Latest Oddities News
Elephant in the dining room: Startup makes mammoth meatball
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Throw another mammoth on the barbie? An Australian company on Tuesday lifted the glass cloche on a meatball made of lab-grown cultured meat using the genetic sequence from the long-extinct pachyderm, saying it was meant to fire up public debate about the hi-tech...
Umpire ejects Realmuto after bizarre game ball exchange
DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was ejected Monday in a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays for an awkward ball exchange that followed a pitch-clock violation. Home plate umpire Randy Rosenberg had just finished calling a ball on...
Finnish leadership condemns attack on veteran lawmaker
HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s leaders strongly condemned an assault on a Jewish lawmaker who was assaulted and punched in the face Saturday while campaigning for the country's April 2 general election. President Sauli Niinisto tweeted that Saturday’s physical attack on veteran...
Book thief in plot that duped famous authors avoids prison
NEW YORK (AP) — It was the stuff of novels: For years, a con artist plagued the publishing industry, impersonating editors and agents to pull off hundreds of literary heists. But the manuscripts obtained from high-profile authors were never resold or leaked, rendering the thefts all the more...
'Scream as loud as you can': 5 boys rescued from NYC tunnel
NEW YORK (AP) — Five mischievous boys had to be rescued after they crawled through a storm drain tunnel in New York City and got lost, authorities said. In audio released by the fire department, 911 dispatchers work to pinpoint the boys' exact location and then tell them to scream...
Zebra runs loose in Seoul before being taken back to zoo
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A young zebra walked, trotted, and galloped for hours in the busy streets of South Korea’s capital before emergency workers tranquilized the animal and brought it back to a zoo. The zebra — a male named Sero that was born in the zoo in 2021 — was in...
What made Beethoven sick? DNA from his hair offers clues
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him. They weren't able to crack the case of the German composer's deafness or severe...
Snap! Venus fly trap fans ask South Carolina to honor plant
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Conservationists are pushing for the Venus fly trap to be South Carolina's official carnivorous plant, joining other official items such as the state bird (Carolina Wren), state opera (Porgy and Bess) and the state snack (boiled peanuts). In all, South...
Get sett for delays: Badgers burrow under Dutch train tracks
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Badgers burrowing under rail tracks have halted trains in the northern and southern Netherlands, forcing lengthy cancellations on at least two lines. All trains were halted Tuesday afternoon on a busy line between the southern cities of Den Bosch and...
Missing porcupine Brain returns to zoo, Pinky still missing
BERLIN (AP) — Police said Tuesday that one of two porcupines that went missing from a zoo in central Germany over the weekend has somehow found its way back home. State police in Saxony-Anhalt had called Sunday for the public to keep an eye out for the two Indian crested...
