strange stuff

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

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>

This City Never Trick-or-Treats on Halloween. Until This Year

Des Moines, Iowa, has instead celebrated Beggars' Night on Oct. 30 since '38

(Newser) - The last time the kids of Des Moines officially went trick-or-treating on Halloween was nearly nine decades ago. This Oct. 31, the Iowa capital will join the rest of the nation in celebrating the holiday the traditional way, all because the weather isn't cooperating. NPR reports that since 1938,...

Price of the $120K Duct-Taped Banana Has Gone Up

Maurizio Cattelan's piece is heading to auction; Sotheby's says it'll fetch $1M to $1.5M

(Newser) - If you thought that selling banana duct-taped to a wall as "art" for $120,000 was—let's just go for the low-hanging fruit here—bananas, well, Sotheby's would like you to know the price has gone up. The Art Newspaper tackles next month's scheduled auction:
  • The
...

She Died in 1866, and Mystery of Her Skull Is Finally Solved

Authorities say remains found in 1978 belonged to teenager Esther Granger of Indiana

(Newser) - There was nothing fishy about the death of Esther Granger in Indiana in 1866. In a story fitting for Halloween, however, authorities have finally unraveled a mystery regarding her skull. As NPR explains, the mystery began in 1978 when a homeowner in Batavia, Illinois, ripped down a wall and found...

Who's the Most Gorgeous Bat Around? You Decide

Bureau of Land Management holds its annual online beauty contest for the flying mammals

(Newser) - Move over, Fat Bear Week . A bat beauty contest is now stepping up to the plate. The Bureau of Land Management has hosted the online competition since 2019 to raise awareness about the animal's ecological importance. The federal agency posts photos of bats on its Facebook and Instagram accounts,...

He Was Officially Declared Dead. Now He's Suing

Swedish man was locked out of accounts for weeks after somebody filed form with fake signature

(Newser) - Jonathan Ravelin was officially dead for a week last year and becoming officially alive again wasn't easy. The Swedish man says he was locked out of his bank account after a government agency declared him dead and he had to borrow money to feed his family for the six...

St. Louis Barbers Released From 'Irrational' '40s Law

Ordinance nixed that barred barbers from operating past 6:30pm, or on Sundays, certain holidays

(Newser) - Friday was a big day for the barbers of St. Louis—they're now officially allowed to cut hair after the late-afternoon rush hour. KMOV reports that the Missouri city's Board of Alderman passed a bill that repealed an "outdated and irrational" law dating back eight decades that...

Funeral Home Issues a Most Odd Apology

Paraphrasing the Polish company: Sorry that a corpse fell out of one of our hearses and into traffic

(Newser) - A funeral home in Poland issued an unusual apology on Saturday after a corpse that it was transporting fell out of a hearse and into traffic. Polish media reported that a man was driving down a street Friday in Stalowa Wola, a city in southeastern Poland, when a sheet ended...

Woman's Habit of Feeding Raccoons Ends Badly

'Obviously, word got out in raccoon land'

(Newser) - "Feeding raccoons may create undesirable situations," Washington state's Department of Fish and Wildlife warns on its website . And the situation a woman found herself in after decades of feeding the creatures was definitely a long way from desirable. The woman fled her home and called 911 last...

Germans Not Happy With New Rules on 'Idiot's Apostrophe'

Or would that be 'idiots apostrophe' in German?

(Newser) - Worldly punctuation pros know that Germans typically don't use an apostrophe to indicate the possessive—meaning it's correct to write "Newsers readers," not "Newser's readers." According to the Council for German Orthography, however, which dictates grammar for schools and other public institutions in...

Canadian Marathon Gets Unexpected Runner

Joshua the goat is having a viral moment after escaping to join a marathon

(Newser) - Runners in a recent Canadian half-marathon were joined by a surprise competitor of the four-legged variety—a Newfoundland goat who escaped from his pumpkin patch to join the fun. The goat, named Joshua, broke away from a tether to jump in the race, and per CBC News , he completed almost...

Guy on Smashing Taylor Swift Guitar: It Was Just a Joke

But it wasn't a guitar signed by Swift

(Newser) - The Texas man who spent $4,000 on a guitar at a charity auction only to immediately smash it says the whole thing was "just a joke" and not at all "malicious," though he also confirmed to NBC News that he's a Donald Trump supporter, and...

With Roads Impassable, Dad Walks 17 Miles to Daughter's Wedding

Father walked through the night amid Hurricane Helene debris

(Newser) - David Jones set out from South Carolina to Tennessee for his daughter's wedding not fully realizing the devastation Hurricane Helene had wrought, and after multiple diversions on Interstate 26 due to the powerful storm, a state trooper stopped him around 2am Saturday to tell him he could go no...

UK's Weird Medieval Sheep Tradition Snags Billions Actor

Damian Lewis shepherds a bunch of sheep over the River Thames, because Britain is Britain

(Newser) - Actor Damian Lewis drove a flock of sheep across the River Thames on Sunday in homage to a centuries-old tradition, reports the AP . Lewis is among thousands of people granted the honorary title of Freeman of the City of London, which in medieval times came with the right to bring...

Video Captures Mom Arrested at Disneyland as Kids Cry
Police Defend Mom's Viral
Arrest at Disneyland
in case you missed it
Sep 29, 2024 3:00 PM CDT

Police Defend Mom's Viral Arrest at Disneyland

They say woman with sobbing daughters is a habitual gate-crasher

(Newser) - A mother was handcuffed and marched out of Disneyland Tuesday as her two young daughters clung to her legs, sobbing and calling for help, in an incident caught on video that quickly went viral. Authorities on Thursday said despite the heart-wrenching scene, the woman, 26-year-old Jessenia Diaz, is actually a...

CBP Probably Didn't Expect to Find This Much Bologna

Officers in Texas say woman coming from Mexico had 750 pounds' worth of meat in car, plus drugs

(Newser) - When officials inspected the bags of a woman crossing over from Mexico into Texas earlier this week, they noticed her suitcases seemed to be heavier than they should. They soon found out why: Customs and Border Protection says that when they opened up the bags in the GMC Yukon at...

Attendees of Detroit's 'Bridgerton Ball' Are Furious

$150 night of luxury was actually a barebones room with bad food, they say

(Newser) - There was the Fyre Festival , the Willy Wonka Experience , and now, the latest expensive event to fall flat: the Bridgerton Ball. Hundreds paid $150 or more to attend the Detroit event Sunday, the New York Times reports; it was billed as "an evening of sophistication, grace, and historical charm...

Alaskan Island Is On the Hunt for a Solitary Rat

Residents of Alaska's St. Paul Island are desperate to keep invasive rodent away after reported sighting

(Newser) - On an island of windswept tundra in the Bering Sea, hundreds of miles from mainland Alaska, a resident sitting outside their home saw—well, did they see it? They were pretty sure they saw it. A rat. The purported sighting wouldn't have gotten attention in many places around the...

Janet Jackson on Her Harris 'Apology:' Not So Fast

Pop star's team now says she didn't say sorry for conspiracy theory questioning whether VP is Black

(Newser) - Over the weekend, Janet Jackson reportedly apologized over remarks she made about Kamala Harris in reference to the vice president's racial and ethnic background. Now, Jackson's team says she didn't issue an apology after all, leaving the pop star's confusing comments about Harris floating in the...

8 Bulls Escape Massachusetts Rodeo
8 Bulls
Escape
Massachusetts
Rodeo
Sep 23, 2024 2:30 AM CDT

8 Bulls Escape Massachusetts Rodeo

Animals tore through a parking lot

(Newser) - This is no bull: First responders in a Massachusetts city had to exercise some impromptu roundup skills when eight bulls escaped from a rodeo being held in the parking lot of a mall on Sunday, the AP reports. Video posted online captured the moment when the bulls escaped from the...

Couple&#39;s Engagement Tale Has Unique Twist
Will You
Marry Me?
No, Will You
Marry Me?
in case you missed it
Sep 22, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Will You Marry Me? No, Will You Marry Me?

Couple proposes to each other at the same time, inadvertently

(Newser) - A Baltimore couple's engagement story has gone viral thanks to a twist straight out of a Hollywood rom-com. Rachel Hundertmark and Rashad Polk inadvertently proposed to each other at the same time, reports the New York Post . The couple had been dating for more than two years, and each...

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