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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Neighbors Wage War Via Wi-Fi Network Names

Typically, it's about noise

(Newser) - Want to know what your neighbor really thinks of you? Try scrolling through your local Wi-Fi hotspot names, which may contain a personal message—like "We Can Hear You Having Sex" or "Shut The Barking Dog Up No 7," the BBC reports. Other examples include complaints about...

Rare Frog's Cool Weapon: Spiked Thumbs

Japanese Otton frog uses them for combat and mating

(Newser) - Meet the most badass frog in the pond: The Japanese Otton frog has what amounts to spiked thumbs, reports LiveScience . The scientist who made the discovery says the extra bony digit is used to help the male hang on during mating but also for fighting other males. It's apparently...

Hookers Sponsor Greek Soccer Team

Brothels fork over bucks made playing the field

(Newser) - When an amateur Greek soccer team was hard up for cash, they turned to the world's oldest profession for help. Now members of the Voukefalas club wear hot pink practice jerseys reading "Villa Erotica," one of two brothels the team recruited as sponsors amid drastic sports budget...

Passenger Tries to Bust Out of Landing Plane

He says he thought the wing was on fire, remains in custody

(Newser) - A Ukrainian man tried to make an early exit during a flight from Boston to Salt Lake City: Just as the plane touched down, he attempted to wrestle his way through the emergency-exit rear doors. He had them partway open before passengers knocked him down, ABC4 reports. Anatoliy Baranovich told...

World's Oldest Dad: 96-Year-Old Indian

Ramajit Raghav had first kid at age 94

(Newser) - An Indian man is being called the oldest father in the world after fathering a second child at age 96—two years after having his first son, the Telegraph reports. "We had planned for another baby after my first son was born in 2010," says Ramajit Raghav. "...

Cops Mistake Blind Man's Stick for Sword, Tase Him

Colin Farmer, 61, had no idea what was going on at first

(Newser) - When police in England responded to reports of a man walking around with a sword, they stumbled upon Colin Farmer, 61, who is blind … and was carrying his white stick. Surely you see where this is going: Police, mistaking the stick for a samurai sword, set upon Farmer and...

'Chewing Gum Survey' Snares Man for 1976 Murder

DNA match made 36 years after Maine slaying

(Newser) - A Seattle man accused of a horrific murder in Maine 36 years ago was busted after an undercover cop got his DNA by persuading him to take part in a "chewing gum survey," the Daily Mail reports. The DNA obtained from 63-year-old transient Gary Raub matched that of...

Source of Huge Eyeball on Fla. Beach ID'd

Probably came from a swordfish

(Newser) - The softball-sized eyeball that washed up on a Florida beach last week probably belonged to a swordfish, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says. "Experts on site and remotely have viewed and analyzed the eye, and based on its color, size and structure, along with the presence of...

Cops: Man Set Bonfires to Warm Pot Plants


 Cops: Guy Set 
 Bonfires to Warm 
 Pot Plants 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 14, 2012 11:46 AM CDT

Cops: Guy Set Bonfires to Warm Pot Plants

And then the bonfires drew the attention of police

(Newser) - This week's entry in the marijuana chronicles: Police in Aurora, Illinois, say a man set two big bonfires in his backyard to keep his marijuana plants warm. The tragic flaw in his plan: Police came to investigate the fires—it was about 3am—and spotted three suspicious-looking plants in...

Worker Cooked to Death at Tuna Plant

Not clear how Jose Melena ended up inside 'steamer machine'

(Newser) - Authorities say a 62-year-old employee has been cooked to death at a Southern California seafood plant for tuna maker Bumble Bee Foods. Local media report that Jose Melena was found shortly before 7am Thursday at the plant in Santa Fe Springs. It's not clear how the man ended up...

Iowa Newborn Is Numerologist's Delight

Little Laila can boast of 8-9-10-11-12-13-14

(Newser) - A dream alignment for numerologists has come true in the delivery room of a Des Moines hospital. Laila Fitzgerald weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces when she was born. She came into the world on Thursday, which, numerically speaking, was 10/11/12. She arrived, militarily speaking, at 1314, which would be 1:...

Your Next Doctor's Visit: Sitting in Your Car

A USC center wants cars to monitor our health

(Newser) - Most of us tend to our car's every need, but what if our cars returned the favor? Well, USC's Center for Body Computing is already on the case, Fastcoexist.com reports. They're getting in on a USC project called Nigel, a Mini Cooper equipped with 230 sensors...

Mom Gets 99 Years for Gluing Tot's Hands

Elizabeth Escalona sentenced for beating her toddler

(Newser) - A Dallas woman who beat her 2-year-old daughter and glued the toddler's hands to a wall because she was struggling with potty training was sentenced today to 99 years in prison. Family members in the courtroom sobbed loudly as the judge announced Elizabeth Escalona's punishment. Escalona pleaded guilty...

10-Foot Snake Found at Airport
 10-Foot Snake Found at Airport 
Oct 12, 2012 12:54 PM CDT

10-Foot Snake Found at Airport

It was roaming the tarmac in Key West

(Newser) - It was a snake … near a plane. A 10-foot-long snake was found in the grass near the commercial ramp at a Key West airport yesterday, NBC Miami reports. It has been turned over to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (Impressive, but not in the giant-eyeball-on-a-beach class.)

Man Wins Roach-Eating Contest, Dies

Eddie Archbold died after downing dozens of live roaches

(Newser) - A Florida man won first prize in a pet store's insect-eating contest by gobbling dozens of live cockroaches and other insects, but he didn't get a chance to savor the victory. He collapsed in front of the store soon afterward and was pronounced dead at the hospital, the...

Model Cut Off, Wore Lover's Testicles: Lawyer

Renato Seabra pleads guilty to murder by reason of insanity

(Newser) - A Portuguese male model admits to killing his lover in a fit of rage—but says he wore the man's severed testicles as a talisman and became a healer, the Daily News reports. Renato Seabra, 21, "willingly told police" about the crime because "he thought what he...

Air Force Plans for Flying Saucers Revealed

The National Archives finally releases schematics from 1950s

(Newser) - Maybe flying saucers really do exist—but were made by the US military? For the first time, the National Archives has released schematics of a UFO-like saucer that the US Air Force was designing in the 1950s, Wired reports. The plan—called Project 1794—was to engineer a $3.1...

It Wasn't a Burglar Calling, Just His Dog

But it sure sounded suspicious

(Newser) - Police in Orem, Utah, say a man who thought he was getting a call from a burglar had actually gotten one from his dog. Authorities say the man alerted police after he received a call from his home phone on his cellphone. He heard banging and scratching noises on the...

Giant Fraud Kills Broadway Production

Producer believes main 'Rebecca' investor didn't really exist

(Newser) - A producer who had hoped to bring the psychological thriller Rebecca to Broadway as a musical now believes the troubled show was the victim of a giant fraud. The planned New York production was postponed indefinitely this week amid a growing suspicion that one of its primary investors doesn't...

Canadians Seize Stolen Maple Syrup

But no arrests made yet in $20m heist

(Newser) - Authorities in Canada appear to be closing in on the sticky-fingered crooks behind history's biggest maple syrup heist . Police have seized more than $1.4 million worth of syrup—500,000 pounds of the stuff—from a warehouse in New Brunswick, the Globe and Mail reports. Investigators will test...

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