Strange Stuff: Weird Crimes, Crazy Laws, and Other Interesting News Stories - Page 32

They Worked for a
Slick Design Agency.
Or So They Thought

longform

Feb 27, 2022 3:10 PM CST

They Worked for a Slick Design Agency. Or So They Thought

The BBC looks at the 'elaborate con' that was Madbird

(Newser) - That their boss, Madbird founder Ali Ayad, sometimes signed his name Alex Ayd or Ali Ayyad could have been a red flag. That he required employees to work on commission-only for the London-based design agency for the first six months might have been another. But as the BBC reports in...

For One Dog Owner, a Smelly Way to Make $6K

Smelling Your Dog's Poop
Could Net You Big Bucks

Feb 25, 2022 9:50 AM CST

Smelling Your Dog's Poop Could Net You Big Bucks

Plant-based dog food firm Omni is offering more than $6K for someone to do just that for 2 months

(Newser) - One lucky dog owner will soon have the chance to earn an easy $6,700, though "lucky" and "easy" may not be entirely accurate. UPI reports on a unique job plopportunity, courtesy of plant-based dog food manufacturer Omni, in which the selected human will be paid that chunk...

'Hank the Tank' Is Actually 3 Bears, Not One

'Hank the Tank'
Is Not Just One Bear

Feb 25, 2022 1:40 AM CST

'Hank the Tank' Is Not Just One Bear

Officials say at least 3 bears are responsible for rash of property damage

(Newser) - Hank the Tank is actually a three-bear battalion. DNA evidence now shows that the 500-pound black bear the public had nicknamed “Hank the Tank” is, in fact, at least three not-so-little bears who have damaged more than 30 properties around Lake Tahoe in recent months. The California Department of...

BYU Student Tried, Failed to Make Rocket Fuel in Dorm

BYU Student's Dorm Activity
'Was Definitely Reckless'

Feb 22, 2022 2:26 PM CST

BYU Student's Dorm Activity 'Was Definitely Reckless'

Brigham Young University Police say 22-year-old tried to make rocket fuel

(Newser) - "I mean, this was definitely reckless." That's how a rep for Utah's Brigham Young University Police Department is describing a student's Sunday afternoon activity: attempting to make homemade rocket fuel on the stove in his dorm. The unnamed student—BYU Police are calling him "...

Today's Date
Is Pretty Weird

Feb 22, 2022 6:54 AM CST

Today's Date Is Pretty Weird

Happy Twosday!

(Newser) - Type 2/22/22 into Google's search engine today and your screen will be showered with virtual confetti including some in the shape of the numeral 2, and a sign reading "Happy Twosday 2 You!" Yes, it's Feb. 22, 2022, which, when written as 2/22/22, is not just...

In Far Reaches of Michigan,
'Kind of a Weird Situation'

In Far Reaches of Michigan, 'Kind of a Weird Situation'

Cops are asking for the public's help to find an entire cabin that's gone missing

(Newser) - The tweet from Michigan State Police was posted early Wednesday. "Troopers from the Houghton Lake Post are asking for your help," it read , showing a photo of a brown cabin surrounded by snow and linking to a press release that briefly described the theft of said abode, per...

Guinness Is Officially
Impressed With This Berry

Feb 17, 2022 2:19 PM CST

Guinness Is Officially Impressed With This Berry

Weighing more than half a pound, Israeli specimen is the world's biggest

(Newser) - A mammoth Israeli strawberry is entering the record books, per the AP . Weighing a whopping 289 grams (10.19 ounces, more than half a pound), the titanic berry this week was declared the world's largest by Guinness World Records. The strawberry was picked on Chahi Ariel's family farm...

Biden Recalls Time
He Put a Dead Dog
on Republican's
Doorstep

Feb 17, 2022 10:25 AM CST

Biden Recalls Time He Put a Dead Dog on Republican's Doorstep

He shares anecdote from his days as a county councilman in Delaware

(Newser) - President Biden's critics are having a field day with a weird anecdote he shared at the National Association of Counties 2022 Legislative Conference earlier this week. The president, looking back to his days as a county councilman in Delaware in the early 1970s, told the Washington conference Tuesday that...

It Was a 'Stupidly Hard Ride.'
That Was Before the Bull

Feb 16, 2022 12:56 PM CST

It Was a 'Stupidly Hard Ride.' That Was Before the Bull

3 cyclists attacked on course Saturday in California

(Newser) - "The world famous Bianchi Rock Cobbler is a stupidly hard ride bordering on a race ... conceived by drunken madmen," explains the website for the ride . But while those "drunken madmen" designed a roughly 80-mile California off-road course with as much as 6,500 feet of elevation gain,...

'Startled' Flock of Birds
Slams Into the Ground

Feb 16, 2022 12:16 PM CST

'Startled' Flock of Birds Slams Into the Ground

Mexico incident left dozens of dead birds in street

(Newser) - Hundreds of blackbirds suddenly plunge from the sky and slam into buildings or the ground in a grim video captured by a security camera in Mexico. Most of the flock of yellow-headed blackbirds flew off afterwards, but dozens remained on the ground, dead or injured, CBS reports. Experts believe the...

Thanks to Hole in Roof, This
Doghouse Could Sell for $300K

Feb 16, 2022 11:28 AM CST

Thanks to Hole in Roof, This Doghouse Could Sell for $300K

The hole was caused by a meteorite

(Newser) - A ramshackle doghouse with a 7-inch hole in its roof doesn't sound like it would be worth as much as $300,000. But that hole changes things. The structure, formerly home to a Costa Rican German shepherd named Roky, was hit by a meteorite on April 23, 2019, at...

Mayor Who Was Worried
About Ice Shanties Resigns

UPDATED

Feb 14, 2022 1:15 PM CST

Mayor Who Was Worried About Ice Shanties Resigns

Craig Shubert of Hudson, Ohio, suggested they would lead to prostitution

(Newser) - Update: The mayor is out after his odd comment about ice shanties. Mayor Craig Shubert of Hudson, Ohio, resigned Monday after taking all kinds of grief for expressing his view that if the city allowed ice fishing, that would lead to ice shanties, and those would lead to prostitution. “...

She Thought She
Was Training to Be
DEA Agent. Cops Say
It Was All a Dupe

She Thought She Was Training to Be DEA Agent. Cops Say It Was All a Dupe

Man now facing federal charges for impersonating narcotics agent

(Newser) - An Oregon woman trained to be a DEA agent for a year ... with a man who, police say, was an impostor. His strange alleged scheme unraveled last week when a sergeant with the Portland Police Bureau saw the man and woman standing near a silver Dodge Charger with red and...

Woman Found Dead in Chair
Had Been There Since 2019

Feb 9, 2022 11:10 AM CST

Woman Found Dead in Chair Had Been There Since 2019

Body of 70-year-old Italian woman Marinella Beretta found Friday

(Newser) - The residents of Como, Italy, have been invited to the funeral of a woman who died two years ago—and whose body was just discovered. CNN reports the decomposed body of Marinella Beretta was found sitting in a chair in her living room on Friday. The local fire brigade discovered...

Rescued Woman
Says She Floated
on Air Mattress
for 2 Days

Feb 7, 2022 8:33 AM CST

Rescued Woman Says She Floated on Air Mattress for 2 Days

'Connie' was spotted on the shores of Lake Texoma in Oklahoma by crew members on a passing train

(Newser) - Crew members on a train zipping past an Oklahoma lake were treated to a strange sight last week, and it turned out to be one lucky sighting. KRMG reports that a BNSF Railway train was headed south along Lake Texoma on Thursday when conductor Cristhian Sosa and engineer Justin Luster...

Cookbooks May
Be Lost at Sea

Jan 30, 2022 1:55 PM CST

Cookbooks May Be Lost at Sea

Authors take news in stride on Instagram

(Newser) - Two new cookbooks may be literally lost at sea, and now fans will have to wait a few more months to dig into them, People reports. Containers collapsed on a cargo ship headed to New York, presumably sending new copies of Melissa Clark's Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy ...

Alleged Scheme
With Dead Man Is
'Like a Hitchcock Movie'

Jan 26, 2022 1:05 PM CST

Alleged Scheme With Dead Man Is 'Like a Hitchcock Movie'

Irish police probe claim that deceased man was taken to post office

(Newser) - Police in Ireland are investigating reports that the body of a dead man was brought to a post office in an attempt to collect his pension. The Irish Times said a 66-year-old man was dragged into the post office in the town of Carlow around 11am on Friday, propped up...

Cops: Woman Tries
to Buy Baby at Walmart

Jan 25, 2022 1:06 PM CST

Cops: Woman Tries to Buy Baby at Walmart

Rebecca Taylor is accused of offering $500K for another customer's infant

(Newser) - Walmart may be a one-stop shop for virtually everything, but police say one woman took that idea too far and tried to buy a live baby in Texas. Rebecca Lanette Taylor, 49, of Crockett, was arrested last week over the alleged Jan. 13 incident, reports the Messenger . Taylor is charged...

19-Year Fight Over Loud
Toilet Is Finally Over

19-Year Fight Over Loud Toilet Is Finally Over

Couple wins lawsuit over owners of neighboring apartment

(Newser) - Back in 2003, somebody flushed a toilet in the middle of the night in Italy and the couple in the neighboring apartment thought, boy that was loud. Nineteen years later, that couple near La Spezia has finally won their legal case against the neighbors for too-loud flushing at night, reports...

Lab-Bound Monkeys That
Escaped Have Been Caught