Unusual News
Navy Adultery: Man Gets a Medal, Woman Gets the Brig
It definitely won’t be an affair to remember for Lieutenant Commander Syneeda Lynn Penland. After the U.S. Navy found out about Penland’s romance with fellow officer Mark Wiggan, who’s married, she was fined, thrown in the brig, and court-martiale... read more
Fired for Catching a Purse Snatcher
Troy Schafer found out the hard way that insurance and liability issues trump Good Samaritan deeds at Randalls grocery store in Round Rock, Texas. The now former produce manager thought he was doing the right thing when he chased a purse snatcher ... read more
Canceled Flight Diverts Defense Contractor to Nightmare Prison
Next time your airline cancels a flight and leaves you stewing at the airport, just think of James Hunter and you might not feel so bad about your predicament. Hunter, an airport security specialist employed by Global Strategies Group, was sent ... read more
Dutch Return Severed Head of King to Ghana
Dutch author Arthur Japin was conducting research for his next novel when he made a startling discovery at Leiden University Medical Centre: the nearly 200-year-old head of an African king. Badu Bonsu II was once chief of the Ahanta, a tribe livin... read more
Indian State Proposes Rehab School for Delinquent Monkeys
Take humans out of nature, squeeze them into cramped, urban environments, and violence and bad behavior go up. Apparently, it’s the same for monkeys in India, who increasingly have turned aggressive and destructive as deforestation in Punjab has f... read more
Florida Town Manager Fired for Marrying Porn Actress
Scott Janke’s career as a city official has ranged from rubbing elbows with Sarah Palin in Alaska to getting fired recently in Florida for being married to a porn star. Janke’s last job was as city manager for the small, conservative town of Fort ... read more
Georgia Man Spent Year in Jail for Owing Child Support After DNA Proved He’s Not the Father
A Georgia prosecutor and judge saw nothing wrong in 2008 with their decision to imprison a man for not supporting a child he did not father. Such is the case of Frank Hatley, 50, who thought he had fathered a son from a relationship in the 1980s, ... read more
America’s Meanest Insurance Company
We’ve all heard stories of people having to fight tooth-and-nail to get insurance companies to pay for procedures they thought were covered by their policy, but the case of Jennifer Gentry appears to take insurer meanness to a new level.
Gentr... read more
Stream in Maine Threatens to Sue Corporation
A small town in Maine has used an unusual tactic to stop exploitation of its natural water source: residents voted to declare that nature has legal rights. Poland Spring, a bottled water subsidiary of Nestlé, has tried in recent years to gain acce... read more
California IOUs Wanted on Craigslist
California’s ongoing budget debacle has produced a new kind of profiteer: IOU buyers. Once the state government began its new fiscal year on July 1 without a budget, officials offered IOUs for everything from tax refunds to payments for vendors. A... read more
Chinese Blogger Tweets His Own Arrest
A blogger in China helping to expose the cover up of a local woman’s rape was arrested this week in mid-sentence while posting to Twitter. “I have been arrested by Mawei police, SOS,” wrote amoiist, who also goes by the names Peter Guo and Guo Bof... read more
Mystery Blob, 12 Miles Long, Invades Alaska
Where are you when we need you, Steven McQueen? The star of the 1958 film, The Blob, knew what to do about that gelatinous, man-eating monster, but officials in Alaska are stumped over what exactly is floating off the state’s coast in the Chukchi ... read more
Professional Snipers Hired to Protect Penguins
A killer is on the loose in Sydney, Australia, prompting officials to hire two sharpshooters to protect a tiny colony of fairy penguins, the world’s smallest penguins. Nine of the birds were found mauled to death within a 10-day period, which repr... read more
Motorcycle Helmets Bad for Those Who Need Organ Transplants
When mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists were first adopted, advocates argued the requirement was a win-win for everyone—from riders to the health care system. Well, perhaps not. Researchers at Michigan State University have concluded that hel... read more
Sen. Brownback Leads Fight against Human-Animal Hybrids
Vowing to protect the “dignity and sacredness of human life,” Republican U.S. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas is sponsoring legislation that would ban the creation of genetically-spliced humans and animals. “Creating human-animal hybrids, which pe... read more
Wells Fargo Sues…Wells Fargo
In a move labeled “utter idiocy,” Wells Fargo has found itself serving as both plaintiff and defendant in a Florida civil matter over the foreclosure of a condominium. The bank is holder of both the first and second mortgages on the condo, and as ... read more