Strange Stuff: Weird Crimes, Crazy Laws, and Other Interesting News Stories - Page 215

Russian, Korean Scientists Look to Revive Mammoth

Hwang Woo-Suk, the man who faked human stem cell research, is involved

(Newser) - The woolly mammoth may be on the comeback trail, thanks to a deal signed today between prominent Russian and South Korean scientists to collaborate on efforts to clone the extinct prehistoric beast. Vasily Vasiliev, of the North-Eastern Federal University of the Sakha Republic, forged the pact with controversial cloning expert...

Cops: Woman
Killed Herself
With Chainsaw

Mar 16, 2012 5:22 PM CDT

Cops: Woman Killed Herself With Chainsaw

Valerie Nash, 47, was discovered yesterday in Palms neighborhood

(Newser) - A Los Angeles woman was found dead yesterday after apparently committing suicide with a chainsaw. Police say Valerie Nash, 47, was discovered inside her home in Palms by her sister, "with a chainsaw wound on her neck," reports CBS Los Angeles . An LAPD sergeant says, “At this...

Man Gets Ticket After Cat Refuses to Go on a Jog

Mar 16, 2012 10:11 AM CDT

Man Gets Ticket After Cat Refuses to Go on a Jog

It couldn't keep up, so he tied it to a rock ... then birds attacked

(Newser) - A case of feline fitness gone wrong: Colorado police have ticketed a man who is accused of tying his cat to a rock after it refused to go jogging. Sgt. Fred Palmer says 19-year-old Seth Franco brought his cat on a leash to a path at a Lafayette park on...

Utah Boy, 8,
Takes Sis, 5,
on Joyride

Mar 16, 2012 5:37 AM CDT

Utah Boy, 8, Takes Sis, 5, on Joyride

Neither sibling harmed in late-night crash

(Newser) - An 8-year-old Utah boy and his 5-year-old sister were unharmed after crashing the family minivan on an ill-fated late-night trip to the store. Cops say the boy—who made sure he and his sister buckled up before setting out on their midnight mission—barely made it out of the driveway,...

Woman Strangles on NY Train Station Escalator

Woman Strangled by
NY Train Station Escalator

Mar 16, 2012 1:44 AM CDT

Woman Strangled by NY Train Station Escalator

LIRR escalator had been slated for replacement

(Newser) - An 88-year-old woman was strangled yesterday on a Long Island Rail Road escalator that commuters said was malfunctioning for months. Irene Bernatzky was killed after she fell and her clothes became entangled in the treads of the moving stairs, investigators say. Officials say the escalator passed inspection last month after...

Overweight?
Blame It on CO2

study says

Mar 15, 2012 4:53 PM CDT

Overweight? Blame It on CO2

Research points to emissions' effect on our bodies

(Newser) - Why are we fat? It's just something in the air, researchers say—namely carbon dioxide. A Danish researcher found that subjects' weight gain over two decades matched the increase in carbon dioxide over the same period, the Daily Mail reports. What's more, between 1986 and 2010, American obesity...

No Sex? Male Fruit Flies
Turn to Booze

Mar 15, 2012 4:33 PM CDT

No Sex? Male Fruit Flies Turn to Booze

They get their 'reward' from alcohol instead: Study

(Newser) - Entomology as country song: Researchers say male fruit flies denied sex drown their sorrows in alcohol, reports the BBC . Or more precisely, boy flies who get some action turn up their noses at food dosed with alcohol, while boys who get rejected are far more likely to indulge. Researchers think...

Pat Robertson:
Sure, Have Oral Sex
(If You're Married)

Mar 15, 2012 12:16 PM CDT

Pat Robertson: Sure, Have Oral Sex (If You're Married)

Awkward topic comes up on '700 Club'

(Newser) - Today in Uncomfortable Pat Robertson Quotes , the 700 Club host has given married people the OK to engage in some good old-fashioned oral sex. The topic came up because a viewer wanted to know if such a practice was sinful. "The Bible doesn't make that sinful," Robertson...

Teen Sends Extremely Unfortunate Text to Cop

pranks gone wrong

Mar 15, 2012 9:52 AM CDT

Teen Sends Extremely Unfortunate Text to Cop

Pinterest-inspired prank goes quite wrong

(Newser) - A northwest Arkansas teenager thought it would be funny to text a random phone number saying she hid a body, but the joke backfired ... to say the least. Of all the local phone numbers she could have chosen, the 15-year-old Rogers girl picked one that belonged to a police detective....

Eau de Pope:
Benedict Gets
Own Cologne

Mar 15, 2012 8:51 AM CDT

Eau de Pope: Benedict Gets Own Cologne

One-of-a-kind scent features 'lime, verbena, and grass'

(Newser) - Holy water de cologne? Boutique perfume maker Silvana Casoli has created a special cologne for the famously well-dressed Pope Benedict XVI, featuring "hints of lime tree, verbena, and grass" based on the pope's love of nature, reports the Guardian . But don't try to find this unique blend...

Gettysburg
Store Pulls
Bobblehead
of Booth

Mar 14, 2012 11:50 AM CDT

Gettysburg Store Pulls Bobblehead of Booth

Lincoln assassin even held a little gun

(Newser) - The gift shop at the Gettysburg Museum has had second thoughts about selling a novelty item some thought was a little tasteless: a bobblehead doll of John Wilkes Booth, complete with miniature gun. Museum officials pulled the dolls after the local Evening Sun wrote about them. The museum isn't...

Toddler Picks Lotto Ticket,
NYC Mom Wins $1M

Mar 14, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Toddler Picks Lotto Ticket, NYC Mom Wins $1M

Lesson? Listen to your 2-year-old

(Newser) - A New York City toddler with the Midas touch has made her family $1 million richer. Afsheen Ahsan, of Queens, credits her 2-year-old daughter, Anaya Hussain, for picking her New York Poker instant scratch-off ticket. Ahsan says the toddler reached out and touched the ticket on Jan. 30 while they...

NH Town Votes on Whether
to Rename 'Jew Pond'

Mar 13, 2012 11:37 AM CDT

NH Town Votes on Whether to Rename 'Jew Pond'

Residents of Mont Vernon a little bit split on the decision

(Newser) - Residents of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, vote today for a fairly unconventional reason: to decide whether to rename Jew Pond. The town health officer who pushed for the vote finds the name "inappropriate" and "disrespectful," but others in the small rural town aren't sure such a...

Docs Halt Growth of
World's Tallest Man

Mar 13, 2012 10:58 AM CDT

Docs Halt Growth of World's Tallest Man

Sultan Kosen, 8-feet-3 inches, given medication by UVa. doctors

(Newser) - The world's tallest man may have reached his peak, thanks to treatment by researchers at the University of Virginia Medical Center. Measuring at 8-feet-3 inches, 29-year-old Sultan Kosen of Turkey is listed in the 2011 Guinness World Records at the tallest living man. Kosen visited the university in May...

Trenton Running Out
of Toilet Paper

Mar 13, 2012 10:48 AM CDT

Trenton Running Out of Toilet Paper

...because mayor, city council fighting over paper cups

(Newser) - Trenton city employees may soon have to start BYOTP to work. Unless a purchasing contract conflict is resolved soon, City Hall will run out of toilet paper by Friday—and other buildings could run out even sooner. WPVI confirmed yesterday that all that remains are a few boxes of rolls....

Cheney Axes Canada Trip Because It's Too Dangerous

Mar 13, 2012 9:44 AM CDT

Cheney Axes Canada Trip Because It's Too Dangerous

Eh? Seriously.

(Newser) - Today's "we swear we're not the Onion" story: Dick Cheney has canceled a planned appearance in Toronto ... because he fears it could be too dangerous a trip to take. "He felt that in Canada the risk of violent protest was simply too high," explained the...

Italian Village Outlaws Death

Mar 13, 2012 8:59 AM CDT

Italian Village Outlaws Death

No going six feet under in Falciano del Massico

(Newser) - The Italian village of Falciano del Massico isn't just cheating death—it's banned it altogether. Since the beginning of March, the town's 3,700 residents simply haven't been allowed to expire. The AP calls it a "tongue-in-cheek decree," noting that the odd declaration stems...

Need Viagra? Ohio Pol Wants Notarized Letter

Mar 12, 2012 2:20 PM CDT

Need Viagra? Ohio Pol Wants Notarized Letter

...from your sex partner, attesting to your impotency

(Newser) - It's certainly not the first bill to be presented as a foil to the abortion- and contraception-related bills coursing through America's legislatures, but it is an amusing one. Ohio Democrat Nina Turner last week introduced Senate Bill 307, which would make getting Viagra a pretty big ordeal. A...

Drunk Buggy Driving?
Amish Collide With Cop Car

Mar 12, 2012 12:49 PM CDT

Drunk Buggy Driving? Amish Collide With Cop Car

4 young adults charged with illegal possession of alcohol

(Newser) - Just because they drive buggies instead of cars doesn't mean Amish kids can't get into trouble. Four were arrested and charged with illegal possession of alcohol last night after their buggy crashed—directly into a police car, NBC Philadelphia reports. At the time, police were responding to a...

Couple Wins $2.9M
for 'Wrongful Birth'

Mar 12, 2012 8:12 AM CDT

Couple Wins $2.9M for 'Wrongful Birth'

Would have terminated pregnancy if they knew baby had Down syndrome

(Newser) - An Oregon couple has been awarded $2.9 million in a case centered not around wrongful death, but wrongful birth. Ariel and Deborah Levy said they would have terminated their pregnancy had they known their daughter would have Down syndrome—but they were continually told the child would not. On...

strange stuff

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