Unusual News
Chicago Police Rioters Organize Reunion
This is one reunion Tom Hayden and the remaining members of the Chicago Seven probably won’t be attending. Next Friday the Fraternal Order of Police is planning a “Chicago Riot Cops Reunion” to bring together and celebrate the men in blue who part... read more
NY State Senator Claims He Can Vote Twice
With things deadlocked 31-31 between Democrats and Republicans in the New York state Senate, newly imposed Senate President Pedro Espada, Jr. (D) announced on Tuesday that he should be given two votes to end the legislative gridlock. Even though E... read more
Should Horn Honking be Protected as Free Speech?
No matter how wrong that motorist was in cutting you off in traffic, or how annoying you think your neighbor is, honking your horn is not a form of free speech, says a federal appeals court in Washington state.
The question of whether the use ... read more
“Brilliant Comrade” to Succeed “Dear Leader” in North Korea
Since it was reported weeks ago that North Korea’s Kim Jong Il was preparing to hand over power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, experts have wondered what title the 26-year-old would take on as part of the cult of personality tradition that has ... read more
The Growing Problem of Space Junk
Humankind has been warned of all kinds of apocalyptic dangers raining down from the skies, from nuclear weapons to earth-colliding asteroids. But there’s a growing kind of threat looming high overhead, one that is threatening to severely disrupt m... read more
RoboGames Opens in San Francisco
L-L-L-L-Let’s get ready to Robo! It’s time again for the RoboGames in San Francisco, the world championships of advanced robotic technology. This weekend marks the sixth annual gathering of the world’s best, and most versatile, robots squaring off... read more
Missouri Family Surprised to Become Czech Grocery Store Ad
When Danielle Smith of O’Fallon, Missouri, started blogging and posting on social networking sites, the last thing she expected was to find her family’s image hawking the services of a grocery store in the Czech Republic. But that’s the situation ... read more
Internet Users Have More Face-to-Face Friends than Non-Users Do
Ever since the beginning of the Web 2.0 phenomenon and the sudden popularity of social networking sites, experts have raised fears that people will give up on real relationships in favor of virtual ones. Having decided to see if there really has b... read more
Fishing and Fetching Turn up Missile and Live Grenade
From the tropical shores of Florida to the Neandertal Valley of Germany, a fisherman and a 40-year-old woman recently stumbled upon American-made munitions separated not only by great distances but also completely different eras of warfare.
Th... read more
Public Housing for Animals
Determined to bring nature back into the urban environment, the city of Leeds in the United Kingdom sponsored a design competition to find new ways of creating habitat for birds and small animals. The winner of the competition devised towers made ... read more
Solving an Historical Mystery: Was Meriwether Lewis Murdered?
Meriwether Lewis, one half of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition that mapped vast stretches of the unexplored American West in the early 1800s, was said to have committed suicide only a few years after completing his journey. But current descend... read more
To Fight Global Warming, Eat Less Corn and More Flaxseed…If You’re a Cow
Cows could become a greater threat to global warming than cars or SUVs, scientists insist, which has prompted farmers in the U.S. and Europe to experiment with the diets of bovines. At issue is the tremendous amount of methane gas that cows expel ... read more
Oregon Inmate Sues to Not Live in a Mission
A convicted drug offender who was forced to live in a religious-oriented facility is suing a county in Oregon, claiming his civil rights were violated. Jason Dwain Davies is arguing in his lawsuit against Lane County that officials violated the Co... read more
Restaurant Owner Tried to Bribe IRS with Pizza
Ramesh G. Khilnani, a native of India who owned a pizza restaurant in Houston, tried to get out of paying nearly $50,000 in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service by bribing an agent with pizza and other enticements. All told, Khilnani, 51, of... read more
“Solar Trees” To Be Planted at Logan Airport
As a part of a $55.7 million project that is being started at Logan Airport in Boston Massachusetts, the airport will be adding a number of “solar trees” to the top deck of their five-story parking garage. The trees will be solar panels that are m... read more
The Mystery of the Tiananmen Tank Man
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the crushing of the Chinese pro-democracy movement by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), culminating in what came to be known as the Tiananmen Massacre. In China the CCP, which controls all media and all tex... read more