weird news

[Corinthian]

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them. For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/12/2...=rss_technology

 

What's next? Green crackers?

 

[Corinthian]

Mice may be responsible for a blaze that killed nearly 100 cats at an animal shelter near the Canadian city of Toronto, officials say. The fire at the humane society shelter in Oshawa also killed three dogs and some rats that were up for adoption. An initial report from the fire marshal says mice or rats chewing through electrical wires in the ceiling are likely to have sparked the blaze.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7792475.stm

 

Suicide mice perhaps?

 

"Unfortunately, the mice probably perished in the fire as well," he added.

[X-Files]

Imhotep...Imhotep...Imhotep...

 

 

"We announce today a major, important discovery at Saqqara, the discovery of two new tombs dating back to 4,300 years ago," said Zahi Hawass, as he showed reporters around the site Monday. "The discovery of the two tombs are the beginning of a big, large cemetery."

 

The discovery indicates that there is even more to the vast necropolis of Saqqara, located 12 miles south of the capital, Cairo, he added.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081222/ap_on_...egypt_new_tombs

[Ivanhoe]

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them. For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

 

"Exxon Supreme ... is people!"

[BansheeOne]

Man, you stole my exact line.

[Jeff]

"Exxon Supreme ... is people!"

I assume regular is Soylent Orange then.

 

There's a gas shortage, send in the scoops!

 

[X-Files]

http://paranormal.about.com/od/paranormalg...events-2008.htm

[X-Files]

Santa brawl leaves two in hospital

A group of men dressed as Santa Claus were involved in a mass brawl which left two people needing hospital treatment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christma...n-hospital.html

 

By Sarah Knapton

Last Updated: 10:38AM GMT 22 Dec 2008

 

Police are hunting the gang of Father Christmases who were seen fighting in central Norwich early on Saturday.

 

The Santas clashed with another group of men, described as Asian or African, on a busy street in the city centre.

 

One man was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with head injuries and another needed stitches after receiving cuts to his face in the skirmish.

 

The trouble continued with small pockets of disorder reported in the city.

 

A police spokesman said: "The incident involved two groups of males. One of the groups were all dressed as Father Christmas, the other group were described as being of dark-skinned African or Asian appearance."

 

One man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

 

Police are keen to hear from any witnesses, particularly a couple believed to have seen an incident near the Olive Tree restaurant.

 

In 2004 police were forced to arrest five people when an annual charity run in Newtown, Wales, involving 4,000 Santas, ended in fighting.

 

Officers used CS spray and batons to break up trouble amongst up to 30 people and four officers suffered minor injuries.

[X-Files]

Meeting the cannibals of Papua New Guinea "Japanese people taste the best - whites are too salty!"

 

Brave Italian photographer Iago Corazza travelled the country, the island at the end of the world, and took photos of its fascinating inhabitants, who still live a Stone Age existence.

 

“You find people here who can describe the taste of human flesh,” the photographer said of his travels.

 

Anthropologist Olga Ammann describes it more succinctly in the book. She quotes people who have eaten other humans: “The meat of white people smells too strongly and is too salty.”

 

http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/...-too-salty.html

Edited December 24, 2008 by X-Files

[X-Files]

Outside of North America, it's not about a jolly fat guy in a red suit. Instead, Christmas Eve was about werewolves, attacking goats and home-invading goblins venting rage on hapless humans.

 

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/st...html?id=1109046

 

For centuries in Iceland, parents leveraged a nastier version of "he knows if you've been bad or good" in the form of cannibal ogres named Gryla and Leppaludi who were believed to have a taste for the flesh of children. The couple's 13 sons were collectively known as the Jolasveinar or "Yule Lads" and believed to arrive one by one in the 13 days before Christmas and then depart one by one, leaving Icelandic homes packed with supernatural guests with self-explanatory names like Door Slammer and Sausage Snatcher on Christmas.

[Gabe]

Meeting the cannibals of Papua New Guinea "Japanese people taste the best - whites are too salty!"

Tastes great, but less filling.

[Jeff]

Tastes great, but less filling.

I bet they were hungry 30 minutes later.

[Gregory]

LOS ANGELES: Police hunted on Thursday for a gun-toting man who burst into a holiday party dressed as Santa Claus and opened fire, apparently causing a house blaze that left three people dead, a spokesman said.

 

The gunman entered a residence in Covina, 37 kilometres east of Los Angeles, just before midnight Wednesday, police lieutenant Pat Buchanan told AFP.

 

"At approximately 11:30 last night a man, who we have since identified as Bruce Pardo, dressed in a Santa Claus costume, went to a home where a Christmas Eve party was being thrown," Buchanan said.

 

"He knocked on the door, went in and opened fire on about 30 guests."

 

Police received a series of emergency calls alerting them to the incident, and when they arrived on the scene, the house was engulfed in flames and guests were running out, he said. It was unclear how the blaze started.

 

Two girls, age 16 and eight, were hospitalised with gunshot wounds and a 13-year-old girl was treated for injuries that were not life threatening, he said.

 

After the fire was extinguished, rescuers found three bodies in the basement, Buchanan said, adding that more bodies could still be inside.

 

The suspect was still at large and may have been acting on a marital grudge.

 

"We don't know the exact connection," Buchanan said. "But we know Mr Pardo was having some marital difficulties and this residence belong to a relative of his wife." - AFP/de

 

 

 

 

 

[X-Files]

Aftershock hits 281 years after quake

Published: Dec. 23, 2008 at 9:48 PM

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HAVERHILL, N.H., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Scientists said an earthquake felt by some New Hampshire towns during the weekend was likely an aftershock from a tremor 281 years ago.

 

Dr. John Ebel of the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts said the quake reported by some New Hampshire residents at about 4:35 p.m. Sunday was likely an aftershock from a 1727 earthquake in the Merrimack, N.H., area, WMUR-TV, Manchester, N.H., reported Tuesday.

 

Ebel said the original 5.6 magnitude quake caused numerous aftershocks in the area that have continued for nearly three centuries. He said the most recent confirmed aftershock took place in October 2007 and measured a 1.3 magnitude on the Richter scale.

 

*

The ancient folklore, while cloudy, evasive, and largely forgotten by the present generation, was of a highly singular character, and obviously reflected the influence of still earlier Indian tales. I knew it well, though I had never been in Vermont, through the exceedingly rare monograph of Eli Davenport, which embraces material orally obtained prior to 1839 among the oldest people of the state. This material, moreover, closely coincided with tales which I had personally heard from elderly rustics in the mountains of New Hampshire. Briefly summarized, it hinted at a hidden race of monstrous beings which lurked somewhere among the remoter hills - in the deep woods of the highest peaks, and the dark valleys where streams trickle from unknown sources. These beings were seldom glimpsed, but evidences of their presence were reported by those who had ventured farther than usual up the slopes of certain mountains or into certain deep, steep-sided gorges that even the wolves shunned.

[Jeff]

Man Sets Self on Fire During Stunt to Impress Date

Saturday , December 27, 2008

 

A Swedish man's attempt to impress his date went horribly awry Friday, as he ended up lighting himself on fire and going into shock.

 

The 33-year-old man also faces allegations of endangering the public as he recovers from serious burn injuries in a hospital in Vastervik, The Local reported.

 

The unidentified man's girlfriend said he was attempting a stunt when he poured gasoline over his arm and set the fuel on fire.

 

"It obviously didn’t go well. He burned his arm and other parts of his body and was in a state of shock," Kalmar police spokesperson Reine Johansson told the TT news agency. "Don’t ask me what the point of the trick was supposed to be."

 

Police told The Local the man will likely need specialized care at the burn clinic of Linköping University Hospital.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473324,00.html

[KingSargent]

Man Sets Self on Fire During Stunt to Impress Date

Saturday , December 27, 2008

 

A Swedish man's attempt to impress his date went horribly awry Friday, as he ended up lighting himself on fire and going into shock.

 

The 33-year-old man also faces allegations of endangering the public as he recovers from serious burn injuries in a hospital in Vastervik, The Local reported.

 

The unidentified man's girlfriend said he was attempting a stunt when he poured gasoline over his arm and set the fuel on fire.

 

"It obviously didn’t go well. He burned his arm and other parts of his body and was in a state of shock," Kalmar police spokesperson Reine Johansson told the TT news agency. "Don’t ask me what the point of the trick was supposed to be."

 

Police told The Local the man will likely need specialized care at the burn clinic of Linköping University Hospital.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473324,00.html

I used to do that with lighter fluid, but GASOLINE?

 

OTOH, i suppose lighter fluid is hard to come by these days....

[X-Files]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,2...013-663,00.html

 

A CHRONIC smoker blew himself up when he lit a cigarette while using an oxygen ventilator to help him breathe.

 

The 75-year-old man was admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong on Sunday with severe facial burns after lighting up in his home while the ventilator's plastic tubes were still running to his nose.

[Michael Donnelly]

Man Sets Self on Fire During Stunt to Impress Date

Saturday , December 27, 2008

But did he get lucky? ...in the Biblical sense!

[Ivanhoe]

Old Ones awakening?

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081230/ap_on_...lowstone_quakes

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Yellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come. Swarms of small earthquakes happen frequently in Yellowstone, but it's very unusual for so many earthquakes to happen over several days, said Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.

[X-Files]

LOS ANGELES: Police hunted on Thursday for a gun-toting man who burst into a holiday party dressed as Santa Claus and opened fire, apparently causing a house blaze that left three people dead, a spokesman said.

 

COVINA, Calif. (AP) - The man who killed nine people at his former in-law's Christmas party while dressed as Santa Claus had plotted the attack several months ago and his hit list was longer than first thought.

*

He launched the attack on Christmas Eve, putting on his Santa Claus suit, arming himself with four guns and barging into a party at his ex-relatives' home. He then killed nine people and torched the home.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081230/D95D0UJO0.html

 

[Michael Donnelly]

Old Ones awakening?

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081230/ap_on_...lowstone_quakes

Uh oh!

 

[X-Files]

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees. Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

 

"I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper on Wednesday. The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.

 

DOH!

 

SALEM — This old city, some say, is locked in an eternal wrestling match with itself. Is this the historic seaport of art and culture, or the "Witch City" of psychics and ghost tours?

The Park and Recreation Commission ventured into that quicksand this week when it denied a request by a group of paranormal investigators from Rhode Island to search for ghosts in the Witch House, the former home of Jonathan Corwin, an infamous judge during the Witch Trials of 1692.

http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_stor...eyword=topstory

 

 

IN A bizarre series of killings near Dutywa this weekend, five people died and police have arrested seven men and a woman suspected of carrying out witchcraft murders.

*

Manatha said police believed that the murders of the women were witchcraft- related as nothing had been stolen from their homes.

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=282309

 

 

It wasn't during the holidays, but Kiser can't help telling his favorite weird crime story, the tale of the messy monkey. It happened during a traffic stop when he was an Upper Arlington officer. "I was working third-shift traffic on Lane Avenue, working speed," he said. "I saw a car going fast, so I pulled the guy over, asked for his license and registration and asked him why he was speeding.

"He said,20'I had to get home. My monkey just (expletive) on me.' I looked down and there was this little spider monkey on his lap that had the runs. I said, 'Just go.'

"I worked traffic a lot of years and heard a lot of stories, like 'My mother died,' " Kiser said, "but never anything to match that. That monkey had this little haphazard look on its face."

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/conte...4I.html?sid=101

Edited December 30, 2008 by X-Files

[KingSargent]

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees. Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

 

"I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper on Wednesday. The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.

/quote]

 

I don't know why he would be upset. HE was there, wasn't he? And she brought the money home. It's not like she had an affair with the neighbor for no remuneration.....

 

She shoulds said she was there to get lessons in pleasing him, since apparently she didn't keep him satisfied at home.

[Corinthian]

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees. Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

 

"I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper on Wednesday. The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.

 

Dreaming, not nightmare?

[Mike Steele]

Dreaming, not nightmare?

Why was he at the local brothel?