Unusual News
Bad Golf Shot Starts Wildfire
A bad slice into the rough not only can burn a golf score but also the surrounding terrain. That’s what a golfer at Shady Canyon Golf Club in Irvine, California, found out on August 28 when he hit a rock while chipping his way back onto the course... read more
Southern Sudan to Plan Cities in Shapes of Animals
Ninety percent of South Sudan’s population lives on less than $1 a day. Its annual budget is $1.9 billion. And yet leaders of the region, which may become an independent nation next year, want to spend $10.1 billion to transform their cities into ... read more
Vegas Casinos Reduce Blackjack Payoffs to Pay for Exotic Dancers
If you want a little flesh with your blackjack, it’s going to cost you. Casinos in Las Vegas are lowering their payouts at blackjack tables in order to cover the costs of exotic dancers performing in nearby “party pits,” a recent addition to the g... read more
Job Openings for Spies and Interrogators
The Obama administration has been criticized by those on the left for its continuation of many Bush-era policies on terrorism. But one area where it differs from the previous administration is in its recruiting of spies and interrogators.
As i... read more
Job Offer: Ebonics Speakers Needed to Work for Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is looking for a few good agents … who speak Ebonics. Critics of “African American Vernacular English” can make fun all they want, but the DEA is taking Ebonics seriously as part of its efforts to acquire ... read more
Really Slow Driving in China and England
Taking it slow on the roads outside Beijing, China, hasn’t been much fun lately, but low speeds are part of the excitement at a racetrack in England.
On the National Expressway 110 between Inner Mongolia and China’s capital, thousands of motor... read more
Family of Ivan the Terrible Sues to Gain Ownership of Kremlin
The prince wants his castle back. The prince is 47-year-old Valery Kubarev of Russia, descendant of Ivan the Terrible, who claims the Russian government has no legal claim to the Kremlin and should turn over management of it to his Princes Foundat... read more
10 Disappearing Words Worth Saving
Each year the English language loses hundreds of words, just from people ceasing to use them. This reality is unacceptable to the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary, who are asking individuals to “adopt a word,” whether it is “old words, ... read more
Saudi Judge Wants Punishment of a Paralysis for a Paralysis
A judge in Saudi Arabia has asked at least two hospitals if they will intentionally sever a man’s spinal cord as punishment for his crime of crippling another man with a meat cleaver. The culprit already was convicted for the attack and served sev... read more
Fate of $400 Million Emerald Goes to Trial
For the sixth time, a court case will attempt to decide once and for all the owner of the world’s largest rough emerald. The 840-pound, 180,000-carat green gemstone has been the source of much trouble for individuals from the U.S. and Brazil, wher... read more
Memorial to Army Hero Now Part of a Dog Park
What once was St. Mary’s Cemetery in Ventura, California, is today a public park—but the original occupants of the cemetery are still around.
Most of the 3,000 people buried long ago in St. Mary’s were never relocated; just the headstones and ... read more
Obama on Pace to Match Bush’s Lengthy Federal Register Record: Ryan Young
Federal regulations keep piling up under President Barack Obama, who’s on pace to surpass the regulatory zeal of George W. Bush, writes Ryan Young, the Warren T. Brookes Journalism Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
The Federal Re... read more
North Korea Launches YouTube Channel and Twitter Account
Even the one of the world’s most reclusive, anti-Western governments can’t stay away from popular social networking websites. In recent weeks North Korea has established YouTube and Twitter accounts as part of its propaganda campaigns against Sout... read more
Wheat Bread Sales Top White Bread for First Time
For the first time in consumer history, Americans are buying more wheat bread than white bread. From July 2009 to July 2010, sales of wheat bread increased 0.6%, totaling $2.6 Billion, while white bread sales declined 7%, to $2.5 billion.
Amer... read more
Highest Paid Athlete in History? Gaius Appuleius Diocles
Tiger Woods has nothing on Gaius Appuleius Diocles. While the famed golfer closes in on earning a billion dollars playing his sport, Woods would still have a long way to go before his winnings come close to Diocles, ancient Rome’s most famous char... read more
Fox News Has Oldest TV Audience…Average Age--65
Watching cable news is not for the young. A new Nielsen survey shows Fox News has the oldest audience, averaging 65 years of age. CNN was right behind Fox, with a median audience age of 63, followed by MSNBC (59) and CNBC (52). The same survey sho... read more