strange stuff

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

Stories 1181 - 1200 | << Prev   Next >>

Town's Residents Being Terrorized by ... Mashed Potatoes

Residents in Jackson neighborhood are finding bowls in and on cars, on porches, in mailboxes

(Newser) - Starchy and strange is the only way to describe what's been going on in one section of Jackson, Miss. Let Belhaven resident Michaela Lin put it into words. "As I walked out of my door my neighbor said, 'What is that on your mailbox?'" she tells...

Burglar Turns Out to Be 'Very Thorough' Vacuum

The perpetrator at an Oregon home? A Roomba

(Newser) - A "most wanted" suspect has been apprehended in Cedar Hills, Oregon: a "Roomba burglar." The ultimately amusing story started with a house sitter who arrived at a home Monday afternoon to find the bathroom door locked, reports the Oregonian . Shadows were visible through the gap between the...

She Thought It Was Dirt in Her Eyes. It Was Bees

Woman had been gardening when the bees flew in, got trapped

(Newser) - Warning, this story may turn you off of gardening forever. A Taiwanese woman was weeding around relatives' graves when a gust of wind blew what she thought was dirt into her eyes. Hours later, with her eyes still swollen and in pain, the 28-year-old went to a hospital, where doctors...

He Just Bought a Private Island. Cops Say He Stole From Kmart

Andrew Lippi faces grand theft charges, accused of stealing $300 worth of items

(Newser) - Andrew Lippi owns a resort that's been used in MTV's Real World and a private island in the Florida Keys that he purchased for $8 million last week. He was also just accused of trying to steal about $300 worth of items from Kmart. ABC News and the...

2 Pilots, 5 Crew Members, One Passenger
Weird Flight: Passenger Jet
Has Only One Passenger
in case you missed it
Apr 6, 2019 3:00 PM CDT

Weird Flight: Passenger Jet Has Only One Passenger

Lithuanian man experienced a strange flight to Italy

(Newser) - Legroom was not an issue here. A Lithuanian man had the weird experience of flying to Italy on a huge passenger jet—as the only passenger. By the AP's count, the Boeing 737-800—a different model than the 737s of recent controversy —had all of eight people aboard:...

Fighter Jet Mistakenly Ejects Passenger

Yes, you read that right

(Newser) - Short flight, really interesting landing. In what sounds like a scene from a bad comedy, a civilian being taken for a ride in a French fighter jet was accidentally ejected as the plane took off, reports Aerotime . The unidentified passenger, a man in his 60s, apparently wrenched his back when...

Hope, Then Devastation: Details Emerge on Missing Boy Hoax

Investigators: Brian Rini says he learned about Timmothy Pitzen, who vanished in 2011, from TV

(Newser) - An "astounding" story turned into a crushing blow for the family of a missing Illinois boy, and now there are a slew of questions surrounding the man who prosecutors say impersonated him. A young man turned up in the streets of Newport, Ky., on Wednesday, claiming to be Timmothy...

This Is the Most Swedish Arrest Ever

Cop recognizes a fugitive while naked in the sauna, makes the arrest

(Newser) - There's no escape from the long arm of the law in Sweden. Not even sitting naked in a sauna, reports the AP . Police spokeswoman Carina Skagerlind says an off-duty police officer found himself sitting in the same sauna in Rinkeby, a Stockholm suburb, as a fugitive who'd dodged...

Nigerian Official Makes Bizarre Pizza Claim

Involving British Airways

(Newser) - It made the BBC's list of legitimate stories that you might mistake for April Fools' pranks: Nigeria's minister of culture last week made the bizarre claim that some Nigerians are ordering pizza from London via cellphone in the morning and that the pies are then flown in via...

Inside the Mystery of Scotland&#39;s &lsquo;Dog Suicide Bridge&rsquo;
There's a Bridge Where Dogs
Keep Leaping to Their Deaths
in case you missed it
Mar 30, 2019 11:15 AM CDT

There's a Bridge Where Dogs Keep Leaping to Their Deaths

They've apparently been leaping off Scotland's Overtoun Bridge for decades

(Newser) - As far as nicknames go, it's an unfortunate one: Dumbarton, Scotland's Overtoun Bridge is known as the "dog suicide bridge," and it's a nickname earned under grim circumstances. The New York Times visits the bridge, which since 1895 has stood 50 feet above a gorge...

Stay in Bed for 2 Months, Get Paid $19K

One catch: you'll need to speak German, but it's all in the name of science

(Newser) - Hate standing on your feet all day? So much that the thought of staying in bed for two months is appealing? Good news: You can do just that, contribute to NASA research, and get paid $19,000 for your trouble—so long as you speak German and are free from...

Trump Talks Treason, Pardons in Fox Interview

He accuses the FBI of 'treasonous acts,' doesn't rule out pardon of Michael Flynn

(Newser) - President Trump called in to Sean Hannity's show on Fox News Wednesday and spoke for 45 minutes in his first interview since the conclusion of Robert Mueller's investigation. He didn't want to talk much about pardons, but he had plenty to say about the investigation, and some...

Man Sues for $1.3M Over Boss's 'Stinky' Farts

Australia's David Hingst says supervisor harassed him before he was laid off

(Newser) - Can regular farting equal bullying? An appeals court in Australia will have to decide based on a nearly $1.3 million lawsuit filed in 2017 by the former employee of a construction company, who refers to his ex-boss as "Mr. Stinky." David Hingst, a 56-year-old former engineer of...

Alleged &#39;Cop Killer&#39; Busted 20 Years Later&mdash;but Cop&#39;s Alive
NYPD Cop Supposedly Killed
20 Years Ago 'Very Much Alive'
in case you missed it
Mar 23, 2019 10:10 AM CDT

NYPD Cop Supposedly Killed 20 Years Ago 'Very Much Alive'

Lester Pearson, Vincent Ling's alleged 'killer,' was taken into custody in Florida

(Newser) - On Sunday, the New York Daily News and other outlets posted a story on what surely must've felt like a victory of sorts for the NYPD, and justice for one of their own: the capture of a fugitive who was said to have killed an off-duty cop in the...

Watchdog: USDA Carried Out 'Cannibal Cat' Experiments

Lawmakers want experiments—including dog remains being fed to cats—to end

(Newser) - Government scientists have fed dog remains to cats, injected cat remains into mice, and conducted other experiments on animals that one member of Congress says "need to end now." The White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit watchdog, drew the information from USDA publications for a report it plans...

Meet Armando, the $1.4M Pigeon
Meet Armando,
the $1.4M Pigeon
Mar 20, 2019 7:25 AM CDT

Meet Armando, the $1.4M Pigeon

Racing bird likely to spend his next years making babies

(Newser) - Someone just paid $1.4 million for a pigeon—but not just any pigeon. Armando is the "best Belgian long-distance pigeon of all time," according to auction house Pipa , which oversaw a bidding war between two buyers from China, where pigeon racing is popular among the wealthy . The...

Huge Whale Gulps Up Diver
Huge Whale
Gulps Up
Diver
in case you missed it
Mar 16, 2019 10:40 AM CDT

Huge Whale Gulps Up Diver

Marine conservationist survived the encounter

(Newser) - One minute he was snorkeling; the next, he had been scooped up by a whale. A Bryde's whale, to be specific, took Rainer Schimpf, 51, into its mouth as he was in the water off the coast of the South African town of Port Elizabeth last month, the Guardian...

The Safe Was Empty. Under It: a Body

Indiana police believe the man may have been a burglar

(Newser) - "I came in [the house] and told my wife, 'I think we've got a dead body out there.' She thought I was kidding." George Hollingsworth wasn't. The Marion, Ind., man was on Wednesday cleaning up his garage, which he suspected had been broken into...

The Suspect Had a Bow and Arrow. The Victim, Just His Phone

Aussie man's device saves him during attack in New South Wales

(Newser) - Ways you can use your cellphone to keep safe: Set up a list of "in case of emergency" contacts, turn on the "locate my phone" feature so you can be tracked down if you ever go missing, hold your device up like a shield if someone ever goes...

Scared Mom Calls Cops on Kid Who Was Just Excited About Beckham

Boy was running up and down the street in Shaker Heights, Ohio, yelling

(Newser) - A kid who was very, very excited about the Cleveland Browns snagging Odell Beckham Jr. got the cops called Tuesday night in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Cleveland.com reports. A woman called 911 after arriving home with her children to report someone running up and down the street "yelling and...

Stories 1181 - 1200 | << Prev   Next >>