12/3/2004 Odd Happenings. (kwwl) Homeless man to sell plate on e-bay for nearly $50,000: "DALLAS A homeless Dallas man thought he had something special in a plate he inherited from a great-aunt. Apparently, he was right. The Dallas Morning News reports the Czech factory that made the plate has authenticated it as having been made exclusively for the "Titanic." Jay Sherman has told the newspaper that his great-aunt was a Titanic survivor. Now Sherman -- who reportedly has been sleeping under a freeway bridge near downtown Dallas -- is offering the small plate for auction. It's listed on e-Bay with an opening bid of just under 50-thousand dollars."
11/29/2004 Odd Happenings This is pretty neat. Dolphins shield swimmers from shark
"WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A pod of dolphins saved a group of swimmers from a predatory 10-foot great white shark off the northern New Zealand coast, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
The unusual incident occurred Oct. 30 when lifeguard Rob Howes took his 15-year-old daughter Niccy and two of her friends swimming near the town of Whangarei, The Northern Advocate said.
The dolphins, "started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Howes told the newspaper. When Howes tried to break away from the protective group, two of the bigger dolphins herded him back, he said.
Howes then spotted what he described as a 10-foot great white shark cruising toward them, but the man-eater was apparently repelled by the ring of dolphins and swam away.
11/22/2004 Odd Happenings. A visitor to this site writes:
"Xeno, Haven't seen anything on your site about the boom mystery. Thought you probably missed [it]. Fort Wayne, IN and Richmond, VA, as well as the UK, have been experiencing deafening "sonic-like" booms with no apparent cause. No aircraft were present. Booms occur most frequently at night. Secret ... aircraft? UFOs?" - M
Yes, I did miss this, thanks for the tip! One of the great things about having this site is that people now write and tell me about odd and interesting things happening all over the world. Here is what I've found on
The Boom Mystery of November 2004
Fort Wayne-WANE-November 10, 2004: "After about a month of silence, Fort Wayne's mysterious "boom" has returned. ... This time, the loudest ones seem to have come from near Parkview Hospital on eEst State Boulevard. ... four loud booms between 9:30 p.m. and midnight, and another round of four between 6 a.m. And 8:15 a.m. ... neighbors are concerned. "I need help because I can't sleep, it scares me, and it scares my whole neighborhood and the children over there, they're upset, too. And it just isn't right you know?" Lilly said The Fort Wayne Police have no answers." -wane
The theory that this is a supersonic experimental craft is supported by a UFO sighting caught on film in Fort Wayne last month October 11, 2004 'UFO' Spotted Near Fort Wayne
My guess is that someone is testing some new technology. A recent NASA expermiment a 12-foot-long X-43A "scramjet" reached Mach 9.7.
November 17, 2004 -- LOS ANGELES - A tiny unmanned NASA jet broke a world speed record yesterday by accelerating to roughly 7,000 mph - 10 times the speed of sound - in a successful demonstration of a radical new engine technology. - nypost
I found a site with info on varioius Skyquakes and UFO sightings. It would make sense for scramjet technology to be tested for military purposes. According to globalsecurity, "The 122nd Fighter Wing (FW) of the Indiana Air National Guard occupies 166 acres of leased land on the Fort Wayne International Airport (IAP), located approximately three miles south of downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. " The UK and Richmond, VA booms may be the same thing.
Nov 22, 2004. "North Side's baffling booms are back.
"Richmond's northern neighborhoods were jolted again yesterday about 12:45 p.m. as more of the so-far-unexplained booms shook homes and rattled windows, residents said. ... As a result of its investigations so far, the city has a list of events that apparently are not the causes of the disturbances: natural-gas explosions, sonic booms from passing aircraft, nearby railroad operations, construction activities or earthquakes." - tdispatch
Then again, it may be some underground explosive tests, or a natural phenomenon since it seems to come from under ground. At one point nukes were used to create hollow caves under the earth. This supposedly has stopped, but we do know from the mainstream press that Bush asked the Senate for and got approval for research on new nuke technology in 2003. One site says "(Note: A long narrow stretch of land? Then it is probably underground tunnels being built covertly)"
Then again, it could be some giants inside the hollow earth having a little war."It's the loudest noise I've ever heard. It's huge and it comes from under the ground. It shakes the house. It's a terrifying moment that stops you dead in your tracks," said one resident." - wtc
11/19/2004 Odd Happenings (wftv) A 53 year old woman used shovel to break into the house of stranger, then she just moved in. When the owner returned from vacation she found "the woman had the electricity switched over to her name and also moved in a washer and dryer. She brought in her own furniture, clothes and decorations and even repainted rooms in the house." ... Beverly Mitchell, of the Atlanta (Georgia) suburb of Douglasville, said she returned from 2 and 1/2 weeks in Greece to find that her personal belongings -- including clothes, furniture and dishes -- had been removed. ... Mitchell estimated the total value of the missing items was $100,000." Illegal occupation of someone else's home... hmm. Perhaps this is not strange at all. Perhaps this is just the American way.
11/19/2004 Odd Happenings (wnbc) Man dies in chimney of Salvation Army Thrift Store in BRIDGEPORT, Conn. Is found five years later.
11/19/2004 Odd Happenings (jsonline) Man breaks in to non-smoking church, tries to drill safe, leaves behind cigarette butt, is caught when DNA match is found for his saliva.
11/11/2004 Odd Happenings. Here are a few interesting news stories for today:
5 legged frog found Also, see these strange stories.
Arrested man sets his pants on fire
Livingston station won't fit new truck
School girl pimps friends to doctor
Norwegian Mistakenly Burns Cash for Heat
11/8/2004 Strange Happenings. Okay, so I had a blurb about an ovary thing above, just to be fair, check out this disgusting story.
(sundayhearald) Specialist cooks from around the world gathered in Serbia last week for the World Testicle Cooking Championship. Testicles are regarded as a gourmet delicacy in Serbia and the championship was organised by Ljubomir Erovic, of the Serbian Tourism Board, as a way of promoting the dish.
"The best cooked balls come from Serbia, which are known locally here as white kidneys," he said. The contest in the village of Savinac was won by gourmet testicle chef Dejan Milovanovic from Belgrade. His dish, prepared using testicles from a bull and a boar beat off challengers from around the world.
11/5/2004 Odd Happenings / Biology (News24) Rat raised by birds thinks he is one? "One day we realised the birds were carrying on as if they were breeding but there were no eggs. That's when we discovered the small pink rat in a nest. ... When he does leave his nest, he sits on a narrow wooden perch - imitating Madam and Tokkelos. "
10/18/04 Odd Happenings Doctor Says Woman Has Sleep-Sex Disorder By Associated Press. Posted October 15 2004, 5:19 PM EDT
"CANBERRA, Australia -- A woman seduced and had sex with strangers while she slept and later had no recollection
of her infidelities due to a sleeping disorder, her Sydney doctor said Thursday.
The middle-aged woman had no idea that she was sneaking from her house at night in search of sex with random strangers until her partner awoke, discovered she was missing from the bedroom, and found her having sex with another man, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital sleep medicine physician Peter Buchanan told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Her partner was already aware that she was a sleep walker and also had been confounded by condoms he found strewn around the house, Buchanan said. ..."Note: Photo is of Ambur, (1000 pictures of Ambur) not from this story.
10/7/04 Odd Happenings. ( allanpetersen.com ) This is really the best way to make money as a street performer in India. For one thing, you can sense through vibrations in the ground if someone tries to take your money.
9/1/04 Odd Happenings. Woman skydives to celebrate 93rd birthday "A woman who has six children, 35 grandchildren, 75 great-grandchildren and 10 great, great-grandchildren jumped from an airplane to celebrate her 93rd birthday. "Because it's a new adventure," said Luree Kohtz."
Many more great strange news items here at ABC strange news headlines!
8/19/04 Odd Happenings. Wild bear drinks 36 cans of favorite beer, passes out
"When state Fish and Wildlife agents recently found a black bear passed out on the lawn of Baker Lake Resort, there were some clues scattered nearby - dozens of empty cans of Rainier Beer. "
... "He didn't like that (Busch) and consumed, as near as we can tell, about 36 cans of Rainier."
A wildlife agent tried to chase the bear from the campground but the animal just climbed a tree to sleep it off for another four hours. Agents finally herded the bear away, but it returned the next morning.
Agents then used a large, humane trap to capture it for relocation, baiting the trap with the usual: doughnuts, honey and, in this case, two open cans of Rainier. That did the trick.
"This is a new one on me," Heinck said. "I've known them to get into cans, but nothing like this. And it definitely had a preference."
8/11/04 Odd Events. World's hairiest man has ear hair removed to save hearing
7/1/04 Odd Happendings. (Netscape CNN) Child to have lifetime fear of Elk. HELSINKI (Reuters) - An elk jumped through a townhouse window and crashed into a toddler's bed, scratching the cheek of a sleeping two-year-old and wreaking havoc in a Finnish family's home at the weekend, police said.
7/1/04 Odd Happenings. (CNN) Firefighters find station on fire "DALLAS, Texas (Reuters) -- Firefighters in a Dallas suburb returned to their station to find a fire started by potatoes they left cooking on a stove, officials said Friday. The fire caused about $125,000 in damages to the station in Lancaster, a southern suburb of Dallas, said Fire Marshal Ladis Barr."
6/13/04 Odd Happenings / Space (sky) COSMIC COUCH POTATO
"A family in New Zealand has experienced a close encounter with outer space. A
grapefruit-sized meteorite smashed through the roof of their Auckland home, hitting their couch before coming to rest under a computer. It narrowly missed hitting homeowner Brenda Archer's one-year-old grandson. ... Experts believe the 2.9lb piece of space junk could be worth more than £3,000. ... Homeowner Brenda Archer said: "It was like a bomb had gone off. There was just dust."
The "7 x 13cm meteorite is a chondrite type, meaning it was chipped off an asteroid, rather than a piece of moon or Mars rock, said Schiff." - stuff
"The space rock is estimated to have been traveling at close to 100 meters per second when it crashed through the Archer family's roof.
It then bounced off their couch and hit the ceiling creating even more damage. Specialists say the rock is probably 4 1/2 billion years old." - tvnz
"The meteorite was probably travelling at about 500 km/h (300 mph) when it hit the house, experts say. ... When the meteorite entered the atmosphere, it is estimated to have been the size of a basketball, travelling at about 50,000 km/h (30,000 mph). ...
The chances a house being hit by a space rock have been measured in the billions-to-one - although two such incidents were reported last September - in New Orleans in the US and in India's Orissa state." - bbc
"It is a rock that travelled as much as 700 million kilometres from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. " - nzherald
This event happened a little over a week after a June 3rd major meteor event that lit up the night sky near and caused sonic booms Seattle Washington.
Here's what I found on the New Orleans meteorite from last September which also crashed through a roof:
"On Tuesday, September 23, 2003 at about 4:00 pm, a large stony meteorite fell in the uptown area of New Orleans, Louisiana. A single stone ripped through the roof of a house belonging to Roy Fausset.
When Mr. Fausset returned home from work, he knew something was very wrong. "The powder room door was open and it looked like an artillery shell had hit the room," he said. Not only was there a basketball-size hole in the roof, but the meteorite had smashed through the ceiling of his daughter's second-floor room demolishing an antique wicker desk and chair before cutting a neat hole in the wall-to-wall carpet and the flooring beneath it.
It slammed through the downstairs bathroom, just missing the toilet and crashed through the bottom floor of the house into the ground beneath his home, where it shattered into many pieces. The weight of the meteorite is estimated to be about 20 kilograms. Incredibly, no one heard or saw the meteorite as it entered the atmosphere. -mac
Has anyone ever been injured by a meteor crashing through the roof? Yes. Read about the woman hit by a falling star. Are these things getting more frequent? Stay tuned.
6/10/04 Odd Happenings Beekeepers remove 700,000 bees from Lake Worth man's home: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
5/10/04 Odd Happenings (SLTrib) Man seeks patent for "Manually Self-Operated Butt-Kicking Machine." Sandy Burmeister reacts to getting her "butt kicked" as Scott Leavitt pulls the handle on the manually operated "Butt Kicking Machine" in Nampa, Idaho.
5/4/04 Odd Happenings. (CNN) Dog feels below par after eating 28 golf balls. "When I take her for a walk every day she is prone to finding golf balls," Wardrop said. "She can fit five in her mouth." Libby is now recovering from the operation to remove the balls, with 30 stitches across her belly. That's not so bad. Some humans eat money.
4/26/04 Strange Happenings. AHMADABAD, India -- Devotees offer flowers to Tapawsiary Bapu, 37, an Indian Hindu holy man who has buried himself neck down in the ground for meditation for 10 days at Pathapur, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ahmadabad. Bapu began his meditation on March 20 and will emerge from the hole on March 29. (03/26/04 AP photo) Um, um, could you, um, scratch my ... never mind.
4/15/04 Human Feats (guinness) Remy Bricka went without food for weeks as he walked on
water across the Atlantic Ocean from Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands to Trinidad between April 2 and May 31st, 1998 using polyester ski-floats attached to his feet.
How far is this? I looked up the locations by city on this site ( Tenerife, SPAIN: 28n27 , 16w14 to Trinidad, CUBA: 21n48 , 79w59) then used this site to calculate the surface distance between these two points. Answer: 3,967 miles.
April 2 to May 31 is about 58 days, or 1,392 hrs so he averaged about 2.85 miles per hour. The world record for not eating solid food was 382 days when Angus Barbieri survived on tea, coffee, soda water and vitamins in Maryfield Hospital, in Dundee in the mid 1960's. Modern medical research says the average person can survive only seven days without food or water.
"He also holds the record for being the fastest walker on water. On August 2, 1989, he set a speed record of 7 minutes 7.41 seconds for 1 km on the Olympic pool in Montreal, Canada."
4/6/04 Odd Happenings CNN.com - Woman performs own caesarean to save baby - Apr 6, 2004 That's gotta hurt.
4/6/04 Odd Happenings CNN.com - Vampire bats kill 13 people in Brazil - Apr 3, 2004
4/6/04 Odd Happenings Doctors remove 176-pound tumor from 88-pound woman: South Florida Sun-Sentinel I couldn't find any pics of the tumor. You know you are in a bad way when you weigh less than your tumor.
3/30/04 Strange Events. (thislondon) A brain surgeon has been suspended from his hospital in a dispute over whether he tried to "steal" an extra helping of soup.
3/29/04 Odd Events. (Yahoo) A bloody sea monster? A biblical sign of impending doom of the ice gods?
No, this is the finished product of Chilean-born Danish artist Marco Evaristti's 'Ice Cube Project' is seen in Ilullissat, Greenland, Thursday, March 24, 2004.
Evaristti used 3,000 liters (780 gallons) of dye, three fire hoses, two icebreakers and a 20-man crew to spray the chunk of ice for his artwork.
This is why I'm going to buy a Toyota.
3/29/04 Odd Events. (CNN) Most unusual show and tell item. Smart kid, actually. Probably got
himself and his sister a better life. The kid knew there was something powerful and emotional about this white stuff from watching his parent's reactions around it. Kids can be pretty smart.
Tot takes $10,000 of cocaine to preschool.
3/29/04 Snake Man Dies: (smh) I'm posting this here so kids won't think it is cool to grow up to be a world famous 'Snake Man'. What do you want to be when you grow up Tommy? Oh, no
you don't. World champion 'Snake Man' killed by cobra. Boonreung Buachan, holder of the world record for spending the most time penned up with snakes, was killed by a cobra that bit him during his daily show. Boonreung, 34, commonly known as "Snake Man", was rushed unconscious to Prai Bung Hospital near his home town, 570 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, Dr Wipa Praituan told Reuters.
3/26/04 Strange Events: This one will blow some of your minds I think. In the city of San Francisco, there is an event called "Darkness Falls" where a lot of people get together in a completely dark room and feel each other while music plays. This couples only adult event does have rules: Read about it here. No, I haven't and I wouldn't! Not me. No way
3/18/2004: Strange Suicide Attempt: (pressherald) Man fails at nailing himself to cross in apparant suicide attempt.
3/16/2004: Cryogenic Lobsters : (Sunsenten ) Frozen lobsters are coming back to life. " Trufresh began freezing lobsters with a technique it used for years on salmon after an offhand suggestion by some workers. It found that some lobsters revived after their subzero sojourns."
3/11/2004: Not Smart: (SunSentinel) Woman tries to use fake million dollar bill to by over $1000 worth of goods at walmart, says it is a misunderstanding. She thought the bill was real.
3/11/2004: Dead Bodies: Us army explodes donated bodies. "I think that is disturbing, and
I think there are some moral problems with deception here," Meyers said. The people who donated their bodies to Universities did not have any idea they might be used by the military. These dead people did not expect to be blown into pieces. What a goulish thing to do. Our war machine is out of control.
Dead bodies have also been used in auto safety crash tests for 30 years. Our auto industry is also out of control. Well, seriously, if you want to donate your own body to be blown up or used in a crash test, that is fine, but people who donate should have some idea that they might be mutilated in various ways and not just dissected by a class of cute medical students.
3/10/2004: Illegal Pets: (WashTimes) Orlando Lopez, a veterinary clinic technician, kept six little monkeys -- two marmosets, two capuchins, two squirrel monkeys and a spider monkey -- in his Manhattan apartment. City law forbids exotic animals as pets and an anonymous tip caused the authorities to confiscate the monkeys which were in good condition.
3/4/2004: Extreme travel: (IHT) "Welcome to Bouvet, my 2003 holiday destination. For harsh and remote though it may be, those same qualities make Bouvet Island the extreme traveler's Holy Grail. And by landing there, I would set the Guinness Record for Most Traveled Man, the culmination of a life-long quest to visit every country and territory on the globe - 384 in total. I had set foot on 349 of these, more than anyone else in history, but Bouvet was a requirement for the Guinness record, and would be the hardest yet. " According to the CIA's World Fact Book, "defense is the responsibility of Norway." I only found this one pic.
2/20/2004: Pica, Eating Non-Foods Compulsion: (CNN ) Sometimes the instructions in our brain get kind of messed up. Thanks to McCreazed for this sending this:
"French doctors were taken aback when they discovered the reason for a patient's sore,
swollen belly: He had swallowed around 350 coins -- $650 worth -- along with assorted necklaces and needles. ... an enormous opaque mass in his stomach that turned out to weigh 12 pounds -- as much as some bowling balls. ... The patient's rare condition is called pica, a compulsion to eat things not normally consumed as food. Its name comes from the Latin word for magpie, a bird thought to eat just about anything.
Pica can take the form of eating dirt, ashes, chalk, hair, soap, toothbrushes, burned matches and many other things. Francois once treated a patient who ate forks. Most such objects are small enough to pass on their own, but some must be removed by doctors." If you have pica, I feel for you, but don't eat my web site. Instead, email Xeno strange true stuff. He loves it. He eats it up.
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