strange stuff

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

Stories 2761 - 2780 | << Prev   Next >>

Mom Who Ate Poppy Seeds Sues Over Failed Drug Test

Hospital informed child welfare agency

(Newser) - A first-time mother who says she failed a drug test while in labor because she ate poppy seeds has sued a Pittsburgh hospital, saying officials defamed her and violated her doctor-patient confidentiality by sharing the results with a child welfare agency. Rachael Devore, 31, who gave birth at Magee-Women's...

Man Dies of Heart Attack Caused by ... Nail Biting

Nails bleed, infection turns septic and travels to heart

(Newser) - It's a good thing you listened to your mom when she told you not to bite your nails: The bad habit ended up costing one UK man his life. John Gardener, a 40-year-old amateur football referee, bit his fingernails so badly that they bled—leading to an infection that...

Cops Rescue Family From Irate 22-lb. Cat

Himalayan attacked, family locked themselves in bedroom

(Newser) - Portland police got a very strange call Sunday: A family was cowering in a bedroom after their 22-pound Himalayan cat went on the rampage, the Oregonian reports. "It has gone over the edge," Lee Palmer told dispatchers. "He's trying to attack us—he's very hostile....

Boy Suspended for Pointing Finger Like Gun
Boy Suspended for
Pointing Finger Like Gun
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 9, 2014 12:25 PM CDT

Boy Suspended for Pointing Finger Like Gun

Nathan Entingh used a 'level 2 lookalike firearm'

(Newser) - America's kids have been suspended for pretending that pencils were guns, but an Ohio school may have topped that. A 10-year-old student at a Columbus elementary school was handed a three-day suspension for making a finger gun and pretending to shoot a classmate. The suspension letter more formally referred...

Cops Lose Password, Miss Years of Complaints
Cops Lose Password,
Miss Years of Complaints
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 9, 2014 7:22 AM CDT

Cops Lose Password, Miss Years of Complaints

Hundreds piled up in India, unseen in online portal

(Newser) - For the last eight years, a watchdog agency in India has diligently collected hundreds of corruption complaints about the Delhi police and forwarded them to the department. Not a single one has been acted upon. Conspiracy? Coverup? Nope, just good old-fashioned incompetence. Turns out, the police department didn't know...

Beer: the New Sports Drink?

Canadian firm preps post-workout ale

(Newser) - Are beer cans the new water bottles? A Canadian company is hoping so. Vampt's Lean Machine "recovery ale" is reportedly full of nutrients, electrolytes, and protein—and it's got just 77 calories. For those hoping to get buzzed after their workout, however, a warning: It's also...

Dumbest Thing Ever Said to a Cop During DUI Stop
Dumbest Thing Ever Said
to a Cop During DUI Stop
in case you missed it
Mar 8, 2014 12:35 PM CST

Dumbest Thing Ever Said to a Cop During DUI Stop

Michael Moore explained he was trying to 'drive it off'

(Newser) - He was pulled over with glassy eyes, slurred speech, a boozy smell, and he blew well over the legal limit on his BAC test, so 61-year-old Michael Moore probably couldn't say much to help his case. But this? He "told me that his wife told him that he...

Fortune Cookie Numbers Nab Woman $2M Lotto Win

Emma Duvoll says she may spend big on a trip to Switzerland

(Newser) - You may want to start paying more attention to your fortune cookies. When Emma Duvoll cracked open her cookie from Sammy's Noodle Shop & Grill in Manhattan, the lucky numbers on her fortune "looked attractive," she says, so she played them in the Powerball. "I used...

Bird Starts Fire With Cigarette
 Bird Starts Fire With Cigarette 
Mar 7, 2014 12:18 AM CST

Bird Starts Fire With Cigarette

It carried smoldering butt to roof of London building

(Newser) - Fires started by carelessly discarded cigarettes are nothing new to the London Fire Brigade—but the culprits are usually people, not birds. Investigators were initially baffled by a fire on the roof of a building in south London, but they eventually concluded that it had been started by a lit...

Sister Caught Kissing Bro in Jail Now ... Back in Jail

Charlene Ellet charged with assaulting her husband

(Newser) - In case you were curious what else goes on in the life of a Texas woman who admitted to carrying on an affair with her brother , it apparently involves charges of choking one's husband—and yes, that's a different person than dear old bro. Charlene Ellet was released...

Being Annoying Is Now Legal in Grand Rapids

City dumps old law against jerks

(Newser) - A new vacation spot for America's most irritating people? After a 38-year ban, it's now OK to be annoying in Grand Rapids, Mich. On the advice of the city attorney, the city has decided to ax an old statute that says "no person shall willfully annoy another...

Shoplifting Bust Ends in Siblings Admitting to Affair

Woman allegedly admits to 'sexual relationship' with her brother

(Newser) - All Charlene Ellet wanted to do, authorities say, was shoplift at a Walmart—but her day went downhill from there. While officers detained the 25-year-old, her brother, Cameron Beck, showed up looking for her, and in his backpack deputies found a "cut pen with a crystal substance on it"...

'Dead' Man Wakes Up —in Body Bag

Walter Williams kicked as workers prepared to embalm him

(Newser) - Funeral home workers preparing to embalm a 78-year-old in Mississippi this week were startled when the man's body bag ... started moving. It turns out Walter Williams, um, wasn't as dead as he was supposed to be and was kicking to be unzipped, WAPT reports. Williams was pronounced dead...

Parrot Helps Catch Owner's Murderer

It screeched whenever dead owner's nephew was near

(Newser) - The title of "man's best friend" might no longer go to dogs after this one: A parrot reportedly led detectives to its owner's murderer, the Times of India reports. Neelam Sharma, 45, was found stabbed to death along with her dog in the Indian city of Agra...

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week
 5 Craziest Crimes of the Week 
Feb 28, 2014 8:07 AM CST

5 Craziest Crimes of the Week

Including a shooting at a famous Long Island castle

(Newser) - Sloppy police work and a wayward rocker make this week's list:
  • Teen Wrongly Jailed Over Name Confusion : A Florida teenager spent 35 days in jail on sex-assault charges because it apparently never occurred to his arresting officers that two people might have the same name. Cody Lee Williams, now
...

Leopard Terrorizes India Hospital

Spends 12 hours inside before bursting out through window

(Newser) - Patients in an Indian hospital yesterday received an unusual—and pretty frightening—visitor: a leopard that had turned up in the northern city of Meerut, injuring seven people, per the Hindustan Times . After being teased by "mischievous elements" in a warehouse, the animal headed to the hospital, where it...

Family: Rat Baked Into 96-Year-Old's Birthday Cake

It wasn't such a happy birthday for Joseph Vallenti

(Newser) - It's tough to think of a less appetizing way to celebrate one's 96th birthday. Joseph Vallenti's request for his big day was a slice of his favorite German apple cake, made by King Kullen supermarket. What Vallenti's family recalls the Commack, NY, man saying after taking...

Uh-Oh: Clown Shortage Looms in US
 Uh-Oh: 
 Clown 
 Shortage 
 Looms in US 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 23, 2014 10:39 AM CST

Uh-Oh: Clown Shortage Looms in US

It's no laughing matter, say clown organizations

(Newser) - Good news, coulrophobes : A "national clown shortage" may soon be upon us, the New York Daily News reports. It seems as older clowns are dying, not nearly as many younger clowns are joining the ranks to replace them—leading to a drastic decrease in membership at the country's...

Nicaragua Puts 3 on Trial Over 2-Banana Theft

Bananas were worth 32 cents each, and the trial will cost $600

(Newser) - A court's decision to hold three men for trial for the attempted theft of two bananas is drawing surprise and ridicule from lawyers in Nicaragua. The bananas stolen are valued at 32 cents, while the trial is expected to cost at least $600. Prosecutors said in preliminary proceedings yesterday...

Salvation Army Donation: Big Bag of Pot

Pennsylvania outlet working with police to find owner

(Newser) - How ... generous? An act of charity may end badly for one donor to a Pennsylvania Salvation Army outlet. Sugarcreek Borough police say they were called when workers found a large plastic bag of marijuana among some donated clothes earlier this week. Police Chief Matt Carlson tells the Oil City Derrick...

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