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Stranger Than Fiction: Weird Headlines from Around the Globe
Sometimes, reality really is stranger than fiction.
Forget what you know about what’s logical and normal. Sometimes, headlines can seem like a Salvador Dali artwork—beautifully strange (or strangely beautiful) and downright insane.
Here are just a few of the weirdest, strangest, most unbelievable news that made it to the headlines this year.
The following news items are best described by an exchange between Chandler Bing and Mr. Douglas in the ‘The One With Two Parts’ episode of ‘FRIENDS:’
Mr. Douglas: “That’s unbelievable!”
Chandler: “…and yet believable.”
And knowing how infinitely capable the human race is when it comes to creating weird stuff, I’m pretty sure we can outdo ourselves before the year ends.
Rohit Seth / ShutterStock
THE POTATO SALAD THAT UNITED THE INTERNET
Some people love potato salad. Some may even call it their favorite food ever. And then there are people—specifically 6,911 individuals—who would donate a total of US$55,492 to a man who wants to make potato salad.
Thanks to Kickstarter, “the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects,” and Zack Danger or Columbus, Ohio.
Zack’s Kickstarter post simply reads “I’m making potato salad. Basically I’m just making potato salad. I haven’t decided what kind yet.” And the backers started piling up. Dollar after dollar, thousands after thousands, until Zack realized that he has to up his ante.
His first stretch goal was when he hit US $35: “I will make 4x as much Potato Salad. I know $40 isn’t 4x $10, but you guys have earned it.”
Upon reaching US $250, he promised “Better mayonnaise (from the natural foods section).” Wow.
His last stretch goal as of posting was for US $3,000, which reads, “A BIG STRETCH GOAL: We’re really tearing through these stretch goals. I honestly don’t know what is realistic anymore. So, I thought maybe we try to double the current number?
“$3000: My kitchen is too small! I will rent out a party hall and invite the whole internet to the potato salad party (only $10 and above will be allowed in the kitchen)! The internet loves potato salad! Let’s show them that potato salad loves the internet!!”
What can we say, Zack—you’re right. The Internet reallyloves potato salad.
ShutterStock image
DEVIL WON’T STOP TEXTING PRIEST
You remember that time when you really, really had to text someone with a really important message but your network carrier won’t cooperate?
Well, apparently the devil has better reception on his cellphone than some of us.
Father Marian Rajchel from Jaroslaw, Poland told The Austrian Times that he started getting “hate texts” from the devil after performing an exorcism on a teenage girl. Since then, the devil has been sending him text messages through the girl’s phone.
“The author of these texts is an evil spirit who has possessed her soul,” said Fr. Rajchel to Austrian Times. “Often the owners of mobile phones are not even aware that they are been used like this, however in this case it is clear.”
One of the devil’s messages reads: “She will not come out of this hell. She’s mine. Anyone who prays for her will die.”
After praying for the girl and replying to the devil’s SMS, the priest received the reply, “Shut up, preacher. You cannot save yourself. Idiot. You pathetic old preacher.”
Fr. Rajchel adds, “Clearly this young girl has been possessed, and needs further help.”
According to Fr. Rajchel, the devil and his legion won’t think twice about using modern technology—perhaps to adapt to the world’s quickly changing lifestyle.
People’s Daily China / Twitter
PEACHES IN KNICKERS
An aphrodisiac is any substance that causes or increases sexual desire. Wine, oysters, and chocolates are just some of the most famous aphrodisiacs known to man.
@HLNTV / Twitter
However, there are other inedible things that can work as an aphrodisiac—say, a gorgeous ensemble of the most delicate lingerie.
But what if we put food and lingerie together? And like most things trending and quirky, it came from China.
HLN TV in Atlanta tweeted a photo of a bunch of peaches clad in tiny panties.
Yep, tiny panties.
People’s Daily China also tweeted a photo of the lingerie-donning peaches, saying that a guy in Nanjing “has invested a new product—peaches in panties—and is getting patented.”
This guy from Nanjing is Yao Yan and he is selling these racy creations at a heart-stopping price of “£50 for nine” peaches, according to The Mirror UK. Yan thought of putting panties on peaches (and their notoriously fuzzy ‘butts’) to raise sales as the Chinese Valentines’ Day approaches.
Woman In Black / Facebook
WOMAN IN BLACK WALKS ACROSS AMERICA
For two months, the highways of southeast and Midwest United States bore witness to every woeful and mysterious step of the ‘Woman in Black.’
Social media, as usual, went crazy over this mysterious hooded figure walking the roads. Sightings were posted numerous times and the hashtag ‘#WomanInBlack’ went trending on several occasions.
However, on August 4th, Sky News Australia reported that the ‘woman in black mystery is finally solved.’
According to reports (although the police declined to release her name upon her request for privacy), the woman in black is Elizabeth Poles from Motts, Alabama.
According to her brother Raymond, the 56-year-old widow and mother of two is a U.S. Army veteran. Her husband died in 2008 and her father in 2009, for which she is receiving treatment at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals.
Reports believe that Poles walked a total of 1,400 kilometers—from Ranger, Georgia to Winchester, Virginia.
Upon arriving in Winchester, Virginia—the culmination of her journey—she was taken to an “undisclosed location” by the Winchester police and was granted the privacy she requested.
“She has expressed to officers that she wants to be left alone and is asking that the public respect her wishes,” the authorities said.
Police say she plans on staying in Virginia for good.
Lego octopus (BBC screengrab)
LEGO BEACH
For years, the beaches on Cornwall were home to more than sand and water. Children—and adults, alike—enjoyed a careful stroll along the beach in search of washed up Lego pieces.
On February 13, 1997, the Tokio Express bound for Connecticut, USA encountered a huge wave described as ‘once in a 100-year wave.’
The encounter caused the ship’s demise about 20 miles from Land’s End.
Tokio Express was carrying 62 steel crates—including one filled with Lego® pieces.
An Express UK report says that the ship manifest listed down 4,756,940 Lego® pieces thrown into the depths of the ocean. Around 3,178,807 pieces were “light enough to float.”
So, for years, various Lego® pieces washed to the shore of Cornwall—and even some pieces as far as Australia—as beach goers discovered plastic pirates, plastic flowers, and even plastic dragons.
According to the Express UK report, there are about 418,000 missing Lego diver flippers; 353,264 daisy flowers; 97,500 scuba and breathing apparatus; and about 33,941 black and green dragons.
American oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer has studied the Lego spill for years.
“The mystery is where they’ve ended up,” Ebbesmeyer said to Express UK.
“After 17 years they’ve only been definitely reported off the coast of Cornwall. The most profound lesson I’ve learned from the Lego story is that things that go to the bottom of the sea don’t always stay there.”
