Odd News
- Associated Press
Maine shuts down pot Facebook page after critics poke fun
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The state of Maine has shut down a Facebook page detailing the potential dangers of marijuana use in response to a satirical page launched by pro-pot critics.
Associated PressTrucker saves dogs thrown from vehicle on New York highway
NEW YORK (AP) — A pair of beagle mixes are on the mend after authorities say someone threw them out of a moving vehicle on a snowy New York highway. The dogs were rescued by a passing trucker, but one was so badly mangled that a front leg had to be amputated.
Associated PressCow steals spotlight at student's graduation photo shoot
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — University of Missouri students were stunned when a towering dairy cow appeared on campus to make a cameo in a graduation photo shoot.
ReutersWorth the sting: Cuba's scorpion pain remedy
Once a month for the last decade, Pepe Casanas, a 78-year-old Cuban farmer, has hunted down a scorpion to sting himself with, vowing that the venom wards off his rheumatism pains. Researchers in Cuba have found that the venom of the blue scorpion, whose scientific name is Rhopalurus junceus, endemic
- Associated Press
Truck crashes through home, misses sleeping woman
TEMPLETON, Mass. (AP) — A pickup truck has smashed through a home in Massachusetts, barely missing a woman who was asleep on her couch.
Associated PressScuba-diving Santa brings holiday cheer to fish, museumgoers
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — It's a busy time for Santa Claus, but he's making time to feed some fish in San Francisco.
- Associated Press
Candidate whose missed vote led to tie loses on dice roll
WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (AP) — A city council candidate in northeastern Arkansas whose runoff election ended in a tie after he didn't vote has lost his bid for the seat by a roll of the dice.
Associated PressHung without care? Some say tunnel decor is an eyesore
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — The Holland Tunnel between New Jersey and New York City may be in for a makeover after critics called the placement of its holiday decorations a distraction, a possible trigger for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder — and just plain ugly.
- Associated Press
Man puts up sculpture of middle finger as a message to town
WESTFORD, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont man who is in an ongoing dispute with his town has let officials know exactly how he feels by erecting a large wooden sculpture of a fist with the middle finger raised on his front lawn.
ReutersChirp perp: Finches found in luggage at NY airport
A man was caught at New York's JFK airport last weekend trying to smuggle dozens of South American finches into the country, a bird that Guyanese immigrants covet for chirping but officials fear could spread disease, officials said on Thursday. About 70 finches were found hidden inside a shipment
- Reuters
Craps: Dice roll sinks Arkansas candidate who twice missed voting for himself
Becky Linebaugh, an incumbent alderman in the small town of Hoxie, rolled a "six" to hold on to her seat for a third term, defeating challenger Cliff Farmer who came up short with a "four." The dice roll broke a 223-223 tie in a Dec. 4 runoff election, according to the Lawrence County
- Associated Press
89-year-old Alabama woman jailed over messy appliance store
CLANTON, Ala. (AP) — Odean Cleckler, 89, said she has been doing her best to help run her husband's used-appliance business since he died a decade ago. This week, that work landed her and her son in jail.
Associated PressCustoms finds 70 finches in hair rollers
NEW YORK (AP) — Customs officials at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport say they found 70 live finches hidden inside hair rollers.
Reuters'Benny the Beluga' facing Christmas in the Thames far from home
A beluga whale that was first spotted nearly three months ago in the River Thames is still feeding healthily east of the British capital and facing a lone Christmas hundreds of miles from its normal Arctic habitat. The last spotting of the whale, dubbed Benny the Beluga by the British media, was on
Associated PressCrews rescue man stuck in grease vent of empty restaurant
SAN LORENZO, Calif. (AP) — A man who authorities say was possibly trying to burglarize an abandoned Chinese restaurant has been rescued from the grease vent, where officials say he had been trapped for two days.
- Associated Press
Man sues after getting finger caught in airplane armrest
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man is suing after he says one of his pinky fingers was caught in an airline armrest mechanism for nearly an hour during a flight to Los Angeles.
- Associated Press
Report: 'High-tech' robot on Russian TV was man in suit
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian media say a contraption presented by Russian state television as a high-tech robot was in fact a man in a commercially available robot costume.
ReutersFirefighters to the rescue after German chocolate factory spill
Firefighters in the town of Werl in western Germany tackled an unusual emergency late on Monday when a tank at a local firm making liquid chocolate overflowed and poured out onto a street. The firefighters closed off the street and shoveled the chocolate - about 10 square meters (108 square feet) -
- Associated Press
Apparent Grinch on video driving through Christmas display
GREENWOOD, Ind. (AP) — An apparent Grinch was spotted on surveillance video plowing through a Christmas display outside a suburban Indianapolis home and tips are being sought to find the man.
- Associated Press
Rat found in vending machine at Florida high school
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Students at a Florida high school found an unwelcome surprise in a vending machine: a rat climbing the rows of packaged snacks and drinks.
ReutersThis Chinese city is feeding garbage to a billion cockroaches to combat waste
The air is warm and humid - just as cockroaches like it - to ensure the colonies keep their health and voracious appetites. Expanding Chinese cities are generating more food waste than they can accommodate in landfills, and cockroaches could be a way to get rid of hills of food scraps, providing nutritious
Associated PressTeacher accused of cutting boy's hair pleads not guilty
VISALIA, Calif. (AP) — A California high school teacher pleaded not guilty to several charges of child cruelty and battery after she allegedly forced a haircut on one of her students, authorities said.
- Associated Press
Clarification: Alderman-Key Missed Vote story
HOXIE, Ark. (AP) — In a story Dec. 6, The Associated Press reported that Cliff Farmer, an Arkansas political candidate who missed voting for himself in a local election, was vacationing in Florida. Farmer was on a work-related trip.
- Associated Press
Uranus Examiner ends publication, blaming judgmental people
URANUS, Mo. (AP) — The Uranus Examiner, a small Missouri newspaper whose name inspired chuckles and groans when it launched a few months ago, is closing.
- Associated Press
Leaping lemur surprises Florida trooper during DUI arrest
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — A lemur surprised a Florida Highway Patrol trooper when it crawled from a trailer being pulled by a pickup truck that had been stopped for driving erratically and hitting other cars.
