Latest Oddities News
A New Zealand airport wants you to hug goodbye faster
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Emotional farewells are a common sight at airports, but travelers leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin will have to be quick. A new three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in the airport's drop-off area is intended to prevent lingering cuddles from causing...
German police say pizza order No. 40 came with a side of cocaine
BERLIN (AP) — German police busted a pizzeria in the western city of Düsseldorf that also delivered a side order of cocaine when customers asked for item number 40 on the menu. “That was one of the best-selling pizzas,” criminal director Michael Graf von Moltke told reporters...
Champion cleared of cheating with a metal chestnut at the World Conker Championships
LONDON (AP) — A British chestnut-whacking champion was cleared Monday of cheating after an investigation into alleged malfeasance at the World Conker Championships. Organizers of the nutty annual event said that Dave Jakins, a veteran competitor nicknamed “King Conker,” did not...
Funeral home in Poland apologizes after a corpse falls out of a hearse in traffic
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A funeral home in Poland issued an unusual apology on Saturday after a corpse that it was transporting fell out of a hearse and into traffic. Polish media reported that a man was driving down a street Friday in Stalowa Wola, a city in southeastern Poland, when...
Greek man convicted of causing disturbance by entering neighbors' properties to smell their shoes
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A judge in northern Greece on Thursday imposed a suspended one-month prison sentence on a man convicted of disturbing his neighbors by repeatedly sneaking into their properties to smell their shoes. The 28-year-old Greek man told the Thessaloniki court...
A wild cat native to Africa and Asia is captured in a Chicago suburb
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — A wild cat that's native to Africa and parts of Asia has been captured after roaming around a Chicago suburb. Authorities used a pole with a cord on the end to lasso and cage the caracal Tuesday from beneath the deck of a home in Hoffman Estates, about...
After 67 days adrift, a Russian man was rescued but his brother and nephew are dead
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian man was rescued in the stormy Sea of Okhotsk after surviving for more than two months in a tiny inflatable boat that lost its engine, but his brother and nephew have died, officials said Tuesday. The prosecutor's office in the far east of Russia said that...
Snake slithers through Dodgers dugout during NLCS loss to Mets
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A snake slithered through the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout during Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday. The reptile appeared in the top of the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the New York Mets. It wasn’t big enough to put a scare...
Conkers controversy: World tournament investigates claims of cheating with steel chestnut
LONDON (AP) — The World Conker Championships said Tuesday that it was investigating allegations of cheating after this year's men’s winner was found to have a steel chestnut in his pocket. More than 200 enthusiasts of the traditional game entered the annual competition on Sunday...
Pumpkin weighing 2,471 pounds wins California contest
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row. Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his...
