strange stuff

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

Stories 221 - 240 | << Prev   Next >>

UK Police Investigate Girl's Virtual Rape

Traumatic VR attack and others like it could spawn new laws prohibiting such behavior

(Newser) - Police in the UK have launched what's believed to be the first investigation of an alleged virtual rape. A girl younger than 16 was using a virtual reality (VR) headset when avatars controlled by adult men attacked her avatar, causing what a senior officer describes as "psychological trauma...

Chinese Chess Champ Loses Crown Over Pooping Incident

Yan Chenglong, accused of cheating with anal beads, defecated in hotel tub

(Newser) - There's playing dirty, and then there's celebrating dirty, and allegations of both have gotten the newly crowned king of Chinese chess unceremoniously dethroned. As AFP reports, Yan Chenglong on Dec. 17 won the national title of "Xiangqi King," or king of Chinese chess, a hugely popular...

Have You Gotten &#39;Whammed&#39; Yet This Holiday Season?
39 Years Later, Wham!
Tops UK Christmas Chart
updated
Dec 23, 2023 5:45 PM CST

39 Years Later, Wham! Tops UK Christmas Chart

George Michael wanted a holiday No. 1, Andrew Ridgeley says

(Newser) - The avoidance game that's all the rage apparently is not hurting the popularity of "Last Christmas," released by Wham! 39 years ago. For the first time, the song is top of the Christmas chart in the UK, the BBC reports. Andrew Ridgeley said the other half of...

25-Year Search for Mysterious X-Files Song Finally Pays Off

Internet thread leads to songwriters who penned tune that appeared in 1998 episode

(Newser) - There was always mystery upon mystery layered in The X-Files, the popular sci-fi series starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, and now a big meta one regarding the show itself has been solved. The Washington Post reports on a melancholy country-western song heard in the background of a Season 6...

She Knew Her Uterus Was Rare. Now, an Even Rarer Pregnancy
Woman With Double Uterus
Has Healthy Twin Girls
UPDATED
Dec 23, 2023 9:30 AM CST

Woman With Double Uterus Has Healthy Twin Girls

Kelsey Hatcher's pregnancy was one in a million, doctors say

(Newser) - An Alabama woman with a rare double uterus and an even rarer double pregnancy gave birth to healthy twin girls Roxi and Rebel a few days before their Dec. 25 due date. The girls were delivered safely after Kelsey Hatcher spent a combined 20 hours in labor, AL.com reports....

10 Standout Cases of (Allegedly) Bad Behavior
10 Standout Cases of
(Allegedly) Bad Behavior
best of 2023
Dec 22, 2023 9:40 AM CST

10 Standout Cases of (Allegedly) Bad Behavior

Everyone didn't toe the line in 2023

(Newser) - Our "strange stuff" tag is one of our most used—it currently contains more than 4,500 stories. Some of them are strange in a delightfully quirky way. Others are strange in a smack-your-head kind of way. The stories that follow are definitely of a SMH nature. Here, 10...

Odd Delay for New Jersey Commuters: Wayward Bull
For Steer Who Escaped
in Newark, a Happy Ending
UPDATED
Dec 21, 2023 3:30 PM CST

For Steer Who Escaped in Newark, a Happy Ending

'Ricardo' will live at an animal sanctuary

(Newser) - A lost steer captivated New Jersey and much of the nation last week when it showed up on the tracks by Newark's Penn Station. The Washington Post has an update that will please those rooting for the animal, as well as a more detailed account of how the adventure...

Denver Zoo Needed a Paternity Test. They Got a Famous Expert

Maury Povich announces father of 4-month-old orangutan Siska, to great fanfare

(Newser) - Maury Povich has shifted into retirement mode in recent years—he wrapped up his talk show in 2022, and he was recently presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys—but his services are apparently still in demand. At least at the Denver Zoo, which recruited the 84-year-old...

TSA: Man Blamed This 'Loaded Diaper' on His Girlfriend

Agency says man was cited at NYC's LaGuardia airport after 17 bullets found in disposable diaper

(Newser) - It was a loaded diaper, but not like you would think. Security officers found 17 bullets concealed inside a disposable baby diaper Wednesday at New York's LaGuardia Airport, the Transportation Security Administration said. Officers pulled the otherwise clean diaper from a passenger's carry-on bag after it triggered an...

NASA Beams Cat Video to Earth From 19M Miles Away

This could be a big deal in terms of eventual Mars exploration

(Newser) - Ultra-high definition video of an orange tabby cat named Taters has been beamed to Earth from almost 19 million miles away. Why? Because NASA decided to use the 15-second video as part of its Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, CBS News reports. The video of the cat (who is owned...

George Washington's Hair Headed for Space

Along with hair from Dwight D. Eisenhower, JFK

(Newser) - Strands of hair from three legendary US presidents are headed into outer space as part of a time capsule. Celestis, a Houston-based company that sends DNA and cremated remains into space, says it has chosen George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy to have their hair included on...

Mystery Traveler Shows Up at LAX
Mystery
Traveler
Shows Up
at LAX
Dec 12, 2023 9:45 AM CST

Mystery Traveler Shows Up at LAX

Accused stowaway Sergey Ochigava flew in from Denmark, says he has no memory of how or why

(Newser) - A passenger who flew into Los Angeles International Airport last month from Denmark apparently has quite the story to tell, but he swears he can't remember it. The passenger is identified as Sergey Ochigava, who has Russian and Israeli identity documents, reports 404 Media . He flew into LAX on...

Famous Dangling Chair in New Jersey Finally Falls

It had gained thousands of fans over the years

(Newser) - For years, thousands of people had been keeping an eye on a chair that sat atop a New Jersey home after the structure's roof was ripped off in a 2020 storm. On Monday, their watch ended: "Chair is down 7:10am," wrote one of the 11,900...

Odd Hack for Panic Attacks Goes Viral on TikTok

And experts agree: Sucking on sour candy can help tamp down on anxiety

(Newser) - If you've ever found yourself on the cusp of a panic attack —rapid heart rate, sense of doom or danger, shortness of breath, dizziness—a TikTokker seems to have found a possible solution. "My therapist told me to eat a Warhead whenever I'm feeling a panic...

She Is One of Only Eight in the World

White 'leucistic' American alligator is born at Florida reptile park, and she needs a name

(Newser) - An extremely rare white American alligator has been born at a Florida reptile park, and she needs a name. The 19.2-inch female slithered out of its shell and into the history books as one of only a few of its kind, per the AP . "This is beyond rare....

Tomato Mysteriously Lost in Space Turns Up 8 Months Later

Astronaut Frank Rubio, who'd been accused of eating it, is vindicated

(Newser) - In late March, astronauts aboard the International Space Station successfully harvested a batch of space-grown tomatoes, and each astronaut was given a plastic baggie with a sample. One of those tomato bags ended up floating away, with the tiny tomato still inside, and now, nearly nine months later, the missing...

Somehow This Guy Forgot Someone Shoved Chopsticks Up His Nose
He Had Headaches for Months.
Doctors Made a Surprising Find
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 9, 2023 6:00 AM CST

He Had Headaches for Months. Doctors Made a Surprising Find

Vietnamese man hadn't realized someone had shoved chopsticks up his nose in drunken brawl

(Newser) - When a man presented himself last month at Vietnam's Cuba Friendship Hospital in Dong Hoi with complaints of bad headaches, vision loss, and fluid coming out of his nose that he'd been suffering for months, doctors arranged for a CT scan, as the 35-year-old couldn't think of...

Hermes Heir, 80, Wants to Adopt 51-Year-Old Ex-Gardener

Laws in Switzerland may stymie Nicolas Puech's new plans for his $11B fortune

(Newser) - Nicolas Puech may be 80, but he has apparently decided that's not too old to adopt a son. The problem is, the "boy" that the Hermes heir would like to welcome into the family fold is his 51-year-old "former gardener and handyman," per Swiss newspaper Tribune ...

Nurse Goes Into Cardiac Arrest During Cardiac Arrest Training

Colleagues went to work on her instead of the mannequin

(Newser) - Andy Hoang eagerly began her first nursing job this year in New Hampshire, with a desire to specialize in cardiac care. She was excited about attending a November practice session on how to respond to someone in cardiac arrest. But as things were getting underway at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in...

This Pizza Hut Doormat Is a Gift That Keeps on Giving

Company is offering $100K in free pizza to delivery drivers who scan the QR code

(Newser) - Pizza Hut will reward drivers who are working hard to deliver packages across the US this holiday season, though it'll take help from people like you. The pizza chain announced Wednesday that it will hand out 250 "Reverse Delivery" doormats featuring a QR code that, when scanned, translates...

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