strange stuff

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

Stories 4741 - 4760 | << Prev   Next >>

Aliens May Attack Earth Over Global Warming
 If Aliens 
 Attack, Blame 
 Global Warming 
in case you missed it
Aug 27, 2011 3:55 PM CDT

If Aliens Attack, Blame Global Warming

Humanity's rapid expansion could scare extra-terrestrials

(Newser) - If there is extraterrestrial life out there, and it's watching us, it might just as soon blow us to kingdom come as look at us, LiveScience reports—and all because of global warming. If ETs notice our greenhouse gas emissions and conclude we're expanding too rapidly, they may...

New Mothers Dine on Placentas to Battle Postpartum Depression, Aid Breastmilk Production
 New Craze 
 for New Moms: 
 Eat the Placenta 
in case you missed it
Aug 27, 2011 12:30 PM CDT

New Craze for New Moms: Eat the Placenta

Cooked or in smoothies, it has high iron levels and vitamin B-12

(Newser) - More mothers are turning to a healthy diet after giving birth, including fruit, veggies ... and a nice plate of placenta. As in, their own. Before losing your appetite, consider that placentas contain high iron levels, vitamin B-12, and hormones, and while no study proves their effect, believers say they alleviate...

Clown Thieves Get Punked in Jewelry Heist

Their loot isn't really all that valuable

(Newser) - Send in the clowns: Two gun-waving robbers dressed in clown makeup and wigs robbed a Denver jewelry story yesterday, roughing up employees and stripping display cases clean. They made off with the loot after a 15-minute robbery, notes CBS4, but there's a caveat: The precious stones aren't so...

Jury Chucks Man's Chopped Penis Lawsuit

Doc found life-threatening cancer during circumcision, did partial amputation

(Newser) - Yes, he sliced off part of a man’s penis—but he also saved the guy’s life, said a jury in an unusual Kentucky court battle. Philip Seaton, 64, sued Dr. John Patterson for “loss of service, love and affection" over a circumcision that took off more than...

Gadhafi Had Album of Condi Rice Pics

He once praised her as 'my darling black African woman'

(Newser) - Did Moammar Gadhafi have a thing for Condoleezza Rice? It sure looks that way: Rebel looters found a photo album in Gadhafi’s compound filled with page after page of photos of Rice, MSNBC reports. Rice visited Libya in 2008 to celebrate what was supposed to be a new stage...

Bull Semen Shuts Tennessee Highway

Steaming canisters alarm motorists

(Newser) - A load of bull semen packed in liquid nitrogen caused a scare and closed a highway near Nashville on Tuesday after it fell out of a Greyhound bus. Motorists called emergency services after seeing the large, steaming canisters and smelling a foul odor, reports WKRN . The highway was reopened after...

Drunk Wasilla Pol Trashed Hotel, Billed City

Guess what famous family he's friends with?

(Newser) - A burned hotel room mattress, ruined bedding, a urine-stained chair, vomit on the carpet … but no, this was not the handiwork of a rock star on tour. Rather, Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard apparently got a little crazy on a business trip—then slipped the city the bill for...

'King Arthur' Can't Reclaim Stonehenge Remains

Self-styled Druid chief loses bid

(Newser) - The injustice! King Arthur Uther Pendragon cannot reclaim 5,000-year-old remains that were dug up at Stonehenge, a British judge has ruled. But don’t get too riled up: Pendragon isn’t actually related to the legendary kind of yore, although he is chief of the Loyal Arthurian Warband Druid...

Kellogg to Mayan Group: Drop 'Toucan Sam-Like' Logo

Nonprofit: Our toucan looks nothing like your cartoon

(Newser) - The toucan is native to Mesoamerica, which is why the Maya Archaeology Initiative , a group that defends Mayan culture, chose to use the bird as its logo. Of course, the toucan is also native to boxes of Kellogg Co.’s Froot Loops cereal—and now the company wants the...

Truck Driver Uses Feet for Brakes

... and it doesn't turn out so well for him

(Newser) - Instead of using his head and calling for a tow when his brakes went out, a Michigan man decided to use his feet—to stop his truck. After discovering his brakes weren't working, the 24-year-old continued to drive home, reports the Macomb Daily . While he did manage to stop...

Alaska's Orange Goo Is Actually Fungal Spores
 What the Orange 
 Goo Really Is 
Aug 19, 2011 11:40 AM CDT

What the Orange Goo Really Is

Scientists originally misidentified substance washed up in Alaska

(Newser) - At first, scientists were baffled by the orange goo that washed ashore in Alaska. Then they announced it was tiny eggs . Now they’re saying that's wrong: It’s actually fungal spores, the Los Angeles Times reports. Microbiologists in South Carolina linked the material to the spores that turn...

Carjacker Foiled by 'Plucky Kids, Feisty Little Dog'

'You're in the wrong car,' says boy to would-be thief

(Newser) - The New York Post takes great pleasure in recounting the unbelievable-sounding story of a carjacker who met his match in the form of two "plucky kids" and their "ferocious," "feisty" toy poodle. It all started when dad Sebastian Russo left 7-year-old John and 5-year-old Robert in...

'Vampire' Teen Busted for Biting Woman

'500-year-old from hell' told cops he had 'a need to feed'

(Newser) - He says he's a 500-year-old vampire from hell; police say he's a 19-year-old from Galveston, Texas. Lyle Bensley was arrested for breaking into a woman's apartment and biting her while screaming about being a vampire, say cops. After the woman broke free and fled the apartment, responding...

Woman Faces 10 Years for Stealing $1.50 Can of Beer

Because of her history, Victoria Hill charged with felony burglary

(Newser) - Victoria Hill walked into an Idaho store, allegedly slipped one 24-ounce can of $1.50 Steel Reserve beer into her purse, and walked out ... and now she faces up to 10 years in jail. Hill, 35, was taken into custody Thursday and charged with felony burglary because, officers say, she...

Tired of Chores, Boy Calls Cops

German kid calls police hotline to report 'forced labor'

(Newser) - A young person who called the police emergency hotline in Germany to report an appalling case of forced servitude didn't find much sympathy at the other end. The caller was an 11-year-old boy complaining about his chores, telling authorities "I have to work all day long. I haven'...

Mysterious Exoplanet Darker Than Coal

Jupiter-sized planet reflects less than 1% of light

(Newser) - The mysterious exoplanet TrES-2b is a gas giant the size of Jupiter, but it reflects less than 1% of the light that hits it—making it darker than coal and one of the stranger objects astronomers have yet found, reports Discovery . "TrES-2b is considerably less reflective than black acrylic...

Orange Goo in Alaska Identified
 Orange Goo in Alaska Identified 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 13, 2011 7:04 AM CDT

Orange Goo in Alaska Identified

It's some kind of eggs ... that may or may not be toxic

(Newser) - We have a partial answer to the orange goo that started washing up in Alaska last week, and it's definitely not the secret to John Boehner's perma-tan. It's eggs—millions of tiny eggs filled with fatty droplets, reports the AP. Exactly what kind of eggs—or whether...

Police: Woman Assaulted 12-Year-Old Girl

...because preteen looked at her 30-year-old boyfriend

(Newser) - A family birthday party took a bad turn last month when a 24-year-old woman allegedly beat up a 12-year-old girl ... for looking at the woman's 30-year-old boyfriend. Candace Kiley has now been arrested by Connecticut police, who had to apply for a warrant before they could bring her in...

Guy Proposes ... as a Dancing Carrot

And he gets the girl

(Newser) - If your girlfriend's favorite color is orange and you want to propose, maybe dressing yourself and 48 friends as giant carrots is the best way to get her to say yes. That is what one lovestruck Chinese man did recently for China's Valentine's Day in the city...

Now Putin's an Archaeologist, Too?

Judo expert/whale hunter Putin discovers ancient artifacts in Black Sea

(Newser) - Move over, Chuck Norris. Hang up that whip, Indiana Jones. There's a new hero in town, and his name is Vladimir Putin. Yes, the Russian prime minister is not only a judo expert, artist , whale hunter , and muscle-bound fisherman , he is also a great and successful archaeologist, who, while...

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