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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Mom Demands Alimony From Her Neglectful Kids

Chinese woman wants a place to stay and a monthly allowance

(Newser) - It was a bizarre location for an even more bizarre court case to play out. During a hearing in China's rural Sichuan province on Sept. 30—held in a grassy field in front of 100 spectators so they could learn about the legal process—a 73-year-old woman demanded that...

Man Arrested, Charged For Asking Controversial Question at KC Library

A library official is 'outraged'

(Newser) - The executive director of the Kansas City library system says he is "outraged" that prosecutors continue to pursue charges against a man who was arrested after asking pointed questions during a library discussion about the Middle East peace process and an employee who tried to intervene. Although the arrests...

Why Sweden Wants to Send a Condom Into Space

Best invention ever?

(Newser) - Sweden wants everyone talking about contraceptives. So in a voice-over video message to NASA, the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) points out that the US has a long history of sending objects into outer space, and then proposes that NASA get to work on launching, well, a condom. The...

Artist's Bizarre Octopus Hoax Fools Tourists

No, an octopus did not drag a ferry to its doom

(Newser) - Ever hear about the gargantuan octopus that dragged a New York City ferry and its 400 passengers to the river bottom nearly 53 years ago? A cast bronze monument dedicated to the victims of the steam ferry Cornelius G. Kolff recently appeared in Battery Park at the southern tip of...

Man Has 30 Days to Catch Rooster, or Else

It's been driving neighbors in Pittsburgh crazy

(Newser) - A Pittsburgh man has been given one final chance to catch a noisy rooster that has plagued his neighborhood for years. At a court hearing Wednesday, District Judge Oscar Petite ordered Henry Gaston to find a way to trap the rooster that lives on or near his property and is...

'Most Unlucky Guy' Gets Spider Bite on Penis—Again

Both times involved portable toilets

(Newser) - A 21-year-old Australian man who will, understandably, only give his first name, Jordan, has been bitten by a spider on his penis ... twice. Both times, the tradesman was using a portable toilet at a building site when he was attacked by spiders hiding under the rim; the most recent incident...

Teen Tries to Impress Girl, Falls 23 Stories From Balcony

And somehow survives

(Newser) - A 16-year-old boy who set out to impress a girl probably did not accomplish his intended goal. The Siberian teen climbed over a railing and swung from the handrails of a 23rd-floor balcony ... and ended up falling, all in an attempt to impress a girl who was in the Novosibirsk...

Husband's Entrails Found in Woman's Checked Bag

Legally, it turns out

(Newser) - On Sept. 8, a 35-year-old Moroccan woman's bag was randomly checked upon her arrival in Graz, Austria. What was inside was "absolutely secure, triple wrapped, according to European Union norms," per a pathologist. Yes, pathologist: The New York Times reports the woman was carrying a four-inch piece...

Does This Photo Show Young Pickpocket in Action?

Reddit thinks yes, parents say no

(Newser) - An interesting post on Reddit is drawing attention as either a warning to tourists or warning about jumping to conclusions. As the Telegraph recounts, the story goes like this: A man and his girlfriend got back from a trip to Thailand and couldn't figure out what happened to the...

New Yorkers Can Now Be Buried With Their Pets. Sorta

State to allow people to be buried with cremated remains of pets

(Newser) - New York state will now allow people to be buried with the cremated remains of their pet, the AP reports. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law on Monday. Cuomo, a Democrat, says many New Yorkers consider their pets to be a member of the family, and says the...

Weird Science Is Honored Once a Year. 'Goat Man' Won Big

Rat trousers also a winner at Thursday's Ig Nobel Prizes

(Newser) - Thursday night was the silliest night in scientists' calendars, and with winners including a man who wore prosthetic extensions to live among a herd of goats in the Alps for several days, this year's Ig Nobel awards did not disappoint. In front of a rowdy crowd, real Nobel winners...

Teen Tries to Mask Cigarette Smoke, Causes Explosion

Too much air freshener created a dangerous gas mix

(Newser) - A German teenager has suffered serious injuries after accidentally creating an explosion in the family car with air freshener, the AP reports. Police in the western city of Duisburg say the 17-year-old boy had been trying Wednesday to get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke in a recently purchased...

Mystery Odor Causes City to Order People Inside

Vallejo, California, later lifts order, but cause of smell still a mystery

(Newser) - It smelled so bad in Vallejo, California, overnight that the city ordered people to stay inside. The shelter-in-place order has since been lifted, but the cause of the nasty odor is still a mystery, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . For now, the best bet is that it comes from an...

Guy Gets Crowned King, Keeps on Landscaping

He says he is proud to work for his boss in Canada, lead his people in Ghana

(Newser) - Eric Manu moved from Ghana to British Columbia in 2012 after marrying a Canadian woman he'd met at home, and he began to work as a landscaper. But his uncle, who had served as chief of their tribe, died a few years ago at age 67, and Manu was...

10 of America's Most Explicit Town Names

Yes, there is a Ballplay, Alabama

(Newser) - It was a hard job, but somebody had to do it. (That's what she said?) The Estately Blog responded to some PG-13 criticism of a recent "Oddest Town Names" in America list by giving the people what they wanted—"we placed our minds in the gutter" and...

Throngs Expected to Smell Disgusting 'Corpse Flower'

It's set to bloom later this week at Dartmouth

(Newser) - A flower that smells like a cross between a decaying animal and urine is set to bloom later this week at Dartmouth College. Named Morphy, the titan arum—or corpse flower—hasn't bloomed since 2011, the AP reports. Officials at Dartmouth's Life Sciences Greenhouse, where the 6 ½...

Olive Oil Saves Guy Stuck Trying to Retrieve Phone

He was caught head first between rocks as the tide was coming in

(Newser) - A man who got stuck head-first between two rocks on a Rhode Island jetty while trying to retrieve his cellphone has been rescued with the help of olive oil, reports AP . The strange incident happened Saturday afternoon near a fishing area in Point Judith, reports WJAR-TV . Authorities say the man...

Woman Sues Sex-Toy Maker for Invading Her Privacy
Woman Sues Sex-Toy Maker
for Invading Her Privacy
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 18, 2016 3:20 PM CDT

Woman Sues Sex-Toy Maker for Invading Her Privacy

'Smart' vibrator tracks data on how customers use it

(Newser) - It's a tale for the ages: A woman buys a vibrator, uses it, and discovers the company that built it is tracking just what she does with it and how often. And yes, she's suing. In a class-action lawsuit representing what the Chicago Tribune reports is tens of...

Darth Vader Is Cleaning Up Va. Roadsides

Luke, I am your litterbug-shamer

(Newser) - A Virginia man troubled by litter along the highway has decided it's time for the empire to strike back, reports the AP . Henry Wakley of Blacksburg on Thursday dressed as the Star Wars character Darth Vader while cleaning a stretch of highway that he "adopted" through the Adopt-a-Highway...

Museumgoers Can Poop in This 18-Karat Gold Toilet

It's named 'America'

(Newser) - Consider it the No. 1 way to take a No. 2. New York's Guggenheim Museum on Friday swapped out a plain old porcelain toilet for a solid gold one in a private unisex washroom on its fourth floor and is allowing any paying visitor to use it, reports PIX...

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