strange stuff

From strange crimes to strange celebrity deaths, read all of the latest weird and strange stuff news stories on Newser.com

Stories 1041 - 1060 | << Prev   Next >>

Voter Told Anti-Trump Shirt Wasn't Permitted Gets Creative

And a good bit more risque

(Newser) - As "get out the vote" campaigns continue around the US in advance of the November election, we can rest easy knowing there's at least one American who will do whatever it takes to submit her ballot. The story comes by way of Paul Scafidi, the town moderator for...

Man Blows Up His Own Kitchen Trying to Kill Fly

Lesson learned: Don't use an electric bug-killing device if you have a gas leak

(Newser) - House flies can definitely work a person into a lather as they buzz about, resisting all attempts to be swatted. But one French man probably wishes he had simply let the fly that got into his house go about his business, because his attempt to kill it ended up causing...

In Times of Pandemic, Horror Park Gets Creative

Brazil's Hopi Hari park is now a drive-thru

(Newser) - A large Ferris wheel with red lights illuminates a gloomy path at a horror theme amusement park in Brazil. A line of cars carrying spectators moves slowly as actors dressed up as werewolves and witches approach the vehicles with outstretched arms. Another apocalyptic scene appears on the sidewalk: two zombies...

Chord Change Occurs in 639-Year Piece of Music

John Cage's 'ORGAN/ASLSP' is slated to end in 2640

(Newser) - Hundreds of fans attended a special kind of musical happening Saturday at a church in Germany: a chord change in an organ piece that is supposed to last for an entirety of 639 years, the AP reports. The performance of the "ORGAN/ASLSP," or As Slow As Possible, composition...

A Kayaker Fell Into the Lake. You'll Never Guess Who Saved Him

Pretty sure priests on a floating tiki bar wasn't your first guess

(Newser) - A man from upstate New York was rescued on Lake George earlier this month, and he's got a bunch of partying priests to thank for it. WNYT reports that Jimmy Macdonald was kayaking on the lake with his wife and stepkids when he drifted far from shore, distracted by...

Jet Pack Sighted 3K Feet Over LA
Jet Pack Sighted
3K Feet Over LA
Sep 2, 2020 6:57 AM CDT

Jet Pack Sighted 3K Feet Over LA

2 pilots reported seeing man flying one

(Newser) - "We just passed a guy in a jet pack." Those were the words from an American Airlines pilot approaching Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday night, and they have prompted an investigation. Another pilot also reported seeing a man in a jet pack at 3,000 feet; the...

City Discovers First Mayor Left Them His Heart. Literally

It was sealed inside an old fountain

(Newser) - During the renovation of a fountain in the Belgian city of Verviers, officials discovered that the old rumors were true: Pierre David, the city's first mayor, had literally given his heart to Verviers. The organ was sealed in a jar of alcohol inside a small zinc casket entombed near...

Angry 'Beefalo' Still on Run Weeks After Escape

Cross between bison and cow escaped slaughter in Connecticut

(Newser) - An 800- to 900-pound beefalo remains on the loose in Plymouth, Conn., weeks after it escaped while being loaded off a truck for slaughter, per the AP . The beefalo—a cross between a bison and domestic cattle—escaped from a meat-processing business on Aug. 3, the Hartford Courant reported. Authorities...

Dog's Ill-Advised Chewing Proves Pricey

Cable chomp costs Mississippi county $7K

(Newser) - A curious dog got hold of a fiber optic cable that ran between county buildings in Mississippi, chewing it to pieces and costing county officials thousands of dollars, per the AP . The cable connected a courthouse and a nearby Justice Court building in Amite County, Tim Wroten, the county’s...

US Kid Accused of Totally Mucking Up Scottish Wikipedia

Reddit user found much of site's content was developed by admin who doesn't speak Scots

(Newser) - The main administrator for Scots Wikipedia —that's the Scots language version of Wikipedia—has held that role for more than seven years and may be responsible for close to half the site's content. Problem is, the administrator doesn't even speak the language. Vice reports that a...

Exploding Star Likely Wrecked Life on Earth
Scientists Find New Cause
of Mass Extinction Event
study says
Aug 22, 2020 3:30 PM CDT

Scientists Find New Cause of Mass Extinction Event

University of Illinois researchers point to possible supernovas

(Newser) - A mass extinction event that struck Earth 359 million years ago still has scientists scratching their heads. Was it volcano eruptions? Meteorites? Gamma-ray bursts? A new paper looks at another possible culprit: exploding stars. Researchers at the University of Illinois argue that evidence hidden in rocks coincides with the effect...

University Handing Out Grants for Doing Nothing

German school to dole out 3 'idleness grants' of $1.9K each

(Newser) - Getting a university grant sometimes requires an extraordinary amount of work. In this case, not so much. The University of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany, is handing out three "idleness grants" of $1,900 each, reports UPI . The name is accurate: The university will pay four people to do...

It's a Zombie Attack, but With Social Distance

Company in Tokyo gets creative during pandemic with drive-thru scares

(Newser) - It’s a living nightmare—but a socially distanced one, per the AP . "Zombies" attack vehicles, smearing them with artificial blood. But the customers inside the cars are safely separated from their stalkers by the windows. Production company Kowagarasetai, roughly translated as "Scare Squad," has launched a...

If Cher Can't Get a Volunteering Gig at the Post Office, Who Can?

Turns out no one, as the star discovered after offering her services to 2 sites in Malibu

(Newser) - First a big TV personality from the '80s floated a plan to help the beleaguered US Postal Service . On Wednesday, Cher jumped into the fray, and her proposal suggested even more direct involvement, starting with a question on Twitter : "Can ppl volunteer at post office!?" A few...

In Japan, People Do a Weird Thing After a Night of Drinking

Officials worry 'road sleeping' is going to lead to more people getting hurt in Okinawa

(Newser) - There's a strange phenomenon that has overtaken the Okinawa prefecture in Japan, and police can't figure out a way to stop it. "Road sleeping," or rojo-ne in Japanese, seems to be what people like to do there after a night of drinking, and it means that...

Like Something Out of Willy Wonka: Cocoa Snow

It came down around a Swiss factory after a glitch

(Newser) - Residents of a Swiss town got a bit of a shock when it started snowing particles of a fine cocoa powder after the ventilation system at a chocolate factory malfunctioned. The Lindt & Spruengli company confirmed local reports Tuesday that there was a minor defect in the cooling ventilation for...

Cops: 'Woman' Who Left Dead Animals on Grave Was No Woman

Joseph Stroud has been arrested in connection with carcasses left at foe's Arkansas gravesite

(Newser) - At the end of May, the family of Fred Allen McKinney, who died in 2015, started making some strange finds at his gravesite in Bentonville, Ark.: the carcasses of various animals, which the family initially believed had died after nibbling on fake flowers left in McKinney's memory. According to...

Boy Blows His Nose, Finds Long-Lost Lego

Piece had been up there for almost 2 years

(Newser) - When a boy in New Zealand told his parents a piece of Lego had somehow become lodged up his nose, they took him to a doctor, who assured them it would most likely make its way through his digestive tract. The family soon forgot about the incident—until the tiny...

A Coveted Phone Number Sells for $325K

It has 5 consecutive 8s, which is seen as lucky in China

(Newser) - There's a reason the 2008 Olympics in Beijing started at 8:08 on the eighth day of the eighth month, notes ChannelNewsAsia . In China, the number eight is considered lucky because it sounds much like the word for "prosperity." All of which might help explain why somebody...

How Very 2020: &#39;Reverse Waterfalls&#39; Caught on Camera
Now Waterfalls
Are Flowing the
Other Way
in case you missed it
Aug 16, 2020 10:20 AM CDT

Now Waterfalls Are Flowing the Other Way

At least off the coast of Australia, where high winds wreak havoc with flowing water

(Newser) - Aerial footage out of Australia shows something bizarre—waterfalls pouring over cliff edges and flying back up from whence they came, LiveScience reports. In one magical case, a rainbow even forms amid the spray. There's an explanation, of course, which involves strong winds and heavy rains that have...

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