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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Dartmouth Busts Kids Cheating—in Ethics Class

64 were using clickers to answer questions for absent classmates

(Newser) - One might expect students taking a class called "Sports, Ethics, and Religion" to know better, but Dartmouth College says that it's uncovered widespread cheating in a class with that title, reports Bloomberg . "I feel pretty burned by the whole thing," says class professor Randall Balmer, who...

This Exists: Plant That Grows &#39;Ketchup&#39; and &#39;Fries&#39;
 This Exists: 
 Plant That Grows 
 'Ketchup' and 'Fries' 
in case you missed it
Jan 10, 2015 10:30 AM CST

This Exists: Plant That Grows 'Ketchup' and 'Fries'

'TomTato' now available in US

(Newser) - Tomatoes and potatoes go together like, well, ketchup and fries—so why not grow them together? A hybrid plant known as the "TomTato" or, yes, "Ketchup 'n' Fries," allows you to do just that, and it's now available in the US after first being released...

Professional 'Cuddlers' Make Up to $80 an Hour

They'll also bear-hug, spoon, tickle—but don't expect anything sexual

(Newser) - Imagine a career that let you stay in your PJs, work from home, and make around $400 a night spooning strangers? If that last part of the job description didn't scare you off, you may have what it takes to be what the Wall Street Journal calls a worker...

Man Guilty of Raiding Grave in Search of 'Real Will'

Helped woman dig up her dad's coffin in New Hampshire

(Newser) - A man accused of helping a woman ransack her father's grave in search of his "real will" has pleaded guilty, and prosecutors in New Hampshire say that since he's so good at digging graves, he should have to help out at a cemetery as part of his...

Missouri Baby Born With 2 Teeth

Alyssa Bella Bailey has rare 'natal teeth'

(Newser) - "Everyone was shocked" when Alyssa Bella Bailey was born on Dec. 28 at Mercy Hospital Springfield in Springfield, Mo., says mom Jaklina Bailey. That's because when she opened her mouth, newborn Alyssa showed off her two front teeth—the bottom ones. The doctor "said in her 25-year...

Oklahoma Hoodie-Wearers May Soon Face $500 Fine

Sen. Don Barrington says bill amendment would ease business owners' minds

(Newser) - A law originally meant to dissuade crime by Ku Klux Klan members may soon keep people having a bad-hair day from wearing hoodies in public. Oklahoma state Sen. Don Barrington has proposed an amendment to an early 1920s bill that makes it illegal to wear a "mask, hood, or...

Amulet Offers Up 1.5K-Year-Old Palindrome

But ancient artifact discovered in Cyprus has a few mistakes

(Newser) - It seems that palindromes—phrases that read the same forward and backward—have been popular for a very long time. Researchers have discovered an amulet in Cyprus dating back some 1,500 years, and the words inscribed form such a phrase, LiveScience reports. Translated from Greek, the words say, "...

Naked Lady Gets Stuck Breaking Into Her Ex's House

She decided to take the chimney, au naturel

(Newser) - Perhaps the oddest thing about this story is the fact that it's happened before : Officials in Woodcrest, Calif., say that an unnamed 35-year-old woman, having gotten no response to her very-early-morning knock on her estranged beau's door, decided to try the chimney. And as CBSLA puts it, "...

Thousands of Dead Birds Keep Washing Ashore on West Coast

Cassin's auklet deaths mystify scientists

(Newser) - From California to Washington state, thousands of dead birds have been turning up on the shoreline, and scientists don't know what to make of it. It's not all kinds of birds that are dying: just a species of small birds known as Cassin's auklets, the Los Angeles ...

Job Ad for Paintball Target Gets 10K Replies

UK company says it's overwhelmed by responses

(Newser) - It's not every help-wanted ad that asks, "Do you have a relatively high pain threshold?" But that didn't stop more than 10,000 people from applying anyway, reports AFP . The job in question? Human paintball target. The British company UKPaintball has stopped accepting applications to become an...

$465 Surgery Saves Constipated Goldfish

Worried owner shells out big bucks

(Newser) - Strange adventures in pet ownership: A UK man noticed that his beloved goldfish was constipated, brought him to the vet, learned that it would cost roughly $465 for surgery, left the vet because it would be crazy to pay that kind of money for a goldfish, returned guiltily 10 minutes...

51 Years Later, Turn Signal Lever Removed From Guy's Arm

It lodged there during car accident

(Newser) - Fifty-one years ago, Arthur Lampitt of Granite City, Illinois, smashed his 1963 Thunderbird into a truck. This week during surgery in suburban St. Louis, a 7-inch turn signal lever from that T-Bird was removed from his left arm. Dr. Timothy Lang removed the lever yesterday during a 45-minute operation. Lampitt,...

Cell Phone Saves Guy Who Fell Down Sewer

Chicago man managed to remain calm in 911 call

(Newser) - A man who fell 20 feet into an open suburban Chicago storm sewer was able to call for help on his cell phone and direct rescuers to the hole. Recordings of the man's 911 calls released on Tuesday show he remained calm even though he was trapped underground for...

Crash Survivor: Tight Dress Saved Me

UK woman says doctors told her it helped prevent serious injury

(Newser) - A bizarre story making the rounds in the British press involves a 21-year-old woman who says her tight red dress proved to be a life-saver during a vicious car accident. As the Telegraph reports, Zoe Turner was in a taxi with friends when a cement truck slammed into it. Everybody...

NC Town to PETA: Fine, No Possum Drop

Brasstown organizer says he'll just drop roadkill instead

(Newser) - New York City drops the ball, but the small North Carolina town of Brasstown has rung in most of the last 20 years with a little something it likes to call the New Year's Eve Possum Drop. The AP describes it thusly: "The Brasstown event involves enclosing an...

Jack Daniels Welcomes Son, Jim Beam

Good luck in life, kid

(Newser) - "My parents decided they wanted to name their son something to make their parents mad," as Jack Daniels Leathers tells it. "And, at the time, my dad was drinking Jack, which he enjoyed. My mom said, 'Why not?'" Now the man named for whiskey has...

Pennsylvania Town to Drop Huge Nail on New Year's Eve

Nearby towns also drop huge wrench, giant pickle

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania town plans to nail their New Year's Eve and bicentennial celebrations by dropping some major hardware to mark the occasion. The Sentinel reports that West Fairview plans to drop a 7-foot-tall nail as the clock ticks down Wednesday night. Local artists constructed the nail out of wood....

Christmas Day Fire Caused by ... Snow Globe

'Reindeer food,' fake snow also involved

(Newser) - A fire broke out at a store in England on Christmas Day, and the cause is about as Christmas-y as it gets. As a Dorset fire service spokesperson explains, "The cause of the fire was believed to be sun refracting through a snow globe in the shop window which...

Guy's PlayStation 4 Box Has Rocks in It Instead

Walmart eventually gave him a refund

(Newser) - A Colorado shopper got a very unpleasant surprise when he got home from Walmart and opened the PlayStation 4 bundle he'd purchased ... to find not the game console but two bags of rocks. Igor Baksht says the employee who took the package out of a locked cabinet said it...

One Seth Cohen's Goal: Meet Everyone Named Seth Cohen

Seth Cohen has met with 10 Seth Cohens

(Newser) - OK, so the charismatic nerd on The OC was fictional, but there are many real Seth Cohens in the world—and one of them is working on meeting every other one. Seth Cohen has a Tumblr page full of selfies featuring him and other guys named Seth Cohen. "Meeting...

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