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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Guys Break Into Sea World, Steal Penguin

Then release it in shark-infested waters

(Newser) - Usually, we mock criminals when they brag about their crimes on Facebook . But if your crime was breaking into a Sea World, swimming with the dolphins, and making off with a 7-year-old fairy penguin, we understand the urge to share. Three Queensland, Australia men, aged 18, 20, and 21, have...

NY Test Asks Kids About Baffling 'Talking Pineapple'

Bizarre story befuddles New York students, teachers

(Newser) - No amount of studying could prepare students to assess the wisdom of a talking pineapple, but that's what New York kids were asked to do on a state test. The eighth-grade reading exam offered a fable-like story about a pineapple challenging a hare to a race. Other animals weigh...

Man Steals Cops' Gas, Posts Photo on Facebook

Kentucky man Michael Baker busted after sharing photo

(Newser) - How to go jail in two easy steps: 1. Siphon gas from a police car. 2. Post a photo of yourself siphoning gas from a police car on Facebook. Kentucky man Michael Baker, 20, was arrested and charged with theft after cops got wind of the photo he had shared,...

In Time for 4/20: Hemp Vodka

Sorry, it won't get you high

(Newser) - Don't bogart that bottle, my friend. In the counterculture world, "420" is the code for cannabis consumption, and April 20—or 4/20—is the holy day. On this April 20, the Alaska Distillery is introducing its hemp seed vodka. This is the same company that two years ago...

Woman Hurt During Sex Wins Workers' Comp Suit

It's an 'ordinary incident of life,' rules judge in Australia

(Newser) - It might not be the stuff of workers' rights fights of yore, but it's still a victory. Of sorts. An Australian judge has ruled that a woman who got injured during sex is entitled to workers' comp, reports news.com.au . It seems she was out of town on...

McDonald's Worker Arrested for Spitting in Drink

Marvin D. Washington busted after phlegm found in tea

(Newser) - Allegedly spitting in a customer's drink didn't just get a South Carolina McDonald's employee fired—it got him arrested. Marvin D. Washington Jr., 19, has been charged with unlawful and malicious tampering with food after a mom and daughter found phlegm in their tea, WYFF4 reports. The...

This Exists: Sunglasses Named for ... Helen Keller

Chinese company's motto: 'You see the world, the world sees you'

(Newser) - Today's story from the department of very questionable taste: A Chinese company is selling Helen Keller-brand sunglasses attached to the motto, "You see the world, the world sees you." Before you assume that maybe choosing a blind woman as the face of your glasses was a harmless...

To Protest Budget Cuts, Museum Torches Art

It calls burnings 'political, necessary, and compelling'

(Newser) - An Italian art museum is so mad about the budget cuts coming its way that it has begun burning art works in protest. The Casoria Contemporary Art Museum's eccentric director, Antonio Manfredi, set fire to a painting by French Artist Severine Bourguignon yesterday, the BBC reports, and let it...

Town Considers Changing Its F'ing Name

Too many people are stealing its road signs, generally mocking it

(Newser) - For some reason, residents of f---ing, Austria, are considering changing the village's name. We're not sure why. It's an honorable, centuries-old name derived from a 6th-century Bavarian nobleman called "Focko," it's had a beer named after it , and apparently, naked women often pose next...

Forest Service May Blow Up Frozen Cows

Cows got stuck in remote Colorado cabin

(Newser) - It's not your typical Forest Service problem: The agency is considering explosives to move a bunch of frozen cows that died after getting stuck inside a cabin at 11,000 feet in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. The carcasses were discovered by two Air Force Academy cadets when they snow-shoed...

Taliban Commander Turns Self In, Asks for Reward

Mohammad Ashan is out of luck

(Newser) - Last week, mid-level Taliban commander Mohammad Ashan walked up to a police checkpoint, pointed to the wanted poster featuring his face, and asked for the $100 finder's fee noted on the poster. For some reason, officials arrested him rather than delivering the reward, the Washington Post reports. US troops...

Oops: Player's Dad Trips, Breaks $30K BCS Trophy

National champion Alabama is down a pricey bowl

(Newser) - Fummmmble! National champion Alabama was showing off its $30,000 crystal bowl trophy over the weekend when a player's father tripped on a rug near the display and sent it crashing to ground, reports the AP . It is now in "thousands of tiny pieces," notes AlabamaLive . The...

Man Sues Hospital for Circumcising Him as Baby

Dean Cochrun only recently learned he had undergone procedure

(Newser) - A South Dakota prison inmate is suing the hospital where he was circumcised as a newborn, saying he only recently became aware that he'd undergone the procedure and that it robbed him of his sexual prowess. Dean Cochrun, 28, is asking for $1,000 in compensatory and punitive damages....

Newt Gingrich Bit by Penguin
 Newt Gingrich Bit by Penguin 
Apr 17, 2012 6:28 AM CDT

Newt Gingrich Bit by Penguin

It only sounds made up...

(Newser) - At least one penguin at the St. Louis Zoo appears to be a feisty opponent of Newt Gingrich. The GOP candidate is sporting a bandage on his finger after getting nipped by a small penguin during his tour of the zoo on Friday. Gingrich was in St. Louis to speak...

Physicist Gets Out of Ticket With 4-Page Paper

Dmitri Krioukov proves offense impossible

(Newser) - Dmitri Krioukov is a physicist at UC San Diego, so when he got pulled over for failure to stop at a stop sign, he knew what to do: write a four-page paper explaining how his alleged offense was simply not possible according to the laws of physics. Krioukov's paper...

New Zealand Building $4.1M Cathedral ... From Cardboard

Will be 82-feet high and seat 700

(Newser) - A cathedral made from cardboard. The idea may sound flimsy, but in the earthquake -devastated city of Christchurch, Anglican leaders believe it will deliver both a temporary solution and a statement about the city's recovery. Albeit a pricey one: The plans call for an 82-foot high cathedral constructed with...

Kayaker Dies After Tussle With Angry Swan

Anthony Hensley drowned after swan swam at him

(Newser) - A Chicago-area man who took care of swans was killed after apparently angering one of them, the Sun-Times reports. The company that Anthony Hensley, 37, worked for uses swans and dogs as goose deterrents around properties, and the dad of two went to check on a group of swans near...

Only in Vermont: Naked Governor Fends Off Bears

... while protecting his bird feeders

(Newser) - Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is not going to let little things like a lack of clothes and four hungry bears get in the way of saving his bird feeders. The Burlington Free Press recounts a doozy of a tale from Montpelier this week: Shumlin spotted four bears chowing down on...

Escape Doomsday in a Luxury Missile Silo


 Escape 
 Doomsday 
 in a Luxury 
 Missile Silo 
in case you missed it
Apr 14, 2012 7:22 AM CDT

Escape Doomsday in a Luxury Missile Silo

Developer Larry Hall selling Kansas condos to those worried about survival

(Newser) - If you happen to be both a survivalist and a millionaire, have we got a find for you: luxury condos that are being built in Kansas … inside abandoned missile silos. The $1 million to $2 million condos feature top-end appliances, walk-in closets, high ceilings, and your other basic necessities...

Scientists Count 600K Penguins From Space

That's double the number of emperors thought in Antarctica

(Newser) - It's a pretty nifty science story to begin with: Scientists used a new technique to conduct what National Geographic calls the "first-ever penguin census from space." They pored over satellite images of Antarctica with resolution sharp enough to count about 600,000 emperor penguins on the continent....

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