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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No Joke: New Signs at Park Warn of Angry Owls

Oregon takes Rachel Maddow's suggestion to heart

(Newser) - MSNBC host Rachel Maddow inspired Oregon's capital to post new warning signs in a park where four runners reported attacks from an angry owl likely defending its nest against perceived threats. One jogger, a surgeon, said the owl hit him twice in Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, and...

Woman, 80, Has Florida Judge Cracking Up

Dolores Sheinis prefers 'Sweetheart' to 'Your Honor'

(Newser) - It's not everyone who could get away with calling the judge "sweetheart" in court, but 80-year-old Dolores Sheinis pulled it off with aplomb in Florida's Broward County. Sheinis was in court on charges of violating an injunction to stay away from her ex-husband—it's complicated; they'...

Teen Has Surgery to Reduce Size of Penis

It had become deformed and enlarged thanks to a medical condition

(Newser) - Yes, a Florida teenager has undergone what surgeons believe to be the first procedure to reduce the size of a penis, reports Medical Daily . But the 7-inch penis in question had a circumference of 10 inches prior to the surgery—due to a medical condition, not nature—and drew comparisons...

Teacher With Fear of Kids Loses Her Disability Case

Appeals court sides with school district

(Newser) - When someone with a phobia of children becomes a teacher, you just know it's going to end up in the courts somehow. Such is the case in Ohio, where Maria Waltherr-Willard has just lost an appeal in federal court over her disability claim. Education Week provides the background: Waltherr-Willard...

Robots Will Staff New Hotel in Japan

'Actroids' will carry your bags, clean up after you

(Newser) - If you prefer your vacations with a minimum of human interaction, you might try a hotel that's opening in Japan this summer. The Henn-na Hotel's human staff will number just 10, but that doesn't mean you won't get speedy service: Robots will be ready to help...

Parts of Wash., Ore. Covered in Mysterious Ash

Could be from a volcano thousands of miles away

(Newser) - Washington and Oregon residents have reported a mysterious ash covering parts of the region, describing it as "white stuff" and "milky rain," CNN reports. A statement from Walla Walla County Emergency Management yesterday said the ash is "more than likely from the Volcano Shiveluch," which...

Not a Good Idea: Publishing Jack White's Guac Recipe

OK, maybe it's not his recipe, but it was in his concert rider

(Newser) - You don't mess with Jack White's guacamole. White performed at the University of Oklahoma Monday, and campus newspaper the Oklahoma Daily published the details of his concert rider this week —the rider included, among other things, the exact recipe to be used for the guacamole White's...

Buddhists: Mummified Monk Is Just in Trance

Lama found in lotus position may not be dead, experts suggest

(Newser) - The 200-year-old Buddhist monk found still seated in the lotus position is not dead, but is rather in a rare spiritual state known as tukdam, Buddhism experts suggest. Dr. Barry Kerzin, a famous fellow monk who is also a physician to the Dalai Lama, tells the Siberian Times that monks...

Guy's Mission: Erase Single Error From Wikipedia

Bryan Henderson has made 47K edits, mostly to fix the wrong use of 'comprised of'

(Newser) - Bryan Henderson—or, as he's known on Wikipedia, Giraffedata—has made more than 47,000 edits to the site since 2007, and almost all of them were to fix one error: the incorrect use of "comprised of." Henderson, a 51-year-old software engineer, is one of the most...

Man's Alleged Crime Involves Clogged Toilet, Potatoes

Guy pulled the fire alarm to get help with unusual situation: cops

(Newser) - Some might call a desperate need to use the toilet an "emergency"—but probably not the police. That's why a Philadelphia-area man has been arrested after pulling his apartment building's fire alarm for a very odd reason, NBC 10 reports. Apparently, he had filled his toilet...

Man Tries to Pay Taxes With Insanely Folded Bills

Each took roughly 6 minutes to unfold

(Newser) - The quirkiest part of this story is not that a Wichita Falls, Texas, man attempted to pay a $600 property tax bill with $1 bills. It's that said bills were reportedly folded in a way that "required tax office personnel approximately six minutes to unfold each bill."...

20-Year-Old Body Parts Found in Police Station

As many as 100 body parts found in locked room in Indian city of Unnao

(Newser) - While cleaning part of a police station in the Indian city of Unnao last week, workers found bags of human remains inside a room that had long been locked—and the body parts are likely two decades old or more. A superintendent of police tells CNN that the room was...

Remains of Man in Lotus Position Discovered
Remains of Man in Lotus Position Discovered
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 1, 2015 5:15 PM CST

Remains of Man in Lotus Position Discovered

His mummified body is exceedingly well-preserved

(Newser) - Mummified remains were found in Mongolia this week, and there's something remarkable about them. "The mummified body sits in a lotus position, as if still meditating," says a report in Mongolia's Morning News cited by the Siberian Times , which reports that the age of the remains...

Gasp: Pro Wrestler Caught Cheating at Wing Bowl

It was better than puking, explains Mick Foley, happily

(Newser) - You don't get into the WWE Hall of Fame without learning a trick or two, and Mick Foley tried to employ one at yesterday's Wing Bowl eating contest in Philadelphia, reports the AP . He was disqualified after stuffing uneaten wings into his fanny pack. ( TMZ has images...

Trucker Crashes Pulling Own Loose Tooth

'He had the tooth in his shirt pocket as proof'

(Newser) - Alabama authorities say a tractor-trailer crashed on Interstate 20 because the driver lost control while he was pulling one of his teeth. The Alabama Highway Patrol says the truck driver told troopers he had taken his hands off the wheel to pull a loose tooth when he wrecked near Tuscaloosa....

County Board Reappoints Man Who Died in 2012

Pennsylvania officials promise to tighten up protocol

(Newser) - Officials in western Pennsylvania are trying to figure out how a man who's been dead for more than two years wound up being reappointed to a county industrial authority board. Fayette County officials said yesterday it seemed they never tried checking in with Larry Markwood before reappointing him. He...

For $150K, Your Wedding Can Be Rain-Free

Company offers 'cloud-bursting' service

(Newser) - You'd be forgiven for thinking humans can't control the weather—but if you have enough cash, it seems, almost anything is possible. A technique that has existed for decades allows scientists to "seed" clouds using silver iodide. The result is that the clouds rain themselves out before...

HOV-Lane Stop Leads to Kidnapping Bust

Police say Luis Moreno rolled down window to prove car had 3 occupants

(Newser) - Pro tip: If you're traveling in an SUV with two men you've allegedly kidnapped in the backseat, don't count them toward your HOV-lane total. A 26-year-old New Jersey man was arrested on Friday morning after a Port Authority officer saw what looked like an otherwise empty car...

Diver Caught in Whale 'Poonado'

Cloud of feces was 100 feet in diameter

(Newser) - As octopuses shoot out ink as a defense mechanism, so sperm whales blast threats with poop. At least that's the theory explained by a diver to the BBC . Keri Wilk and three fellow divers were engulfed in what he describes as a "poonado" let loose by one such...

You Can Sleep in Man's Tesla for $85 a Night

He lists it as a room on Airbnb

(Newser) - Want to drive a Tesla Model S but can't afford to buy one? Well, you're out of luck. But if you'd like to at least sleep in one of the $118,000 electric cars, you can do so for just $85 per night. That's because, as...

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