{"id":21546,"date":"2014-08-11T20:26:33","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T12:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=21546"},"modified":"2014-08-12T01:33:44","modified_gmt":"2014-08-11T17:33:44","slug":"stranger-than-fiction-weird-headlines-from-around-the-globe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/08\/11\/stranger-than-fiction-weird-headlines-from-around-the-globe\/","title":{"rendered":"Stranger Than Fiction: Weird Headlines from Around the Globe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, reality really is<\/em> stranger than fiction.<\/p>\n

Forget what you know about what’s logical and normal. Sometimes, headlines can seem like a Salvador Dali artwork\u2014beautifully strange (or strangely beautiful) and downright insane.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few of the weirdest, strangest, most unbelievable news that made it to the headlines this year.<\/p>\n

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:’<\/p>\n

Mr. Douglas: “That’s unbelievable!”
\nChandler: “…and yet<\/em> believable.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rohit<\/a>
Rohit Seth \/ ShutterStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THE POTATO SALAD THAT UNITED THE INTERNET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some people love potato salad. Some may even call it their favorite food ever. And then there are people\u2014specifically 6,911 individuals\u2014who would donate a total of US$55,492 to a man who wants to make potato salad.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Kickstarter, \u201cthe world’s largest funding platform for creative projects,\u201d and Zack Danger or Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n

Zack\u2019s Kickstarter post<\/a> simply reads \u201cI’m making potato salad. Basically I’m just making potato salad. I haven’t decided what kind yet.\u201d And the backers started piling up. Dollar after dollar, thousands after thousands, until Zack realized that he has to up his ante.<\/p>\n

His first stretch goal was when he hit US $35: \u201cI will make 4x as much Potato Salad. I know $40 isn’t 4x $10, but you guys have earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon reaching US $250, he promised \u201cBetter mayonnaise (from the natural foods section).\u201d Wow.<\/p>\n

His last stretch goal as of posting was for US $3,000, which reads, \u201cA 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?<\/p>\n

\u201c$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!!\u201d<\/p>\n

What can we say, Zack\u2014you\u2019re right. The Internet reallyloves potato salad.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ShutterStock<\/a>
ShutterStock image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DEVIL WON\u2019T STOP TEXTING PRIEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

You remember that time when you really, really had to text someone with a really important message but your network carrier won\u2019t cooperate?<\/p>\n

Well, apparently the devil has better reception on his cellphone than some of us.<\/p>\n

Father Marian Rajchel from Jaroslaw, Poland told The Austrian Times<\/a> that he started getting \u201chate texts\u201d from the devil after performing an exorcism on a teenage girl. Since then, the devil has been sending him text messages through the girl\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n

“The author of these texts is an evil spirit who has possessed her soul,\u201d 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.”<\/p>\n

One of the devil\u2019s messages reads: “She will not come out of this hell. She\u2019s mine. Anyone who prays for her will die.”<\/p>\n

After praying for the girl and replying to the devil\u2019s SMS, the priest received the reply, “Shut up, preacher. You cannot save yourself. Idiot. You pathetic old preacher.”<\/p>\n

Fr. Rajchel adds, “Clearly this young girl has been possessed, and needs further help.”<\/p>\n

According to Fr. Rajchel, the devil and his legion won\u2019t think twice about using modern technology\u2014perhaps to adapt to the world\u2019s quickly changing lifestyle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"People\u2019s<\/a>
People\u2019s Daily China \/ Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PEACHES IN KNICKERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"@HLNTV<\/a>
@HLNTV \/ Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, there are other inedible things that can work as an aphrodisiac\u2014say, a gorgeous ensemble of the most delicate lingerie.<\/p>\n

But what if we put food and lingerie together? And like most things trending and quirky, it came from China.<\/p>\n

HLN TV in Atlanta tweeted a photo<\/a> of a bunch of peaches clad in tiny panties.<\/p>\n

Yep, tiny panties.<\/p>\n

People\u2019s Daily China also tweeted a photo<\/a> of the lingerie-donning peaches, saying that a guy in Nanjing \u201chas invested a new product\u2014peaches in panties\u2014and is getting patented.\u201d<\/p>\n

This guy from Nanjing is Yao Yan and he is selling these racy creations at a heart-stopping price of \u201c\u00a350 for nine\u201d peaches, according to The Mirror UK<\/a>. Yan thought of putting panties on peaches (and their notoriously fuzzy \u2018butts\u2019) to raise sales as the Chinese Valentines\u2019 Day approaches.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/a>
Woman In Black \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WOMAN IN BLACK WALKS ACROSS AMERICA<\/strong><\/p>\n

For two months, the highways of southeast and Midwest United States bore witness to every woeful and mysterious step of the \u2018Woman in Black.\u2019<\/p>\n

Social media, as usual, went crazy over this mysterious hooded figure walking the roads. Sightings were posted numerous times and the hashtag \u2018#WomanInBlack\u2019 went trending on several occasions.<\/p>\n

However, on August 4th<\/sup>, Sky News Australia reported that the \u2018woman in black mystery is finally solved.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Reports believe that Poles walked a total of 1,400 kilometers\u2014from Ranger, Georgia to Winchester, Virginia.<\/p>\n

Upon arriving in Winchester, Virginia\u2014the culmination of her journey\u2014she was taken to an \u201cundisclosed location\u201d by the Winchester police and was granted the privacy she requested.<\/p>\n

“She has expressed to officers that she wants to be left alone and is asking that the public respect her wishes,” the authorities said.<\/p>\n

Police say she plans on staying in Virginia for good.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Lego<\/a>
Lego octopus (BBC screengrab)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LEGO BEACH<\/strong><\/p>\n

For years, the beaches on Cornwall were home to more than sand and water. Children\u2014and adults, alike\u2014enjoyed a careful stroll along the beach in search of washed up Lego pieces.<\/p>\n

On February 13, 1997, the Tokio Express bound for Connecticut, USA encountered a huge wave described as \u2018once in a 100-year wave.\u2019<\/p>\n

The encounter caused the ship\u2019s demise about 20 miles from Land\u2019s End.<\/p>\n

Tokio Express was carrying 62 steel crates\u2014including one filled with Lego\u00ae pieces.<\/p>\n

An Express UK report<\/a> says that the ship manifest listed down 4,756,940 Lego\u00ae pieces thrown into the depths of the ocean. Around 3,178,807 pieces were \u201clight enough to float.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, for years, various Lego\u00ae pieces washed to the shore of Cornwall\u2014and even some pieces as far as Australia\u2014as beach goers discovered plastic pirates, plastic flowers, and even plastic dragons.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

American oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer has studied the Lego spill for years.<\/p>\n

“The mystery is where they’ve ended up,\u201d Ebbesmeyer said to Express UK.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, reality really is stranger than fiction. Forget what you know about what’s logical and normal. Sometimes, headlines can seem …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":21548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1482,3,7265],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking","category-lifestyle","category-news-weird","mauthors-ching-dee","mauthors-philippine-canadian-inquirer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}