Strange But True Category
Weird, offbeat and bizarre news from around the world. Funny, strange & odd news stories that make you wince, laugh and fear for humanity.
Woman divorces husband after he spent $50,000 on a great record collection
On eBay the story of a broken marriage and a big record collection:
My ex-husband was a big jerk! While that’s the main reason that I divorced him, the final straw was that he spent just over $50,000 buying a stupid huge record collection. Even though it was a good buy, and a sound investment (no pun intended), I felt the money (which was all we had and half mine) should have gone to pay off our mortgage, or put the kids through college, or saved for our retirement, or at least spent on something we could enjoy together, like a second honeymoon (our first was a weekend in Cleveland at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame).
While I honestly know next to nothing about records, he was thrilled and kept bragging about how these were all original pressings from the 1950’s, 60’s & 70’s, that it was the most complete gathering of collectible Rock, Rockabilly, R&B, British Invasion, Motown, Acid, Psych and Folk he’d ever seen (over 5000 albums and over 1000 45’s), and how rare it was that most had never even been played once (why would anyone buy a record and never play it?).
So that’s why I was so nonplused that he left the entire collection to me when he died (maybe he honestly felt some remorse? Nah). Anyway, I don’t want it, so I’m offering them all to you (it will probably take me months to list them all). Please feel free to make an offer on the whole darn thing, or to ask if I have a particular record, or any other questions (which I’ll do my best to answer; though again, I don’t know much at all). All prices are flexible (I’m basing them on what others are selling for), and I would be happy to entertain any offers.
Spotter: ClashMusic
Posted: 11th, January 2018 | In: Music, Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment
Starlings scare predator by forming shape of a huge bird
To evade predators starlings cluster. In the skies over Costa Brava, Spain, a murmuration of starlings took the form of a a far larger bird. Daniel Biber, who took the photo, tells the Independent:
“I was taking pictures of the murmurations over several days. Only when I checked the pictures on the computer later, I realised what formation the starlings had created.
“I was so concentrated on taking pictures at the time that I hadn’t realised that the starlings had created a giant bird in the sky.
“It took less than 10 seconds for the birds to create that formation. I realised that I had captured a unique snapshot, technically, sharp and in high quality.”
Perfectly timed photo captures the moment a flock of starlings took the shape of a giant bird.
Photo by Daniel Bieber. pic.twitter.com/UWfbM1NDlK
— Greg Hogben (@MyDaughtersArmy) January 2, 2018
Mr Biber’s picture won first prize in a contest run by the Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach, which sims “to inspire public interest in birds and raise awareness for their protection”.
Says Daniel: “In the northeast of Spain, hundreds of thousands of Common Starlings gather at nighttime to sleep. While I was watching this spectacle, the billowing flock suddenly took the shape of a huge flying bird. What luck!”
Posted: 4th, January 2018 | In: News, Strange But True | Comment
Would be Tube fare-dodger caught by the penis
The last time anyone of note vaulted the turnstiles on the London Underground, they were on their way to shoot an innocent man in the head. So it could have been worse when our hero leapt over the ticket barriers at Covent Garden station (more evidence of the London 2012 Olympic legacy – ed). Well, at least he tried to. The barriers shut and the young blade was caught by the penis.
The alleged dodger’s todger had upset the plan.
In addition to kind hearts stopping to record the spectacle on their mobile phones, advice was offered, not last of all the directive, “Butter him up, butter him up.”
Once freed, the man thanks a police officer (unarmed) and a passer-by who had helped.
Posted: 3rd, January 2018 | In: News, Strange But True | Comment
The one with the roof, the skateboarder and the pig (video)
Video of the day is the one with the roog, the skateboarder and the pig:
this gets so much better the longer you watch pic.twitter.com/Y1c2KQaB5T
— 🎄 Goth Ms Kringle 🎅 (@spookperson) November 27, 2017
Posted: 28th, November 2017 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Roy Moore accused of molesting shellfish
Big news from Alabama, where the Republican Party is embroiled in a “sex clams” scandal involving local politician and judge Roy Moore. Moore’s campaign for the US Sensate is infected by allegations that he molested 14-year-old Leigh Corfman (now 53) and three other teens when he was in his thirties.
“This is one of those excruciating decision moments for evangelicals,” Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “These allegations, if true, are devastating. If true, this is a very big deal.”
If true. Moore denies any wrongdoing. Corfman stands by her story. The clams are not talking.
The Times Daily regrets the error.
Posted: 13th, November 2017 | In: News, Politicians, Strange But True | Comment
Alien ranch for sale in Arizona: scene of extraterrestrial battle yours for $5m
As marketing plans go, telling people the home you’re selling is on every extraterrestrial’s bucket list is sure you appeal to many. Add the thrill of anal probing aboard the mothership and kidnapped spouses, and let the auctions begin. John Edmonds is selling his aline-infested 6.97-acre Stardust Ranch in Rainbow Valley, Arizona. It’s yours for $5-million.
Edmonds claims he has slain 19 aliens with samurai swords and he and his wife have endured abduction attempts.”They actually levitated her out of the bed in the master chamber and carried her into the parking lot and tried to draw her up into the craft,” he told NBC-affiliate KPNX.
Under one image of what appears to be dried blood and a katana, he described the method of destroying the “greys.”
“Unless you cut the head off and disconnect the antennae, so to speak, they instantly ‘phone home.’ Even with a razor-sharp sword, it is nearly impossible to decapitate them with one swing,” he wrote.
Fancy living on the ranch?
“It’s not something for a traditional family, but it holds a lot of secrets and what I believe are future opportunities to understand forces that are in the universe,” he said. “Please be very well grounded because the energy here has the tendency to manifest with whatever is going on with you.”
Geekologie has a screen shot of the Facebook chat between Edmonds and interested parties:
Spotter: Geekologie
Posted: 1st, November 2017 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Students give ‘first hand job’ for work experience
Writer: Is it first hand or firsthand?
Editor: Either one is fine
Spotter: @NJSox
Posted: 30th, October 2017 | In: Strange But True | Comment
What happens when you tap on a shark screen that say ‘don’t tap on the shark screen’
Sharks get a tough run with humanity, whether it being fins made into soup, teeth worn as necklaces or the cultural approbation / plasticface that saw the biggest shark role in Hollywood history played by a machine. At the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C., visitors are advised against tapping on the glass. This is, of course, an invitation to tap on the glass, which one shark feast-sized human did:
The display is part of a museum exhibit called “Earth Redesigned.” The show includes the vision of fictional character Karl Stromberg of the James Bond book and film “The Spy Who Loved Me,” and his ideas about a post-apocalyptic war world beneath the sea.
“What would Stromberg’s world be like?” the museum asks on the display’s webpage. “Find out as you experience the residents in our virtual shark tank … but be careful — you never know when one might attack!”
Wait for it…
Posted: 28th, October 2017 | In: News, Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment
Prisoner sues guards for mocking his 91-hour long boner
Dustin Lance was serving a stiffy sentence
For a mere 91 hours Dustin Lance, 32, held an erection. The prolonged boner – the effects of a pill seconded from a fellow lag – caused Lance, in his words, “unbearable pain”. His bellend will never be the same again.
And his feelings are hurt, too. Lance says prison guards “repeatedly mocked him while denying him medical treatment”. What with this being America, he’s called in the country’s first emergency service: the lawyers, and is suing Pittsburg County jail in McAlester, Oklahoma.
Lance, who was serving time for burglary and possession of a controlled dangerous substance, says after being admitted to hospital, doctors “told defendants the plaintiff needed to be seen by a urologist specialist” immediately. But Lance says instead of rushing him to specialist care, deputies took him back to jail to organise a recognisance bond and”further delayed the treatment”.
Lance is seeking the entirely reasonable sum of $5 million damages. He really is going to stick it to The Man, and keep on sticking it until the sun goes down, comes up, goes down…
Posted: 26th, October 2017 | In: News, Strange But True | Comment
New 3D Zebra Crossing has drivers in Iceland on high alert
Mind the gap when crossing the road in Ísafjörður, Iceland, where the usual zebra-crossing has been given a third dimension by street painting company Vegi GÍH and the city’s environmental commissioner Ralf Trylla. The idea is to promote art and make drivers pay more attention when approach the crossing.
Given the sensational scenery in Iceland, the zebra might be necessary in keeping drivers’ eyes on the road.
Spotter: Iceland Magazine, Swissmiss
Posted: 26th, October 2017 | In: Politicians, Strange But True, Technology | Comment
Amazon delivers 65 pounds of marijuana to couple who ordered a bin
Sometimes life just gives you a break. And so it was for one couple who instead of the four storage bins they ordered from Amazon, received 65 pounds of marijuana.
Can you imagine?
Amazon customers in Orlando got unexpected marijuana delivery 📦-65-pounds! #WFTV at 6pm pic.twitter.com/yYywuKYpnU— Jeff Deal (@JDealWFTV) October 20, 2017
“They were extremely heavy, heavier than you would think from ordering four empty bins,” the woman tells ABC.
She called the police, who impounded the contraband, and around a month later Amazon sent them a $150 gift card.
There really is no helping some people.
Spotter: WFTV
Posted: 25th, October 2017 | In: Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment
The meaning of sailors’ tattoos
Artist Lucy Bellwood explains the meaning of sea-farers’ tattoos with The Art of the Sailor. It first appeared in the Vancouver Maritime Museum’s traveling exhibit, “Tattoos and Scrimshaw: the Art of the Sailor.”
Spotter: Rusty Blazenhoff,
Posted: 23rd, October 2017 | In: Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment
Jim Davis: Garfield’s owner Jon did not drink dog semen
In 1990, did Garfield’s owner John scarf a cup of dog semen?
Have yall seen this Garfield where Jon drinks dog semen? What a great comic pic.twitter.com/I522ZgtRWP
— Reliable Truck (@ccchauffe) January 22, 2015
In the May 1990 strip, Jon is with Garfield’s veterinarian, Liz. Jon drinks a cup of something. Liz tells him: “Congratulations, Mr. Arbuckle. You are going to give birth to a fine, healthy litter of puppies.”
Semen? No. You can’t get pregnant form ‘oral sex’. Says Jim Davis:
“On the farm, we used to give first-calf heifers a high protein supplement to help them deliver healthier calves. The supplement was provided by our vet… I assumed that there would be a similar supplement for dogs. So Jon is drinking a protein-enriched drink formulated for a pregnant dog. There you have it!”
Spotter: AV Club
Posted: 20th, October 2017 | In: Celebrities, Strange But True | Comment
Couple sentenced for sex in a Domino’s take-away
Daniella Hirst and Craig Smith were filmed “in a sex act and having sex” at a Domino’s pizza take away in Scarborough, Yorkshire. Cancel the weekend in Paris and dinner at the candle-lit eatery, love, if it’s sex you’re after, neon lights and stuffed crust is all the fuel you need.
At Scarborough Magistrates’ Court, Hirst and Smith were each handed 12-month community orders, a curfew for 23 weeks which means they have to remain in their separate homes between 7pm and 7am, with a victim surcharge of £85. Hearing that he’d also have to complete 200 hours unpaid work, Smith asked: “Why do I have to do that extra?” (Accoing to the Burton Mail, Hirst has previous for offences including using threatening words or behaviour and theft. He was out on licence for an offence of wounding when he and Hist romped in the eatery.)
Defence solicitor Scott McLoughlin told the court:
“This footage is on the internet and it will be for ever more, for their children to see. One can only imagine the embarrassment this has caused. This is something that has escaped into the wild.”
Meet the kids: Supreme and Pepperoni.
“When they entered the store, they did not intend to cause any harm to anyone. They were in high spirits. It was completely devoid of customers and no-one initially noticed or saw what was happening. It’s blatant but not as blatant as it could have been. They moved to the right of the store.”
Posted: 19th, October 2017 | In: Key Posts, News, Strange But True | Comment
Texas worker stole $1.2m of fajitas over 9 years
STOP! That fajita might be stolen. Fox reports on a $1.2m fajita scam:
Former Cameron County Juvenile Justice Department employee Gilberto Escaramillo missed work one day in August for a medical appointment, the same day a delivery driver called the kitchen about having 800 pounds of fajitas to drop off, the paper said.
A woman informed the driver that the juvenile department didn’t serve the Tex-Mex food – but the driver said he’d been delivering it for nine years, Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz told the Herald.
“When Mr. Escaramilla reports to work the next day, he is confronted with the discussion and he admits he had been stealing fajitas for nine years,” Saenz said.
Escaramilla was fired that month and arrested after investigators obtained a search warrant and found packages of the Tex-Mex food in his refrigerator, Saenz explained.
They also checked invoices and determined he would intercept county-funded food deliveries and deliver them to his own customers, according to the newspaper.
He was determined to have stolen $1,251,578 of fajitas, the report added. Escaramilla was arrested last week on a felony theft charge.
At least he used his own fridge…
Posted: 18th, October 2017 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Canadian Parliament scuppers moves to permit drunk canoeing
Canada has rules governing drinking in “vessels”, including those “propelled exclusively by means of muscular power”. Get caught over the limit in a kayak or on an inflatable raft and you could lose your driving licence.
Now the Canadian Safe Boating Council has countered moves to end this rule, telling Liberal MP Colin Fraser, “it would send the wrong message to the public to exclude drunk canoeing”. You can be drunk in charge of a bicycle. But you must be sober in a canoe.
The Canadian Criminal Code says only motorized road vehicles are covered by impaired driving laws – but all water-going “vessels,” whether they’re motorized or not, are included:
But the definition may soon be tested in court. Earlier this year, Ontario Provincial Police laid charges against David Sillars, a 37-year-old who tipped a canoe on the Muskoka River. An eight-year-old in the canoe was swept over a waterfall and died.
Sillars is charged with impaired operation of a vessel causing death and operating a vessel with a blood-alcohol level over 80 milligrams causing death, among other counts.
During the committee meeting, Conservative MP Rob Nicholson — a former Conservative justice minister — appeared to cite that case in asking for clarification on what the amendment would do.
In the UK, the law on drunk-boating tells us:
Boaters may be prosecuted under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 if their actions on the water are seen to be endangering other vessels, structures or individuals and they are under the influence of alcohol.
But there is no law covering being smashed in charge of a canoe, or pedlo.
Spotter: National Post
Posted: 17th, October 2017 | In: News, Politicians, Strange But True | Comment
Young girl shows friends her prosthetic leg for the first time
Young girl shows friends her prosthetic leg for the first time pic.twitter.com/GgmCkuPCkR
— Eric Alper (@ThatEricAlper) October 16, 2017
Get a load of Anu, 7, showing her new sports blade and prosthetic leg to her friends at school in Birmingham.
Heartwarming stuff.
Isn’t humanity great…
Posted: 17th, October 2017 | In: Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment
Going fast: the Anne Frank Halloween costume for girls
Why not alarm your Nazi neighbours this Halloween by dressing up in an Anne Frank costume (for girls)?
The costume has now been pulled from shelves.
Public Relations Specialist at Fun.com, Ross Walker Smith went on Twitter to explain:
“We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside of the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays. We have passed along the feedback regarding this costume, and it has been removed from the website at this time.”
Just a clerical error, then. Thanks for the feedback. Who knew flogging a murdered child for Halloween was anything by fun?
And it’s positively tasteful compared to this:
Spotter: JudeHabib
Posted: 16th, October 2017 | In: News, Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment
Woman takes picture of her dog after an operation at the vets absolutely off its face
Woman takes picture of her dog after an operation at the vets absolutely off its face (via @reddit).
Posted: 15th, October 2017 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Man on Cloud 9 repeatedly head butts bus (Video)
Meanwhile…in Brazil, a man is attempting to head-butt his way on to a bus.
Forbes says the loon was most likely off his face on Cloud 9:
“Cloud 9 is not a drug,” says Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “It’s a name.” Some accounts describe Cloud 9 as a marijuana substitute, similar to products such as Spice or K2. Other accounts, including 2013 testimony by Joseph Rannazzisi, who runs the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, identify Cloud 9 as a methamphetamine or cocaine substitute in the same family as products sold as “bath salts.” So which is it? A synthetic cannabinoid or a synthetic stimulant? “It could be anything,” Payne says. “It could be all of those things.” As John Yang noted in his NBC report, the bottles of Cloud 9 sold in southeastern Michigan have “just the name on the label, no other writing. It doesn’t say who made it, where it’s from, or what’s in it.”
Maybe it’s just a mix of any old man-made crap that kids banned from using illegal drugs take to get wasted?
Stories in the local press do not shed much light on that last question. In a May 21 story headlined “Cloud 9 Rains Misery on Family,” Lisa Roose-Church, a reporter for Michigan’s Livingston County Press, calls Cloud 9 “a synthetic cannabinoid” marketed as “hookah-related incense or oil.” But she also says “it has been sold as bath salts” and quotes the website of Sober Living by the Sea, a chain of California drug treatment centers, as saying Cloud 9 “gives users a euphoric ecstasy-like sensation, with an amphetamine-like high.” Roose-Church adds that “product ingredients vary, but typically include stimulant compounds such as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) or 4-methylmethcathinone, also known as mephedrone.” Those are both stimulants, not cannabinoids, and they are banned by name under federal law, which makes NBC’s claim that Cloud 9 is legal rather puzzling. A September 18 story from Associated Newspapers of Michigan, headlined “3 Teens Suffer Effects of ‘Bath Salts’ Overdose,” likewise describes Cloud 9 as “a synthetic cathinone,” the family to which MDPV and mephedrone belong.
Spotter: BB
Posted: 7th, October 2017 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Children compete to create Nazi Party mascot
To Georgia, where middle schoolers have been set a test: dream up a mascot for the Nazi party. WSB-TV Atlanta looks on as sixth graders from Shiloh Middle School in Snellville get to work. “Directions: The year is 1935 and you have been tasked with creating a mascot to represent the Nazi party at its political rallies,” the task reads. “Think about all the information that you have learned about Hitler and the Nazi party. You will create a COLORFUL illustration of the mascot. Give the mascot a NAME. You will also write an explanation as to why the mascot was chosen to represent the Nazi party.”
‘My Little Genocide’
Pass the crayons:
Gwinnett County Schools said learning about Nazism, the use of propaganda and the events that resulted in the Holocaust is part of the sixth grade social studies curriculum.
However, a school district spokesperson said in a statement, “This assignment is not a part of the approved materials provided by our Social Studies department and is not appropriate and the school is addressing the use of this assignment with the teacher.”
Given what you know about Nazis, industrialised murder, the Holocaust and more, get colouring, kids!*
Bonus marks will be awarded for any child stealing another child’s work with extreme prejudice and blaming it on the Jews.
Spotter: DrRandomFactor
Posted: 7th, October 2017 | In: Key Posts, News, Strange But True | Comment
Censorship means Alabama shoppers buy sex toys blind
If you buy an online sex toy online in Alabama, you’ll have to do so blind. You get to see a fair deal of the ‘marital aid’, but the gaps have been plugged.
Alabama law prohibits selling products that are “primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs”. This is down to “the state’s interest in preserving and promoting public morality provides a rational basis for the challenged statute.”
So there.
Spotter: JWZ
Posted: 7th, October 2017 | In: Strange But True, The Consumer | Comment
