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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Harvard Book Is Indeed Bound in Human Skin

French poet gave book to friend

(Newser) - Harvard has confirmed a creepy find in its Houghton Library: A 19th-century book about the soul is bound in human skin. Tests revealed that French poet's Arsène Houssaye’s Des Destinées de l'Ame—The Destiny of the Soul—really does have a human binding, backing up...

Museum Displays Ear Grown From Van Gogh DNA

It's from the great-great-grandson of brother Theo

(Newser) - A German museum has put on display a copy of Vincent van Gogh's ear that was grown using genetic material provided by one of the 19th-century Dutch artist's living relatives. The Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe said artist Diemut Strebe made the replica using living cells...

Insane Grasshopper Invasion Hits Albuquerque

Swarms actually show up on weather radar

(Newser) - Albuquerque is dealing with so many grasshoppers that their swarms look like rain on weather radar, ABC News reports. "We have actually been noticing the insects on radar since about Memorial Day," says a National Weather Service rep. At first, the service couldn't figure out what the...

Oakland Riled by Strange Story of 5 Baby Herons

Tree-trimmer could face federal charges for disrupting their nest

(Newser) - A tree-trimmer, homeless birds, and an erroneous report involving a wood-chipper: These are the elements of a strange story that has riled Oakland. Herons living in trees near a post office were leaving droppings on mail trucks, so the post office had the trees trimmed. That, it seems, is how...

Sexism Makes Female-Named Storms Deadlier
 Female-Named 
 Storms Kill More 
study says
Jun 3, 2014 7:13 AM CDT

Female-Named Storms Kill More

We're not as afraid of them, don't prepare as much, study finds

(Newser) - Our hurricane-naming system taps into an unconscious sexism—and the results are potentially disastrous, researchers say. A study suggests that when we hear a female name for a hurricane, we're less worried, and thus less likely to prepare adequately, than we would be if the name were male, the...

Cops Solve Street View 'Murder'

Scottish pranksters alarmed Google user

(Newser) - With only a minute to act, a pair of Scottish pranksters who spotted a Google Street View car faked a murder realistic enough to cause at least one person to call the police. One of the Edinburgh mechanics lay in the road while the other stood over him holding a...

Bride Ties Baby to Dress's Train, Walks Down Aisle

Online commenters predictably not amused

(Newser) - When Shona Carter-Brooks and Johnathan Brooks wed last month, the Tennessee couple wanted to include their 1-month-old daughter, Aubrey, in the ceremony. Sweet, right? Well, maybe not: Carter-Brooks somehow attached the newborn to the train of her wedding gown and then dragged her down the aisle, the Daily Mail reports....

The Next Trendy Diet: Eating Ice?

Expert calls it 'negative-calorie food'

(Newser) - Not only does ice offer a calorie-free way to snack—it actually burns calories as your body melts it, says an expert. Gastroenterologist Dr. Brian Weiner steers patients away from fad diets, but his findings on ice have inspired him to write a free e-book of his own: The Ice ...

Guy Robbed Woman, Then Friended Her: Cops

Criminals with distinctive tattoos might consider restraint on social media

(Newser) - Ah, Facebook, that repository for high school friends, college friends, friends of friends, people you wish you'd never met ... and the dude who robbed you the other day? Police in Washington state say that a woman was sitting at a ferry terminal with headphones on when a guy knocked...

No Boys Allowed: Behold, Women-Only Parking Spots
No Boys Allowed: Behold, Women-Only Parking Spots
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 1, 2014 10:31 AM CDT

No Boys Allowed: Behold, Women-Only Parking Spots

It's South Korea's attempt to make parking more female-friendly

(Newser) - This is apparently not a bad joke: South Korea is unveiling the female-only parking spot, according to reports at the Independent and NBC . The lowdown: Seoul is looking to become more "woman-friendly" via initiatives like the extra-wide, extra-long, bright pink parking spots. In case that's not obvious or...

How Maine Got Its Desert
 How Maine 
 Got Its Desert 
Jun 1, 2014 6:29 AM CDT

How Maine Got Its Desert

40-acre phenomenon is Ice Age leftover

(Newser) - If you're ever in Maine, it might not hurt to bring a camel. Sure, the state has its forests and coastline, but it's also home to a 47-acre desert. Well, not technically a desert, thanks to the amount of precipitation it gets. Still, "walking to the middle...

Rat Hoarder Stumps San Francisco Officials

Erica J. breeds hundreds of the animals

(Newser) - San Francisco authorities just don't know what to do about the 43-year-old woman dubbed "Rat Girl." She keeps breeding rats—we're talking hundreds of them—and some escape or are set free. The result: A thousand rats were wandering around the neighborhood of the residential hotel...

N. Korea Proclaims Creation of Fungus Sports Drink

Mmm, liquified mushrooms

(Newser) - Gatorade better watch its back: North Korea's scientists have invented a "very effective" sports drink that they claim can both enhance physical ability and speed recovery, the Korean Central News Agency reports. The miracle ingredient? "Mushroom fungus." While the report doesn't say much beyond that...

New Claim: Einstein's Brain Not So Special

Psychologist says no secret in Einstein's brain

(Newser) - Maybe he just knew how to use it right. A new paper by Pace University psychologist Terence Hines picks apart previous studies that claim to have identified that special something in the makeup of Einstein's brain. Hines reviewed—and chipped away at—several prominent studies that looked at Einstein'...

Kansas City Woman Surrounds Home With Sand

80 tons of it replaces lawn, though some neighbors hate it

(Newser) - It is the ultimate low-maintenance "lawn": A Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner said goodbye to grass by shipping in 80 tons of sand around her suburban home, reports KCTV . "Now being over 60, I've decided that I've owned the house for 33 years and that I wasn'...

Woman Gobbles 9 Lbs. of Steak in 15 Minutes

Molly Schuyler sets Big Texan challenge record

(Newser) - Molly Schuyler set a new steak-eating record on Monday: She ate a 72-ounce steak at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas—plus sides of baked potato, shrimp cocktail, bread, and salad—in less than five minutes, crushing the former record of 8 minutes and 52 seconds, the Amarillo ...

New Priciest-Ever Starbucks Drink Made With 60 Shots

Frappuccino worth $54.75 breaks last year's record

(Newser) - Today in the annals of First-World feats: America has a new priciest-ever Starbucks drink. The customer behind the beverage, identified as Andrew, used his loyalty card to get a free Sexagintuple Vanilla Bean Mocha Frappuccino, a concoction made with 60 shots of espresso that happens to be worth $54.75....

Cowboy Lassoes Gunman at Rodeo

He had run out of bullets by then, but still ...

(Newser) - Things got rowdy at a rodeo in Bartow County, Georgia, over the weekend when guests asked a drunk man to leave. Instead, police say Celestino Moras, 25, stood up and started shooting, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution . One other unidentified person also started firing, and four people ended up with...

High School Food Fight Ends Very Badly

Wilson Central High School students face misdemeanor charges

(Newser) - Yet another senior prank has gone awry. Eight Tennessee high school kids are facing misdemeanor charges—over a food fight. The four juvenile and four adult students from Wilson Central High School apparently didn't "back off" after the fight began on Friday, and were charged with vandalism...

Student Eats Own Hip for Art Project
 Man Eats Own Hip, Calls It Art 
May 26, 2014 6:04 AM CDT

Man Eats Own Hip, Calls It Art

'It was goaty,' Alexander Selvik Wengshoel says

(Newser) - A Norwegian art student says the deformed hip that caused him a lifetime of pain became something much more pleasant when boiled and served with potatoes. Alexander Selvik Wengshoel, 25, says he spent a year convincing doctors to let him keep the bone after an operation to replace it, and...

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