strange stuff

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

Stories 3421 - 3440 | << Prev   Next >>

Woman Quits Smoking on Her 102nd Birthday

 102-Year-Old 
 Woman: Fine, 
 I'll Quit 
 Smoking 
in case you missed it
Feb 23, 2013 8:08 AM CST

102-Year-Old Woman: Fine, I'll Quit Smoking

British great-great-grandma finally gives up the habit

(Newser) - Who says life stops at 102? On her 102nd birthday, Clara Cowell has given in to her family and agreed to stop smoking, the Daily Mail reports. The British mother of four, grandmother to nine, great-grandmother to 12, and great-great-grandmother to four conceded that after puffing on some 60,000...

Walmart Hits Oreo-Loving Worker With Felony Charge

63-year-old fired, accused of theft

(Newser) - Walmart is slapping a former employee with felony charges after she allegedly ate the store's Oreo cookies on the job, The Smoking Gun reports. Penny Winters, 63, admits to munching on Oreos at the Indiana store but says she noticed an open bag and considered them a gift from...

School Teacher, Nurse Charged in Murder Plot

Angela Nolen, 47, allegedly paid $4K for killing of hubby

(Newser) - A kindergarten teacher and a school nurse in Virginia are accused of trying to kill the teacher's ex-husband in a murder-for-hire plot, Fox News reports. The teacher—Angela Nolen, 47—allegedly conspired with 37-year-old Cathy Bennett at the elementary school where they work in Rocky Mount, Va. But they...

Monster Goldfish Invade Lake Tahoe

Invasive species could damage the ecosystem

(Newser) - Planning a vacay to Lake Tahoe? You may well encounter goldfish that are 1.5 feet long and weigh more than 4 pounds, Scientific American reports. Researchers trolling for invasive species encountered the massive goldfish and say pet owners may have dumped them. That act of good will, however, could...

Flowers Use Electricity to Talk With Bees
Flowers Use Electricity
to Talk With Bees
study says
Feb 22, 2013 9:00 AM CST

Flowers Use Electricity to Talk With Bees

By changing charge, flowers keep away bees until nectar refilled, says study

(Newser) - "Say it with flowers," went the old advertising slogan, but who knew flowers were this talkative? It turns out flowers give off electrical signals that bees can pick up on, telling potential pollinators whether a flower has plenty of nectar or has recently been tapped, reports NPR . According...

Russian 'Ghost Ship' Turns Up Off Irish Coast

It's an environmental danger: French group

(Newser) - An empty Russian cruise ship lost at sea for weeks has turned up some 1,300 nautical miles off Ireland's west coast, reports AFP via PhysOrg. The Lyubov Orlova was being towed from Canada to the Dominican Republic when a tug line broke in late January, setting it adrift....

Angry Egyptians Try to Send Prez Into Space

They enter him in Buzz Aldrin-backed contest

(Newser) - Egypt has found a new way to express political discontent. An opposition group has entered President Mohamed Morsi in a contest to win a space flight, the AP reports. It's a way of showing their desire to eject the leader, the April 6 Youth Movement says on its Facebook...

Boy Calls 911 to Avoid Bedtime
 Boy Calls 911 to Avoid Bedtime 
Feb 21, 2013 2:45 PM CST

Boy Calls 911 to Avoid Bedtime

Officer dispatched to tell him not to do that

(Newser) - Police in Massachusetts say a 10-year-old boy called 911 because he didn't want to go to bed. Brockton police say the boy called just after 8 last night and told the dispatcher he was calling to report his mother because he did not want to go to bed. There...

Murder Suspect Surrenders; Police Say, We're Closed

So Swedish fugitive goes to another station

(Newser) - A fugitive in Sweden sought for murder had to turn himself in twice this week to make it stick. The suspect had been on the run for 15 months before returning to his hometown police station in Malmo to surrender, reports the Local . When he found the doors locked, he...

New Zealand Has Another Wayward Penguin

'Happy Feet Jr.' is in rough shape after long journey

(Newser) - Another penguin has managed the amazing feat of washing up on the shore of New Zealand, reports AFP . This one has been named "Happy Feet Jr." after the original wayward penguin who captivated the nation in 2011. The juvenile royal penguin is in bad shape, unfortunately, though for...

Florida Stadium to Be Renamed— After Prison Firm

GEO Group's boss is alumnus of Florida Atlantic

(Newser) - A 29,000-seat university stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, will soon boast the name of a private prison company—a move that has critics shaking their heads, the New York Times reports. GEO Group "is a company whose record is marred by human rights abuses, by lawsuits, by unnecessary...

Cops Bust Guy in Bizarre Dali Theft, Return
 Bizarre Dali Theft Explained 
Feb 20, 2013 9:06 AM CST

Bizarre Dali Theft Explained

Greek publicist allegedly freaked, mailed drawing back

(Newser) - After a thief walked out of a New York gallery with a Salvador Dali drawing only to later return it by mail , observers were scratching their heads—but now they have an explanation, via prosecutors. Authorities arrested Greek fashion publicist Phivos Lampros Istavrioglou, 29, in the case; he has pleaded...

Next Up for USPS: Fashion Line
 Next Up 
 for USPS: 
 Fashion Line 
seriously
Feb 20, 2013 6:56 AM CST

Next Up for USPS: Fashion Line

Yes, we said postal service fashion line

(Newser) - Well, this is unexpected: The struggling US Postal Service's next venture ... is a fashion line. Of (it gets odder) "wearable electronics." Inspired by the unofficial USPS motto—"Neither snow nor rain nor heat..."—the line of apparel and accessories will be called "Rain...

North Korea's New Video Burns Obama, Troops

Video game theme accompanies images of troops on fire

(Newser) - Just in case North Korea's propaganda video of the US in flames left anybody in doubt about Pyongyang's feelings toward America, a sequel now shows President Obama and American troops in flames. The video—which plays the theme music from the videogame Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion—ends with...

Welcome to Physics, Class; Now, I Strip

Columbia professor's bizarre stunt gets his students' attention

(Newser) - Turns out, it is possible for a video of a quantum mechanics professor welcoming his freshman students to go viral. But as the Columbia Spectator explains, it requires said professor to strip to his skivvies to the backbeat of a Lil Wayne song while a montage of images of 9/11,...

How to View Nude Museum Exhibit? Naked, of Course

More than 60 take nude tour of Vienna show

(Newser) - Vienna's Leopold museum has a hugely popular exhibit called "Nude Men from 1800 to Today," so obviously there was only one thing to do: Host a special tour of the exhibit in which spectators were invited to be naked. More than 60 museum-goers stripped down for the...

Angry Gal Bites Off Boyfriend's Tongue

DA says he was attempting a 'make-up kiss'

(Newser) - Who knew make-up kissing could be so dangerous? An Illinois man who tried to appease his angry girlfriend with a kiss got half his tongue bitten off in return, Gawker reports. Prosecutors say Elaine Cook, 51, had an argument with her 47-year-old boyfriend after they came home from a Valentine'...

Lawmaker Outed for 'Liking' Violent, Racy Websites

Jersey City assemblyman dug 'Big Bootie Freaks'

(Newser) - A Jersey City Assemblyman has run into trouble after "liking" two pretty offbeat websites on Facebook—one of them dedicated to women with big behinds, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports. Charles Mainor initially denied having "liked" Big Bootie Freaks and You Got Knocked the Fck Out Man, a...

Big Belgian Boar Hunt a Hilarious Flop

Some 200 hunters chasing 170 boars manage to kill ... one

(Newser) - Belgians went on a boar hunt and at first it looked like no contest: 200 hunters vs. 170 wild boars. Yet in the end, only one boar was slain. As hunter Jef Schrijvers said after a frustrating day: "The boars won. The hunters lost." The northern town of...

Rihanna Bloodied in Bottle Attack

Enraged 'fan' strikes outside London nightclub

(Newser) - An angry man hurled a soda bottle at Rihanna outside a London nightclub last night and left her with a bloody knee, the New York Post reports. The attacker shouted something about her being back with Chris Brown before flinging the Lucozade bottle at the star, who fell on a...

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