week-in-review

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The Weird Week ending February 8th

Woman Falls Head-First onto Knife... and Survives 72-year-old Mary Townsen fell on a knife she was using in the garden, which plunged through her eye socket and into her brain. Neurosugeon Dr. Kent Grewe removed the knife. "We took it out and nothing happened," he said. "It's like, remember the Sword in the Stone?" There was barely any bleeding and her eyeball was somehow untouched. The accident left her immediately unable to read or do math. In the two years since the accident, Townsen has... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending February 1st

Man Sets Station On Fire Over Playlist 24-year-old Paul Webster Feinstein has been charged with arson in the case of the February 5th fire at radio station KOOP in Austin, Texas. Feinstein was a volunteer broadcaster at the station. He told police he had become "very unhappy" over changes that had been made in the playlist of songs for his overnight internet show, "Mellow Down Easy". Feinstein had quit his job the week before. He returned Tuesday night and set two studios on fire after dousing the... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending January 25th

Snakes on a Plane Authorities in Vietnam seized a literal ton of ratsnakes packed into 60 boxes aboard a Vietnam Airline flight from Thailand.The snakes are a protected species, Ptyas Mucosus, and may have been smuggled out of Thailand bound for other parts of the world. Only a month ago, a similar shipment was confiscated aboard a Thai Airways flight. Missing Cat Found in Wrong Suitcase Rob Carter of Fort Worth, Texas arrived home from Chicago and collected his luggage at the airport -but picked up the... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending January 18th

Children Given Mercury as Toy; Hazmat Crew Responds The Salinas, California hazardous materials response team was called in after a doctor had found the children in the home had high mercury levels. The health department red-tagged the home and relocated the family until the home can be professionally decontaminated. The source of the mercury? Their mother's boyfriend had given the children a jar of mercury as a gift about a month ago. A Protest with Balls: Half a Million of Them The famed Piazza de... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending January 11th.

Where's the Beef? A truck carrying $100,000 worth of prizewinning bulls headed for a professional bullriding show was hijacked in Nashville last Friday. The woman who was driving the truck managed to jump to safety. The bulls were recovered Saturday morning as the truck had run out of gas, but the thief remained at large. And that's no bull. Bridge Stolen Overnight Russian police are searching for thieves who dismantled and carried away a 200 ton metal bridge. The bridge leading to the... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending January 4th

Hello Kitty Merchandise for Men After adorning every product possible for women, Sanrio will soon begin to market Hello Kitty merchandise for men. The Hello Kitty logo for men will be changed slightly, with text in the place of the eyes and nose, and an emphasis on black instead of pink. The for-men products will go on sale in Japan next month, and later this year in the rest of Asia and the United States. Big Panties Save the Day John Marsey and his cousin Darren Lines were frying some bread when... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending December 28th

Christmas Cards Arrive from Dead Man Chet Fitch was known for his sense of humor. He died in October at age 88, but 34 of his friends received Christmas cards from him with the return address "Heaven." It came out that Fitch had planned the after-death Christmas cards beginning twenty years ago by arranging for his barber to do the mailing. Squirrels Use "Snake Perfume" to Fool Predators California ground squirrels and rock squirrels chew on discarded rattlesnake skin, then smear it on... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending December 21st

Drug Traffickers Open Fire on Santa's Helicopter Drug traffickers in a Rio de Janeiro slum opened fire on a helicopter carrying a Santa to a children's party. The helicopter was forced to land, and two bullet holes were found in the fuselage. Apparently, the gangsters that control the slum areas mistook it for a police chopper. Uninjured and undeterred, Santa got a ride to the party by car. Blue Man Leaves Oregon in Search of Acceptance Paul Karason is as blue as a man can be, but he's not... READ ON

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The Weird Week ending December 14

Blitzen Held Hostage Someone has stolen a decorative reindeer from outside florist Christine Small's shop in England, and left a ransom note demanding Â£56.60 for Blitzen's return! A threatening phone call followed. A taxi driver returned the reindeer a few hours later, saying he had found it, but it was stolen again within minutes. Police are looking into the matter. Glow-in-the-Dark Kitties South Korean scientists have produced cloned cats that produce RFP (Red Fluorescent Protein). The... READ ON

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Weird Week in Review

We are introducing a new column today, featuring links to some of the stranger news stories from the past week that you may have missed. Let us know what you think! School Evacuated Over Their Own Suspicious Package The students sent a package of letters to troops in Iraq. The military refused and returned it. A teacher got nervous, and raised an alarm. Sometimes you can't even trust the mail you... READ ON