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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Woman Gets in Line 9 Days Before Black Friday

Christine Orta excited for Best Buy deals that 'you can't beat'

(Newser) - Sure, Black Friday isn't for another week, but it's tough to resist the siren call of cheap TVs... A Florida woman and three other families pitched tents in front of a Best Buy in St. Petersburg on Wednesday—yep, 9 days before the big day—and the eager...

Wacky Events Abound: It's Guinness World Records Day

One example: World’s fastest toilet takes on world’s fastest mobility scooter

(Newser) - It’s a question that would only be asked on Guinness World Records Day: What’s speedier, the world’s fastest toilet or the world’s fastest mobility scooter? The mobility scooter, apparently, which also took on the world’s smallest roadworthy car in today’s race in London. The...

Memo to Bank Robbers: Penmanship Counts
Bank Robber Foiled by ... Lousy Handwriting
DUMB CRIMINALS
Nov 17, 2011 1:18 PM CST

Bank Robber Foiled by ... Lousy Handwriting

Man channels Woody Allen, writes note that teller can't read

(Newser) - A would-be bank robber in Wheeling, West Virginia, needs to put Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run in his Netflix queue. Police say a man passed a note to a teller, but she couldn't decipher it and thought it was a joke, reports WTOV . "It took...

Next for Berlusconi: Album of Love Songs

Well, he needed something to do after stepping down as PM

(Newser) - Grab your holiday wish list, because you are definitely going to want to add this to it: Coming out on Tuesday is a CD of love songs penned by none other than former Italian prime minister and famed bunga bunga party thrower Silvio Berlusconi. Apparently Berlusconi once worked as a...

Pilot Gets Stuck in Bathroom ... and Terror Scare Ensues

A helpful passenger tries to help out ... in an accented voice

(Newser) - Who would have thought a jammed bathroom door could lead to a terror scare? The New York Post has the comical tale of a Chatauqua Airlines pilot who, on an Asheville to New York City flight, jammed the bathroom door and found himself trapped—as the plane was in a...

PETA to Turkey, Texas: Change Name to 'Tofurky'

Animal rights group promises vegan feast for all residents if city complies

(Newser) - Apparently, going after a video game character wasn’t the only publicity stunt this week: Now PETA has petitioned Turkey, Texas, to rename itself … wait for it … "Tofurky." Of course, the change would just be for Thanksgiving, explains the animal rights group in a letter to...

Benetton Yanks Pope-Imam Kiss Ad

...within an hour of Vatican complaint

(Newser) - Well, so much for that: Just hours after its debut, an ad featuring a PhotoShopped pope kissing a top Egyptian imam was yanked. The controversial ad, part of clothing company Benetton’s latest head-turning campaign , was released yesterday and quickly pounced on by the Vatican. "It shows a serious...

High-Heeled Mice-Stompers Convicted of Cruelty

Women made bloody film to satisfy creepy foot fetishist

(Newser) - Squeak. Crushing live mice with their high heels to satisfy a foot fetishist didn't turn out to be the cat's meow for a pair of female exhibitionists. They've been convicted of animal cruelty in a German court after making a video of their bloody exploits to sell...

Canada's New $100 Bill Made of Plastic

Polymer notes last longer, are harder to counterfeit

(Newser) - Starting this week, you can pay with plastic in Canada—without incurring any credit card debt. The Bank of Canada put a new $100 bill made out of polymer into circulation, the Globe and Mail reports, and banks stopped issuing the old paper notes Monday afternoon. Polymer $50 bills are...

NASA Puts Out Call for Astronauts

Though it'll be a looong time before you get into space

(Newser) - Bust out your resume, space cadets, because NASA wants you! Yes, despite the recent end of the space shuttle program, and the fact that everyone and their brother once dreamed of being an astronaut, a September report concluded that the space agency needed to recruit fresh astronauts or face a...

Benetton Ads Have World Leaders Smooching

Photoshopped images have Obama, the pope, Hu Jintao, others kissing

(Newser) - If Benetton hoped its new ad campaign would generate buzz, mission accomplished. The fashion label's "Unhate" campaign features photos of world leaders digitally altered to make it look like they're kissing each other, notes the Wall Street Journal . President Obama, for example, is lip-locked with China's...

PETA's New Target: Nintendo's Mario

When he wears the Tanooki suit, he promotes fur, it claims

(Newser) - PETA's latest target isn't exactly a celeb with a penchant for hitting the red carpet in fur. It's Mario. From the Nintendo game. No, seriously. PETA explains that in the game Super Mario 3D Land, the graphic character will do anything it takes to conquer his enemy...

Starbucks Closing Public Bathrooms in New York

Because employees are sick of waiting in lines for them

(Newser) - Many New York Starbucks are closing their bathrooms, because they’re sick of the long lines that tend to form outside of them. Though it’s “not a stated policy” of the corporation, many of the chain’s 190 Manhattan locations are making the move, sources tell the New ...

Obama to Get Crocodile Insurance

A gift from the fine people of Australia

(Newser) - Barack Obama will soon be free to wrestle alligators with peace of mind: Should tragedy befall him, Michelle and the girls will be provided for, by way of a $51,000 insurance payout. The new insurance policy—which covers crocodile attacks—will be presented to him tomorrow on his visit...

Lululemon's Ayn Rand Bags Irk Customers

Libertarian author seen as a poor fit for Lululemon

(Newser) - An upscale yogawear chain isn't the most likely place you'd expect to find promoting the works of free-market libertarian author Ayn Rand, say some Lululemon shoppers. Since late October, the chain has been using shopping bags with the words "Who is John Galt?" in reference to Rand'...

Surgeon Makes Back Brace... for Whale

Rescued SeaWorld pilot whale has scoliosis

(Newser) - A whale nicknamed “300” beached herself in the Florida Keys this spring—but her troubles didn't end there. The pilot whale, transported to SeaWorld for care, developed curvature of the spine, which prevented her from using her tail correctly. Fortunately, an orthopedic surgeon and a prosthetics expert came...

Love Milk? Now You Can Wear It

German designer makes eco-friendly clothes from drink

(Newser) - For the fashion industry, cows provide more than just leather. Combining her knowledge of biochemistry and clothing design, a German designer has begun making clothes from a textile that’s made of pure milk, the AP reports. It feels like silk, is as washable as cotton, and is good for...

Author: Arsenic Poisoning Killed Jane Austen

She may have gotten it as medicine

(Newser) - A crime writer poring over Jane Austen's letters thinks she knows what killed the author at age 41: arsenic poisoning. Lindsay Ashford sees telltale hints in Austen's own words, written just months before she died, including this line: "I am considerably better now and am recovering my...

World&#39;s Priciest Tea Made Using Truly Gross Ingredient
World's Priciest Tea Made Using Truly Gross Ingredient
hint: it involves pandas
Nov 15, 2011 10:18 AM CST

World's Priciest Tea Made Using Truly Gross Ingredient

Wildlife expert plans to use panda poo to make $36K-per-pound tea

(Newser) - If you thought the world's most expensive coffee was disgustingly weird, you haven't seen anything yet: A wildlife expert in China is trying to make the world's priciest tea. The costly ingredient? Panda poop. An Yanshi plans to use the feces he has collected from a panda...

Girl Survives 2 Days Trapped in Car With Dead Dad

Jordan Landon, age 9, was stuck upside down

(Newser) - A truly astonishing tale of survival out of North Carolina: A 9-year-old girl managed to survive for more than 43 hours stuck upside down after the car her father was driving crashed. Jordan Landon was trapped by her seatbelt from about 10pm Friday until her Sunday night rescue, reports the...

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