Read on for the top five most bizarre but true stories recently reported around Australia.

Water Buffalo Takes the Plunge!
Earlier this month, a Howard Springs man finished mowing his lawn and noticed a water buffalo casually strolling up the driveway. Karl Stowers was stunned as he watched it jump in his pool and swim. Mr. Stowers yelled at it to no avail and then lured the beast out of the pool with food. It proceeded to run across his freshly mowed lawn and roll around in a mud puddle. The buffalo may be the same one spotted strolling around in the yards of other Howard Springs’ residents.

Love Soars to New Heights!
A few days after Christmas, a North Cairns police officer heard voices from above and spotted two people climbing down a crane access ladder over a construction site. Elisha Walker and Nigel Meighan were each recently released on a good behaviour bond after they plead guilty to the stunt. Mr. Meighan told the magistrate it was just a silly thing he and Walker thought up when they saw the crane, and they had not considered the consequences since they were drunk at the time.

Praying Mantis Becomes a Video Star!
A Brisbane couple, Maria and Rod Thompson, has captured amazing video of a praying mantis chasing a computer mouse cursor around the screen. Mrs. Thompson said the mantis was seen in the home before, and one night it poked its head over the computer as her husband was checking email. When the mouse was bumped, the praying mantis surprised them by leaping at the cursor. This began a twenty-minute game, and the couple filmed the unusual spectacle that can now be seen on YouTube.

Truck Driver Gets Stuck on the Phone!
43-year-old Darwin truck driver, Gye Gardner, broke his mobile phone's headset and repaired it with superglue. His boss called before it dried, and it stuck to his ear. He said he usually kept the headset in his ear most of the day, and friends even jokingly suggested that he leave it stuck and plug his ear into the power point at night to charge the headset. Gardner scraped the earpiece from his ear but several pieces of skin were left stuck to the headset. He said removing it was painful, but it did not hurt as much as his pride!

Man is all Thumbs!
Semi-retired gun salesperson and firearms inspector, Geoff McLaren, now has his thumb replaced by his left big toe after his thumb was blown off in a recent workplace accident. Surgeons at Sydney Hospital performed the delicate microsurgery. McClaren says he loves to wear sandals, so a missing toe may cramp his style just a bit!

There are always strange stories to be told and you can find these bits of wonderfully strange news on BigPond News!

I was out with my girlfriend on the opening night of the new movie Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson. The film had been highly anticipated, and I was completely psyched; my girlfriend, not so much. We had a small argument on which movie we would go see, which dictated the start of a normal night, but that's about as normal as it had gotten.

Now I'm from a city where rich kids run rampant and everyone is pretty square. It's rare that people from my town really let loose and make fools of themselves for lack of better terms. The theater was right on main street which was packed, so we had to park quite a ways away from the theater and walk. During our walk we saw a group of about 10 twenty-something males lumbering around in full face paint and caked with fake blood.

This was unlike anything I'd ever seen in my boring uptight town. They clearly weren't from around here. I found their antics quite hilarious. They were obviously drunk and having the time of their lives; lumbering around, moaning, and reaching for totally unsuspecting pedestrians-literally freaking people out. It didn't even dawn on me that they were going to see a movie, I just figured they were taking Halloween a little too seriously.

After I finished laughing my ass off at the silly zombies, my girlfriend and I arrived at the theater. While standing in like I was pleasantly surprised that the horde of drunken zombies had made their way into the theater as well. I began conversing with one of them and learned that they in fact weren't from the area. Amongst a sea of displeased looks and rolling eyes, I conversed with the zombie swarm who had spent weeks preparing this excursion designed to scare the uptight people of my town.

Even during the movie, they did their best to gain angry looks for the audience. Although not overly rude, scattered moans came from the back row from their undead mouths. They eventually got movie theater security called on them, and all I remember is some banter and one of them yelling "We might not have pulses, but at least our sense of humor isn't dead". Then they were gone.

Well worth the price of admission.

Sept . 4, 2009

HONOLULU - The proposal to bar smelly people from Honolulu buses turned out to be a stinker.

The Honolulu City Council had considered making it illegal to have "odors that unreasonably disturb others or interfere with their use of the transit system." Anyone convicted of being too smelly could have been fined up to $500 and/or given a six-month jail term.

But officials and others wrinkled their noses at the plan during a hearing Thursday.

Lawyers from the city and the American Civil Liberties Union said it was vague and could lead to unconstitutionally subjective judgments. Members of the public pointed out that bad odors could be produced by disease, or be carried from a person's workplace.

The council's transportation committee then shelved it.

But the idea still seems to be wafting around. Councilmen Rod Tam and Nestor Garcia say they may make revisions to their bill and reintroduce it later.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32687264/ns/us_news-weird_news/

Sept . 4, 2009

HONOLULU - The proposal to bar smelly people from Honolulu buses turned out to be a stinker.

The Honolulu City Council had considered making it illegal to have "odors that unreasonably disturb others or interfere with their use of the transit system." Anyone convicted of being too smelly could have been fined up to $500 and/or given a six-month jail term.

But officials and others wrinkled their noses at the plan during a hearing Thursday.

Lawyers from the city and the American Civil Liberties Union said it was vague and could lead to unconstitutionally subjective judgments. Members of the public pointed out that bad odors could be produced by disease, or be carried from a person's workplace.

The council's transportation committee then shelved it.

But the idea still seems to be wafting around. Councilmen Rod Tam and Nestor Garcia say they may make revisions to their bill and reintroduce it later.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32687264/ns/us_news-weird_news/

Dave Wax Taren Reed
Created: 8/13/2009 4:26:54 PM

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- He was getting pretty hard into the alcohol, so his family took measures to stop him from drinking.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, it happened last night around midnight at the Confederate Point home of Robert Edward Cook.

The call to 911 was reference on the police report as a "drunken dispute."

The officer got to the house to find out what was going on.

The report indicates that, "due to the drunken state of the defendant," his family hid his liquor.

After double checking to make sure that it was a 911 call that got him there, the officer arrested Cook, 58, for making a false 911 call.

Tuesday, 18 Aug 2009, 7:19 AM MDT

Joe LaFurgey
Jessica Leffler

SIDNEY, Mich. (WOOD) - A Montcalm grandmother and her boyfriend are among five adults charged in connection with a meth bust last Wednesday. A grandson present at the time of the drug raid was found with drugs in his diaper later.

Members of the Central Michigan Enforcement Team raided the Sidney home, finding meth and equipment to make it in the house and in a van parked in the driveway.

Lorri Compo's grandson, Steven Rish Jr., who is almost age 1, was removed from the home and placed in custody of Child Protective Services at the time of the raid. Compo and boyfriend Roman Sobie are being held in the Montcalm County jail on drug charges.

Katrina Compo is Lorri's daughter and the grandson's mother. She contacted 24 Hour News 8 on Monday evening, wanting to set the record straight.

She lives with her mother and Sobie in the Sidney home. On Wednesday, she had left her son Steven with his grandmother. Katrina Compo said she had no idea drugs were being made or used in the home.

She arrived back home shortly before the enforcement team raided the residence. And she couldn't prevent Steven from being handed over to Child Protective Services.

The child was tested for drugs, Katrina Compo said. Then, he was picked up by his paternal grandmother.

That grandmother was changing Steven and discovered a plastic bag of meth in his diaper. Family members believe one of the five adults busted for drugs Wednesday might have placed the meth inside the baby's rectum to hide the evidence.

Katrina Compo said she believes the meth could have been put there when she answered the door, right before the raid. It could have been Sobie, she added. But exactly where the drugs were placed is unknown. The meth could have been put inside the diaper or inside the child.

She said she can't believe the people she trusted the most would endanger Steven.

"If it weren't for my brother, I'd have nowhere to go, no one to trust," Katrina Compo said. "It's so hard. The fact that my parents would do something like that, that's so selfish - that could have killed my son. Something that could have put us out on the street with nowhere to go, that's just wrong."

Katrina Compo said she has taken and passed a drug test, and is working to regain custody of Steven. She is planning to see him Wednesday, which is his first birthday.

Neighbor Zach Rydahl watched the bust from his home across the street.

"It was a little disturbing, I guess, seeing it like, right that close," he said. "If something did go down, we're like, in range of everything."

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/us/midwest/nat_wood_michigan_cops_meth_found_in_babys_diaper_20090818918_2777228

By James King
Thursday, Aug. 13 2009

At what point do you come to the realization that your car is a "clunker," and it might be a good idea to take advantage of the federal government's generous "Cash for Clunkers" program? How about after you run over a bicyclist, and need to get rid of the evidence?

Well, that's exactly what a Phoenix man might have done last Saturday night.

Police say that shortly after midnight on Saturday, 23-year-old Timothy M. Kissida was driving near the corner of Cave Creek Road and Mountain Gate Pass Road when he hit a man on a bicycle, killing him, and driving off.

According to authorities, the man, 52-year-old Charles Waldrop, was riding home from work when he was struck by Kissida's car.

In a matter of seconds, Kissida's '92 BMW became a "clunker."



Police say that the only evidence left by whoever had hit Waldrop was a fog light from a '92 silver BMW, and concluded that there would be extensive damage to the passenger side of the car.

Guess what came rolling into a Valley dealership later that morning: A '92 silver BMW with extensive damage to the passenger side.

When asked about the damage, Kissida told the car dealer that he hit a javelina. However, the dealer connected the dots, and called police, who determined that if the javelina Kissida mentioned was actually a person named Charles Waldrop, he might have been telling the truth.

Kissida was then booked into the Maricopa County Jail, and charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and tampering with evidence.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/08/cash_for_evidence_police_say_a.php

By Naples Daily News staff report
Posted August 18, 2009

FORT MYERS — A problem with a food order led to the arrest of a woman who is accused of slapping a customer where her mother works.

The mother also hit the man while defending her daughter, according to an arrest report.

Yunet Linares, 21, 3511 South Road, Fort Myers, was charged Monday with misdemeanor battery for slapping William Russell, a Lee County Sheriff's Office arrest report shows.

According to the report:

Russell told deputies he had a problem with his food order at McDonald's, 17800 Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, and was complaining to employees about it. That's when Linares got involved and an argument ensued. Linares slapped Russell in the face.

Russell told deputies he grabbed Linares and pushed her against the wall in self-defense, according to the report.

Linares’ mother, Maria Figueredo, then attacked Russell from behind, hitting him in the head.

Deputies wrote Figueredo wasn’t charged because she didn’t see the initial slap and was coming to the aid of her daughter.

Russell had red marks on his face where Linares slapped him, the report said.

The 5-foot 9-inch, 280-pound woman remained jailed Tuesday afternoon.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/aug/18/big-mac-attack-woman-accused-slapping-customer-mcd/

As unlikely as this must sound, playing cards have
been used at least once as an instrument of death.

On 20 October 1930, William Kogut, an inmate on San Quentin's death row, fashioned ordinary decks of pasteboards into a pipe bomb, which he used to take his own life. Kogut was awaiting execution for the throat-slash murder of Mayme Guthrie, who ran a rooming house (which may have doubled as a gaming house and brothel) in Oroville, California.
Kogut removed a hollow steel leg from his cot, tore several packs of playing cards into tiny pieces, and stuffed these bits into the pipe. (At the time, red playing cards were reportedly made using a rather volatile ink.)

He plugged one end tightly with a broom handle, and poured water into the other end to soak the torn cards. He then placed this device on top of the kerosene heater next to his bed, laid down, and put his head up against the open end of the pipe.

The heater turned the water into steam, and when the pressure built up to a high enough level, the resulting explosion shot the bits of playing cards out of the pipe with enough force to penetrate Kogut's skull.

Kogut felt he should punish himself for having taken Guthrie's life rather than let the State carry out its mandate. His suicide note, addressed to the warden, read: "Do not blame my death on any one because I fixed everything myself. I never give up as long as I am living and have a chance, but this is the end."

http://www.quizilla.com/quizzes/result/3387587/294676/

Aug 16, 2009
By Drew Harwell

ST. PETE BEACH — The grocery cart was hers, she said.

"I have a knife," Joy Smith, 58, told another shopper. "Give me back my cart."

Smith had been shopping Saturday at the St. Pete Beach Sweetbay Supermarket, an arrest report states. She had a Mighty Dog coupon and a few bucks to buy animal shelter supplies.

"I was just buying kitty-cat food," she said Sunday.

Then she met Peter Hagan. He began to harass her in the produce aisles, she said. She was scared.

Then he took her cart. She asked for it back, police wrote. Hagan held firm.

"Go get your own," he said.

Smith would not. She pulled out a pocket knife, held it at her hip. It was a bent and dinky little thing, she said. It couldn't cut butter.

"It wouldn't even open. I had a hand over the blade," she said. "I was going to get the handle and smack him on the nose, like you do an alligator."

Police came at 8:25 p.m. to 7560 Bay Island Drive and arrested her with a charge of aggravated assault. She was taken to jail, had her mug shot taken. Then she was released.

Sweetbay banned her from the grocery store, she said. She needed a police escort to retrieve her van. But it wasn't all bad.

"At least I got my coupon back," she said. "I thought I lost my coupon."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/woman-charged-in-dispute-over-shopping-cart/1028090

August 17, 2009

A 39-year-old construction worker has been arrested for throwing his own faeces at women passers-by from a motorcycle in two separate attacks in western Japan, police said today.

The man turned himself in yesterday after making the second drive-by attack in Settsu, a satellite city near Osaka, and was detained on suspicion of assault, a municipal police spokesman said.

The worker, identified as Tatsuya Moriguchi, committed a similar assault in the same city on August 3, the police official said.

"The suspect has told investigators he did it because he felt frustrated when his work didn't go well,'' the official said.

"I have no idea what kind of penalty he may face. I have not heard about such a case before.''

In the first incident, Moriguchi relieved himself outdoors just before getting on his moped and throwing the faeces at the head of a woman in her 20s, the official said.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25943308-23109,00.html

Customs officers arrested a smuggler with six and a half kilos of cocaine hidden in his shorts after becoming suspicious of his big bum.

Officials at El Prat de Llobregat airport, Barcelona, forced him to strip and found specially made pants with dozens of tiny pockets sewn in to hold the drugs.

The green neoprene pants contained more than 160 pockets for canisters of cocaine.

Drugs investigators were determined to get to the bottom of it when they noticed the smugglers huge backside as he waddled through the airport.

"He wasn't a big man but he has a very bulky rear end and was walking very strangely," said a spokesman.

"Then we saw that whenever he sat down it was like he was sitting on eggshells.

"His backside and his legs looked like they belonged to a weightlifter. We've seen all sorts of stunts but the big pants were a first for us."

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3445213.html?menu=news.quirkies

Published: 20 Aug 09 18:22 CET

A sweatpants-wearing 26-year-old has been charged with theft after knocking a more formally dressed citizen to the ground and removing his jeans.

The trouser abductor struck after a bouncer at a pub in Helsingborg in southern Sweden refused him entry on grounds of being improperly clad.

But the hapless victim was not to be left bare-legged for long, as the bandit made up somewhat for the jeans injustice by removing his sweatpants and throwing them down at the other man's side.

Neither of the men got a chance to try on the other's clothes however; the sight of two half naked men quickly aroused the suspicions of a passing police unit, who wondered what was afoot.

"We've just swapped trousers," the 26-year-old assured the officers.

But both the owner of the jeans and the bouncer told a different story, and the denimjacker was soon back in his sweatpants and placed under arrest.

The 26-year-old has been indicted for theft at Helsingborg District Court.

TT/Paul O'Mahony

http://www.thelocal.se/21592/20090820/

Aug 19, 9:37 PM (ET)

CINCINNATI (AP) - Authorities said Bennie Crabtree is the most-arrested man in the county. Records show he has been arrested 146 times since 1998, when Hamilton County's record-keeping system was updated. Veteran police officers said he was arrested many more times in the decades before that.

Crabtree's record includes criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and theft. Police say he steals food and intrudes in places such as the University of Cincinnati, hospitals and businesses. He's never done anything serious enough to be sent to prison.

Because of jail overcrowding, he's now often released hours after arrest.

Police say the 61-year-old man has lived mostly on the streets and has some mental problems.

A social worker says Crabtree is lonely.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090820/D9A6AHIO1.html

A Chinese man was arrested for stealing a motorcycle - part by part over five years from the factory where he worked.

Zhang, an assembly line worker in a motorcycle factory in Chongqing, had always wanted his own motorbike but could never afford one.

He started stealing parts from the factory warehouse and assembling them at home in 2003, reports the Chongqing Times.

"I don't have that much money, so I came up with the idea of taking the parts home and assembling them on my own," said Zhang.

After five years, he had finally built himself a brand new SUV motorcycle and proudly started driving it on the road.

But, almost immediately, he was pulled up by police who discovered that he had no driving licence or paperwork for the bike.

Zhang admitted theft and was fined the equivalent of £440, put on probation for a year, and ordered to return the motorcycle to the factory.

http://www.ananova.com/News/story/sm_3448468.html

Sat Aug 22, 6:42 pm ET

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – A robbery suspect wearing only a Speedo-style swimsuit was arrested in East Hartford after a police dog tracked him down and bit him on the leg. The Journal Inquirer of Manchester reported that the suspect was being held after his arrest Thursday on $50,000 bail. He was scheduled for arraignment Friday, but the result of that hearing was not immediately available.

Police said the suspect tried to steal several vehicles, and also took items from them. They said they spotted the man wearing the bathing suit and holding a tool box that had been burglarized from a truck.

Police said the man ran, but officers using a police dog found him hiding behind a car.

The 18-year-old suspect allegedly told police he'd been drinking heavily and smoking marijuana.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090822/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_speedo_burglar

Aug 7, 2:07 PM (ET)

JENSEN BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Florida investigators say a man accused of downloading child pornography is blaming his cat. Keith Griffin of Jensen Beach is charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography after detectives found more than 1,000 images on his home computer.

According to a sheriff's report Friday, Griffin told investigators that his cat jumped on the computer keyboard while he was downloading music. He said he had left the room and found "strange things" on his computer when he returned.

Griffin is being held on $250,000 bond in the Martin County jail. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090807/D99U6QMO0.html

Posted By: Gary Detman
Updated: 8/7/2009 12:32:00 AM

HOUSTON -- A nearly 600-pound man was able to hide a pistol and ammunition from police and jailers for more than a day while he was in custody by stashing the gun between his rolls of fat.

"Obviously the system broke down," former Harris County Detention Major Mark Kellar said. "The procedures didn't work as they were designed to work."

Houston police said George Vera, 25, was arrested August 2 and taken to the city jail.

He spent a day there before being transferred to the Harris County Jail.

After being there for 14 hours, going through intake procedures, he was taken to the showers, the final step before going to his cell.

There, Vera told police he had a 9 mm handgun on him, along with 2 clips.

"If a person has a weapon, narcotics, anything of danger, it should have been found before he winds up in the county jail," said Kellar.

Kellar said Vera should have been searched at least three times before getting to the jail.

Vera weighs nearly 600 pounds and the gun was reportedly hidden between fat layers.

Houston Police Officers Union President Gary Blankinship said cadets are trained how to search morbidly obese people.

"We teach officers to lift up and look under," Blankinship said. "The officer may not have arrested anyone this big before."

Blankenship said that system clearly does not always work.

"They can be so big, basically short of strip searching or searching cavities, they could miss something like this," said Blankinship.

The Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriff's Office are doing internal investigations to figure out how this could have happened.

Blankinship said they should also change the way officers are trained to search morbidly obese inmates, maybe adding hand-held metal detectors.

Vera has been released from jail on bond.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/strange/news-article.aspx?storyid=142989&catid=82

By MICHAEL DEAK • STAFF WRITER • August 6, 2009

BRIDGEWATER — An argument between two brothers about a sandwich for their mother led Wednesday to charges of one brother pointing a shotgun at the other.
Advertisement

Anthony Pilla, 49, of East Main Street, was remanded to the Somerset County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail set by state Superior Court Judge Allison Accurso after he was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

The incident started when Pilla and his brother were in the kitchen of the East Main Street home and argued about a sandwich for their mother, who lives in the house with Anthony, according to an affidavit filed in Superior Court.

The argument escalated to the point where the brother threw his cap and glasses at Anthony, the affidavit said.

Anthony then went into the basement and returned with a loaded shotgun, a Remington 1100 LW .41 caliber, the affidavit said.

The brothers wrestled, Anthony dropped the shotgun and their mother picked it up and took it out of the house, according to the affidavit.

The mother told police that Anthony pointed the shotgun at his brother. Police found the shotgun loaded with one live round and the safety off, the affidavit said.

In a statement to police after being given his Miranda warning about self-incrimination, Anthony said he "just wanted to scare" his brother and though he knew the gun was loaded, he thought the safety was on, the affidavit said.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908060338

Aug 9, 4:01 PM (ET)

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - Police said a 75-year-old woman drove the wrong way on New York's Tappan Zee Bridge. State police in Tarrytown said the woman entered the highway from the Exit 9 off-ramp Sunday morning and drove north in the southbound lanes of the bridge. She drove about two miles before she was stopped.

She told police she knew she had been driving the wrong way but kept going because she thought there would be a place to make a U-turn.

She was given tickets for improperly entering a highway, driving in the wrong direction and reckless driving.

Eight people died on July 26 when Diane Schuler drove a van carrying her three nieces and her own two children the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway. She crashed head-on into an SUV.

Information from: The Journal News, http://www.thejournalnews.com

Monday, August 10, 2009
A man has been jailed for yawning 'boisterously' in court.

Judge Daniel Rozak was left seriously unimpressed when Clifton Williams stretched and let out the badly timed yawn just as his cousin's sentence was being handed out for drugs offences.

Williams faces six months in jail for criminal contempt.

Williams's father told St Louis Today: "I was flabbergasted because I didn't realise a judge could do that. It seems to me like a yawn is an involuntary action."

And Williams got further backing from the cousin in question Jason Mayfield, who insisted it was 'not an outrageous yawn'.

But Chuck Pelkie from the state's attorney office told the paper: "It was not a simple yawn - it was a loud and boisterous attempt to disrupt the proceedings."

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Man_jailed_for_yawning&in_article_id=717073&in_page_id=2

Updated: 07/31/2009 04:46:18 AM MDT

Assault charges have been filed against a 48-year-old Dairy Queen patron who allegedly chucked a too-thick shake at the 16-year-old employee who had made it for him.

The patron came through the drive-through at the Sandy Dairy Queen on 9300 South and 1300 East. He decided his shake was too thick, so he came into the store to ask for a thinner one.

The same employee who made the original shake made a second one, but the patron apparently was dissatisfied with that one, too.

"At that point, he just launches it at him and it hits him in the chest and neck," said Sandy police Sgt. Justin Chapman.

The man then left Dairy Queen in his car. Several patrons and the employee took down his license plate number. Police quickly tracked him down.

"He admitted he had overreacted, and it was a dumb thing on his part, but the kid who got hit with the shake wanted to press charges, so we wrote up a citation," Chapman said.

He was cited with simple assault, a class B misdemeanor.

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_12946076

ATLANTA , April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aaron's, Inc. of Atlanta, GA (NYSE: AAN) announces their line-up of special guests that are scheduled to attend the Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Aaron's 499 race on April 26 and the Nationwide Series (NNS) Aaron's 312 race on April 25.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban will serve at the Grand Marshal for the Aaron's 499 and will give the command to start engines. After a weekend of competition at the track between the "Best of the Best" product technicians from Aaron's stores around the country, Aaron's will crown a "PT Rodeo" winner who will have the privilege to wave the green flag and start the Aaron's 499.

Other VIP guests attending Sunday's festivities will include Dana White, founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and ex-UFC champion Chuck Liddell who is fresh off his performance at UFC 97 on April 19.

Also attending is star running back for the Atlanta Falcons Jerious Norwood. A professed fan of NASCAR,Norwood will attend both races and have his first behind-the-scenes look at the nations number two sport, second in popularity only to his sport, the National Football League (NFL).

On the driver introduction stage prior to the Aaron's 499 race, Aaron's will receive a special commendation from the U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute recognizing Aaron's nationwide involvement and support of our nations armed forces.

Radio personality Bubba The Love Sponge will be the Grand Marshal for Saturday's Aaron's 312 with his son Tyler at his side. Bubba and his daily radio show has a large following throughout terrestrial and satellite radio known as the "Bubba Army" and has strong ties to NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart and David Reutimann.

Winner of Aaron's "Color Your Way To Talladega" coloring contest Rachel Brown from Rustin, La. won an all expenses paid weekend trip toTalladega for her and her family. The nationwide coloring contest is open to children up to age 12 who submit their paint scheme of the Aaron's Dream Machine racecar. Rachel will be able to see her creation come to life as the Michael Waltrip Racing NNS No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine will sport her design.

Winner of the Weekend Of Your Dreams sweepstakes, Jack Standbury ofRoanoke Rapids, N.C. will have the honor of waving the green flag Saturday to start the Aaron's 312. Jack and his wife Diane also enjoy an all expenses paid trip to the speedway.

Also attending are soldiers and representatives from the Wounded Warrior Project and the Armed Forces Foundation who, as special guests of Aaron's, will be treated to special trackside hospitality.

In addition to hosting the VIP line-up, Aaron's will entertain 3,000-plus associates and guests over the weekend who received grandstand tickets. Attending guests and fans will enjoy the Aaron's corporate display setup outside of the track where entertainers, dance teams and driver appearances. Aaron's will show off their Dream Product lines of furniture, electronics, appliances and computers and educate fans about their convenient and flexible payment options.

Scheduled to appear at the Aaron's corporate display are NASCAR drivers Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann, Ken Butler III and Bill and Chase Elliott. Also appearing will be the host of Aaron's Outdoors television program Jarrod Brannon and his family, Professional WBT Angler, Janet Parker, the clogging dance sensation Southern Belles and the Aaron's Dream Team dance ensemble. Special appearances are scheduled with radio personality Bubba The Love Sponge, country singer Johnny Lee and Atlanta Falcon running back Jerious Norwood.

Keep an eye out for Aaron's Lucky Dog as he and the Aaron's Dream Girls welcome fans to the Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega.

About Aaron's, Inc.

Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN and AAN.A), the nation's leader in the sales and lease ownership, specialty retailing and rental of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics and home appliances and accessories has more than 1,575 Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states andCanada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. and headquartered inAtlanta, Aaron's has been publicly traded since 1982.

Aaron's Announces VIP Guests Attending Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega

ATLANTA , April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aaron's, Inc. of Atlanta, GA (NYSE: AAN) announces their line-up of special guests that are scheduled to attend the Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Aaron's 499 race on April 26 and the Nationwide Series (NNS) Aaron's 312 race on April 25.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090423/CL03821LOGO )

Alabama football coach Nick Saban will serve at the Grand Marshal for the Aaron's 499 and will give the command to start engines. After a weekend of competition at the track between the "Best of the Best" product technicians from Aaron's stores around the country, Aaron's will crown a "PT Rodeo" winner who will have the privilege to wave the green flag and start the Aaron's 499.

Other VIP guests attending Sunday's festivities will include Dana White, founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and ex-UFC champion Chuck Liddell who is fresh off his performance at UFC 97 on April 19.

Also attending is star running back for the Atlanta Falcons Jerious Norwood. A professed fan of NASCAR,Norwood will attend both races and have his first behind-the-scenes look at the nations number two sport, second in popularity only to his sport, the National Football League (NFL).

On the driver introduction stage prior to the Aaron's 499 race, Aaron's will receive a special commendation from the U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute recognizing Aaron's nationwide involvement and support of our nations armed forces.

Radio personality Bubba The Love Sponge will be the Grand Marshal for Saturday's Aaron's 312 with his son Tyler at his side. Bubba and his daily radio show has a large following throughout terrestrial and satellite radio known as the "Bubba Army" and has strong ties to NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart and David Reutimann.

Winner of Aaron's "Color Your Way To Talladega" coloring contest Rachel Brown from Rustin, La. won an all expenses paid weekend trip toTalladega for her and her family. The nationwide coloring contest is open to children up to age 12 who submit their paint scheme of the Aaron's Dream Machine racecar. Rachel will be able to see her creation come to life as the Michael Waltrip Racing NNS No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine will sport her design.

Winner of the Weekend Of Your Dreams sweepstakes, Jack Standbury ofRoanoke Rapids, N.C. will have the honor of waving the green flag Saturday to start the Aaron's 312. Jack and his wife Diane also enjoy an all expenses paid trip to the speedway.

Also attending are soldiers and representatives from the Wounded Warrior Project and the Armed Forces Foundation who, as special guests of Aaron's, will be treated to special trackside hospitality.

In addition to hosting the VIP line-up, Aaron's will entertain 3,000-plus associates and guests over the weekend who received grandstand tickets. Attending guests and fans will enjoy the Aaron's corporate display setup outside of the track where entertainers, dance teams and driver appearances. Aaron's will show off their Dream Product lines of furniture, electronics, appliances and computers and educate fans about their convenient and flexible payment options.

Scheduled to appear at the Aaron's corporate display are NASCAR drivers Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann, Ken Butler III and Bill and Chase Elliott. Also appearing will be the host of Aaron's Outdoors television program Jarrod Brannon and his family, Professional WBT Angler, Janet Parker, the clogging dance sensation Southern Belles and the Aaron's Dream Team dance ensemble. Special appearances are scheduled with radio personality Bubba The Love Sponge, country singer Johnny Lee and Atlanta Falcon running back Jerious Norwood.

Keep an eye out for Aaron's Lucky Dog as he and the Aaron's Dream Girls welcome fans to the Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega.

About Aaron's, Inc.

Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN and AAN.A), the nation's leader in the sales and lease ownership, specialty retailing and rental of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics and home appliances and accessories has more than 1,575 Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states andCanada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. and headquartered inAtlanta, Aaron's has been publicly traded since 1982.

July 8, 2009

Fargo (AP) — An eastern North Dakota Lutheran bishop says a pastor whose affair with an exotic dancer led to extortion charges against her has resigned from his church and his future as a minister will be decided in the fall.

Bishop Bill Rindy said the dancer, Bunny Byington, told him she was involved with a married pastor and he spoke with her several times before she gave him the pastor's name.

The 46-year-old Byington is accused of extorting $7,000 from the Rev. Mark Ostgarden in exchange for keeping quiet about their affair. She is free on $500 cash bail and said her attorney advised her not to comment.

Rindy said he set up a meeting in June with Ostgarden, an associate pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Valley City, who resigned that day.

Ostgarden's wife said he was out of the area and was told not to comment.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/07/08/pastor_extortion/

The Daily Telegraph - July 1, 2009
By Nick Britten

“TWO lesbian police officers crashed their car during a lovers’ tiff before lying to insurers over who was driving in order to save £250, a court has heard. During an argument, Pc Charlotte Eccles, 23, drove into a kerb and caused £6,000 worth of damage. But Pc Diane Reeves-Emery, 38, decided to take the blame. She paid £250 excess on her insurance, compared with the £500 Miss Eccles would have had to pay. The couple later broke up and Miss Eccles told police what had happened. Miss Eccles, of Swadlincote, Derbyshire, said she felt threatened by the ‘control’ her lover exercised over her. She told police she was ‘under the influence’ of Miss Reeves-Emery, of Burton-on-Trent, Staffs, and felt she had to go along with the plan. The pair, who work for the Derbyshire force, both deny a charge of obtaining financial advantage by deception. The trial continues.”

http://noapologies.ca/?p=2735

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

Wendy Shobrook and Barry Johnson, both 40, of Plymouth, had denied murder but were found guilty earlier this year of George Auchterlonie’s manslaughter.

Shobrook had had a relationship with the victim and spent her wedding night with him after a row with her new husband following a drinking binge.

On the day of the register office ceremony, 9 June 2008, Shobrook had a row with Johnson and went to see Mr Auchterlonie, the jury heard.

At Plymouth Crown Court, Johnson got 12 years in jail and Shobrook five.

On the day of the register office ceremony, 9 June 2008, Shobrook had a row with Johnson and went to see Mr Auchterlonie, the jury heard.

She returned for the reception party at the Waterfront restaurant in Plymouth, but then argued with her husband again.

Later on their wedding night she set fire to him after they had gone to bed, saying “burn in hell”, and fled to spend the night with father-of-four Mr Auchterlonie.

In the morning she rang Johnson and told him Mr Auchterlonie had tried to rape her.

He was so angry he launched an attack which left the victim with 38 different injuries, the court was told.

They then fled together, leaving Mr Auchterlonie dying in a pool of blood. He was found by a neighbour three days later.

Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, told them: “Your relationship was chaotic, the wedding day was quite clearly a disaster.”

http://www.lockergnome.com/theoracle/2009/07/12/you-cant-make-this-stuff-up/

Mon Sep 17, 2007

CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy.

Carlos Camejo, 33, was declared dead after a highway accident and taken to the morgue, where examiners began an autopsy only to realize something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face.

"I woke up because the pain was unbearable," Camejo said, according to a report on Friday in leading local newspaper El Universal.

His grieving wife turned up at the morgue to identify her husband's body only to find him moved into a corridor -- and alive.

Reuters could not immediately reach hospital officials to confirm the events. But Camejo showed the newspaper his facial scar and a document ordering the autopsy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN149975820070917

2:12pm UK, Monday February 07, 2005
http://www.cracked.com

A lovelorn Jordanian couple who began a sizzling relationship on the internet found out they were already married to each other.The cheating pair were on a seven-month break when they thought they had found their ideal partners on the net.

180 2keyboards computer screen web users internet

The couple met on internet

Over three months they cavorted in cyberspace, swapping dreams, making wedding plans and plotting how to leave their partners for good.

Bakr Melhem passed himself off as Adnan while wife Sanaa said she was called Jamila, an unmarried lady of culture who was interested in reading and was a devout Muslim.

Eventually they could contain themselves no longer and agreed to meet at a bus depot where the clandestine wedding plans would be finalised and their love confirmed.

It was there that the awful truth dawned on both parties - they were man and wife.

The Petra news agency said Bakr turned white and screamed: "You are divorced, divorced, divorced" - the traditional way of ending a marriage.

Sanaa fainted.

The details of the case were revealed during the subsequent divorce hearing.

November 14, 2008
http://www.theage.com.au

A British woman is divorcing her husband after accusing his computer game character of cheating on her online alter ego.

Amy Taylor, who has reverted to her maiden name by deed poll, filed for divorce from husband of three years David Pollard on the grounds of "unreasonable behaviour".

The move comes after her character in virtual world Second Life caught his character, or avatar, Dave Barmy, cuddling another animated woman on a sofa in the game.

"It looked really affectionate," Taylor, whose Second Life avatar is a DJ named Laura Skye, told UK media.

"He turned off the computer monitor, and I turned it back on and demanded to look at his chat history.

"But he turned off the computer so the history was all deleted and I ended up going off to his mum and dad's in floods of tears."

It was not the first time Dave Barmy had strayed from Laura Skye.

Before Taylor, 28, married 40-year-old Pollard, she caught him sitting at his computer watching his character having sex with an on-screen prostitute.

Taylor later forgave him, and the couple, who met in an internet chatroom in 2003, married in Cornwall in 2005.

Dave Barmy and Laura Skye held an extravagant ceremony in the virtual world to mark the occasion.

After Dave Barmy's latest indiscretion, in April this year, Pollard admitted he had been having an online affair with a woman from America.

The pair's characters are now engaged in Second Life.

He said his real marriage had been a "bit of a joke" and that Taylor spent too much time on another popular fantasy role-playing game, World of Warcraft.

"Amy never did anything around the house," he was quoted as saying in the British press.

"She just played World of Warcraft all the time.

"If I wanted to spend time with her I had to ask, but it was always too much trouble for her to come off the game to spend time with me."

The real-life divorce between Taylor and Pollard is set to be finalised next week.

Their virtual divorce went through in the Second Life courts in May.

http://news.sky.com/skynews
3:18pm UK, Thursday October 23, 2008

A jilted Japanese woman has been arrested for "murdering" an avatar in an online role-playing game - after it divorced her character.

Police say the 43-year-old piano teacher admitted destroying the avatar after it finished with her character in the fantasy game Maple Story.

Officers said the woman allegedly carried out the virtual killing in mid-May by hacking into the game using an illegal identification and password.

A police officer said she told investigators:"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry."

The game, which is hugely popular in South Korea and Japan, has players improving their skills and abilities by battling monsters in dungeons .

There are more than 50 million subscribers to the game, who buy new clothes and gameplay enhancements from an online shop and can even "earn" a wedding.

The suspect admitted the allegation and told investigators that she was enraged by the divorce, police said.

The case surfaced after a 33-year-old office worker in Sapporo, northern Japan, complained to police about the loss of his avatar, which he had "raised" for more than a year.

The woman was charged with illegal access onto a computer and manipulating electronic data, police said.

If convicted, she could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000 (£3,100).

http://www.ananova.com

A 106-year-old Kent woman has become the oldest person to complete a lap at Brands Hatch.

Dulcibella King-Hall notched up a top speed of 108mph in a BMW M3 to celebrate her upcoming 107th birthday.

Miss King-Hall, of Tunbridge Wells, declared: "It could have been faster", as she was helped back into her wheelchair after completing four laps as a passenger.

Asked why she loved the thrill of speed, she replied: "Why shouldn't I? Don't you like it? I like the feeling of the vehicle going vroom."

Born in Devon in 1902, Miss King-Hall has loved cars since she tested vehicles commandeered from civilian use during the Second World War.

Pulling into the pit stop after three laps, Miss King-Hall sped off for a final loop of the circuit watched by a crowd of awestruck well-wishers.

Driver, chief instructor Gary Palmer, 39, said: "I said: 'Shall we do another lap?' and she said 'yes'. It's incredible. We don't normally see people of that age on the track."

Lena Akers, social events coordinator at the Halliwell nursing home where she lives, organised a trip in a Porsche for Miss King-Hall's 100th birthday, then a drive in a Rolls-Royce when she turned 105.

She said she felt she had to "up the ante" this year, adding: "Cars are an abiding passion of Dulcibella's. Her love of speed has her constantly asking our minibus driver 'to go a little faster please'.

"If you have a lady who loves speed, I couldn't think of anywhere else better to come than Brands Hatch."

4 April 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk

Italian police have found more than 100 immigrants, including 24 Afghan children, living in the sewer system beneath railway stations in Rome.

The children range in age from 10 to 15 years and are now being looked after by the city's social services.

They were found when the railway police followed up reports of children living near the city's stations.

The police say they do not speak Italian and broke into the sewers by removing manhole covers.

The charity Save the Children Italy says that more than 1,000 unaccompanied children arrived in Rome last year from various countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Container stowaways

Railway police had been following up reports that groups of homeless immigrants were living in unhygienic conditions in and around Rome's three main railway stations.

Police said the Afghan children appeared to have arrived in the Italian capital as stowaways on board trailer trucks arriving from Turkey and Greece.

Some children were sleeping at night in sewers under the railway station to shelter from the cold, police said.

The number of foreign minors arriving in Italy has risen substantially over the past five years, according to children's charities.

Roman police also recently discovered groups of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and China living crammed 20 or more to a room.

As fast as the authorities find them proper accommodation, their places are taken by new arrivals, the BBC's David Willey reports from the Italian capital.

We have all heard the 'man bites dog' stories, but how about a real-life 'man marries dog' tale!

This one takes the biscuit, and it could only happen in India, the land of the Kama Sutra.

But you won't find this kind of love story between man and beast in the ancient Indian sex manual.

It took place for real during a traditional hindu ceremony at a temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The groom in question was a 33-year-old Indian farmer named Selvakumar, and he was wed to a female dog named Selvi.

He married his four legged bitch to atone for stoning two other dogs to death and stringing them up in a tree 15 years ago.

He believed the act cursed him and he had been suffering ever since, he told the Hindustan Times.

After he stoned the dogs he said his legs and hands got paralysed, he lost hearing in one ear, and his speech was impaired.

With doctors unable to help him, Selvakumar turned to an astrologer who told him he was cursed by the spirits of the dogs he had killed.

He could undo the curse only if he married a dog and live with it, the soothsayer warned.

Family members chose a stray female dog who was then bathed and clothed for the wedding occasion.

Selvi the bride was brought to the temple by village women and a Hindu priest conducted the ceremony.

The paper showed a picture of Selvakumar sitting next to his canine bride, which was adorned in an orange sari and flower garland.

The paper said the groom and his family then had a feast, while the dog got a bun.

It was reported that Selvi attempted to make a bolt for it -- apparently due to the big crowds -- but she was tracked down and returned to her new 'husband'.

"The dog is only for lifting the curse and after that, he plans to get a real bride," a friend of the groom said.

Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can beat certain curses.

- November 20, 2007. (http://www.thatsweird.net)

An 11-year-old "werewolf" boy who desperately seeks a cure for his condition is baffling medical experts.

Pruthviraj Patil is one of 50 in the world who suffers from hypertrichosis, a rare genetic condition known as Werewolf Syndrome.

As a result his face and body is covered in thick, matted hair.

But he is hoping doctors will one day find a cure for his ailment.

Born in the Indian district of Sangli, near Bombey, he hardly ever leaves his village because of his fear of being traunted by strangers.

The only parts of his body that are not covered with hair are the palms of his hands and soles of his feet.

The son of a well off farmer, his parents have tried homeopathy, traditional Ayurvedic remedies and laser surgery. But none of them have worked.

It is believe his genetic condition was caused by a flaw during pregnancy.

"Why did God do this to us," his 32-year-old mother Anita pleads. "He looks so odd and whever we go people throng to see him."

Plastic surgeon Vinay6 Saoji has examined the boy and confirms that the condition is very rare.

"Hairy nevus, where a person has patches of excess growth, or hirsurism, is not uncommon, but hair persisting all over the body is very rare," he added.

Pruthviraj says he is anxious to get the hair removed but even after laser treatment it simply grows back.

The doctors don't have any answers to his predicament.

When he first went to school he said he got bullied and the other children laughed at him. But now they have got used to him and they treat him like normal.

He appealed to the doctors to help find him a permanent cure.

- June 30, 2008 (http://www.thatsweird.net)