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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Flight Delayed? It Could Be the Coffeemaker

Faulty machines must be checked for fire risk

(Newser) - Running late for a flight? Cross your fingers that the plane's coffeemaker is broken. An "inordinate amount of coffeemaker problems" are causing flight delays, American Airlines' chief of operations says—and causing passengers to lose their lids. The New York Times reports defective coffeemakers require a thorough check...

Callers to Maine EBT Number Get Sex Hotline Instead

Typo on EBT cards gives new meaning to 'friends with benefits'

(Newser) - Maine's slogan is "The Way Life Should Be," but that probably wasn't meant to suggest that residents calling to check the balance of their state-sponsored benefits would be better off being patched through to a sex hotline instead. That's how some locals were redirected when...

Woman to Make Clothes Out of Alexander McQueen 'Skin'

She says it's 'completely legal'

(Newser) - Alexander McQueen "was always pushing the boundaries" in fashion. That's why Tina Gorjanc thinks he'd love her new project, which aims to make clothing from McQueen's skin—or rather skin grown from McQueen's DNA. The recent fashion school graduate plans to use DNA from...

For Sale: 7-Story Building Shaped Like Giant Basket

Last of Longaberger Co.'s employees are moving out of Ohio's iconic 'Big Basket'

(Newser) - Nearly 20 years ago, Longaberger Co. employees moved into their new headquarters in Newark, Ohio—a seven-story, 180,000-square-foot building shaped like a picnic basket. On Thursday, that stay comes to a close as the last of those employees who work in the "Big Basket" move out and over...

Jockey Kicked in Face by Horse, Then Luck Gets Even Worse

Ambulance runs over Chris Meehan's leg, breaks it

(Newser) - You might think that, once you've gotten kicked in the face by a horse, nothing worse is likely to happen to you on that particular day. Not so for Northern Irish jockey Chris Meehan, who got a gash on the jaw and a broken nose after falling from his...

Town Relents, Reinstates Cat's Library Job

Browser will remain among the stacks in Fort Worth suburb

(Newser) - A North Texas city council has voted to reinstate Browser the cat to his job as live-in mascot of the city's public library, reports AP . The council of the Fort Worth suburb of White Settlement voted 3-0 to let Browser stay at the library two weeks after voting 2-1...

Man Writes Own Obituary, Bans Family From Funeral

It's not clear exactly why

(Newser) - A German man has taken his grudges to the grave, telling relatives in a posthumous newspaper notice that some of them aren't welcome at his funeral, the AP reports. News agency dpa reported Friday that Hubert Martini published his own obituary in the Trierischer Volksfreund, a newspaper in western...

12 Ladies Respond to Dad's Ad Seeking Wife for His Son

Arthur Brooks will be interviewing them soon

(Newser) - The father of a Salt Lake City businessman who placed an Idaho newspaper ad seeking women interested in marrying his 48-year-old son has received about a dozen inquiries. Arthur Brooks had planned to meet potential candidates at a Coeur d'Alene resort, but son Baron Brooks told the Spokesman-Review on...

Fire-Walkers Defend 'Awesome' Tony Robbins

Attendees at coal-walking seminar blame other distractions for injuries

(Newser) - Tony Robbins has taken a lot of heat since dozens of people at one of his seminars were injured last week in Dallas while walking over hot coals. But not everyone is breathing fire on the motivational guru. First, and not surprisingly, Robbins' rep Jennifer Connelly defended the "Unleash...

Tony Robbins' Fire-Walking Exercise Ends in Burns

5 people were hospitalized

(Newser) - One of the activities for participants of Tony Robbins' motivational seminars is walking on hot coals, an activity that, trainers tell WFAA , most people "didn't think was possible." And, well, it turns out some of them were sort of right. During Robbins' "Unleash the Power Within"...

Texas Woman Comes Out of Surgery With British Accent

Lisa Alamia was born and raised in Lone Star State but doesn't sound like it anymore

(Newser) - When Lisa Alamia says the word "kitten," she's not talking about a cat—it's just what it sounds like when the Texas woman says "kidding," a British affectation that isn't an affectation at all, but a symptom of the foreign accent syndrome she...

Dad Takes Out Full-Page Ad to Find His Son a Wife

'I can’t even describe to you how embarrassing and ridiculous this is'

(Newser) - A 48-year-old Salt Lake City man was surprised to discover that he had apparently taken out a full-page, $900 ad in an Idaho newspaper in order to find a wife, the Spokesman-Review reports. The ad, titled "Looking for a Wife," ran last Saturday in the Coeur d'Alene ...

Bank Workers Spanked for 'Not Exceeding Themselves'

2 executives from Chinese bank have been suspended

(Newser) - A disturbing video getting attention on social media shows a row of eight Chinese bank employees on a stage being told to "get their butts ready" then spanked—hard—in front of their colleagues for "not exceeding themselves." The employees had been in a "Breakthrough in...

Iowa County Freaked Out by Mystery 'Men in Black'

They just stand around on local roadways in black trenchcoats—then disappear

(Newser) - Law enforcement officials in Muscatine County, Iowa, are scratching their heads over reports streaming in about a group of men in black trenchcoats who've been spotted along the side of the road, in the road, and even in people's yards, KWQC reports. The so-called "men in black"...

Jar of Air From Stone Roses Concert Can Be Yours for $95K

'The atmosphere, anticipation, and ecstasy of 60K people singing their hearts out'

(Newser) - What's weirder than a 1970s quarter priced at $35,000 on eBay? A jar of air going for nearly $100,000. Of course, it's not just any jar of air: The sample was taken from a Stone Roses concert held Saturday in the UK, and it features "...

A Decade Later, Guy Pays Train Fares He Evaded

He figures they added up to about $300

(Newser) - One Massachusetts commuter believes it's never too late to say you're sorry—or pay your train fare, the AP reports. The Boston Globe reports Matthew Andrewes hand-delivered an apology letter, along with $300 in cash, to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on June 9. That's the amount...

Cops Bust Guy Trying to Smuggle Iguana Into Court

Look what showed up on the X-ray machine

(Newser) - The Boulder County Justice Center allows service animals into the building, but security guards drew the line when someone tried to sneak his pet iguana through the X-ray machine. Sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Haverfield tells the Daily Camera that security staff caught the reptile as it passed through the machine...

Bread Truck Hits Truck Filled With Deli Meats

Traffic accidents don't usually make us this hungry

(Newser) - America, there has to be a better way to make a sandwich. Gothamist reports a truck carrying deli meats collided with a truck carrying bread early Friday morning in New Jersey. The "sandwich-like spill" left Interstate 287 in Piscataway covered in bread and meat, according to NBC New York...

Robot Makes a Run for It From Russian Lab

Bad Promobot

(Newser) - Robots are on the loose in Russia—or one was on Wednesday, causing mayhem and a traffic jam. Officials say a robot trained to move around on its own made an escape from a science lab in the city of Perm. The robot, or Promobot—created to market products to...

This Is What Happens When a Shepherd Falls Asleep

Baaaaad sheep

(Newser) - A YouTube video proves why you should never fall asleep on the job—particularly if you have 1,300 sheep in your care. A resident in the Spanish city of Huesca called police around 4:30am Tuesday to report a herd of sheep making its way through the city streets,...

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