Latest Oddities News
Malfunctioning steam room sets off alarm, prompts evacuation at Rhode Island YMCA
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (AP) — A malfunctioning steam room at a YMCA in Rhode Island pumped out so much steam that it triggered an a sprinkler system alarm on Saturday morning, prompting an evacuation. In a statement, the Middletown Police Department said officials rushed to the Newport...
How do cicadas make their signature sound, so eerie and amazingly loud?
WHEATON, Ill. (AP) — The most noticeable part of the cicada invasion blanketing the central United States is the sound — an eerie, amazingly loud song that gets in a person's ears and won't let much else in. “It’s beautiful chaos,” said Rebecca Schmidt, a U.S. Department of...
A street in The Hague gets an all-encompassing orange facelift for Euro 2024
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The fluttering of 64 kilometers (40 miles) of orange bunting and a hammer driving a nail into a wall to hold up orange tarps are the sounds of a Dutch summer of soccer in a normally drab suburban street in The Hague. The Marktweg is one of several...
What could make a baby bison white?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Photos of a white bison calf in Yellowstone National Park have generated excitement as well as questions: How does that happen? A park visitor said she took the photographs in the park earlier this month, showing a fuzzy white youngster being nuzzled by its dark...
With a big kick, Bubi the elephant oracle predicts Germany to win Euro 2024 opener
STARKENBERG, Germany (AP) — Move over, Paul the octopus. There’s a new big-hitter in the world of soccer soothsayers. And this one is going for a win for Germany to open the European Championship. Bubi, an African elephant who lives in a reserve in Thuringia in...
Double take: 23 sets of twins graduate from a single Massachusetts middle school
NEEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Twenty-three sets of twins have graduated from a Massachusetts middle school, making up about 10% of the eighth-grade class. The identical and fraternal twins graduated from Pollard Middle School in Needham, Massachusetts, on Wednesday. Another student, who...
A Chinese military buff inadvertently bought 4 books of military secrets for under $1
BEIJING (AP) — A military history buff in China appears to have made an alarming discovery after picking up four discarded books for less than $1 at a neighborhood recycling station: They were confidential military documents. The country's Ministry of State Security told the story...
Palm Dog: Kodi, star of 'Dog on Trial,' is the top dog of Cannes
CANNES, France (AP) — The verdict is in: The titular “Dog on Trial” was declared this year's Palm Dog winner in Cannes on Friday. Kodi the Belgian Malinois mix, who plays Cosmos in the Swiss comedy-drama, narrowly beat Xin, a sighthound who instead wagged away with the Grand...
The real stars of Cannes may be the dogs
CANNES, France (AP) — It’s been a dog’s life at this year’s Cannes Film Festival — or should that be the Canine Film Festival? Since the 77th edition's opening day, human actors have shared the limelight with their canine co-stars on and off the red carpet, kept secure by...
These candidates who won seats in the European Parliament this week aren't who you might expect
LONDON (AP) — He has no political experience. No high-profile endorsements. No party affiliation. What Fidias Panayiotou does have are 2.6 million followers on YouTube and more on TikTok. And now he has won a seat in the European Parliament representing Cyprus, one of several...
