10 Offbeat News Stories
Article Tools
-
4
Liked it 
Subscribe to RSS
My top 10 unusual news stories of 2007.
-
Hair Raising
In October, a lock of revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s hair was sold in Dallas for a whopping $119,500. There was a lot of speculation that Hugo Chavez , the Venezuelan President, would bid for the item, as he is known to be a fan of the revolutionary. In the end, however, it went to Houston man bill butler, who was described as “thrilled”. Looks like “Che” promoted Capitalism more than he thought.
-
Hard Wired
Scientist alter the genes of a worm in order to change its sexual orientation, making female worms attracted to other females.“The study reinforces the notion that sexual orientation is hard-wired in the brain”, said Erik Jorgensen, scientific director of the Brain Institute at the University of Utah. Researchers switched on a gene in female worms that makes the body develop male structures, but they only activated the gene in the brain. However the study is “unlikely” to resolve the question of human sexual orientation, as one of the scientists explained: “human brains are a lot more complex.”
-
Cube It
The world Rubik’s cube championships were held in October 2007. Competitions included doing the cube using your feet. The youngest ever person to complete a Rubik’s cube was 4 years old, and the record that year was 9.86 seconds by Frenchman Thibaut Jacuinot. I never solved my Rubik’s cube, and I’ve been working on it for several years, so he deserves a round of applause.
-
Take Away
In August, the Chinese government, in the year before the Olympics, made a drive to eliminate so-called “Engrish” from the country. Examples include “steamed crap” as an option on a restaurant menu, and products such as “homo-sausage” in supermarkets. Probably worth getting rid of then.
-
Give Blood
With blood in short supply, an American Red Cross chapter is offered free movie tickets and a chance to attend the Daytona 500 to entice people to donate. The response was apparently “ marked”, perhaps leading to other places taking up a similar offer. Giving blood could get you to the cup final!
-
Go Green
A Norwegian prison “goes green” for the first time, utilising solar panels for energy, wood heating instead of oil, recycling nearly everything and producing their own food. This is the first prison in the world to do this. Inmates are responsible for the care of about 200 chickens, eight horses, 40 sheep and 20 cows. They also tend the fields, pick berries and fish on the prison’s 30-foot boat. Says the prison director, “Our job is to create the best possible development opportunities for the individual.” And people think prison is a nasty place.
-
Scream For Help
A Japanese man called police and fire services 388 times, for no reason other than he was lonely. He apparently wanted to “befriend” officers, but ended up being arrested by them. He allegedly screamed “fire” loudly many times, resulting in 10 fire engines and an ambulance being sent to his home. Presumably he had seen the recent AA advert.
-
Safe Keeping
Branden M. Tingley is caught trying to break into a safe in a restaurant he was formerly employed by. Apparently undeterred by the safe, he is caught by two other managers on Google looking up safe-cracking instructions. He was arrested on charges too numerous to mention, including Going To The Scene Of The Crime Utterly Unprepared and Not Having A Clue.
-
Lizard King
Florida police shoot an 80 pound lizard – and then lose it.”There’s no doubt that the thing was shot,” said Lt. Dennis Stewart of the Casselberry Police Department. Apparently, however, the “thing” retreated into a retention pond. Neighbours were waiting for authorities to find the lizard’s carcass, but it wasn’t forthcoming.
-
Train Collision
Two trains collide in Denver, one carrying a cargo of beer, which then spills over the downtown area of the city. A truck carrying asphalt also leaked, but who wants to drink asphalt? Luckily, no-one was hurt.
2 Comments
Haha, Che guevaras hair was sold for that much…. Shows how much communism survived
I live in florida, and I totally remember that lizard thing. It resurfaced and the cops had to shoot it again. I think they killed it that time though.