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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Pilot's Bathroom Break Forces Landing

Door jammed so he couldn't get back inside cockpit

(Newser) - A sillier reason to ground a plane than a woman singing Whitney Houston songs ? How about the pilot locking himself out of the cockpit? An Air India flight was forced to divert and land after a pilot went for a bathroom break ... and couldn't get back to his...

Cops Bust Prostitution Ring ... at Senior Citizen Home

Neighbors, 75 and 66, are suspected masterminds

(Newser) - The suspects are accused of running a prostitution ring out of their apartments, using cocaine, and ultimately causing drunks and drug addicts to bother others living in the building, pass out in the halls, and leave used condoms in the rec room. Oh, the building in question? It's a...

Would-Be Florida Mayor Endorsed by ... Jesus

Christ sent Anna Pierre signs, but she won't say what they were

(Newser) - A North Miami mayoral candidate has pretty much the endorsement to end all endorsements: Jesus Christ himself. Anna Pierre touts what she calls the "spiritual endorsement" on her campaign posters, and says she knows she's the one because the son of God sent her three signs that he...

Woman Pinned for Hours Under Drunk Son

Happy Mother's Day!

(Newser) - We're guessing Robert Golba's mother didn't spend Sunday thanking her lucky stars that she is mom to this 55-year-old. The 81-year-old woman broke her hip in three places after being pinned to her kitchen floor for hours on Thursday—after her intoxicated son fell on her while...

LinkedIn Tells Prostitutes to Go Away

Networking site bans listings for escorts, too

(Newser) - LinkedIn's new user agreement includes a surprising clause: No promoting prostitution or escort services on your profile, even if it's legal where you live. ReadWriteWeb spotted the unusual inclusion, and wondered if it was even truly necessary. In its words, "would anyone really take the risk of...

Ky. Man Spends the Night in Supermarket, Eats 6 Steaks

Also 57 cans of Redi-Whip, a cake

(Newser) - Never let it be said that Trevor Runyon lacked chutzpah—or an appetite. The Kentucky man was arrested yesterday morning after allegedly sneaking into a grocery store, spending the night there, and throwing himself a frankly ridiculous feast. Surveillance video shows Runyon walking into a ValuMarket before closing time on...

Man Drives to ER Carrying Own Arm

Limb pulled off by machinery

(Newser) - There may be hope for a man who had the intestinal fortitude to pull his own severed arm from machinery and drive more than 9 miles to a hospital all the while hanging onto the limb. The 37-year-old was then flown to another facility in Vienna, Austria, where surgeons are...

UN's Hunger RX: Let the World Eat Bugs

Though 'consumer disgust' could get in the way

(Newser) - The UN has a simple way to address world hunger: We should all eat more insects, it says in a new report . "Insects are everywhere and they reproduce quickly, and they have high growth and feed conversion rates and a low environmental footprint," the report says, per the...

Cleaning Lady Discovers IED in Teen&#39;s Room: Police
Cleaning Lady Discovers
IED in Teen's Room: Police
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 12, 2013 10:59 AM CDT

Cleaning Lady Discovers IED in Teen's Room: Police

Joshua Prater, 18, arrested after bomb determined to be legit

(Newser) - Think of all the things you imagine a cleaning woman might find in an 18-year-old male's room. An IED probably wasn't on your list. But that's exactly what police say an Arizona housecleaner discovered this week in a Tempe home. After spotting a suspicious-looking device with wires...

NY Man Done Writing Out Entire Bible

Amen.

(Newser) - It took him four years, but Phillip Patterson now has serious cause to throw around a couple of hallelujahs: The Upstate New York man yesterday finished his mammoth project of writing out the entire Bible by hand , reports the AP . "Every single curly-q, every single loop, it was all...

Cross-Dressing Branson Pays Lost Bet

Oh, and he shaved his legs

(Newser) - Just another day in the never-normal life of Richard Branson, who today had nothing better to do than shave his legs, smear about two kilos of red lipstick on his face, squeeze into a red skirt, and dump orange juice all over a fellow airline magnate. It was all in...

Strangest Way Ever to Quit Smoking: Slap a Cop
Strangest Way Ever to Quit Smoking: Slap a Cop
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 12, 2013 7:51 AM CDT

Strangest Way Ever to Quit Smoking: Slap a Cop

California woman does so to get sent to a smoke-free jail

(Newser) - Etta Mae Lopez wanted to quit smoking, so she did the usual: waited patiently outside a sheriff's office until a deputy came out and then slapped him across the face. And, ta-da, now she's in a smoke-free jail for 63 days, reports the AP . The 31-year-old Californian explained...

Isaac Newton Tried to Invent New Language

Is it 'utor' enough for you?

(Newser) - Isaac Newton had a thing or two to say about gravity and the laws of motion, but if a lesser known creation of his took off, we'd all be speaking a different language right now. As Arika Okrent explains at the Week , Newton drew up plans for a "...

Inside the 'Most Brutal Race on Earth'

100-mile Barkley Marathons in Tennessee might be the weirdest, too

(Newser) - To call the Barkley Marathons quirky would be accurate—the entry fee for first-timers to the 100-mile race is a license plate from their home state; the race dates aren't posted (entrants have to just figure it out); there are hidden checkpoints, and GPS devices aren't allowed; and...

Once-Submerged Town Resurfaces

Argentina village was under water for 25 years

(Newser) - A strange ghost town that spent a quarter-century under water is coming up for air again in the Argentine farmlands southwest of Buenos Aires. Epecuen was once a bustling little lakeside resort, where 1,500 people served 20,000 tourists a season. During Argentina's golden age, the same trains...

Cemetery: No, You Can't Put the F-Word on a Grave

Family sought expletive-laden inscription

(Newser) - Despite a family's wishes, visitors to a Massachusetts cemetery won't be seeing the F-word on any headstones. After 23-year-old Sonny Santiago died in a February car accident, his family asked the maker of his headstone to write a controversial inscription: "You gonna remember the damn name/ I...

Alligator Catches Guy Who Eluded Police

Florida man is OK after attack, but behind bars

(Newser) - A Florida man probably had a brief moment of joy when he gave the slip to the sheriff's deputy chasing him. Then the alligator showed up. Police say Bryan Zuniga, 20, ran from his vehicle after a deputy pulled him over for weaving in traffic, reports the Tampa Bay ...

Aussie Mystery: Who Threw a Sandwich at the PM?

Teen suspended, but he says he's just a patsy

(Newser) - A story getting big play across Australian media today: On a visit to a high school yesterday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard had a Vegemite sandwich thrown at her by one of the students. The alleged thrower was suspended from school for three weeks, the Brisbane Times reports, but he claims...

Woman Survives Husband's Harpoon Misfire

He was cleaning spear gun when it fired and hit her in mouth

(Newser) - A 28-year-old woman in Brazil miraculously survived after her husband accidentally shot her in the mouth with a harpoon. The Rio de Janeiro State Health Department said the woman's husband was cleaning his spear gun when it went off, firing a harpoon that hit her cervical spine. Doctors say...

Louisiana Is Shrinking, Thanks to Giant Swamp Rats

Beaver-like creatures behind vast erosion

(Newser) - When it comes to invasive species, Louisiana may have Florida and its giant snails beat: The state's beloved swampland is literally vanishing at the hands of gigantic swamp rats . Nutria—described by a documentarian tracking the creatures as "a cross between a beaver and a New York sewer...

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