News from a Weird World - Offbeat News 22 December 2010

In this latest edition of News From A Weird World you can read about the Catalan Caganers, Frozen Scottish Dog, Strange Stomach Objects, High Tide Stink at the UN and more Offbeat News stories.

This is the latest edition of News From A Weird World (previously known as Offbeat News), with 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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Celebrate Christmas Catalan Style

Christmas in Catalonia is similar to that in many other parts of the world, with Nativity Scenes in every town and village, but in the nativity scene outside the Town Hall in Barcelona as with other Nativity Scenes in Catalonia there is one figure that the crib would not be complete without.

That figure is the Caganer, the "defecator" or "crapper".

It's a tradition in Catalonia for every Nativity Scene to have an effigy of a person squatting with their pants down, answering the call of nature.

This figure traditionally used to be a peasant figure wearing a floppy red cap, but in recent years the main workshop north of Barcelona that produces Caganers has created celebrity figures, which includes sports personalities, rock stars, and even foreign presidents and royalty.

One of the firm favorites is Queen Elizabeth, and new this year is Prince Charles, and even President Obama. Next year they hope to produce effigies of Prince William and his wife to be, but unfortunately there wasn't enough time this year.

Does this sound like fun to you? I think it's a great idea. The video on the full article has some great footage of Caganers.

Read the full story HERE .

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Frozen Glasgow Dog Refuses To Leave Bus

It's not a sight that you see every year, but in the freezing winter conditions in Scotland , a small cairn terrier that became separated from it's owner was so cold that it jumped onto a bus, settled down in a warm spot, and refused to leave.

The dog was so cold it had icicles in it's coat.

He was eventually taken to an animal rescue center, where he was found to not have a microchip or an id tag, and so far the owner has not been identified.

I hope that they are able to reunite him with his owner in time for Christmas.

Read the full story HERE .

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Very Very Intestine But Stupid

Well people have been known to smuggle some strange things and in some strange ways, but a prisoner on death row in Kenya was found to have been smuggling something really odd after being X-rayed.

The X-ray showed that in the man's intestine was a mobile phone wrapped in a plastic bag.

The man has been operated on to remove the phone, but so far it is unknown how the phone got wedged in his intestine, and according to doctors it had been there for a month.

Read the full story HERE .

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High Tide At The United Nations Kicks Up A Stink

High tides can cause problems, and the high tide in the East River in New York on Tuesday night was no exception.

This high tide caused the sewerage systems to back up in the vicinity of the United Nations Building, and the stench was so bad that the building had to be evacuated.

I guess it makes a change from the usual political stink that is kicked up in there.

Read the full story HERE .

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Mother Abandons Disabled Son At Sea World In Orlando

It's not what an off duty deputy was expecting to find when he was called to the " Happy Harbor " children's play area at Sea World.

The deputy was called by employees who noticed that a disabled teenager had been left unattended there for more than an hour, and according to one witness he was there for over two hours.

The teenager suffers from a severe mental disability, and at first employees thought he was about 8 years old, however he is actually 18 years old.

The boy's mother was located after about half an hour, and was laughing about him being lost when she arrived at guest services.

The woman was placed under arrest and taken off to the local jail. Police are not clear as to where she was while her son was left on his own.

Read the full story HERE .

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I hope you enjoyed this Christmas edition of News From A Weird World. We will be back after the Christmas break with even more weird and wonderful news stories from around the world, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year for 2011.

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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.

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

1 December 2010 - 8 December 2010 - 15 December 2010

3 November 2010 - 10 November 2010 - 17 November 2010 - 24 November 2010

6 October 2010 - 13 October 2010 - 20 October 2010 - 27 October 2010

1 September 2010 - 8 September 2010 - 15 September 2010 - 22 September 2010 - 29 September 2010

25 August 2010 - 18 August 2010 - 11 August 2010 - 4 August 2010

28 July 2010 - 21 July 2010 - 14 July 2010 - 7 July 2010

30 June 2010 - 23 June 2010 - 16 June 2010 - 9 June 2010 - 2 June 2010

26 May 2010 - 19 May 2010 - 12 May 2010 - 5 May 2010

28 April 2010 - 21 April 2010

31 March 2010 - 24 March 2010 - 17 March 2010 - 10 March 2010 - 3 March 2010

2 February 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.

News Reports Taken From The Following Sources:

Digital Spy

ABC News Australia

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Bournemouth Echo

The London Evening Standard

The Daily Telegraph

Courthouse News

The Daily Mail