Unusual News
Monks Fight Louisiana Funeral Industry over Right to Build Coffins
In need of a new trade to make money for their monastery, the Benedictine monks of Saint Joseph Abbey in Covington, Louisiana, took up casketing-making a few years ago to help support themselves. But then the state board that regulates the funeral... read more
In Baseball Coaching, First Base is for Minorities, but Third Base and Pitching is for Whites
Major League Baseball (MLB) has been more than willing to hire minorities to coach first base, a position that’s not as prestigious or strategically important to the game as the third-base coach position, which is considered a major stepping stone... read more
Strippers Protest Church that Protests Against Them
Every weekend for the past four years, Pastor Bill Dunfee of the New Beginnings Ministries church in Warsaw, Ohio, has led his flock in protesting the existence of the Foxhole strip club. Having grown tired of the picketing and videotaping of cust... read more
Expert Witness Files Rare Appeal in Microwave Popcorn Lung Disease Case
Dr. David Egilman, a professor at Brown University who contends it’s possible to contract lung cancer from eating too much microwave popcorn, filed an appeal in a lawsuit to which he was only an expert witness, not a plaintiff.
Egilman testifi... read more
378-Year-Old Family Farm Goes on Sale
With the eventual sale of the Tuttle farm in Dover, New Hampshire, the end will come for a remarkable tale of living history. The farm was first established in 1632 by John Tuttle, who arrived from England and, with a land grant from King Charles ... read more
Nebraska Judge Removed for Trying to Help Softball Team
Judge Kent E. Florom of Nebraska was kicked off the state’s 11th Judicial District bench by the state Supreme Court because he abused his position to help his daughter’s softball team. Florom, who served as a judge for 19 years, accepted the posit... read more
Military Dog Suffers Post-Traumatic Stress from Service in Iraq
War doesn’t just change man, but man’s best friend as well.
After serving a five-month tour in Iraq, Gina, a four-year-old German shepherd, returned home a different dog. According to her handler, Gina was anti-social, reacted to virtually any... read more
Army Mother and Son Both Sent to Afghanistan
When Montrell Chatman leaves for his tour of duty in Afghanistan this fall, he won’t be leaving his mother thousands of miles behind—because she’s going too.
Chatman’s mother, Sheila, is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army, and like her son is ... read more
Federal Government Hires Goats to Clear Brush in California—Cheaper than Humans
When the weeds outside the federal courthouse in Pasadena, California, got to be too much, federal officials decided on a low-tech—and less expensive and more environmentally friendly—option for clearing away the brush: goats.
The General Serv... read more
It’s Time to Put an End to Taxes
Nobody likes taxes. The problem is that the United States government needs money—lots of it—to do all the things we want it to do. So we tend to think of taxes as unpleasant necessities. I believe we can eliminate taxes completely. We just need to... read more
Small Business Administration Approves Fictional Firm at Alamo
Those looking to defraud the Small Business Administration need only be persistent and good at counterfeiting. That’s what the Government Accountability Office (GAO) discovered when it submitted documents for phony businesses to SBA’s Historically... read more
Hunger Striker Wins Damages over False Claim He Ate McDonald’s Burgers
Parameswaran Subramanyam, a Tamil refugee in the United Kingdom who went 23 days without eating, received nearly £80,000 ($125,000) and a public apology from two British tabloids that accused him of eating McDonald’s hamburgers during his protest.... read more
DeMint and Coburn Lead Senate in Voting “No”
In the current climate of “No” on Capitol Hill, Democrats might well consider Republicans Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma the biggest “nattering nabobs of negativity” in the Senate.
After reviewing 21 years of voting ... read more
Rock Concert Halted Due to Pigeon Droppings
Following the abrupt stoppage three songs into the Kings of Leon concert last week, fans became irate, screaming: “Bullshit!”
No, pigeon shit.
Playing at the Verizon Amphitheatre in St. Louis, members of the rock band found themselves bomb... read more
Hedge Fund Manager Controls Market for Addictive Drug: Chocolate
With prices for cocoa having already risen 150% since 2008, makers of chocolate are up in arms over a British hedge fund manager’s recent buying spree of the valuable crop. Anthony Ward, head of the investment firm Armajaro, now controls the equiv... read more
BP Admits Photoshopping Disaster Response Images
As if BP didn’t have enough public relations problems on its hands stemming from the gulf oil spill, it turns out the oil company doctored some of the photos it released to the media demonstrating its response to the disaster.
First, BP commun... read more