News from a Weird World : Offbeat News 16 March 2011

In this edition of News From A Weird World, how well do the British know their meat, a girl who is smarter than Einstein, blowing it on chocolate, doing what in a chocolate shop, a two headed turtle, Australian UFO conference and more.

News From A Weird World (previously known as Offbeat News) is a selection of bizarre stories, strange stories, odd stories and weird news stories from the past week, that have been cleverly extracted by scouring news sites from around the world.

The stories to be found on News From A Weird World are the kind that are just so bizarre, they make you realize that fact is often stranger than fiction, and make you wonder what on earth people were thinking to get into the news in this way.

This is a selection of weird news stories from the past week that I hope you enjoy, and if you do, please can you help spread the word by sharing the stories with your friends.

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How Many British Just Don't Know Their Meat

A new survey was taken in the UK as part of the National Butcher's Week meat promotion, and the findings are rather sad, as well as being a little disturbing.

When it comes to cuts of meat and their origins, it seems the British no longer have much of a clue, since so many depend on ready meals and take-out food these days.

When asked if you could buy a pork wing, 17% of those surveyed believed that you actually could.

It gets worse though, with more than 20% believing that you could buy chicken chops and lamb drumsticks, and 10% had even asked a butcher for a leg of liver. (Personally I think that's pretty offal!)

20% of those surveyed thought that tofu was a kind of meat (disturbing if you are a vegetarian), and 5% thought that traditional British dishes such as haggis, faggots, game pie and oxtail contained no meat at all.

One of the problems is that the supermarkets have forced many traditional butchers shops to close down, and even when there is still a local butcher, the supermarket prices are often cheaper, causing many to shop there instead.

Well I'm off now to get some Hot Pork Wings and some Curly Fries (made from pigs tails I presume).

Meantime, you can read the full story HERE.

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Brighter Than Einstein And Only 11 Years Old!

Victoria Cowie is a bright young girl who comes from Wolverhampton in the Midlands of England.

It's her IQ of 162 that has put her in the news this week, since that is 2 points more than the renowned physicist Albert Einstein, and she is one of the brightest people in Mensa at just 11 years old.

Victoria is an only child and is far from being "odd" like so many very bright people.

She loves animals, drama and music, and enjoys playing soccer, according to her Mom.

As for when she grows up, Victoria would like to be a veterinarian.

I wonder how the next few years will pan out and where life will take her. Victoria could be one to follow in years to come.

Read the full story HERE .

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Well That's One Way To Blow Your Inheritance

When her Mother passed away 4 years ago at the age of 73 and left her £10,000 ($15,000) as an inheritance, 45 year old Mary Tetley from Denbigh in North Wales knew exactly what to do with it.

You see Mary is a chocolate lover, so much so in fact that she booked a 3 month vacation, touring the finest chocolate factories in Europe.

During the trip, which took Mary around France, Belgium and Switzerland, she ate the finest chocolate based products every day, and came home 28lbs heavier than when she left.

Since the return, aided by her husband Mark, Mary has seen the second part of her dream become a reality, as they have opened their own chocolate shop.

I just hope that she doesn't eat all the inventory.

Read the full story HERE .

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He Did What In A Chocolate Shop?

Well here we go from reading about a sweet lady indulging in her dream of owning a chocolate shop, to another one from Sweden that also involves a chocolate shop, but isn't quite in the same vein.

A 45 year old man was out shopping in the city of Finspang in Sweden, when he got the urge to go - you know what I mean.

Since staff at the shop that he was in, which happened to sell chocolate by the way, refused to allow him to use their restrooms, because of strict health regulations, the man decided to just go, there and then.

Sure, he could have left the shop and found a public convenience, like most people (well like all people you would hope), but no, he just let his anger get the better of him, pulled down his pants, squatted and pooped on the floor, shouting abuse at the girl on the cash register as he did so.

He then ran off, but not before grabbing a chocolate bar, and leaving behind a pair of soiled underwear.

The man, aged 45, has since been sentenced to 8 months in prison, charged with shoplifting, assault and molestation. Apparently he had previously shouted abuse at the cashier on several other occasions.

It's not exactly what you want to find happening in a store that sells food items is it. I wonder if they had to destroy all food items that weren't properly wrapped.

The original article does actually have an artist's impression of the offending poo. I wonder how many of you reading this are just sick enough to go take a look.

Read the full story HERE.

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That's Rare : A Two Headed Turtle With Five Feet

Well from one story of a turtle head poking out (reference to Austin Powers) to a different sort of turtle head poking out.

An African Spurred Tortoise that hatched 7 weeks ago in the town of Zilina in Northern Slovakia is creating quite a stir.

The turtle is truly one of a kind, having 2 heads and 5 feet.

The owner has called the turtle "Magdalena", where "Magda" and "Lena" are the names that he gave to the two heads.

It's fortunate for the turtle that it was born in captivity, since with 2 heads and the fifth foot sticking out between them, it can't retract fully inside it's shell, and therefore would be unlikely to survive in the wild.

Although the turtle fits into the palm of a hand right now, a fully grown African Spurred Tortoise can grow to 90cm or 36 inches.

If Magdalena does reach that size, she could indeed be like a two headed monster of storybook fame.

Read the full story HERE .

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Australian UFO Conference Canceled Due To The Weather

Attendees at the first UFO conference that was to be held at a campground in a remote area of the Northern Territory in Australia were hoping for a treat, but the surprise that they actually got was something the organizers had not planned for.

The organizers had to call off the event, because heavy rain left 95 percent of the property under water, including the whole of the campground, and 24 rooms and cabins.

Since one of the speakers had already arrived, as well as the band and a few attendees, the speaker did go ahead, but it does sound as if this event was a bit of a washout.

Read the full story HERE .

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of News From A Weird World as much as I enjoyed compiling all the stories.

You can now also find links to all of the News From A Weird World and Offbeat News editions at Squidoo , and if you do enjoy these weekly Offbeat News articles, please could you help share them with your friends etc. I am sure they could use a good laugh too.

News Reports Are Taken From The Following Sources:

ABC News Australia
Courthouse News
Demotix
Digital Spy
Football 365
Metro UK
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Bournemouth Echo
The Daily Mail
The Daily Telegraph
The London Evening Standard
The Sun

You Can Read Previous Editions Of News From A Weird World Here

For more fun at the expense of victims around the world, take a look at the previous editions of News From A Weird World:

2_Mar_2011 - 9_Mar_2011
2_Feb_2011 - 9_Feb_2011 - 16_Feb_2011 - 23 Feb 2011
5_Jan_2011 - 12_Jan_2011 - 19_Jan_2011 - 26_Jan_2011
1_Dec_2010 - 8_Dec_2010 - 15_Dec_2010 - 22_Dec_2010 - 29_Dec_2010
3_Nov_2010 - 10_Nov_2010 - 17_Nov_2010 - 24_Nov_2010
6_Oct_2010 - 13_Oct_2010 - 20_Oct_2010 - 27_Oct_2010
1_Sep_2010 - 8_Sep_2010 - 15_Sep_2010 - 22_Sep_2010 - 29_Sep_2010
4_Aug_2010 - 11_Aug_2010 - 18_Aug_2010 - 25_Aug_2010
7_Jul_2010 - 14_Jul_2010 - 21_Jul_2010 - 28_Jul_2010
2_Jun_2010 - 9_Jun_2010 - 16_Jun_2010 - 23_Jun_2010 - 30_Jun_2010
5_May_2010 - 12_May_2010 - 19_May_2010 - 26_May_2010
21_Apr_2010 - 28_Apr_2010
3_Mar_2010 - 10_Mar_2010 - 17_Mar_2010 - 24_Mar_2010 - 31_Mar_2010
2_Feb_2010

As always, your comments on any of these news stories are appreciated, and if you enjoy News From A Weird World, please share this edition with your friends.