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.
David Horvitz Will Do It For Money
David Horvitz will travel for you: “IF you give me $1,626 I will go to the small Okinawan island called Iriomote and send you an envelope filled with star-sand (don’t worry, I’ve been there before, I know where to go). I will send it from there.
Posted: 22nd, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
China Bans Foreign Cartoons And Eats Sponge Bob
CHINA would eat Sponge Bob: “The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is beefing up its campaign to protect domestic product by extending its primetime ban on foreign cartoons by an hour.”
The country’s top media regulator also demands that local TV stations get the censor’s approval before showing cartoons.
Beginning May 1, foreign toons such as the hugely popular “SpongeBob SquarePants” and Japanese mangas will be banned from 5-9 p.m. on local channels, Sarft said in a ruling that extends a 2006 order that banned cartoons from 5-8 p.m.
Who the hell watches children’s cartoons at 9pm, other than a goofed student?
Posted: 22nd, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Junk Mail Deliverer Sues For Snappy Letterbox
JOY Goodman is approaching the home of one Paul O‘Brien.
Goodman is a cake decorator in her late 40s. Mr O’Brien is out at work when Goodman comes calling. He works as an engineer, says the Mail.
She posts some junk mail, the contents of which are not revealed.
Some time later, Mr O’Brien receives a letter. It runs: “We understand that the circumstances of the accident are that our client was delivering a leaflet to your house when the your letterbox snapped back on her right index finger. As a result of this, our client suffered from personal injury and loss.”
Says Mr O’Brien: “It said they could claim against my house insurance. But if they pay out, my premium will go up… I am going to tell them to challenge it.”
Says Mrs Goodman, in all seriousness: “It is in the hands of my solicitors.”
Posted: 22nd, February 2008 | In: Strange But True, Tabloids | Comments (6)
Drunk Driver Drives Along Underground Train Tracks
CAN you drive down the Tube in London? Has anyone tried?
News from North America that Steven Stein, 54 years old from Vancouver, Wash., has been arrested on charges of drunk driving.
It is said that at 4am Stein brought the city’s MAX service to a halt by driving into a tunnel. He then motored along the tracks for up to a mile.
Mr Stein did not collect any passengers, nor did he demand equal pay and improved working conditions on pain of industrial action and much gnashing of teeth.
Britain’s RMT union is not thought to be coming out in sympathy with their MAX brothers who are faced with such health and safety issues.
Although they reserve the right to do so…
Posted: 21st, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Western Suicide Cults: Church Of Euthanasia
IN “Predators tell children how to kill themselves” we meet: “One of the most notorious figures on the internet suicide scene is Nagasiva Yronwode, a self-confessed satanist who runs a shop selling occult books and charms in the small Californian town of Forestville, north of San Francisco.”
Yronwode is the sel-styled “outreach director” for the Church of Euthanasia, which advocates suicide as a means of saving the world from the effects of overpopulation.
Writing under the name Boboroshi, he has edited a suicide guide, which details various methods. Yronwode’s own website contains links to online suicide discussion boards and forums.
Says he: “The guide is there to make it easier for people who opt for suicide to carry it out. The purpose of my information is empowerment for competent human beings who have an interest in ending their lives. What’s the problem with that?
“I haven’t seen any evidence that any person has acted as a result of reading the guide. But, of course, people who have an interest in ending their lives may well seek out information that relates to suicide and in some cases that leads them to end their lives…”
That’s the picture of him. His message might be attractive to the despressed and suicidal, but Mr Yronwode does not aid his mission by looking like he is uncertain which way up his head goes.
He also looks like someone trying hard to be “fun”. While the title of “Funniest Man In Sxitzerland” is within his reach, Mr Yronwode faces sterner competition in the US.
He could try this gag: When asked to identify the disembodied head of a suicide bomber, a relative surveys the scene before announcing: “No. He was taller than that.”
It might be that he thinks this cult is a good way to meet new and interesting people….
Posted: 18th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (7)
South Africa’s Green TV
IN South Africa: “Spending fever has reached all walks of South African life. Here’s a fellow who lives in a squatter camp beyond Somerset West in Western Cape who now wants a television set – a new one, mind, not that second-hand thing in the pawn-shop window – so he buys one from the High Street furniture retailer.”
But he’s back next day, saying the things keeps switching off just at the crucial moment. The shop checks it out and can find nothing wrong, but soon enough he’s back with the same complaint.
This time the shop sends out a technician to pop round to see what the problem is. When the technician gets there, he discovers our guy’s shack draws its electricity from a nearby traffic light, and that the TV only works when the light is green.
Is is pelican crossing?
Posted: 18th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (5)
Day Gecko Begs Insect For Its Dinner
THE day gecko, which lives in the forests of Madagascar, has been recorded begging a bug for its dinner.
The lizard repeatedly nods its head at the insect, called a plant hopper, until it flicks over small balls of honeydew for the gecko to dine upon.
What does the bug get in return, besides a sense of power and control?
Posted: 16th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
German Rabbits The Size Of Small Dogs In North Korea
FILM director Julius Onah’s film of one man’s enthusiasm for giant rabbits is a hit at the Berlin Film Festival.
Karl Szmolinsky breeds giant rabbits. He sold a bunch (a nibbling of rabbits?) to North Korea with the idea of easing hunger. But he is concerned that his livestock did not reach the starving people but ended up being eaten by politicos.
As Spiegel reports, Szmolinsky, a 68-year-old German living in Eberswalde, near Berlin, won a prize for breeding a 10.5-kilogram (23.1 pound) rabbit named Robert in 2006.
Robert was the size of a small dog. When North Korean leaders saw photos of him they contacted Szmolinsky through a breeding federation, hoping to purchase a line of “German Giant Grays” to alleviate hunger in their hermetic Communist state.
At the time, Szmolinsky said: “They’ll be used to help feed the population. I’ve sent them 12 rabbits so far; they’re in a petting zoo for now. I’ll be travelling to North Korea in April to advise them on how to set up a breeding farm. A delegation was here and I’ve already given them a book of tips.”
But as Onah tells us: “In April of ’07 Szmolinsky was supposed to go to North Korea himself and oversee the breeding of the rabbits. But some time between January and April he found out that the rabbits he sent got eaten (by senior officials). All 12 of them. So he refused to cooperate
As ever, this story lends itself to being “beyond parody”. All the more so when we learn that the South Korean government has contacted Szmolinsky.
Says Onah: “The South Koreans would like him to send his rabbits there and they sent this letter which even apologized for the behaviour of their neighbours in the north.”
Look out for herds of massive rabbits inhabiting the demarcation zone…
Posted: 16th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (2)
Mariam Amash Is World’s Oldest Living Person
MRS Mariam Amash claims she was born 120 years ago.
The Guinness Book of Records currently lists 114-year-old Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Indiana, as holding the title.
Mrs Amash live in Jisr az-Zarqa, northern Israel.
Says she: “Yes, I am the oldest person in the world. I eat, I drink, and I take showers. I hope to keep going for another 10 years.”
Mrs Amash’s claim has yet to be substantiated. The Anorak notes that Rachel Welch, star of a new U.S. sitcom, Welcome to the Captain, is 67.
Whether that is an average of her parts or her true age remains to be confirmed…
Posted: 16th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
South Korean Company Clones Pet Dogs
WOOF! Woof!! A South Korean company says it has taken its first order for the cloning of a pet dog.
A woman from the United States wants her dead pitbull terrier – called Booger – re-created.
RNL Bio is charging the woman, from California, $150,000 (£76,000) to clone the pitbull using tissue extracted from its ear before it died.
The work will be carried out by a team from Seoul National University, where the first dog was cloned in 2005.
Dinner in Malaysia. Seconds…
Posted: 15th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
World’s Fattest Man Manuel Uribe Finds Love
MANUEL Uribe is the world’s fatest man.
Anorak imagines this to be a fluctuating fact, the record being challenged by each meal and bowel movement.
Now Mr Uribe tells the world that he has lost 230 kilograms (570 pounds), nearly half his original weight. Mr Uribe has the look of a former EastEnders harpie Jessie Wallace.
“I’m going to throw a big party,” says Uribe. “I’m getting out of my house and going for a walk” in Monterrey, where he lives in northern Mexico.
At his most gargantuan, Uribe, 42, weighed 570 kilos (1,257 pounds).
Now he is less, but he is so much more. On March 9, Uribe will be lifted out of his house on his bed by a special crane and driven around on a flat-bed truck.
“I feel great,” says he. “The doctors say I’m healthier than ever.”
And now he’s “found love” with hairdresser Claudia. Her husband died of a heart attck “brought on by his obesity”. It’s hard not to smile, we know. Here’s the video:
Link: sevenload.com
Posted: 14th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (4)
Bathing At The Edge Of Victoria Falls
THESE people are swimming at the Devil’s Pool, a natural rock pool at the very top of the Victoria Falls, at Zimbabwe. It’s around 100 metres high:
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Posted: 13th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Man And False Teeth Reunited
DAVID Packer has lost his teeth.
“I was walking up Haystacks in the Lake District with my partner Pat, in March last year, and we stopped for a little rest,” says David.
“I always take a drop of brandy and Mars bar with me and I had to take my false teeth out to have the bar…”
(Dentists will see the irony.)
“About 45 minutes later I realised they were missing.”
One year on and Alan Marsden finds the teeth. “I was out walking with my wife when she spotted something shiny on the ground,” says he.
“We looked further and saw it was a dental plate just lying there, it was still in good condition. I thought the owner might be missing them and decided to put an advert in the lost gloves section of Trail Magazine.”
Says Mr Packer: “I opened the magazine and saw a picture of my plate looking back at me. I couldn’t believe it. I contacted the person and got them posted back to me.
“I had visions of a sheep wandering around the Lakes with a set of my shiny teeth – I never thought I would see them again.”
Posted: 13th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (3)
Lookin’ Good For Jesus, Get Tight With Christ
TO Singapore. Local Romans Catholics are incensed, as ever.
Three outlest of Top Shop selling the Lookin’ Good for Jesus range of beauty enhancers.
We commend to your attention the “Virtuous vanilla” lip balm and the “Get Tight with Christ” hand and body cream, featuring a picture of Christ flanked by two adoring women.
The goods, produced by US-based company, Blue Q, have been removed from shelves…
Posted: 12th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (4)
Aditya ‘Romeo’ Dev, The World’s Smallest Bodybuilder
DWARVES. First they rasp you with a cheese grater.
Then they put on muscle.
Come the war with the little people, will you be ready?
Says Aditya ‘Romeo’ Dev (pictured being held aloft by his trainer): “I’ve been training as a bodybuilder for the last two years and by now I think I must be the strongest dwarf in the world.
“I have always been fit but since I started working out I have become famous for my strength.”
Pic: Source
Posted: 12th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (3)
Pictures Of Mohammed
THIS is a cigarette card showing an artist’s impression of Mohammed.
It was manufactured by the Ogden Cigarette company, printed sometime around the turn of the 20th century.
In 1962 Ogden’s of Liverpool ceased manufacturing tobacco products.
Interesting in light of this.
Posted: 10th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (5)
Baby Mix Up At ‘Excellent’ Maternity Unit
TWO babies are with the wrong mothers. One mother is British. One mother is Polish.
Two babies have been swapped.
One of the babies is breast-fed by the wrong mother.
The accidental mix up occurs at Bassetlaw Hospital in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
A hospital spokesman says an investigation has begun into what is an “extraordinary and most unfortunate incident which we deeply regret”.
The BBC reports: “A member of staff at the hospital or a relative reported the incident after the maternity unit was given an ‘excellent’ rating by the Healthcare Commission in its recent report, it is believed.”
How soon after? And define “excellent”…
Posted: 9th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment (1)
The Flesh-Eeting Caecilian
THE female caecilian’s skin becomes thicker and more nutrient-rich when she gives birth.
Mum’s young tears off strips of her skin and eat it.
Notes the BBC: It took several attempts to capture the footage; the caecilian babies would only eat their mother’s skin for about 10 minutes, once every three days, and often at night.
The Boulengerula taitanus is found in the Taita Hills of south-eastern Kenya. It lives underground. It can grow up to 30cm long.
TV can still shock…
Posted: 9th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment (1)
Picture Of The Day: It’s For Charity
Posted: 8th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (3)
Israeli Airforce Get A Viagra Pick Me Up
UP, up, up, up an away with the Israeli airforce as they pop Viagra-style pills to help them to perform better at greater heights, and reach them.
Bamahaneh (‘On the Army Base’), an official military magazine, refers to a study by Israeli doctors among mountain climbers scaling Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
“The study found that tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis, a Viagra-like antiimpotence drug, helped climbers to ward off fatigue and dizziness at greater heights.”
“The Viagra family of drugs is considered effective in these conditions because when there is a long shortage in oxygen it leads to high blood pressure in the lungs, and the drugs help fight that,” a military medical officer tells the weekly organ.
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Posted: 8th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (2)
Villains Use Cloned Trucks
VILLAINS are using cloned trucks to bypass security:
Savvy criminals are using some of the country’s most credible logos, including FedEx, Wal-Mart, DirecTV and the U.S. Border Patrol, to create fake trucks to smuggle drugs, money and illegal aliens across the border, according to a report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.[…]
In August 2006, the Texas Department of Public Safety, on a routine traffic stop, found 3,058 pounds of marijuana and 204 kilograms of cocaine in a “cloned” Wal-Mart semi-trailer, driven by a man wearing a Wal-Mart uniform.
Posted: 7th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
We Are Holding Jesus Ransom
WE are holding Jesus ransom:
Posted: 7th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment (1)
Can You Tell What It Is Yet, With Graham Hudson
LOOK at the picture on the left.
It is of a sculpture by Graham Hudson.
Funded by Kensington and Chelsea council, the effigy features in Napoleon Garden, Holland Park, London.
Can you guess what it a sculpture of?
Click here to find out – and be amaaaaazzzed…
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Posted: 7th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comments (7)
Royal Thai Police Release Picture Of Suspected Bank Robber
FORGET the egg-headed e-fit of the Madeleine McCann suspect?
The Royal Thai Police have released the sketch of a man suspected of stealing 200,000 baht from the Ladprao branch of the Government Savings Bank (GSB) in Bangkok.
According to a report on a Japanese language Thai news site, this sketch is based on the recollections of eyewitnesses, who say the suspect wore a motorcycle helmet at the time of the robbery.
Unless…
Posted: 6th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True | Comment
Travelodge Sleepers In The Swim
TO the Travelodge, and an insight into what the smarter travelling rep, and not Darren Day, will be wearing to bed this evening.
The Mail compares the look to a sci-fi suit.
Leigh McCarron, Travelodge’s “sleep director”, says: “We are constantly investigating innovative ways of how we can help our customers attain a good night’s sleep.
Something as simple as changing your bed attire can dramatically affect your quality of sleep.”
Loosening that tie and placing your trousers in the Corby press is no longer enough for today’s go ahead reps.
The Deemasilk jimjams are the go.
Available in any colour, so long as it’s white, the pyjamas are for him, her and, with cuostomisation, a bit of the other.
Put them on and sleep, sleep, sleep. And if your dreams are of swimming along a tube towards a huge egg, best avoid calling room service…
Posted: 5th, February 2008 | In: Strange But True, Tabloids | Comment
