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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Hotels Cash In as Millennials, Gen Z Embrace 'Sleepcations'

Exhausted young people are being lured in by travel packages promising uninterrupted rest

(Newser) - Forget the packed itinerary: Some travelers are now checking into hotels with plans to do almost nothing but sleep. The Wall Street Journal reports on the rise of the "sleepcation," especially among millennials and members of Gen Z, who are trading sunrise hikes and sightseeing for blackout curtains,...

Richard III Audience Member Hurt by Flying Sword

Lead actor's weapon flew out of his hand during performance of Shakespeare play in Berlin

(Newser) - A climactic sword fight in Berlin's Schaubuehne theater briefly turned real when a weapon flew out of the lead actor's hand and struck a woman in the front row. The incident came during the final scene of Richard III on Thursday night, when German star Lars Eidinger, known...

Thai Police Get Imaginative for Undercover Arrest

Officers pose as traditional lion dancers to nab suspect at Lunar New Year celebration

(Newser) - When Thai police were having trouble catching a serial burglar who repeatedly slipped through their fingers, they came up with a creative plan: going undercover in a traditional lion costume to get close to their elusive quarry. Video footage released by the Bangkok police department showed officers hidden beneath a...

Injured Seabird Goes to ER, Pecks on Door

Cormorant gets humans to remove the fishing hook from its beak

(Newser) - An injured seabird sought help by pecking at the door of an emergency room at a hospital in Germany until medical staff noticed it and called firefighters to help with its rescue. The cormorant, a shiny black waterbird, had a triple fishing hook stuck in its beak when it made...

School Finally Busts Thief, and It's a Cat

School in New Zealand catches elusive culprit on video

(Newser) - A New Zealand primary school has finally cracked the mystery of its serial thief: It's a cat. Staff at Apanui School in Whakatane had been puzzled as lone shoes, goggles, underwear, and towels kept vanishing from school grounds over the course of a year or more, reports UPI . "...

In Berlin, It's All but Raining Potatoes

Record harvest results in a mass giveaway to Berlin residents, charities, zoos

(Newser) - Berliners are lining up in the cold—for potatoes. An enormous bumper crop, quickly dubbed the "potato flood," has left farmers in eastern Germany with more spuds than they can sell, triggering a sprawling giveaway that's turned parts of the capital into open-air potato depots. One farmer...

These 'Athletes' Hurl Cast-Iron Pans on Ice

This year's charity 'skillet curling' tournament raised $90K for Chattanooga food bank

(Newser) - Olympic curling it isn't, but in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the hottest thing on ice right now is a flying cast-iron pan. NPR dropped in on the city's Annual Skillet Curling Championship , where 32 costumed teams spend three days sliding frying pans toward a moving target they call "the...

Mystery Hum Torments Connecticut Town

West Haven residents press officials to trace low-frequency noise disrupting sleep

(Newser) - Sleep in one Connecticut city is being rattled by a noise no one can see and few can escape. A persistent, low hum, likened to a powerful exhaust fan or vacuum, has triggered more than 200 complaints from residents in West Haven, many of whom say it vibrates through brick...

Fla. Home With Pirate Cove, Saloon May Soon Be an Airbnb
You've Never Seen a House
Like 'Florida Man's Home'
in case you missed it
Feb 1, 2026 2:55 PM CST

You've Never Seen a House Like 'Florida Man's Home'

Buyers plan to turn Pinellas Park residence with 22 themed rooms, including a pirate cove, into Airbnb

(Newser) - A house that looks ordinary from the curb but is anything but ordinary inside has found a taker. The Pinellas Park, Florida, property—nicknamed the "Florida Man's Home" after the meme-ready archetype, per People —is under contract after being listed in December for $500,000, according to...

Factory Mistake Turns Sad Horse Into Smash Hit
Factory Mistake Turns
Sad Horse Into Smash Hit
in case you missed it
Feb 1, 2026 11:00 AM CST

Factory Mistake Turns Sad Horse Into Smash Hit

Assembly line error in China turns a smile into a frown, and young workers love it

(Newser) - A factory mistake in eastern China has turned a $4 plush toy into an unlikely symbol of workplace burnout—and a runaway hit. The stuffed horse, produced in Yiwu International Trade City for the Year of the Horse, is designed to wear a cheerful smile, explains China Daily . But in...

This Lizard Somehow Survived a RI Snowstorm

New England Wildlife Center doesn't know if 'lizard in a blizzard' escaped or was ditched by owner

(Newser) - Wildlife officials say a "lizard in a blizzard" has been rescued after a man discovered the large cold-blooded reptile buried in snow in Rhode Island, somehow surviving the frigid temperatures. According to the New England Wildlife Center, the Providence man spotted the tegu lizard from his driveway on Tuesday....

Her Long-Neglected Crock Sells for $32K

Nebraskan Lois Jergens nearly put Red Wing Stoneware crock up for $20

(Newser) - For nearly 30 years, a big stoneware crock on Lois Jurgens' back porch in Nebraska was little more than a sturdy spot on which to park grilling tools. But earlier this month—on her 91st birthday, in fact—that same 30-gallon crock sold at auction for $32,000, reports the...

Shark Tank Star Faked Own Funeral for Her 70th Birthday

Barbara Corcoran staged a full mock funeral to prank her guests

(Newser) - Barbara Corcoran didn't just throw herself a 70th birthday party—she staged her own funeral and lay "dead" in a coffin for 10 minutes to kick things off. The Shark Tank investor, now 76, recently recounted on the Boardroom podcast that she found out her friends were planning...

Cop Under Investigation After Fatally Shooting Raccoon

Raccoon was on NYC beach, had been reported as aggressive

(Newser) - A New York police officer who fatally shot a raccoon at a New York City beach has been placed on modified duty while the matter is reviewed, according to officials. The shooting occurred Thursday morning at Rockaway Beach, after someone called 911 to report a vicious animal, a police department...

Coyote Swims Across Bay to Alcatraz Island, a First

Rare visitor prompts questions about how it arrived and survived

(Newser) - Tourists expecting prison lore at Alcatraz instead got a wildlife mystery: a lone coyote churning through San Francisco Bay toward the island once billed as "escape-proof." Alcatraz City Cruises employee Aidan Moore says a visitor flagged him down late Sunday afternoon with iPhone video of the animal paddling...

In Malawi, a Fierce Fight Over the Fate of 4 Dogs

It all boils down to custody

(Newser) - In Malawi, a tug-of-war over four elite guard dogs has turned into a full-blown political drama. The Wall Street Journal reports that former President Lazarus Chakwera had the animals moved from the presidential palace in Lilongwe to his private home after losing last year's election, insisting they're part...

On the Go This Winter? Suck on a Soup Drop

Progresso drops 2 new flavors for its limited-edition 'soup you can suck on' candies

(Newser) - Soup fans who like their broth in unconventional formats have another chance to suck on it instead of sip it. Progresso is bringing back its oddball Soup Drops hard candies and adding two new varieties, the company said in a press release . Joining the returning Chicken Noodle flavor are Tomato...

On Rural Irish Road, a 'Very Unusual Scene'

15K crabs worth $70K spill out of truck after crash in Ireland's Donegal, then make a run for it

(Newser) - Drivers on a rural Irish road were confronted with an unusual traffic problem this week: thousands of live crabs scuttling toward nearby fields after a seafood truck crashed into a ditch. The McLaughlin Transport trailer was hauling an estimated 15,000 crabs from Inishowen, in County Donegal, bound for restaurants...

'In My 25 Years, I've Never Handcuffed an Emu'

That changed Friday when a Fla. deputy captured one of the large flightless birds that had escaped

(Newser) - A Florida deputy has captured a runaway emu and safely returned the large flightless bird to its home. A St. Johns County deputy responded last Friday to a rural area west of St. Augustine following reports of the bird's escape, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post...

Tennis Player Celebrates Victory, Promptly Loses

Nishesh Basavareddy takes advantage of Sebastian Ofner's apparent choke

(Newser) - A tennis player learned Wednesday not to celebrate victory before the match is really won. Before Sebastian Ofner lost in Australian Open qualifying, the 29-year-old Austrian had raised his arms and walked toward the net after taking a 7-1 lead in the decisive tiebreaker against Nishesh Basavareddy, per the AP...

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