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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Zoo&#39;s Alligator Had 70 Coins in His Stomach
Zoo's Alligator Had
$7 in His Belly
Feb 20, 2024 7:43 AM CST

Zoo's Alligator Had $7 in His Belly

Thibodaux of Nebraska's Henry Doorly Zoo is now a bit lighter

(Newser) - A zoo alligator was carrying around quite a bit of extra weight until a stomach procedure to remove 70 US coins. The 36-year-old American alligator named Thibodaux, an "iconic" resident of Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, due to the leucism that causes his white coloration, was undergoing routine...

Thieves Return Director's Medals, With an Apology

'Sir, please forgive us,' they write to M. Manikandan in India

(Newser) - Burglars who broke into the country home of a prominent director in India had a change of heart, though not a complete change of heart—they returned two prestigious medals he earned for directing but kept his money, reports the Times of India . Police say the thieves busted into the...

Delta Flight Returns to Airport After Strange, Smelly Mess

Maggots fell from overhead compartment onto a passenger heading to Detroit from Amsterdam

(Newser) - A Delta Air Lines flight en route from Amsterdam to Detroit had to turn back to the airport about two hours into its flight for a bizarre—and gross—reason: maggots. Fox2 Detroit reports that the slimy creatures fell onto a female passenger, seemingly out of nowhere. Flight attendants soon...

Colorado Teens Get First-Ever Cornhole Scholarships

They were recruited by college near American Cornhole League HQ

(Newser) - Two high school students in Colorado have turned throwing beanbags at boards into tickets for college. Gavin Hamann and Jaxson Remmick, 17-year-old seniors at ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch, have become the first students to receive athletic scholarships for cornhole, NPR reports. The scholarships for the pair, who are...

Speed Limit Sign Was Fake—the Tickets, Not So Much

Hundreds are trying to overturn fines in London after someone erected 'unauthorized' 50mph sign

(Newser) - Hundreds of irate Brits are pushing back on their speeding tickets after someone erected a phony speed-limit sign with the wrong speed limit posted. The Telegraph notes that Transport for London recently lowered the speed limit temporarily to 40mph on a section of the A20 highway in south London, near...

Centuries-Old English Race Is Most Delicious

Olney's pancake race dates to 1445

(Newser) - Women in matching checkered aprons, headscarves, and a rainbow of running shoes limbered up Tuesday as they prepared for the centuries-old pancake race in the English town of Olney—frying pans in hand. At "Go," they sprinted through the streets, trying not to drop their pancakes as they...

Passenger Claimed He Had Dried Fish. Not Exactly

US Customs and Border Protection dog flagged bag that held mummified monkeys

(Newser) - A US Customs and Border Protection dog sniffed out something unusual in luggage from a traveler returning from Africa—mummified monkeys. After the K9 directed his handler to a specific piece of luggage, the passenger, who was returning from a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, reported the luggage...

Deputies Capture Kangaroo at Florida Pool

Animal was reunited with its owner

(Newser) - A wayward kangaroo was corralled safely by sheriff's deputies Thursday after it was spotted hopping around the pool area of a Florida apartment complex, the AP reports. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released video and still photos of the kangaroo, including some footage shot from a helicopter. The...

Man Climbs Las Vegas Orb to Make Point on Abortion

Maison Des Champs, 24, scaled the 366-foot-tall Sphere, was soon arrested

(Newser) - A man who bills himself as "The Official Pro-Life Spider-Man" scaled the massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas on Wednesday to raise funds for a pregnant woman, according to video posted on his Instagram. He was subsequently arrested. Las Vegas police said they began receiving calls about a person...

This Wasn't a Theft Anyone Was Expecting

Someone made off with a 200-foot-tall AM radio tower in Alabama

(Newser) - There are small-time thefts, and there are big-time thefts—and then there are thefts that no one can adequately explain. One of the latter took place last week in Jasper, Alabama, where a 200-foot-high AM radio tower used by station WJLX was inexplicably stolen, reports the New York Post . In...

Notes Finally Change in Organ Piece That's Played for 22 Years

Performance of John Cage's Organ2/ASLSP isn't slated to end until 2640

(Newser) - The late American avant-garde composer John Cage asked that his piece Organ2/ASLSP be played as its name instructs: That latter part is a nod to the phrase "as slowly and softly as possible," reports the Conversation . Cage, who died in 1992, never dictated just how slowly he meant,...

Inert Nuclear Missile Found in Dead Man's Garage

'And we think it's gonna be a long, long time before we get another call like this,' police say

(Newser) - An inert rocket of the type used to carry a nuclear warhead has been found in the garage of a home of a deceased resident in Washington state, police said. Bellevue police responded Thursday to a report of a military-grade rocket in the garage of a home in the city...

A Unique Love Story Has Ended
A Unique
Zoo Love Story
Has Ended
Feb 5, 2024 1:22 PM CST

A Unique Zoo Love Story Has Ended

Walnut, a white-naped crane who attacked potential mates but bonded with her keeper, has died

(Newser) - One of the great interspecies love stories of our time has come to an end. Walnut, a white-naped crane and internet celebrity, has passed away at age 42, reports the AP . She is survived by eight chicks, the loving staff at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute,...

Floating Sauna Saves Tesla Passengers From Icy Fjord

Half-naked patrons pulled stranded motorists out of water in Norwegian capital of Oslo

(Newser) - As Tesla handles a new recall in the US , a Tesla owner on the other side of the globe dealt with a different kind of issue this week. A witness tells the Norwegian newspaper VG that the Tesla was cruising Thursday near the quay at the foot of Oslo's...

Taylor Swift Is Even Queen of the Snowplows

Winner of Minnesota DOT's annual snowplow-naming contest: Taylor Drift

(Newser) - Travelers in northwestern Minnesota can shake off their trepidation about hitting the winter roads knowing Taylor Drift is clearing a path ahead of them. The snowplow named for Taylor Swift was the runaway winner of Minnesota's fourth annual "Name a Snowplow" contest , with eight new names announced this...

Congressman Learns Capitol Dome Isn't His Personal Gym

Report filed against GOP's Rich McCormick of Georgia for 'unsafe' pullups hundreds of feet high

(Newser) - The last thing that officials at the US Capitol need is a visitor jumping over a guardrail and getting in a workout hundreds of feet in the air—and not just any visitor, but a sitting US congressman. That's what apparently happened Tuesday when Georgia Republican Rick McCormick was...

500-Pound Stuffed Polar Bear Stolen

Canadian authorities are asking the public to keep an eye out for suspicious online sales

(Newser) - It was so cold at Canada's Lily Lake Resort on January 22 that security patrols at the hotel were canceled—so an opportunistic group of thieves broke in and stole a 500-pound, 12-foot-tall stuffed polar bear. Somehow no one even noticed the massive animal, which had undergone taxidermy, was...

285-Year-Old Lemon Sold at Auction
285-Year-Old Lemon
Sold at Auction
Jan 31, 2024 3:00 PM CST

285-Year-Old Lemon Sold at Auction

It fetched $1,780 after British auction house found it in old chest

(Newser) - A lemon that was ripe when George Washington was a child fetched $1,780 at an auction in the UK. Auctioneers didn't have any problem establishing that the fruit was 285 years old: It was inscribed with the message "Given By Mr P Lu Franchini Nov 4 1739...

Woman Falls in Dumpster, Gets Compacted by Trash Truck

New Hampshire resident was compacted 4 times and survived

(Newser) - A woman fell into a dumpster while throwing out her garbage and was later rescued from a trash truck that had compacted the contents while she was inside, fire department officials in New Hampshire said. Luckily, neighbors heard her screams, and the trash compartment was equipped with a camera, reports...

Cops: She Tried to Kill Husband Over Note From Old Flame

Florida's Bertha Yalter charged with attempted murder in what lawyer claims is an overreaction

(Newser) - Getting in touch with an old flame could have deadly consequences, according to Florida police, who allege a woman tried to kill her husband of 51 years after he received a postcard from a lover of six decades previously. Upon learning of the note, Bertha Yalter, 71, tried to smother...

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