strange stuff

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

Stories 681 - 700 | << Prev   Next >>

Woman's Stunt at Bronx Zoo May Have Been Her 2nd

Police are seeking trespasser who climbed over barrier at lion exhibit, much like incident in 2019

(Newser) - An incident at the Bronx Zoo this week was reminiscent of one that took place about two years ago in the same spot—and it looks like it may have been a stunt pulled off by the same perpetrator. NBC News reports that at around 4pm on Thursday, a blonde...

Antarctic Penguin Swims 1.8K Miles to New Zealand

And after some rest and a fish smoothie, 'Pingu' was returned to the water

(Newser) - Harry Singh thought he'd discovered a child's toy on a beach on New Zealand's South Island. Then it moved its head. What he'd actually found was a tired Adélie penguin, which had the BBC reports apparently traveled some 1,800 miles from its home on...

As School Day Began, an 'Unbelievable' Crash

A moose smashed through the window of a Saskatchewan school

(Newser) - An early-morning program at a Saskatchewan school proved unusually exciting for the kids in attendance this week. The CBC reports that just before 9am on Thursday, a moose was spotted lurking around the Sylvia Fedoruk School in Saskatoon, just as a before-school program was wrapping up in a community room...

A New 'Jet Pack Man' Theory Emerges

Cops spotted human-shaped inflatable weeks after 2nd reported sighting

(Newser) - Authorities investigating sightings of apparent jet packs over Los Angeles County, Calif., say pilots may have actually witnessed a flying human-shaped inflatable. "One working theory is that pilots might have seen balloons," the FBI and FAA say in statements to KNBC after the outlet obtained police photo and...

Surprise: Winner of Bird Contest Isn't Actually a Bird

A bat sneaks in and takes top honors in New Zealand

(Newser) - Did somebody miss a meeting? Maybe a day or two of biology class? Somehow the winner of New Zealand’s Bird of the Year contest isn’t even a bird, reports the New York Times . The winning critter has wings, for sure, but bats don’t lay eggs and they...

If You Want to Avoid Vampires, Here's Where You Should Go

Best and worst cities ranked by garlic festivals, blood centers

(Newser) - If you’re looking for a place to live with lots of jobs , the best place to raise a family , a place to retire , a safe city , a small city , a big city , or a city with a high vaccination rate , there’s a list out there for you. Magazines...

23 Years After Pregnant Mom, Toddler Vanished, Car Found

Volunteers may have solved cold case

(Newser) - A pregnant woman put her 22-month-old daughter in her car, left to go to a concert, and never came home. Her car, with human remains inside, was found Tuesday—23 years later. Samantha Hopper’s plan was to drop off Courtney Holt, her toddler daughter, then go on to a...

After Split, Woman Wins Joint Custody of Dog

Attorney hails 'pioneering' ruling in Spain

(Newser) - An unmarried couple in Spain who called it quits after 20 months will remain in each other's lives because of a judge's ruling about their dog. The judge granted joint custody of Panda, reports the BBC . At some point in their relationship, the man and woman adopted Panda...

'Very Weird' Radio Signals Turn Out to Be Very Human

Scientists: 2019 signals picked up by telescope at Parkes Observatory were form of radio interference

(Newser) - If you were hoping we'd soon get to meet our neighbors from an Earth-like planet more than 4 light-years away, we'll be waiting a little longer. More than two years ago, researchers using the Murriyang radio telescope at Australia's Parkes Observatory were excited to pick up "...

Enormous Pumpkin Disqualified From Winning $20K Prize

Tiny crack means no cash for would-be winner

(Newser) - It’s a great pumpkin—the heaviest in the US, even. Its grower, Mike Schmit of Wisconsin, says “it weighs in at about 2,520 pounds,” ABC7 reports. But that great pumpkin will not win any prizes, thanks to a tiny, tiny crack. To win the Safeway World...

They Found a Sunfish Too Big for Their Scale

Fish caught in Mediterranean thought to weigh about 4K pounds

(Newser) - It's an almost mind-boggling catch: a sunfish so huge that marine biologist says it couldn't be put on a 1,000-kilogram scale (that's one that can weigh up to 2,204 pounds) for fear of breaking it. The massive sunfish became ensnared in a tuna-fishing boats nets...

'It's Like Somebody Hit Me In the Face With a Shovel'

Canadian Rocker stunned to get back guitar stolen in 1976

(Newser) - An amateur internet sleuth needed a project for the pandemic lockdowns, so he took a break from researching the DB Cooper mystery to help an aging Canadian rocker reunite with his favorite guitar. William Long is a fan of Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist Randy Bachman. He heard the...

Meteorite Crashes Through Roof, Nearly Hits Woman
Space Debris Crashes Through
Roof, Onto Woman's Pillow
in case you missed it

Space Debris Crashes Through Roof, Onto Woman's Pillow

Canada woman says it's a nice reminder that life is precious

(Newser) - A British Columbia woman was awakened the night of Oct. 4 by a crashing sound and the feeling of debris hitting her face. Ruth Hamilton looked up to see a hole in her ceiling and a rock on her pillow and called 911, not sure what had happened. The truth...

City Fires 'Wizard' It Employed for 2 Decades

City of Christchurch will no longer be needing the services of Ian Brackenbury Channell

(Newser) - Ian Brackenbury Channell has an entire Wikipedia page devoted to him, with a title not many (if any) can claim: the Wizard of New Zealand. It looks like the 88-year-old sorcerer may be hanging up his long black robe for good, however, at least officially, after the city of Christchurch...

How Much Does This Guy Love His Wife? Their House Now Spins

Vojin Kusic, 72, designed and built home in Bosnia that rotates so his love can enjoy different views

(Newser) - It's not exactly on par with India's Taj Mahal, but a family house in a small town in northern Bosnia is, in its own way, a monument to love. The house in Srbac was designed and built by 72-year-old Vojin Kusic. With a green facade and red metal...

6-Year-Old Girl Sues Egypt's Ministry of Education, Wins

She was upset she wasn't advanced to 2nd grade

(Newser) - A 6-year-old girl in Egypt, upset when she wasn't advanced to second grade, sued over the issue—and won, Egypt Today reports. The girl completed first grade (and ranked first in her class), then moved to a different village. Her new school told her she was too young for...

Under Quirky Law, We Really Could Mint a $1T Coin

'Gimmick' floated as one solution to the debt-ceiling impasse

(Newser) - Some politicians think they've found a silver bullet for the impasse over the debt limit, except the bullet is made of platinum: Mint a $1 trillion coin and use it to flood the treasury with cash. Even its serious proponents— Paul Krugman is one of them —call it...

Man's Back Surgery Led to Cement Piercing Heart

Man recovering from complication of kyphoplasty surgery: report

(Newser) - A man who visited an emergency room with chest pain and shortness of breath turned out to have a thin, 4-inch-long piece of cement piercing his heart. As USA Today reports, the problem stemmed from a back surgery the 56-year-old had undergone the previous week. Kyphoplasty involves the injecting of...

A Ninja Attacked Army Special Ops Unit With a Sword

It was reportedly a katana

(Newser) - Some odd reports out of California are painting a bizarre picture of an attack on a US Army special operations unit--by a ninja. Or at least a man dressed as one. Per NPR , members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were training at the Inyokern Airport in Kern County...

Teen&#39;s Video Inadvertently Affects Thousands of Studies
Teen's Video Inadvertently
Affects Thousands of Studies
in case you missed it

Teen's Video Inadvertently Affects Thousands of Studies

Sarah Frank's tips on 'side hustles' led to a deluge at site used by social scientists

(Newser) - The Verge has a strange tale about how a well-meaning teenager inadvertently messed up more than 4,000 social science studies. In July, Sarah Frank posted a video on TikTok giving advice on how to make extra cash through "side hustles." In one of her tips, she suggested...

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