Unusual News
80 Dolphins Work Classified Missions for U.S. Navy
Dolphins have become a regular part of the U.S. Navy’s defense and counterterrorism efforts, both in the United States and abroad. The Navy has deployed 80 specially-trained dolphins (and sea lions) on missions in the Persian Gulf, the Mediterrane... read more
Four-Day School Weeks Growing in Popularity
A measure to cut costs for school districts is proving to have unexpected benefits for students. More than 120 districts across the United States are currently experimenting with four-day school weeks, brought about by shrinking budgets that force... read more
Black Americans Twice More Likely to Pray at Bedtime than Whites
A study of sleep behaviors by various demographic groups has found distinct differences in bedtime patterns, according to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2010 Sleep in America Poll.
For instance, African-Americans are more likely to pray or pe... read more
Texas Lobbyists Use Concealed Gun Permits to Avoid Long Security Lines at State Capitol
Anyone entering the state capitol in Austin, Texas, must pass through newly-installed metal detectors, unless they’re a lawmaker, a state employee or someone with a concealed gun permit. This last exception is now being exploited by lobbyists who ... read more
Re-Growing Breasts after Mastectomy
Women who undergo mastectomies may have a more natural option for replacing surgically-removed breasts, if experiments in Australia are successful.
The Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery in Melbourne has developed a new surgical proced... read more
Most Americans Can’t Name a Single Supreme Court Justice
John Roberts? Antonin Scalia? Ruth Bader Ginsburg? These names, as well as the rest of those serving on the U.S. Supreme Court, drew blank stares from 65% of respondents who were asked to name anyone currently on the nation’s highest judicial body... read more
Six Astronauts to Begin 520-Day Mock Flight to Mars
To better understand the psychological effects of sending men on a mission to Mars, six astronauts are embarking this week on a 520-day “voyage” that involves locking them in a simulated spacecraft located in a warehouse outside Moscow.
The Eu... read more
Comic Party Wins Iceland Election; Promises Disneyland at Airport, Transparent Corruption
Running on a platform described as “anarcho-surrealism,” Iceland’s Best Party (Besti Flokkurinn) is no longer just a big joke. The six-month-old party led by one of the nation’s best-known comedians, Jón Gnarr, won a stunning victory in the capita... read more
Marijuana Workers Join Union in California
A California union made up largely of grocery store and retail clerks has reached out to employees of local marijuana clubs, looking to the day when legal recreational use of cannabis could mean thousands of new workers to organize.
About 100 ... read more
Bad Social Security News for Those Born in 1947
The year 1947 was momentous for a lot of reasons: India gained its independence, the CIA was first established, and the transistor was invented. But 1947 was not so great for those Americans born that year, not when it comes to collecting their So... read more
United States Sues a Large Diamond
The bizarreness of this story is best captured in the official title of the lawsuit: United States v. One Polished Diamond Weighing Approximately 68 Carats. Yes, the federal government is suing an inanimate object—granted a very expensive inanimat... read more
Who Were the Wealthiest U.S. Presidents?
George Washington was not only America’s first president, but possibly its richest, too. A calculation of the net worth of each U.S. president in 2010 dollars shows Washington
would have had a personal net worth today of more than $500 million.
... read more
Hollywood Box-Office Success Can be Predicted by Frequency of Tweets
Twitter could soon become the ultimate fortune teller for movie success, and possibly even elections.
Two researchers at HP Labs examined nearly three million posts to Twitter, or tweets, from 1.2 million users for three months in 2009-2010 to... read more
Chicken Suits Banned Near Nevada Polling Places
Voters in Nevada will have to leave their chicken suits at home when they go to the polls this year. Elections officials decided to ban such attire to prevent opponents of Republican Sue Lowden from making fun of her recent fowl remark about healt... read more
Sen. Nelson Doesn’t Understand ATMs, Gets Money Directly from Banks Instead
Constituents of U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) shouldn’t expect him to understand their frustration over ATM-related fees. Nelson has never used an automated teller machine. Ever.
“I’ve never used an ATM, so I don’t know what the fees ar... read more
Civil War Soldier to be Awarded Medal of Honor
As heroics go, what First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing did for the Union army during the Civil War was nothing short of pivotal. In charge of a battery in the 4th U.S. Artillery, Cushing found himself commanding about 110 men who had to guard Cemeter... read more