Tag: Oddities
An @-shaped planter and other Twitter auction oddities are up for grabs.
If you’re looking for an army of espresso machines or a 3-foot-tall statue of Twitter’s blue bird, well then the company’s upcoming auction may...
Canadian lawmaker caught naked during video conference
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — A Canadian Parliament member was caught stark naked in a virtual meeting of the House of Commons.
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Lawmakers fighting like cats and dogs? Not over this bill
CONCORD. N.H. (AP) — Nine lives notwithstanding, killing a cat in a hit-and-run soon could become illegal in New Hampshire.
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Sydney man finds snake in lettuce bought at supermarket
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Alex White thought he was watching a huge worm writhing in plastic-wrapped lettuce he’d just brought home from a Sydney...
After months on lam, slaughterhouse escapee beefalo caught
PLYMOUTH, Conn. (AP) — After more than 250 days on the run, an 800- to 900-pound (360- to 410-kilogram) beefalo that has been roaming...
Colorado to auction off cannabis-themed license plates
DENVER (AP) — Cannabis-themed license plates in Colorado are being auctioned off to the highest bidder in a fundraiser for the Colorado Disability Funding...
Man fleeing police crashes, wedges Maserati under freeway
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A man fleeing the California Highway Patrol totaled his girlfriend's Maserati SUV after he careened up an embankment and slammed...
Bunny snatched: Record-holding giant rabbit stolen in UK
LONDON (AP) — Police say one of the world’s biggest bunnies has been stolen from its home in central England.
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Nurse, capturing the feeling of a nation, gets stuck in mud
BOSTON (AP) — Camille Coelho just wanted to take a stroll on the beach and look for some sea glass. Instead, the Massachusetts nurse...
No one in small southwest Missouri town voted on Tuesday
LA RUSSELL, Mo. (AP) — Local elections in April generally attract few voters but a small southwest Missouri town hit a new low this...
Reigning Mrs. World arrested over onstage melee in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Police in Sri Lanka on Thursday arrested the reigning Mrs. World for pulling the crown off the head of...
A paper cowboy rides out his quarantine in Australian hotel
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — By Day 3 of being confined to his Australian hotel room for quarantine, David Marriott was getting bored. He'd...
Maine couple celebrates bicentennial with hidden treasure
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A pair of Mainers have hidden $20,000 somewhere in the state and they're inviting treasure seekers to come and get...
Historic Florida church now a 4-bedroom $1.3 million home
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A 1928 church has been renovated into a four bedroom home, complete with a large stained glass window of...
Same dad, two babies: Zoo Miami presents newborn giraffes
MIAMI (AP) — A male giraffe has been doing his part to promote Zoo Miami's breeding program, with two of his long-legged babies born...
Man, a steal! Rare Superman comic sells for record $3.25M
NEW YORK (AP) — One of the few copies of the comic book that introduced Superman to the world has sold for a super-sized,...
New Hampshire teen saves West Virginia boy via TikTok
GILMANTON, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire teen has been credited with saving a boy more than 800 miles (1,290 kilometers) away — thanks...
Correction: Big Tree-No More story
KENSINGTON, N.H. (AP) — In a story April 5, 2021, about a sugar maple tree being removed, The Associated Press misspelled the name of...
Unique 4/3/21 date draws lines for Vegas wedding licenses
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Soon-to-be newlyweds lined up out the door of the marriage license office in Las Vegas on Friday, ahead of a...
April, the giraffe that became an online star, dies
HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — April, the giraffe that became a sensation when a rural New York zoo livestreamed her 2017 pregnancy and delivery, was...
MMA fighter has finger severed in match; doctors reattach it
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A mixed martial arts fighter had his finger severed during a match in Philadelphia, but doctors were eventually able to reattach...
Coin firm pays it forward after Georgia man paid in pennies
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — A global company has stepped in to solve quite a “coinundrum” for a Georgia man.
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Fake German heiress taken into US custody, faces deportation
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities said Thursday they have detained Anna Sorokin, the con artist who passed herself off as a wealthy...
Looie the Lookout costume back with Tennessee baseball team
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — A minor league baseball team in Tennessee has its mascot back a day after it was reported stolen from a...
Alaska man gets pistol from his car to stop robbery attempt
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A Fairbanks man stopped an attempted robbery at a gas station by pointing his gun at the suspect and holding...
‘Cool but weird.’ Macy’s store transformed into school
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Students who once shopped at a downtown mall in Burlington, Vermont, are now attending high school in the former Macy’s...
Human parents feel for mama bear trying to corral her cubs
WINCHESTER, Conn. (AP) — A mother bear caught on video trying to coax four rambunctious cubs across a busy Connecticut road has parents across...
Some Alaska Costco shoppers say ravens steal their groceries
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Some Alaska Costco shoppers said they've had their groceries stolen by ravens in the store parking lot.
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Kentucky town rallies to restore beheaded Mother Goose
HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — A community in Kentucky is rallying to help restore an 80-year-old landmark — an oval shaped building that has a...
NASA gives all clear: Earth safe from asteroid for 100 years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Whew, now here's some good cosmic news: NASA has given Earth the all clear for the next century from...
3 students cited in theft of rare tree in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police who were stumped by the theft of a rare pine tree in November from the University of Wisconsin Arboretum...
Steak-out: Rhode Island’s runaway steer has been recaptured
JOHNSTON, R.I. (AP) — A steer that has been on the lam for nearly two months after escaping while on the way to a...
Woman who lost child to brain tumor gives birth at age 57
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire woman who lost her 13-year-old daughter to a brain tumor in 2016 has now given birth to...
A ‘not haunted’ house hits the market in Boston area
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts woman noticed something strange about the “For Sale" sign outside a home in her neighborhood.
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Penny dreadful: Georgia man receives final paycheck in coins
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia man said his former employer owed him a pretty penny, $915 to be exact, after leaving his job in...
With drivers confused, Atlantic City to redo BLM road paint
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City says it will redo a Black Lives Matter tribute on a street because the original painting of...
Popcorn machine nixed at North Dakota Capitol after alarms
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A popcorn machine has been removed from the North Dakota Capitol after it twice triggered fire alarms that brought firefighters...
Florida family finds dead snake inside their clothes dryer
GROVELAND, Fla. (AP) — After their clothes dryer began blowing out a lot of lint, a Florida family called a repair man who discovered...
Part of Wright brothers’ 1st airplane on NASA’s Mars chopper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane is on Mars.
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German brewery pairs with bakers to use surplus beer
DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — With restaurants and bars all closed due to pandemic restrictions, a Duesseldorf brewery found itself with 6,000 liters (1,585 gallons)...
Lost and found: $1M lottery ticket recovered in parking lot
SPARTA, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man was able to turn his luck around after finding his missing $1 million winning lottery ticket in...
Sign on Staten Island roadway misspells Goethals Bridge
NEW YORK (AP) — A road sign on Staten Island is causing some spelling confusion, switching around two letters and directing drivers to the...
Man arrested after taking daughter into zoo elephant habitat
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A father has been arrested on suspicion of child endangerment after he carried his 2-year-old daughter into the elephant habitat...
In French woods, rivals take aim at senator’s WWI research
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The World War I exploits of Sgt. Alvin C. York netted Gary Cooper a best actor Academy Award and Pennsylvania...
‘A moving moment.’ Grandma prescribed a post-vaccine hug
NEW YORK (AP) — For Laura Shaw Frank, seeing her mother hug her daughter for the first time since the onset of the pandemic...
Girl, 8, throws mattress from burning home, jumps to safety
CHICAGO (AP) — An 8-year-old Chicago girl whose mother was at work somehow managed to toss a mattress from her family's third-story window during...
15th century bowl found at yard sale sells for $722,000
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An exceptionally rare 15th century porcelain bowl made in China that somehow turned up at a Connecticut yard sale and...
Baby bottle craze sweeps Gulf Arab states, sparks backlash
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Cafes across several Gulf Arab states started selling coffee and other cold drinks in baby bottles this month,...
‘Dating scammer’ faces more time after escape, capture
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man who has twice served prison terms for using dating services to defraud women is facing more...
Germany bans ‘water vitalizer’ over radio interference
BERLIN (AP) — German authorities on Friday banned the sale and use of a New Age ‘water vitalizer’ device amid concerns that it is...
Minneapolis bowling alley drone video takes off online
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A video taken by a camera-equipped drone buzzing through the nooks and crannies of a historic Minneapolis bowling alley has attracted...
Where’s the beef? Runaway steer still roaming Rhode Island
JOHNSTON, R.I. (AP) — Where's the beef? Still very much on the mooove in Rhode Island.
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Wurst case: Burglar caught over bite from German’s sausage
BERLIN (AP) — German police say they have solved a nine-year-old burglary after DNA found on a half-eaten piece of sausage matched that of...
Remains of Cold War-era Russian sub seen in film catch fire
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The remains of a Cold War-era Russian submarine once seen in a movie starring Harrison Ford caught fire in Providence...
Emails: FBI was looking for gold at Pennsylvania dig site
Go for the gold? The U.S. government went for it.
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Courts wrestle with whether manslaughter is always violent
NEW YORK (AP) — Once annually, sometimes less, the full federal appeals court in New York meets to confront a perplexing legal question. Most...
Woman impaled by tree limb has 7 broken ribs, husband says
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine passenger who was impaled when a falling pine tree struck the vehicle she was riding in suffered seven...
Man accused of QAnon vandalism at ‘America’s Stonehenge’
SALEM, N.H. (AP) — Police have made an arrest following a 15-month-long investigation into vandalism at a group of rock configurations in New Hampshire...
Yard sale find turns out to be artifact worth up to $500,000
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Talk about your yard sale finds. A small porcelain bowl bought for $35 at a Connecticut yard sale turned out...
Historical remains found during construction reburied in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — Human remains of early New Yorkers that were discovered during construction in and around Washington Square Park were reinterred inside...
Doctor appears in court video call while performing surgery
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Medical Board of California said it would investigate a plastic surgeon who appeared in a videoconference for his traffic...
2 skiers defy death in descent of Yosemite’s Half Dome
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Two skiers navigated a thin layer of snow with no margin for error down the precipitous shoulder of...
19th-century Amherst home cleared for mile-long move
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Authorities have cleared the way for a 19th-century home in Amherst, Massachusetts, to be moved intact to a new site...
NYC steakhouse stunt: A wax Don Draper hanging at the bar
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a promotion that could be straight out of the “Mad Men” Don Draper playbook.
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Pythons, iguanas: Florida restricts some exotic reptiles
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pythons, iguanas, monitor lizards, oh my! Florida is moving to restrict 16 invasive reptile species that have wreaked havoc...
Venomous spiders prompt temporary Michigan library shutdown
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Staff at a University of Michigan library temporarily closed the building after three venomous spiders turned up in a...
Mars rover’s giant parachute carried secret message
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The huge parachute used by NASA’s Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a secret message, thanks to a...
In Israel, mayo provides miracle for endangered turtles
MICHMORET, Israel (AP) — When it comes to saving sea turtles, Israeli rescuers have discovered that mayonnaise is a miracle.
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139-year-old house rolls to new San Francisco address
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After 139 years at 807 Franklin St. in San Francisco, a two-story Victorian house has a new address.
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Customs inspectors find cocaine-coated corn flakes in Ohio
CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) — Customs authorities in Ohio say they intercepted a shipment of cereal earlier this month with a special frosting — cocaine.
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No cat-astrophe: Police find kittens in ‘suspicious package’
NEW MIAMI, Ohio (AP) — A police bomb squad responding to a suspicious package call at an Ohio church made an unexpected discovery: six...
Alaska woman using outhouse attacked by bear, from below
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska woman had the scare of a lifetime when using an outhouse in the backcountry and she was attacked...
Emirati arrested for stealing camel for gift to girlfriend
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Emirati police have arrested a man for allegedly stealing a highly valuable newborn camel to give to his...
UK’s chief mouser celebrates 10 years on the prowl
LONDON (AP) — Larry the cat, a four-legged inhabitant of London’s 10 Downing St., is marking a decade as Britain’s mouse-catcher in chief on...
In Nevada desert, a technology firm aims to be a government
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — In the Nevada desert, a cryptocurrency magnate hopes to turn dreams of a futuristic “smart city” into reality. To...
Sheriff’s office offers Valentine’s Day ‘special’ for exes
NASHVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office is giving people a chance on Valentine’s Day weekend to show their former lovers they’re...
Deputies: Man proposes using rings stolen from other lover
ORANGE CITY, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man stole an engagement ring and wedding bands from a girlfriend and used them to propose to...
Bidens view Valentine’s Day decorations on White House lawn
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden has a valentine for the American people: giant pink, white and red hearts bearing calls for “unity,”...
Teen’s Civil War reenacting chicken found in Alabama
CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) — A Mississippi teen who lost his Civil War-reenacting pet chicken Peep outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Alabama was reunited...
Singer fined by German court for son’s stage performance
BERLIN (AP) — A Bavarian court found a folk singer guilty Friday of violating Germany's strict child labor laws for having his 4-year-old son...
Ancient shell horn can still play a tune after 18,000 years
WASHINGTON (AP) — A large conch shell overlooked in a museum for decades is now thought to be the oldest known seashell instrument —...
Attorney’s cat filter faux pas brings instant internet fame
Texas attorney Rod Ponton’s appearance as a fluffy kitten during an online court hearing provided a moment of levity to a pandemic- and Zoom-fatigued...
Finns in snowshoes create temporary artwork on golf course
HELSINKI (AP) — An ephemeral artwork made with thousands of footsteps in the snow has captured attention near Finland's capital of Helsinki.
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Herd of calves stroll Indiana highway after escaping a farm
LaPORTE, Ind. (AP) — A herd of about 75 Holstein calves barreled down an Indiana highway after escaping a nearby farm.
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Attorney-at-paw? Filter makes lawyer look like cat in court
ALPINE, Texas (AP) — A West Texas judge has a word of caution to those attending court hearings via Zoom: Always check for filters...
A quirky Presidents Day sale: Washington’s hair, JFK sweater
It's almost Presidents Day, and now there's a chance to own a quirky piece of White House history.
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Mystery metal monolith turns out to be Turkish govt gimmick
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A metal monolith that mysteriously appeared and disappeared on a field in southeast Turkey turned out to be a publicity...
Koala rescued after 5-car pileup on Australian freeway
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A koala has been rescued after causing a five-car pileup while trying to cross a six-lane freeway in southern Australia....
Turkish man strikes up 37-year friendship with swan
EDIRNE, Turkey (AP) — An unusual friendship between a Turkish man and a swan he rescued has endured for decades.
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Mysterious monolith pops up near Turkish World Heritage site
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish authorities are investigating the appearance of a mysterious monolith in southeastern Turkey.
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Pelican named Arvy survives frostbite, sent to sanctuary
KILLINGWORTH, Conn. (AP) — A pelican that got blown off course and was rescued in chilly Connecticut has been flown to Florida, where he...
Music to my fears: Man swallows earbud while sleeping
BOSTON (AP) — A man is warning people against using headphones while falling asleep after health care workers had to remove a wireless earbud...
A big mis-steak: Runaway cow escapes slaughter, roams RI
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A 1,600-pound (725-kilogram) steer has been reported roaming the streets of Rhode Island's capital.
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Tiny chameleon a contender for title of smallest reptile
BERLIN (AP) — It fits on a human fingertip, but this chameleon could make a big splash.
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Banning pets from bill hearings? All in favor say meow.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Politically active pets are out of luck in New Hampshire, where some lawmakers say they have been told to keep...
Not child’s play: Chucky doll featured in errant Amber Alert
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Rest assured, “Chucky” is not on the loose.
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Woman who tried to fake death gets extra year in prison
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia woman who tried to fake her death to avoid being sentenced for health care fraud has received...
China reserve shows off 10 panda cubs to mark Lunar New Year
BEIJING (AP) — Ten panda cubs made their public debut in China’s leading panda reserve Wednesday morning to mark the coming Lunar New Year....
Whoa! Boa constrictor stuck in car dashboard freed unharmed
ALBEMARLE, N.C. (AP) — A pet boa constrictor that became stuck behind the dashboard of a car in North Carolina needed the help of...
Punxsutawney Phil’s town misses Groundhog Day boost
Punxsutawney Phil returned to his burrow one day after he saw his shadow and predicted another six weeks of winter. But residents and merchants...
