General Oddness

The Indy Basketball Goal Thief

by Brian on July 28, 2010

Via the Indy Star: Indianapolis, Indiana – Jeri Holland, 25, of the 3700 block of West 10th Street, said a man in a pick-up truck stole the basketball goal in front of her house at 6 p.m. After backing his silver Chevrolet pick-up onto her property, the robber — about 5-feet, 10-inches tall, and 145-pounds [...]

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110 Proof Beer Served In Dead Squirrels

by Brian on July 26, 2010

Via AFP: LONDON — The strongest and most expensive beer ever created sold out within hours Friday, a Scottish brewery said, as they courted controversy by packaging the bottles inside the bodies of stuffed animals. BrewDog, the self-described maverick brewery, presented the beer — which contains a record 55 percent alcohol — inside the bodies [...]

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Parachuting Donkey Ambushes Russian Beach

by Brian on July 26, 2010

Via AFP & Yahoo! MOSCOW (AFP) – Russian beachgoers got a shock when they saw a donkey soaring in the blue skies over the balmy beaches on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia last week, police said on Tuesday. Attached to a parachute, the animal screamed in fear as it circled over heads of [...]

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Via WIBC: Officials with a child advocacy group are trying to retrieve some 1,000 plastic ducks that remain on the loose following a Fort Wayne duck race last month. Stop Child Abuse & Neglect says 17,000 ducks were placed in the St. Joseph River for the annual fundraiser duck race on June 19, but were [...]

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The Broad Ripple Condom Thief

by Brian on July 18, 2010

Via WISH TV: INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Metro Police are looking for a man who gave a Broad Ripple security guard a hard time while stealing several boxes of condoms from grocery store. Officers were called around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to the Marsh supermarket located at 2350 Broad Ripple Avenue. The security guard told investigators he [...]

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GOLD Vending Machines

by mallsop on June 1, 2010

GOLD Vending Machines

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Men’s Wonderpants

by mallsop on April 15, 2010

Men’s Wonderpants

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Popsicle Stick Furniture

by mallsop on April 6, 2010

Popsicle Stick Furniture

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House of Cards

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Bogus Butt Enhancements

by mallsop on March 9, 2010

Bogus Butt Enhancements

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Fugitive caught playing online game

by mallsop on January 14, 2010

Fugitive caught playing online game

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The Decade`s 87 Lamest Moments in Tech

by mallsop on December 22, 2009

87 Lamest Moments in Tech

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Lost man drives nine hours to get newspaper

by mallsop on November 19, 2009

An elderly man who went out to fetch a morning newspaper ended up driving nearly 400 miles after getting lost and taking a wrong turn onto a major Australian highway, police said on Wednesday. The man, 81-year-old Eric Steward, eventually stopped and asked for directions after driving for nine hours, from the New South Wales [...]

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My awareness is in the form of a 9mm.

by mallsop on November 9, 2009

Breast cancer awareness pistol

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The Naked Cooking Burglar

by Brian on October 7, 2009

Via Fox News: SLIDELL, La. — Police say a naked man who appeared to be drunk or on drugs broke into a Louisiana home, cooked himself a meal and took a shower before leaving, wrapped only in a sheet. Slidell Police Capt. Kevin Foltz says a video surveillance system at the home captured the naked [...]

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Mullets Are Coming Back

by mallsop on August 26, 2009

The mullet is alternately known as the Mississippi mud flap, the neck blanket, the Kentucky waterfall, Achy Breaky hair, and the Camaro cut. On a woman: Femmullet. On a child: Child abuse. Some 20 entrants, competing for a blue ribbon and an airbrushed painting of one of cinema’s most popular mullet-wearers, Joe Dirt, had their [...]

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Naked Man Arrested on Plane – Again

by mallsop on August 24, 2009

Naked man on Plane – Again

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The Phantom Bus Stop

by Brian on July 21, 2009

Via the Telegraph: The bus stop, in front of the Benrath Senior Centre in the western city of DĂĽsseldorf, is an exact replica of a standard stop, with one small difference: buses never stop there. The idea emerged after the centre was forced to rely on police to retrieve patients who wanted to return to [...]

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Top 10 Grossest Ice Creams

by mallsop on July 14, 2009

From corn ice cream to raw horse flesh ice cream. Here are the top 10 worst: Click here.

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Swap your iPod for a Walkman

by mallsop on June 29, 2009

The BBC convinced 13 year old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman and use it for a week. The first shock came just from seeing the thing: [My Dad] had told me it was big, but I hadn’t realised he meant THAT big. It was the size of a small book. It [...]

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Drunk tractor driver crashes into creek.

by mallsop on June 4, 2009

Drunk tractor driver crashes into creek.

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Wipe that grin off your face!

by mallsop on May 27, 2009

Neutral facial expressions are required.

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Via Channel 6 in Indy GARY, Ind. — Church leaders visiting a former funeral home they recently bought in a tax sale stumbled upon a gruesome discovery — four unidentified bodies that had been left behind, perhaps for years, in the vacant building. Lake County Coroner David J. Pastrick described the situation as “unbelievable.” Leaders [...]

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Cyborgs becoming a reality

by mallsop on April 27, 2009

Source Honda demonstrated its prototype walking assist devices for the first time in the U.S. today. Intended to support walking for the elderly or people with weakened leg muscles, the devices are currently being tested in real-world conditions to evaluate their effectiveness. The company has applied for more than 130 patents for the devices which [...]

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OAKLAND, Calif.—Relatives of Eunice Workman had no idea where the elderly woman had gone when they reported her missing seven years ago. They finally found her—under a pile of debris in her own home. Workman’s daughters were cleaning out the two-story north Oakland home Wednesday when they discovered the body. Her remains were in a [...]

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100 odd things

by mallsop on January 3, 2009

A bear helped carry ammunition for Polish troops during World War II, and 99 other odd facts. Read more

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Don’t like someone? Give them a ticket.

by mallsop on December 22, 2008

Some teenage drivers in Maryland are covering their car license plates with numbers belonging to teachers and others to fake out traffic cameras, a parent says. The DailyTech Web site reported Monday the unidentified parent told the Montgomery County Sentinel a few young drivers in the county print authentic-looking numbers on glossy paper and tape [...]

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Tuesday, November 4, 2008 MONROE, Wash. – A man suspected of robbing an armored bank truck and making his getaway via inner tube on the Skykomish River is in custody. source

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Leaning Tower of Pisa Has 300 Years Left

by Brian on May 29, 2008

Via Reuters… The tower’s tilt of about four metres off the vertical has remained stable in recent years, after a big engineering project that ended in 2001 corrected its lean by about 40 centimetres from where it was in 1990 when the project began. “Now we can say that the tower can rest easy for [...]

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Fly nude

by mallsop on February 1, 2008

Wed Jan 30, 2008 FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German nudists will be able to start their holidays early by stripping off on the plane if they take up a new offer from an eastern German travel firm. Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings from Friday for a trial nudist day trip from the [...]

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Man allegedly does figure-8′s in plane

by Brian on August 16, 2007

Via the AP… This joy ride was grounded from the start. A sheriff’s deputy arrested a man accused of getting into a small, private plane and doing figure-8′s on the grass. Authorities don’t believe Walker has any flying experience. Walker found the keys inside and started the plane, which eventually ended up nose-down in the [...]

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Boy gets 44,000 in eBay parcel

by mallsop on July 20, 2007

Police are trying to trace the owner of 65,400 euros (ÂŁ44,000) mistakenly sent to a 16-year-old boy who bought a Playstation Two for ÂŁ95 on eBay. The cash arrived in a box at the house in Aylsham, Norfolk, with the games console, but minus two games. Police are holding the money under the Proceeds of [...]

Rejection Letter Toilet Paper

by Brian on July 3, 2007

Lulu is now offering printing on rolls of toilet paper.  Interesting idea, but not $90 for 4 rolls interesting.  And definitely not very cost effective unless you’re charging people to use your bathroom.

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Egg on sale

by mallsop on May 31, 2007

Posted on Amazon.com….quite a deal I must say!

Customer steamed over missing pants

by mallsop on May 3, 2007

A missing pair of pants has led to one big suit. A customer got so steamed when a dry cleaner lost his trousers that he sued for $65 million. Two years later, he is still pressing his suit. -AP http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/03/missing.pants.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us 

But does it fit in my pocket?

by mallsop on January 19, 2007

85 tool, 110 function swiss army knife, $1,200. Macgyver, eat your heart out! swiss army knife

You could be a bad parent…

by mallsop on January 19, 2007

You could be a bad parent, if you need this book: Baby Names for Dummies. http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Names-Dummies-Margaret-Rose/dp/0764543407  

Flatulent passenger grounds flight

by Brian on December 7, 2006

How embarrassing… NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec 6 (Reuters Life!) – It may be one problem airline security officials never envisioned — a passenger lighting matches in flight to mask odors from her flatulence. The woman’s actions resulted in an emergency landing on Monday in Nashville of an American Airlines flight bound for Dallas from Washington, D.C., [...]

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Air guitar shirt

by mallsop on November 13, 2006

If you love the idea of being a rock star but have no musical ability, apart from looking the part, then the air guitar shirt may be right up your alley.

Hollywood Halloween Silly String Ban

by Brian on October 31, 2006

You have got to be kidding me… [photo credit: of all the things to ban..., originally uploaded by Malingering.] …but they’re not. The ordinance calls for a maximum $1000 fine and/or six months in jail for use, possession, sale or distribution of Silly String in Hollywood from 12:01 a.m. on October 31 to 12:00 p.m. [...]

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Man Accused of Biting Off Rooster’s Head

by Brian on August 1, 2006

A man accused of biting the head off his pet rooster was arrested Friday and faces up to a year in prison if convicted, an animal protection spokesman said. A neighbor had complained about a dead rooster near his Manhattan apartment and agents found the body of the beheaded rooster on a fire escape, said [...]

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Battery powered plane

by mallsop on July 25, 2006

I need 160 AA batteries for my plane.

It’s got to be one of these switches.

by mallsop on June 22, 2006

A worker accidentally tripping a shut-off switch at a major Ontario plastics plant. Cost 11 million.

Massachusetts police are investigating the discovery of large quantities of drugs found inside merchandise from two Home Depot stores in Massachusetts, local police said Wednesday. According to the Tewksbury Police Department, a contractor late last week discovered two 50 pound “bricks” of marijuana wrapped in plastic bags inside a bathroom vanity he had purchased at [...]

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Isn’t it supposed to be harder than this?

by mallsop on June 6, 2006

Isn’t it supposed to be harder than this? Helicopter prisoner escape worked.

I write the songs…

by mallsop on June 5, 2006

Sick and tired of souped-up cars with loud engines and pulsing music? Barry Manilow may be the answer.

Weird Weekend 2005

by Brian on May 27, 2006

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I’m my own prom date.

by mallsop on May 25, 2006

GARY, Ind. – A male student who has worn women’s clothes to school all year was turned away from his high school prom because he was wearing a dress.

A male student who has worn women’s clothes to school all year was turned away from his high school prom because he was wearing a dress.

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The Weird Ideas of Tax Cheaters

by mallsop on May 9, 2006

The Internet has always been a hotbed of wacky but harmless ideas. That’s not the case with the anti-tax movement: These money-saving schemes can cost you everything.

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Illusionist David Copperfield magically escaped getting robbed. After his show at a West Palm Beach performing arts center Sunday, Copperfield was walking with two female assistants back to their tour bus when four teenagers pulled up in a black car, the police report said. Two armed robbers allegedly got out [...]

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China Makes Artificial Rain for Beijing

by Brian on May 6, 2006

BEIJING – Chinese weather specialists used chemicals to engineer Beijing’s heaviest rainfall of the year, helping to relieve drought and rinse dust from China’s capital, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. Technicians with the Beijing Weather Modification Office fired seven rocket shells containing 163 cigarette-size sticks of silver iodide over the city’s skies on [...]

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Demon attack cat

by mallsop on April 4, 2006

Demon attack cat

Hell’s Angels rumble with Disney

by Brian on March 10, 2006

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – The Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Corp. is suing a division of Walt Disney, Buena Vista Motion Pictures and a film production company for infringing on its trademark in the development and production of “Wild Hogs,” a comedy about middle-aged bikers. The motorcycle club says in the suit that it never approved Walt [...]

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Man’s elbow, mistaken for squirrel, shot

by Brian on February 14, 2006

OLDEN TOWNSHIP, Michigan (AP) — A man was shot and injured when his hunting partner mistook his elbow for a squirrel, authorities said. Michigan State Police said George Arthur Sikkenga, 64, of Muskegon, Michigan was wounded Sunday morning in Golden Township, in Michigan’s west-central Lower Peninsula. Sikkenga was wearing camouflage clothing except for an orange [...]

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Bubble gum art.

by mallsop on February 13, 2006

Guy who makes art out of used bubble gum.

Balloon in car creates XL explosion

by Brian on February 7, 2006

SHERIDAN, Colorado (AP) — A couple planning to set off their own Super Bowl pyrotechnics accidentally blew up their own car while transporting a balloon filled with an explosive gas. Norman Frey, 46, and his companion suffered busted eardrums in the explosion Sunday as they drove to a party for Super Bowl XL, according to [...]

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Vampire candidate arrested on Ind. charges

by Brian on February 3, 2006

PRINCETON, Minn., Jan. 31 (UPI) — Self-described vampire and Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Jonathan “The Impaler” Sharkey has been arrested on Indiana charges of stalking and escape. Sharkey is wanted in Indianapolis on the charges on which bond has been set at $100,000, the Princeton (Minn.) Union-Eagle reported. Princeton police said their search discovered the May [...]

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Group: ‘New car smell’ includes toxins

by Brian on January 31, 2006

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – A Michigan environmental group is charging that at least part of the so-called “new car smell” is toxic, and that the interior of an automobile has dangerous levels of various chemicals. The report, “Toxic at any speed,” comes from The Ecology Center, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based group. It reports that PBDEs, [...]

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Church Says Door Bears Image Of Jesus

by Brian on January 31, 2006

NORTH VERNON, Ind. — Members of a southern Indiana church say they believe a wooden door there bears the image of Jesus. People from across Indiana have come to the Reigning Light of the Healing Chapel in North Vernon to see the door. Congregation members say they can see a likeness of Jesus in the [...]

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Cops hunt stolen manhole covers

by Brian on January 30, 2006

More than 30 manhole covers have been snatched from Marion County streets in the past week. Authorities point to the high price of scrap metal as the incentive for thieves, but the missing covers leave caverns as much as 30 feet deep yawning in ambush for drivers and pedestrians. A replacement can cost from $300 [...]

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Vampire seeks Minnesota governor’s job

by Brian on January 13, 2006

Minnesota voters, who eight years ago elected a former professional wrestler as their governor, may find a self-proclaimed vampire on the ballot for the office this year. “Politics is a cut-throat business,” said Jonathan “The Impaler” Sharkey, who said he plans to announce his bid for governor on Friday on the ticket of the Vampyres, [...]

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Man sues over chatroom humiliation

by Brian on January 10, 2006

An Ohio man who claims that he was humiliated by two other participants in an AOL chatroom has sued the two men for causing emotional distress and the ISP for failing to stop the alleged abuse. Read the story.

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Woman offers her dead body for display

by Brian on January 10, 2006

TORONTO (Reuters) – A Toronto woman, not content with having merely a dusty demise, has become the first Canadian to donate her body for public display after she dies. The 30-year-old mutual fund worker said the “Body Worlds” exhibition at the Ontario Science Center, which displays real human bodies, would fulfill her desire to have [...]

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Firemen’s party ends in fire station blaze

by Brian on January 10, 2006

TOKYO (Reuters) – Firemen in a small Japanese town were left red-faced after a party to mark the end of a fire awareness promotional event ended in a blaze that badly damaged their station. The two-story, wooden fire station in Shimohetsugi, southern Japan, was extensively damaged by the Sunday blaze, a spokesman for the Oita [...]

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — With the help of his kids and neighbors, Billy Ray Powers built more than just a snowman — they’ve dubbed his 16-plus-foot-tall creation “Snowzilla.” After using up all the snow in the family’s yard, they turned to neighbors’ yards and carried buckets on sleds. They hand-packed the snowman like an ice-cream [...]

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40 drunken Santas

by Brian on December 19, 2005

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Forty drunken Santas rampaged through central Auckland, stealing from stores and assaulting security guards, the New Zealand Herald reported on Sunday, in a protest against the commercialization of Christmas. Police said some of the Santas threw beer bottles, one tried to climb the mooring rope of a cruise ship and a security [...]

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Weighty loot trips up geriatric thief

by Brian on December 19, 2005

TOKYO (Reuters) – An aging Japanese thief felt the gravity of his crime when the weight of his loot tripped him up during his attempted getaway. The 70-year-old man walked into a post office in the city of Kawagoe, just north of Tokyo, late Friday and poured liquid over the floor, saying he would set [...]

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Broken-hearted donor leaves diamond ring in car

by Brian on December 19, 2005

BOSTON (Reuters) – Are diamonds really forever? An anonymous gift-giver left a $15,000 diamond engagement ring to the owner of an unlocked car in western Massachusetts with a typed note hinting at a broken heart. “Merry Christmas. Thank you for leaving your car door unlocked. Instead of stealing your car I gave you a present. [...]

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Swiss Women Sue After Hotel Bedbug Attacks

by Brian on December 1, 2005

Two Swiss women who spent a week at a Manhattan hotel have filed a lawsuit saying they had a lousy time trying to sleep there because they were bitten by bedbugs. Ksenija Knezevic, of Zurich, and Marlies Barisic, of Kreuzlingen, both in their early 30s, say the bloodsucking insects began attacking the night they checked [...]

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Police: Naked Man Fires Gun at Traffic

by Brian on December 1, 2005

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – A man wearing only socks was arrested along a busy street after witnesses said he fired a gun at afternoon traffic. … “I couldn’t believe it,” said Eddie Cox, who was driving home from the bank when he saw the naked gunman in this Memphis suburb. Read story.

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Fan: I dusted mom’s ashes on field

by Brian on November 30, 2005

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) — A man arrested for running onto the field during the Philadelphia Eagles’ game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday told police he was spreading his late mother’s ashes. Read story.

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Boy Accidentally Shoots Man in Outhouse

by Brian on November 30, 2005

VERSHIRE, Vt. – A Massachusetts man was shot while using the outhouse at his family’s camp by a boy who was target shooting. Chris Flanagan, 41, of Holliston, Mass., was standing in the outhouse on Saturday morning when he was hit in the chest by a bullet that came through the door. Police said the [...]

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Town erects world’s first Bruce Lee statue

by Brian on November 30, 2005

MOSTAR, Bosnia (Reuters) – Bosnia’s southern town of Mostar unveiled the world’s first statue of kung fu legend Bruce Lee on Saturday, paying homage to a childhood hero of all its divided ethnic groups. The life-size 1.68 meter (5ft 7in) bronze statue is situated in Mostar’s central park, close to the former front line of [...]

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Woman raises multi-tasking to a new level

by Brian on November 14, 2005

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A young woman robbed four banks in Washington’s suburbs without ever interrupting conversations her cell phone, a sheriff’s spokesman said on Friday. In the most recent heist, the woman, with sunglasses casually pushed up on her dark hair and a mobile phone at her ear, walked up to a bank teller in [...]

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Three die playing catch with grenade

by Brian on November 7, 2005

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia (Reuters) – A hand grenade being used instead of a ball in a game of catch exploded early on Saturday killing three youths in this Bosnian town, police and news agencies said. Two youths aged 19 and 20, one of them from neighboring Croatia, were killed instantly while a 20-year-old woman died [...]

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Pirates fire at luxury liner

by mallsop on November 5, 2005

Pirates fire at luxury liner

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Dentist severs finger and fakes car crash

by Brian on November 4, 2005

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch dentist who chopped off his finger and then faked a car crash before claiming 1.8 million euros ($2.2 million) from insurers was given a suspended sentence and fined by a court Thursday. The man, aged 50, mutilated himself and crashed his car into a tree in Belgium in the hope [...]

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Man glued to toilet seat, sues store

by Brian on November 4, 2005

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A Colorado man who had a panic attack when he found he was glued to a toilet seat in a Home Depot restroom has sued the home improvement giant for negligence, saying staff ignored his plight. Retired electrical engineer Bob Dougherty, 57, said on Thursday he was stuck in the stall [...]

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Hobbit-like species found

by mallsop on October 11, 2005

Scientists digging in a remote Indonesian cave have uncovered a jaw bone that they say adds more evidence that a tiny prehistoric Hobbit-like species once existed.

Naked swimmers abandon loch relay

by Brian on October 6, 2005

The naked swimmers were in the water for 14 hours and completed one length of the loch, before high swell and low temperatures forced them to reconsider. The relay, organised by British Naturism, was scheduled to complete three lengths between Fort Augustus and Lochend, covering 69 miles. British Naturism president Pat Thompson said the weather [...]

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600 barrels of loot found on Crusoe island

by Brian on September 28, 2005

A long quest for booty from the Spanish colonial era appears to be culminating in Chile with the announcement by a group of adventurers that they have found an estimated 600 barrels of gold coins and Incan jewels on the remote Pacific island. “The biggest treasure in history has been located,” said Fernando Uribe-Etxeverria, a [...]

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RFK Jr. – High Priest of the Weather Cult

by Brian on September 7, 2005

Perhaps you thought Hurricanes were natural and somewhat random events that have occurred for ages untold. True, but now Hurricanes are angrier, because you won’t stop buying cars and ride public transportation. This particular Hurricane was angry at Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour for not believing in Global Warming, so it decided to attack Louisiana and [...]

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Humans Are Ones on Display at London Zoo

by Brian on August 29, 2005

LONDON – Caged and barely clothed, eight men and women monkeyed around for the crowds Friday in an exhibit labeled “Humans” at the London Zoo. “Warning: Humans in their Natural Environment” read the sign at the entrance to the exhibit, where the captives could be seen on a rock ledge in a bear enclosure, clad [...]

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Man finds ‘chewed off’ foot

by Brian on August 20, 2005

A Table View man has found a foot at the Milnerton lagoon. Derick van Vuuren said he had found it while out walking. “It was just floating around in the water,” he said after making the find on Sunday. “The cops reckon it’s a shark attack victim. But there have been no attacks on the [...]

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A man falls to his death while preparing one of Kansas City’s haunted houses for the Halloween season. Police said they received a call last night that a man had fallen down an elevator shaft at the Catacombs. It is one of several haunted houses that are located in old warehouses and industrial buildings in [...]

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Healers Warned Against Witch-Hunting

by Brian on July 22, 2005

POLICE in Mashonaland Central Province have warned traditional healers, mostly known as Tsikamutanda, that they risk being arrested for causing an upsurge in assault and murder cases in the province. This comes after police received reports of several family members that were killing and assaulting each other after witch-hunting ceremonies conducted by traditional healers in [...]

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MindComet sends blogs to outer space

by Brian on July 22, 2005

A US OUTFIT is offering a service that will allow bloggers to beam their online diaries into deep space. [see The Inquirer]

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Elves no laughing matter in Iceland

by Brian on July 19, 2005

The Icelandic tradition of believing in elves is so strong roads have been rerouted to avoid disturbing rocks where they might live, a report said. Polls consistently show most residents of Iceland either believe in elves, or aren’t willing to rule out their existence. [see WebIndia123]

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Witch tag on neighbour

by Brian on July 19, 2005

A 40-year-old housewife, Jaya Majumdar, has allegedly been branded a witch and assaulted by her neighbours in Lake Gardens. [see The Telegraph]

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Sask. twister takes 30 lambs

by Brian on July 17, 2005

ODESSA, Sask. — A Saskatchewan family is trying to put their lives back together after a twister destroyed their farm, carrying away 30 lambs. [see The Winnipeg Sun]

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Widow paraded naked, killed by villagers

by Brian on July 12, 2005

Raipur, July 11 : A 54-year-old widow was paraded naked and then clubbed to death after being branded a witch at the instance of a village panchayat in Chhattisgarh, police said Monday. Around 35 villagers took part in the gruesome incident in Parsatolo village, 122 km from here, in Rajnandgaon district Sunday, police said. Thirty-one [...]

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Body of Steelers Fan Viewed in Recliner

by Brian on July 7, 2005

PITTSBURGH (AP) – James Henry Smith was a zealous Pittsburgh Steelers fan in life, and even death could not keep him from his favorite spot: in a recliner, in front of a TV showing his beloved team in action. Smith, 55, of Pittsburgh, died of prostate cancer Thursday. Because his death wasn’t unexpected, his family [...]

Bizarre Dead Pig Farm

by Brian on July 6, 2005

Deakin University has set up Victoria’s first “dead pig farm” as part of a new project to study body decomposition. Pigs break down at a similar rate to humans and will be used to test new methods for investigating suspicious deaths of people. [via Geelong Info]

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York City school teacher apologized and resigned on Friday after admitting he pursued a career as a professional wrestler when he had told his boss he was on leave to care for a sick relative. Matthew Kaye, a social studies teacher at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens, had [...]

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Astrologist sues NASA over comet crash

by Brian on July 5, 2005

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian astrologist who says NASA has altered her horoscope by crashing a spacecraft into a comet is suing the U.S. space agency for damages of $300 million, local media reported Monday. [via Reuters]

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SONKAJARVI, Finland (Reuters) – Estonia reigned supreme once again in the wife-carrying world championship on Saturday, as Margo Uusorg sprinted home to win the Baltic country’s eighth straight title in the offbeat competition. Forty couples from 10 countries gathered in the remote Finnish village of Sonkajarvi to complete a 253.5-meter-long obstacle course. A man must [...]

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Going after smokers’ sex lives

by Brian on July 3, 2005

LONDON (Reuters) – The British government launched a series of tough anti-cigarette adverts Friday with the message that smoking is bad for your sex life because it makes men impotent and women ugly. [via Reuters]

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State cracks down on illegal fireworks

by Brian on July 3, 2005

The state police and state fire marshal’s office are reminding sellers and consumers that the only legal fireworks in Connecticut are sparklers. According to state law, sparklers are non-explosive, non-aerial devices that contain less than 100 grams of pyrotechnic mixture. They can only be used by people 16 years or older. Novelty items such as [...]

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According to The Mirror, the words “Holy Ghost” will be dropped from religious lessons because they scare children, and the body and blood of Jesus Christ will not be described as Eucharist because it seems too cannibalistic. [via NewKerala]

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For $10,000 and a brighter future for her son, Kari Smith on Wednesday became a real life pop-up ad for a virtual casino. … “I really want to do this,” she said. “To everyone else, it seems like a stupid thing to do. To me, $10,000 is like $1 million. I only live once, and [...]

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Farmland women strip for courthouse

by Brian on June 29, 2005

FARMLAND, Ind. — Seven women who usually gather to play cards plan to strip down for a calendar as part of the fight against plans to tear down Randolph County’s 128-year-old courthouse. The women ranging in age from their early 70s to older than 90 will pose nude — with strategically placed miniature replicas of [...]

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Gravediggers throw party at cemetery

by Brian on June 29, 2005

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The mourning parents of a traffic accident victim who visited their son’s grave near Antwerp Friday evening were shocked to find the local gravediggers enjoying their annual barbecue at the graveyard. Workers at the cemetery in Merksem had music playing and their children were running around near the graves, De Morgen newspaper [...]

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Women stripping in forest to foil police

by Brian on June 28, 2005

NEW DELHI – Women in an eastern Indian forest are stripping naked to distract police and to help a criminal gang avoid arrest while illegally chopping down trees, the Hindustan Times reported Tuesday. [via Reuters]

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A Halloween committee has been established for Coles County, which will try to bring in more business to the area during the spook season. During the last six months the committee has been working hard trying to get local business’ support with the upcoming Halloween festival, according to Scott Kelly, a committee member. “We are [...]

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Curse on Walt Disney’s actors?

by Brian on June 28, 2005

John Fiedler, a stage and screen actor, who grew up in Wisconsin and won fame as the voice of Piglet in Walt Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh films, died from cancer, according to his brother, James Fiedler. He was 80. Fiedler died Saturday in New York; a day after the death of Paul Winchell, 82, who created the [...]

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It may not have the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, nor of the area called the Devil’s Sea by Japanese and Filipino seamen, also known for inexplicable disappearances. But on a busy road in the shadow of the Pentland Hills lies the Covenanters’ Wood, an area that appears to possess the same magnetic characteristics. There [...]

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Strange Alaskan Lakes Linked To Heat Waves

by Brian on June 28, 2005

In Alaska, thousands of mysterious lakes are all the same shape and have grown steadily for thousands of years, the geological record shows. They are the fastest growing lakes known in the world. Scientists have tried various ideas to explain the steady growth — the lakes expand up to 15 feet every year — and [...]

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When The Going Gets Weird, He Loves It

by Brian on June 26, 2005

Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. “It’s only natural that Charlie Carlson would write a book on Florida oddities, because he can spend all day telling tales of the bizarre.” [via The Orlando Sentinel]

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Online Casino Buys Grassy Knoll Fence

by Brian on June 24, 2005

Once while in Dallas I had a couple ask me to take their picture on the “Grassy Knoll”, which I though was odd at the time. Maybe the area is prone to oddness…if you know of any other stories, let me know. Anyway, yet another odd eBay purchase by the casino. [via The Dallas Morning [...]

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Another Sacred Sighting

by Brian on June 24, 2005

“Shower Jesus” sold on eBay…to the usual winner of odd auctions. [via The Post Gazette]

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