Saturday September 6, 2014
Vets operating on a Great Dane in Oregon found 43-and-a-half socks in the dog’s stomach. A spokeswoman for the animal hospital in Portland said the dog was brought in with vomiting and a stalled appetite. An X-ray revealed “a lot of foreign material in his stomach”, which was removed in a two-hour operation. The whereabouts of the missing half sock is unknown.
Friday September 5, 2014
Police in Austria have warned a young cyclist to stop shopping naked. The modern-day Lady Godiva wears "little more than white trainers and a friendly smile", but shopkeepers in Pernitz don’t mind. "She’s dropped by two or three times, I don’t think it’s a big deal. We had a naked man in here the other day," said one. She faces a €1000 fine, which is the cost of "an entire new wardrobe" the local police chief mused.
Thursday September 4, 2014
Imperial College scientists in London claim to have created a fuel that may replace petrol and diesel – propane gas developed from E. coli, the gut bacteria often behind attacks of diarrhoea. Adding three enzymes allowed them to extract butyric acid, a foul-smelling compound necessary for propane production.
Wednesday September 3, 2014
London Judge Gareth Branston praised a drunken football fan, who invaded the pitch in a match between Spurs and West Ham and took a free-kick, for ‘‘bending it like Beckham’’. He then fined Jordan Dunn, 22, $530 but said he did a better job than the Spurs player who eventually shot and missed the target altogether.
Tuesday September 2, 2014
A British woman who stole an entire lawn has been jailed for three months. With an accomplice, Maureen McKenna, 58, rolled up and removed sections of the lawn from a neighbour’s house in Lancashire in the early hours of the morning and even took a smoko. The 40-minute horticultural heist was caught on CCTV.
Monday September 1, 2014
Tang Chu, 10,was so angry his cartoons were being disturbed by a noisy workman fixing lights outside his eighth-floor Guizhou province home, he severed his harness rope. Liu Mai clung on, 30 metres up, and was eventually rescued. Embarrassed dad Tang Peng said: "We have apologised and bought the man a new rope."
Saturday August 30, 2014
A Sikh holy man in India is set to land the world record for largest turban. According to Avatar Singh Mauni, when fully unravelled, his 45-kilogram turban measures 645 metres long, the same as 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The 60-year-old has been regularly adding to the turban for the past 16 years and it now takes him six hours to put on.
Friday August 29, 2014
An Australian starting a Channel swim from England to France was stopped by English coast guards who mistook him for an illegal immigrant. Authorities responding to reports of people jumping off a boat and coming ashore soon realised it was John van Wisse taking part in the Marble Arch to Arc de Triomphe challenge.
Thursday August 28, 2014
Customers have rallied to 12-year-old TJ Guerrero’s aid because a neighbour wants his lemonade stand shut. Doug Wilkey, 61, of Dunedin, Florida, told the local council he wants the stand shut because it was causing excessive traffic, rubbish, illegal parking and noise. TJ made $US600 in two hours after news of the stoush broke.
Wednesday August 27, 2014
A Nebraska man wanted for violating his parole was arrested after a video of him taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge exposed his whereabouts. Jesean Morris – convicted in 2010 for attempted second-degree assault using a firearm – is back in the cooler after he posted a Facebook video of himself being doused in ice water.
Tuesday August 26, 2014
The US Treasury Department has given entertainers Jay-Z and Beyonce the all-clear for their fifth anniversary trip to Cuba last year. Treasury ruled the visit was "educational" because they visited an art school and theatre group. The US has an embargo that makes it illegal for its citizens to visit Cuba as tourists.
Monday August 25, 2014
It's just a hobby. Louisiana resident Richard Gibson has kept every toenail and fingernail he has clipped since 1978. Mr Gibson, who keeps them in a jar on his mantelpiece, started his collection in a box but ran out of room and swapped to a big jar. "I have no idea how many nails are in the jar. It’s well into the thousands."
Saturday August 23, 2014
A couple say they were forced to used the back door of a registry off ice in Moscow — because they were both dressed as brides. The union, billed as Russia’s first gay wedding was between a woman and her transgender partner. Registry off ice staff in the famously intolerant country had to recognise the couple as the groom is still legally a man and they had a certificate allowing them to marry.
Friday August 22, 2014
Clearly a nation of low-urners ... the ashes of around 250,000 cremated people are sitting abandoned in British funeral homes – some for as long as 60 years – and the National Association of Funeral Directors there has appealed for families to finally come forward to claim them.
Thursday August 21, 2014
A man and his dog playing fetch using a World War II grenade covered in barnacles temporarily closed an Essex beach. The man thought the grenade was flotsam washed up on Harwich beach but a passing off-duty military explosives expert knew better. The grenade was the fifth to be found at Harwich in as many weeks.
Wednesday August 20, 2014
Brazilian drug dealer Isaac Selau thought he was cock of the walk for his novel idea to escape detection while on home detention. On parole after selling cocaine, he was caught dealing again and Porto Alegre police found his electronic tracking tag at home affixed to his rooster, allowing him to fly the coop.
Tuesday August 19, 2014
A prison inmate in Arizona has filed more than 5800 lawsuits since being incarcerated and is seeking $US10 trillion. Most of Dale Maisano’s suits have been about the standard of prison food, which he claims hurts his stomach. Maisano – who is serving 15 years for aggravated assault – filed 249 lawsuits on one day alone.
Monday August 18, 2014
Mindi Reinbolt, 37, of Uniontown, Ohio, spends $100 a week on food, frappuccinos, ice cream and gifts for her pet pig Penelopi. She has also splashed out $2600 on designer outfits and a pink boudoir for the pampered porker, which she takes to the town’s shopping mall every day in a child’s buggy.
Saturday August 16, 2014
Pope Francis surprised many with his choice of wheels during his five-day visit to South Korea, where important people rarely hit the streets in anything but expensive luxury cars. After his arrival, the People’s Pope left the airport in a compact black Kia. South Korean media widely reported that the pope requested the smallest South Korean car during his visit.
Friday August 15, 2014
A man, 32, perched in a tree overhanging a south-east London railway line caused 18 hours of major train disruption. The man, suspected of a burglary, had been chased up the tree by police, and ignored pleas to come down. He eventually came to ground and was arrested on suspicion of burglary and obstruction of trains.
Thursday August 14, 2014
The driver of a Maserati painted to look like a patrol car in Braintree, Massachusetts, has picked up a summons for impersonating police. The car looked like a black-and-white but had "Decepticons punish and enslave" emblazoned on the door panels instead of "Protect and Serve".
Wednesday August 13, 2014
An American TV news van was broken into while its crew was reporting on a smartphone crime app that rates bad neighbourhoods. The news team was in north-west Washington filming a report on the SketchFactor app. When they returned to the van they found phones, computers and cameras had been stolen.
Tuesday August 12, 2014
A smart collar that can help tell the health of cats and dogs will go on sale in Britain next year. The collar will be able to track the pulse of cats and dogs and can be used for their kilojoules use. Vets have welcomed the collar, saying it will help better manage animal diseases.
Monday August 11, 2014
A 24-year-old man who yelled "wooooo" in a cemetery after a boozy night out with his mates has been fined £35 for rowdy behaviour. Anthony Stallard, of Hampshire, and his mates played football in the cemetery before several witnesses complained to police, who told a magistrate he pretended to be a spooky apparition.
Saturday August 9, 2014
British police raided a pub in Herefordshire this week looking for the Holy Grail. But all the 12 burly officers found was a salad bowl. Shocked landlady Di Franklyn said police thought the cup was on the premises — a wooden relic brought to Britain in 1350 was stolen recently from a collector. "I saw a picture of it," Di said. "It was in pieces. If I’d seen it, I would have thrown it out."
Friday August 8, 2014
During "must" period, when bull elephants become frisky and testosterone levels are 60 times normal, if they get an itch they have to scratch. One such giant found some relief when a VW Polo pulled into a national park in South Africa. All four tyres were blown, the roof dented, the chassis broken and the occupants terrified as he rubbed himself all over the car. Then, contented, he ambled away.
Thursday August 7, 2014
A fisherman’s life has been saved by his Justin Bieber ringtone. Igor Vorozhbitsyn, 42,was on his way to his favourite fishing hole in northern Russia when he was set upon by a giant brown bear. But the bear was frightened off by Bieber’s song Baby, which played when someone fortuitously called Vorozhbitsyn’s mobile.
Wednesday August 6, 2014
A Florida burglary suspect was arrested after he allegedly called a mobile phone he left behind on the victim’s bed, a court has heard.Wayne Wade allegedly called the phone in a bid to retrieve it, giving his name to the investigator who answered it. Detectives say they found Wade’s fingerprints on the phone.
Tuesday August 5, 2014
An arachnophobic man who tried to kill a spider using a can of spray paint and a lighter as a makeshift blowtorch has burnt out most of his Seattle home. The flames spread from the man’s laundry into the attic and caused about $US60,000 damage. He and his mother are now homeless.
Monday August 4, 2014
Omaha, Nebraska, dentist Randall Toothaker, 58, has taken to Facebook to protest his innocence of charges of stealing about $US17,000 worth of dental gold and medical equipment. It is alleged that the items were found in Toothaker’s car which was pulled over by police.
