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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Teen's Urine Ruins 38M Gallons of Portland's Water

19-year-old cited for public urination

(Newser) - Rest assured, Portland, Oregon: The water you drink is very, very clean. How sanitary? This sanitary: Water Bureau administrators are willing to flush 38 million gallons of the stuff and clean the open-air reservoir in order to make sure there's not the most miniscule amount of human urine in...

Suspect's Giveaway: He Was 'Walking Awkwardly'

Police say they found heroin in man's underwear at JFK Airport

(Newser) - Pro tip: If you're going to smuggle heroin in your underwear, try to walk like a normal person while doing so. Bernard Charles apparently couldn't manage that, so when Customs and Border Protection officers spotted him "walking awkwardly" at New York's JFK Airport on April 1,...

Twisted Tale of Corpses, Cannibalism Riles Pakistan

It's not the first time the 2 brothers are accused of eating human corpses

(Newser) - The smell was foul, but the aftermath is shaping up to be much worse. The dark case that has swept Pakistan's attention, and began, sort of, with complaints to police about an unpleasant odor coming from the rural home of Muhammad Arif. Police in Punjab Province's Bhakkar district...

Town Named 'Jew Killer' May Change Its Name

Residents of Castrillo Matajudíos will put it to a vote

(Newser) - Castrillo Matajudíos sounds lovely—unless you speak Spanish. In English, the name of the tiny Spanish village is "Castrillo Jew Killer" or "Castrillo Kill the Jews," depending on the translation. It was so named because Jews were massacred there twice, in 1035 and 1109. Now the...

Man, 92, Writes His Own 3-Word Obituary

'I am dead.' Well, that does sum it up

(Newser) - The latest man to write his own obituary kept things about as short as possible: It read simply, "I am dead." Swedish 92-year-old Stig Kernell gave his funeral home instructions before he died on April 6, and the funeral home followed through, publishing the 3-word obituary in two...

Man Jailed 11 Years Late, Thanks to 'Clerical Error'

Mike Anderson was supposed to go to prison in 2002

(Newser) - Cornealious "Mike" Anderson was supposed to go to prison in 2002—but due to, he says, a "clerical error," the Missouri man just started serving his 13-year prison sentence nine months ago. Anderson was convicted in a 1999 armed robbery, and was supposed to go to prison...

Squirrel Causes $300K in Damage

Indiana community center hasn't even opened yet

(Newser) - Officials say a wayward squirrel caused about $300,000 in damage to an eastern Indiana community center set to open in June. Fort Wayne Parks Department officials say the squirrel got into the electrical equipment of the building in McMillen Park last week, causing a power surge that damaged the...

'Space Cherry' Tree Stumps Botanists

After stint in space, it blossomed at less than half the age of a typical tree

(Newser) - Usually, it takes about 10 years for a cherry tree to bloom after it's sprouted. Not so with Japan's "space cherry": The tree bloomed after just four, and experts can't explain why, the South China Morning Post reports. It earned its galactic nickname after quite the...

Lawsuit: Appendectomy Fails to Remove Appendix

Man surprised when he has to have 2nd surgery

(Newser) - When William McCormack went into a medical center in the Adirondacks last month with severe stomach pains, he ended up getting an emergency appendectomy ... which came as quite a surprise to him, considering he thought he'd already had his appendix removed in Bronxville, New York, last year. The 43-year-old...

Guy Named &#39;God&#39; Has a Problem
 Guy Named 'God' 
 Has a Problem 
Apr 11, 2014 12:18 PM CDT

Guy Named 'God' Has a Problem

He's had to file a lawsuit over credit reporting issue

(Newser) - If you thought Rainbow Aurora , Lyric Sonny Roads Goldberg , Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele , and whoever made these laws necessary had it bad, consider the plight of God Gazarov. The Russian-born Gazarov was named after his grandfather, and now lives in Brooklyn. But the 26-year-old businessman was recently rejected for an auto loan...

Cops Catch Burglars Who Robbed Snarky Widow

Naomi Richmond was robbed while following her dying husband's ambulance

(Newser) - Imagine the worst day of your life. Now compare it to the night Naomi Richmond had in February, when her husband died and her house was burglarized while she followed his ambulance to the hospital. Richmond's case drew local media attention in part because of the snarky-yet-heartbreaking "thank...

Man Jailed for 6 Months Over Loud Sex

12 neighbors complained about the Italian man's romps with his girlfriend

(Newser) - There's a noisy romp between the sheets and then there's sex so loud it's considered "stalking" your neighbors. That was the charge an Italian man apparently faced in court, after a dozen of his neighbors filed a civil suit complaining of his loud lovemaking sessions. They...

Cops: Laptop Thief Busted After Customer Service Call

Suspect phoned Apple for help months after burglary

(Newser) - Calling customer service for help with your laptop is generally a fine idea, but maybe not if you stole the thing in a home burglary. Police in New Hampshire say they made an arrest on Monday and recovered a computer stolen in February 2013 thanks to that very scenario, reports...

Czech Pair: Mystery Man Is Our Son

Alleged amnesiac says he's 'about to be rescued from hell'

(Newser) - He may have been unable to remember who he was, but his hunch that he was a Czech may have been spot on. Police today said a Czech couple has identified a man apparently suffering from amnesia , found in a Norwegian snowdrift in December, as their 36-year-old son, the AP...

Smelly Fish a Big Hit on S. Korean Menus

Ammonia scent, or worse, doesn't deter fans of skate

(Newser) - The aroma of one of South Korea's most popular delicacies is regularly compared to rotting garbage and filthy bathrooms. And that's by fans. The unusual dish is typically made by taking dozens of fresh skate, a cartilage-rich fish that looks like a stingray, stacking them up in a...

Mysterious Amnesiac Found in Snow Stumps Norway

'John Smith' has no memory or idea why he was in Norway

(Newser) - Police in Norway are asking the public to help them identify a young man found in a snowdrift months ago apparently suffering from total amnesia. The man, who calls himself John Smith, was found in an industrial region of Oslo and police believe he was a victim of crime, reports...

Family Sues Over Male Stripper at Nursing Home

Son of resident finds photo

(Newser) - A lawsuit claims an elderly woman was subjected to an unwanted performance by a male stripper when she was living at a New York nursing home. The lawsuit was filed by relatives of the 85-year-old former patient at the East Neck Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in West Babylon, on Long...

Where Bee Stings Are the Most Painful
Where Bee Stings 
Are the Most Painful
study says
Apr 8, 2014 1:21 PM CDT

Where Bee Stings Are the Most Painful

Nostril, upper lip, and penis, study finds

(Newser) - Where would it hurt more to get stung by a bee: on a testicle or on a nostril? It was this burning question that led Michael Smith, a graduate student at Cornell University studying honeybees, to his latest research. After being stung on the testicle and realizing it didn't...

Baby in Hiding After Attempted Murder Charge

Pakistani 9-month-old has April 12 court appearance

(Newser) - A new twist in the case of the 9-month-old Pakistani baby who has been charged with attempted murder . The infant's grandfather today tells Reuters that the child has gone into hiding, though he revealed the boy's general location: the city of Faisalabad. Why Muhammad Mosa Khan was charged...

Man, 83, Apologizes for Crime Committed at Age 10

Well, he has his daughter apologize for him

(Newser) - Today's entry in the better-late-than-never category: An octogenarian has offered a mea culpa to a Salt Lake City restaurant that he wronged ... in 1941, at age 10. It seems the unnamed man dined-and-dashed with a friend, and has felt guilty over the unpaid-for meal ever since, so much so...

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