Latest Oddities News
Bandit responsible for vehicle break-ins is a black bear
THORNTON, N.H. (AP) — Surveillance video helped police get to the bottom of a series of vehicle break-ins in town of Thornton. Home security footage captured the bandit — a black bear — opening the door of a vehicle and then crawling inside. ...
Vermont teen's message in a bottle gets reply from Portugal
ROYALTON, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont teen's message in a bottle that traveled over 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) to the Azores, a small Portuguese archipelago, has received a response back. Sean Smith, now 16, sent out a message in a bottle in 2018 on Thanksgiving day with...
Aquarium to auction off chance to name 3 beluga whales
A Connecticut aquarium plans to auction off the chance to name three of its five recently arrived beluga whales to raise money for their care and to offset the cost of transporting them from Canada. President and CEO Stephen Coan said the Sea Research Foundation has...
Police say 17th century paintings found in highway dumpster
BERLIN (AP) — German police appealed Friday for information about the possible owners of two 17th-century paintings discovered in a highway rest stop dumpster. Police said a 64-year-old man found the oil paintings at the rest stop near Ohrenbach in central Germany last...
AI-powered Mayflower, beset with glitch, returns to England
PLYMOUTH, England (AP) — The Mayflower had a few false starts before its trailblazing sea voyage to America more than 400 years ago. Now, its artificial intelligence-powered namesake is having some glitches of its own. A sleek robotic trimaran retracing the 1620...
New England Aquarium accepts ticket saved for over 37 years
BOSTON (AP) — The New England Aquarium in Boston accepted an entrance ticket on Thursday first purchased in 1983 that allows the holder to return “at anytime in the future.” Rachel Carle, 26, picked up the ticket from her great aunt, Catherine Cappiello, who came to...
Florida town accidentally sells municipal water tower
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A small town in Florida accidentally sold its water tower in a blundered real estate transaction. A businessman purchased a municipal building underneath the city of Brooksville's water tower last April for $55,000 with the goal of converting it...
Endangered corpse flower blooms in Warsaw, drawing crowds
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The endangered Sumatran Titan arum, a giant foul-smelling blossom also known as the corpse flower, went into a rare, short bloom at a botanical garden in Warsaw, drawing crowds who waited for hours to see it. The extraordinary flower, which emits...
Chicago man jumps into Lake Michigan for 365th straight day
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago bus driver looking for a way to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic jumped into Lake Michigan for a 365th straight day on Saturday. Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake at Montrose Harbor on the city's North Side last...
Lobster diver injured when caught in whale's mouth
BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — A commercial lobster diver who got caught in the mouth of a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod on Friday morning said he thought he was going to die. Michael Packard, 56, of Wellfleet, told WBZ-TV after he was released from Cape Cod...
