WEIRD NEWS
A New Zealand city waves goodbye to its 'disturbing' giant hand sculpture that many came to love
Read full article: A New Zealand city waves goodbye to its 'disturbing' giant hand sculpture that many came to lovePerched on two fingers on the roof of an art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand, the giant sculpture of a hand has loomed over the city for five years.
Rare dime bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades fetches $500,000 at auction
Read full article: Rare dime bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades fetches $500,000 at auctionA rare dime whose whereabouts had remained a mystery since the late 1970s has sold for just over $500,000.
Timothée Chalamet crashes his own look-alike contest after police shut down crowded event
Read full article: Timothée Chalamet crashes his own look-alike contest after police shut down crowded eventActor Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance at his own look-alike contest in Lower Manhattan.
An abrupt goodbye to a guerrilla goldfish aquarium beneath a leaky Brooklyn fire hydrant
Read full article: An abrupt goodbye to a guerrilla goldfish aquarium beneath a leaky Brooklyn fire hydrantA makeshift aquarium that popped up this summer in a puddle beneath a leaky New York City fire hydrant is no more.
A New Zealand airport wants you to hug goodbye faster
Read full article: A New Zealand airport wants you to hug goodbye fasterTravelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin will have to keep their emotional farewells brief after a new three-minute time limit was imposed on goodbye hugs in the airport’s drop-off area in order to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams.
Champion cleared of cheating with a metal chestnut at the World Conker Championships
Read full article: Champion cleared of cheating with a metal chestnut at the World Conker ChampionshipsA British chestnut-whacking champion has been cleared of cheating after an investigation into alleged malfeasance at the World Conker Championships.
Conkers controversy: World tournament investigates claims of cheating with steel chestnut
Read full article: Conkers controversy: World tournament investigates claims of cheating with steel chestnutThe World Conker Championships says it's investigating allegations of cheating after this year’s men’s winner was found to have a steel chestnut in his pocket.
After 67 days adrift, a Russian man was rescued but his brother and nephew are dead
Read full article: After 67 days adrift, a Russian man was rescued but his brother and nephew are deadA Russian man has been rescued in the Sea of Okhotsk after surviving for two months in an inflatable boat that lost its engine, but his brother and nephew have died.
Mud, beer and cash: Annual wife-carrying championship attracts competitive couples to Maine
Read full article: Mud, beer and cash: Annual wife-carrying championship attracts competitive couples to MaineAn annual event in Maine involving mud, beer and cash has once again drawn dozens of eager competitors.
Woman pleads guilty to trying to smuggle 29 turtles across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayak
Read full article: Woman pleads guilty to trying to smuggle 29 turtles across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayakA woman from China has pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayak.
Advocacy groups suspend use of 'suicide capsule' pending Swiss criminal probe of woman's death
Read full article: Advocacy groups suspend use of 'suicide capsule' pending Swiss criminal probe of woman's deathAdvocacy groups behind a so-called suicide capsule say they have suspended the process of taking applications for its use as a criminal investigation into its first use in Switzerland is completed.
Former owner of water buffalo that roamed Iowa suburb for days pleads guilty
Read full article: Former owner of water buffalo that roamed Iowa suburb for days pleads guiltyThe owner of a water buffalo that ran loose in a Des Moines, Iowa, suburb for days in August has pleaded guilty for having an animal at large.
Flooding from seasonal rains threatens residents in northern Thailand, including elephants
Read full article: Flooding from seasonal rains threatens residents in northern Thailand, including elephantsFlooding in northern Thailand has forced many residents of the city of Chiang Mai and its outskirts to seek safety on higher ground, with members of the animal world under similar threat.
Nibi the 'diva' beaver to stay at rescue center, Massachusetts governor decides
Read full article: Nibi the 'diva' beaver to stay at rescue center, Massachusetts governor decidesThe question of whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi can stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild as winter approaches was resolved when the Massachusetts governor stepped in to protect Nibi.
Spider lovers scurry to Colorado town in search of mating tarantulas and community
Read full article: Spider lovers scurry to Colorado town in search of mating tarantulas and communityIt’s tarantula mating season on the Colorado plains, when male spiders scurry out of their burrows in search of a mate.
Nibi the beaver's fate lands in court as rescuers try to stop her release into the wild
Read full article: Nibi the beaver's fate lands in court as rescuers try to stop her release into the wildWhether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi gets to stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild as winter approaches in Massachusetts has ended up in court — and caused such an uproar that even the governor has weighed in.
Online voting in Alaska's Fat Bear Week contest starts after an attack killed 1 contestant
Read full article: Online voting in Alaska's Fat Bear Week contest starts after an attack killed 1 contestantVoting has started in the annual Fat Bear Week contest at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The chunkiest of chunks face off in Alaska's Fat Bear Week
Read full article: The chunkiest of chunks face off in Alaska's Fat Bear WeekAn Alaska national park’s annual celebration of the beefy, brown and bristly is getting underway as some of the chunkiest bears on the planet fatten up for their long winter slumber.
A lost cat's mysterious 2-month, 900-mile journey home to California
Read full article: A lost cat's mysterious 2-month, 900-mile journey home to CaliforniaA gray cat living an extraordinary life of visits to the beach and trips to the lake went on his biggest adventure alone: traveling hundreds of miles from Wyoming to California.
Huge Australian king penguin chick Pesto grows into social media star
Read full article: Huge Australian king penguin chick Pesto grows into social media starA huge king penguin chick named Pesto, who weighs as much as both his parents combined, has become a social media celebrity and a star attraction at an Australian aquarium.
A bewildered seal found itself in the mouth of a humpback whale
Read full article: A bewildered seal found itself in the mouth of a humpback whaleA photograph by a naturalist captured a seemingly bewildered seal in the mouth of a humpback whale after the giant marine mammal unintentionally gulped it.
A smelly penguin wins New Zealand's hard-fought bird election
Read full article: A smelly penguin wins New Zealand's hard-fought bird electionThe hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin won New Zealand's annual Bird of the Year vote, after a fierce contest without the foreign interference and controversies that have upset the country's avian elections before.
A cat named Drifter is safe after sneaking out and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly 8 weeks
Read full article: A cat named Drifter is safe after sneaking out and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly 8 weeksA cat aptly named Drifter is safe at home after sneaking out and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly eight weeks.
Studies on pigeon-guided missiles, swimming abilities of dead fish among Ig Nobels winners
Read full article: Studies on pigeon-guided missiles, swimming abilities of dead fish among Ig Nobels winnersA study that explores the feasibility of using pigeons to guide missiles and one that looks at the swimming abilities of dead fish were among the winners of this year’s Ig Nobels, the prize for comical scientific achievement.
The ancient jar smashed by a 4-year-old is back on display at an Israeli museum after repair
Read full article: The ancient jar smashed by a 4-year-old is back on display at an Israeli museum after repairAn Israeli museum has put back on display a rare Bronze-Era jar that a 4-year-old accidentally smashed.
No neigh-sayers: Live horses join first-day veterinary students for anatomy lecture in Hungary
Read full article: No neigh-sayers: Live horses join first-day veterinary students for anatomy lecture in HungaryFirst-year veterinary students in Hungary are being joined by two full-grown horses in their lecture hall for the first anatomy lesson of their academic careers.
Pharrell as a Lego and Robbie Williams as a chimp? Music biopics get creative
Read full article: Pharrell as a Lego and Robbie Williams as a chimp? Music biopics get creativeMany of the expected conventions of music biopics are present in “Piece by Piece,” about the producer-turned-pop star Pharrell Williams, and “Better Man,” about the British singer Robbie Williams.
Police say a Russian 'spy whale' in Norway wasn't shot to death
Read full article: Police say a Russian 'spy whale' in Norway wasn't shot to deathNorwegian police say there's no evidence to suggest that gunshots caused the death of a tame beluga whale that lived off Norway's coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy.
A young golden eagle attacks a toddler in Norway, its fourth such assault on humans
Read full article: A young golden eagle attacks a toddler in Norway, its fourth such assault on humansA young golden eagle attacked a toddler in Norway in what an ornithologist says is likely the same bird’s fourth such attack on humans in the past week.
New Hampshire governor helps save man choking on lobster roll at eating contest
Read full article: New Hampshire governor helps save man choking on lobster roll at eating contestA man says he's grateful New Hampshire’s governor came to his aid when he started choking during a lobster roll eating contest.
Huge payout expected for a rare coin bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades
Read full article: Huge payout expected for a rare coin bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decadesThree sisters from Ohio who inherited a dime kept in a bank vault for more than 40 years knew it had some value.
A man in California was charged with killing 81 animals in a three-hour shooting rampage
Read full article: A man in California was charged with killing 81 animals in a three-hour shooting rampageA man suspected of going on a three-hour shooting rampage in Northern California and killing 81 animals, including miniature horses, goats and chickens, pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty and other charges.
A 13-foot (and growing) python was seized from a New York home and sent to a zoo
Read full article: A 13-foot (and growing) python was seized from a New York home and sent to a zooA 13-foot (4-meter) Burmese python was confiscated from an upstate New York man who was keeping the still-growing snake in a small tank.
Half a house for half a million dollars: Home crushed by tree hits market near Los Angeles
Read full article: Half a house for half a million dollars: Home crushed by tree hits market near Los AngelesNewly listed for sale in Southern California’s notoriously pricey realty market: half a house for half a million dollars.
Christmas in Venezuela kicks off in October, President Maduro has declared
Read full article: Christmas in Venezuela kicks off in October, President Maduro has declaredThe world’s attention on Venezuela has focused lately on the fallout from a highly contested presidential election that both the ruling party and its opponents claim to have won, the persecution of critics and the arrest warrant issued this week against the former opposition presidential candidate.