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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Rogue Raccoon Delights Fans at Major League Soccer Game

'SIGN HIM NOW!' was MLS' response in Philly

(Newser) - "We need to find him a ball because he's moving very well in the center of midfield." Those were a commentator's words during a Major League Soccer matchup this week between the Philadelphia Union and New York City FC, though the description wasn't about one...

Horses Needed a Rescue After Unfortunate Shortcut

They found themselves stuck in the mud for more than 7 hours

(Newser) - "Horses are known for getting themselves into trouble, they are curious by nature," says the head of a Connecticut horse rescue and rehabilitation center. That characterization certainly applies to Damascus and Beau. The two horses took an unfortunate "shortcut" between a pasture and a barn on a...

Dublin-NY Portal Antics Show Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Livestream connecting the 2 cities temporarily halted after 'inappropriate behavior'

(Newser) - An art installation that claims it's trying to create a "bridge to a united planet" via livestreams connecting cities on Earth has had to temporarily shutter one of them after the AP says it became "a magnet for boorish behavior." "The Portal" in New York...

'Fingerhakeln': Germany Has a Lesser-Known Festival

Finger wrestling sounds like a surefire way to put your digit out of joint

(Newser) - Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, more than 150 Bavarian men came together to compete in Germany's unique national championship of "Fingerhakeln," or finger wrestling. The "finger wrestlers" met in a big beer tent in the small southern village of Bernbeuren, reports the...

Michelin-Starred Chef Will Serve a Meal 100K Feet Up

It could include 'an edible piece of space junk'

(Newser) - Ever since humans have journeyed to space, their meals there have proved to be, well, nothing to write home about. But that could change after a Michelin-starred chef teamed up with the Florida-based startup Space Perspective to take fine dining to our upper atmosphere in late 2025, the AP reports....

'Fluffy' Won't Leave Her Car, So Woman Just Drives With It

'Fluffy' being a poisonous red-bellied black snake that 4 separate snake handlers can't remove

(Newser) - A venomous snake that Lisa Kournelis believes has been living in her SUV since March apparently has no intention of leaving—and so the Aussie woman now simply throws on protective gear and drives around with it. Kournelis tells ABC Australia she thinks a red-bellied black snake snuck into her...

Search for Missing Trucker Ends Where It Began

Brian Lush's body was found 2 weeks later inside truck's trailer

(Newser) - A 51-year-old Canadian trucker seemingly vanished from a gas station in Ontario on April 24. Surveillance video taken that afternoon shows Brian Lush exit his truck and walk around the front of it. Then he left the range of the camera and wasn't seen again. His keys and belongings...

Welcome to the Age of the 'High-End' Pineapple

Red-shelled Rubyglow fruit offered by Fresh Del Monte is selling for close to $400 in some places

(Newser) - If you're looking for a new foodie experience, Fresh Del Monte has a "fruit like no other." All hail the Rubyglow pineapple , a "red-shelled, hybrid fruit" with a "classically yellow interior" that FDM boasts "offers a special experience to those who appreciate uniqueness."...

Man Loses Emotional Support Gator: 'Bring My Baby Back'

Joie Henney was vacationing in Georgia when Wally vanished

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania man who credits an alligator named Wally for helping relieve his depression for nearly a decade says he's searching for the reptile after it went missing during a vacation to the coast of Georgia. Joie Henney has thousands of social media users following his pages devoted to...

Apple: We're Working on Fix for Glitchy iPhone Alarms

For some, the alarms have stopped working

(Newser) - Some people who rely on their iPhones to wake them up in the morning have gotten unwanted extra sleep of late, reports Today . It seems that for some, the alarms have inexplicably stopped working. It's not clear what's going on, or even how many phones are affected, but...

Delta Jet's Emergency Slide Turns Up in Fitting Spot

It washes up by the beachfront home of a lawyer whose firm is suing Boeing

(Newser) - In the strange coincidence department: The emergency slide that fell off one of Delta's Boeing jets on Friday washed up in front of the oceanfront home of an attorney suing the manufacturer for a similar incident, reports the New York Post . The slide fell off the Boeing 767 as...

Man With 'Auto-Brewery Syndrome' Acquitted of DUI
Man With 'Auto-Brewery
Syndrome' Acquitted of DUI
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 27, 2024 1:20 PM CDT

Man With 'Auto-Brewery Syndrome' Acquitted of DUI

Belgian man's body produces alcohol on its own

(Newser) - A Belgian man was pulled over two times in a single month in 2022 and, both times, blew a breathalyzer result that was above Belgium's legal limit. Now, he's been acquitted on the drunk driving charges he was hit with because of a rare metabolic condition he has...

Library in France Yanks Four Poisonous Books

Literally: Their green covers are tainted with arsenic

(Newser) - The National Library of France has pulled four books from its shelves for the most unusual of reasons—they might be poisonous. As the AFP explains, this is not a metaphor. The 18th-century books have green covers believed to be laced with arsenic. It's not clear how much of...

Chicago's 'Rat Hole' Is No More
Chicago Kills Its 'Rat Hole'
Apr 25, 2024 12:13 PM CDT

Chicago Kills Its 'Rat Hole'

Questionable landmark, an imprint of a rat on a sidewalk, is removed by DOT

(Newser) - The "rat hole" is gone. A Chicago sidewalk landmark some residents affectionately called the "rat hole" was removed Wednesday after city officials determined the section bearing the imprint of an animal was damaged and needed to be replaced, reports the AP . The imprint has been a quirk of...

2 Horses in Serious Condition After London Escape

British Army says one is in equine hospital

(Newser) - British officials say two of the runaway military horses that galloped through central London on Wednesday are in serious condition and have been operated on. In an update on X, the British Army said the horses that broke loose are named Vida, Trojan, Quaker, and Tennyson. One of them, Quaker,...

Marathon Runner Sipped 25 Glasses of Wine

But it was for charity

(Newser) - Running a marathon might seem daunting enough, but running a marathon while sipping 25 glasses of wine? Such is the rather dubious (or admirable) achievement of 52-year-old Tom Gilbey, who swilled his way through 26.2 miles at Sunday's London Marathon, reports the BBC . Gilbey undertook the boozy feat...

Sheriff's Office: 'Unfortunately, It Is the Sounds of Nature'

Newberry County, SC, residents are complaining about sirens—but the sound is from cicadas

(Newser) - Emerging cicadas are so loud in one South Carolina county that residents are calling the sheriff's office asking why they can hear sirens or a loud roar. The Newberry County Sheriff's Office posted a message on Facebook Tuesday letting people know that the whining sound is just the...

Object That Pierced Roof May Be From Space Station
NASA IDs Object That
Blew Through Home's Roof
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 20, 2024 12:10 PM CDT

NASA IDs Object That Blew Through Home's Roof

The plan was for the piece from the International Space Station to burn up before reaching Earth

(Newser) - That indeed was debris from the International Space Station that came crashing through the roof of a Florida home last month, NASA confirmed Monday after analyzing it. The agency identified the object as a metal support used to mount old batteries on a cargo pallet for disposal, the AP reports....

Canada Relocates Elephant Seal, but He's Not Having It

Emerson journeys almost 100 miles to return to his home in Victoria, BC

(Newser) - Emerson, the pseudo-celebrity resident elephant seal of British Columbia's capital city, Victoria, really likes his chosen hometown. Really likes it. Last week, conservation officers decided Emerson's penchant for hanging out in the city's flower beds, parks, and roads wasn't the best suited to his longevity and...

Serial Record-Breaker Just Logged an Excruciating One

David Rush balances lawn mower on chin for 9 minutes, 17 seconds to earn latest Guinness honor

(Newser) - David Rush , the man who calls himself "one of the most prolific Guinness World Records title holders on the planet," now has a new notch in his world record belt. "My neck seared with pain. My back hurt, my eyes watered, and my legs shook,"...

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