stephen Woytack, 74, of Scranton, was decorating the headstone with his wife for Easter yesterday when the thawing spring ground apparently caused the base to shift. "...

Home Declared Uninhabitable Thanks to Chinchilla Pee

Humane Society is now caring for the 331 rodents in Wisconsin

(Newser) - Police who went to a home in Waukesha, Wis., yesterday to carry out a "well-being check" were hit with the overwhelming smell of ammonia—and quickly realized that smell was thanks to animal urine from the 331 chinchillas living in cages on the first floor. The house was also...

Hilltop Piano Mystery Solved: Music Video Prop

It showed up at spot with panoramic views in California

(Newser) - For a couple of days this week, a Southern California hilltop was alive with the sound of—mystery. Hikers venturing to Topanga Lookout in the Santa Monica Mountains found a battered upright piano, sitting on a graffiti-scrawled concrete slab with a panoramic view over the mountains between Calabasas and the...

Dad Eats Kid's Pot Brownies, Thinks He's Having Stroke

Yes, 'brownies,' as in the plural sense.

(Newser) - Maybe not the healthiest: eating brownies for breakfast. Definitely not the healthiest: eating pot brownies for breakfast. A 58-year-old Michigan man thought he was just doing the former Wednesday morning. But after eating several, he started feeling strange, and began to suspect he was having a stroke. When firefighters and...

Help Wanted: Brothel Tester
Help Wanted:
Brothel Tester
Mar 26, 2015 2:24 PM CDT

Help Wanted: Brothel Tester

Yes, it means what you think it means

(Newser) - “You should enjoy having fun with people and you should not be afraid of contact.” Normally, a line like that in a help-wanted ad would raise red flags, but not so much in this case. A German social media company that specializes in the sex industry is looking...

Basketball Player's Last Name Is the (F) Bomb

Guy Carbagiale won't change his very unique surname

(Newser) - For the record, it's pronounced "Foo-key." It's the spelling of the last name, however, that's drawing attention: Meet Guy Carbagiale f---, a talented basketball player for Medicine Hat College. For a while, his school shied away from using his surname publicly, but that changed this...

We Could Mine Our Waste for Gold
We Could Mine
Our Waste for Gold
study says
Mar 24, 2015 6:42 PM CDT

We Could Mine Our Waste for Gold

Researchers find enough valuable metals in there to make it worthwhile

(Newser) - There's gold in them thar ... wastewater treatment plants? Yes, researchers think that human waste contains enough gold and other valuable metals to make a mining operation pay off, reports LiveScience . Scientists with the USGS spent eight years analyzing treated solid waste to detect minute metal particles, which come from...

'Just Do It' Was Inspired by a Killer's Last Words

And Nike execs weren't convinced it would work

(Newser) - Nike's co-founder originally wasn't so sure about the phrase "Just do it," and given its origins, he may have had a point. Dan Wieden, the ad exec who came up with the Nike slogan, tells Dezeen that it's based on the last words of a...

Why One Couple Is Getting Married 38 Times

California pair scrapped the more traditional approach

(Newser) - It's one of the more interesting wedding ideas to make headlines in a while, but it's more precise to call it a weddingS idea. Californians Cheetah Platt, 30, and Rhiann Woodyard, 32, scrapped the traditional notion of spending their money on one ceremony and decided to travel the...

Old Video Captures Married Couple Together—as Kids

New Jersey pair visited same amusement park in 1988

(Newser) - Today.com is throwing around words like "destiny," "serendipity," and "fate," and this at least qualifies as a crazy coincidence. An old VHS home video shows a married New Jersey couple in the same frame while they visited an amusement park as kids...

Man Accidentally Invited to Stag Party Is Going Anyway

Joey DiJulio heading to stranger's bachelor party, even after mistake discovered

(Newser) - You've heard of wedding crashers. Joey DiJulio is a bachelor party crasher, of sorts. For weeks, the man from the Seattle suburbs found himself getting emails from people he didn't know about a bachelor party and a groom he's never met. He saw names of Philadelphia landmarks...

Phoenix Zoo: Oops, That 'Male' Bear Is Not a Male

Follows up gender mix-up with terrible pun. Insult, meet injury

(Newser) - The Phoenix Zoo is fessing up to a mistake of a very fundamental nature regarding one of its animals. Zoo officials say they were planning to transfer Luka to the zoo in Nashville when they discovered that the 2-year-old Andean bear is a female, not a male as thought. According...

Fire Extinguisher Factory Destroyed by ... Giant Fire

Also damaged: the Dept. of Irony

(Newser) - A three-alarm fire so intense that it required more than 150 Chicago firefighters broke out last night, and left smoldering in the rubble of the partially collapsed building was what UPI calls "one of the department's closest allies—a fire extinguisher factory." A HazMat response was also...

2K Geese Drop Dead in Idaho
 2K Geese Drop Dead in Idaho 
Mar 17, 2015 4:09 PM CDT

2K Geese Drop Dead in Idaho

Avian cholera suspected in mass die-off of migrating birds

(Newser) - Some 2,000 migrating snow geese have died in eastern Idaho, likely from avian cholera, which comes on quickly, causes convulsions and erratic flight, and can kill birds midflight, wildlife officials say. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says it collected the dead birds over the past several days...

Pee in Public in SF, and Pee Might Come Back at You

Could paint be the solution to the city's smelly woes?

(Newser) - Your attempt to surreptitiously pee in public in San Francisco could leave you reeking of urine and more than a little wet. The man in charge of the city's Department of Public Works plans to test a water-repellant paint that's designed to cause liquid to bounce mightily back...

Breaking Bad Creator: Stop Tossing Pizzas on Home

People are recreating scene at house used as Walter White's residence

(Newser) - An unusual plea from the creator of Breaking Bad to fans: Please stop tormenting the actual people who live in Walter White's home by throwing pizza on their roof. In a podcast for spinoff Better Call Saul, Vince Gilligan explains that fans are trying to recreate a scene from...

Judge Tells Man He Can't Smoke Inside Own Home

Neighbors have sued over secondhand smoke

(Newser) - The list of places where smokers can't smoke is already pretty long, but the latest entry is pretty remarkable: A judge in Washington, DC, has told a homeowner that he can't light up inside his own residence, reports WJLA . The problem is that Edwin Gray has a shared...

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