News from a Weird World - Offbeat News 26 January 2011

In this latest edition of News From A Weird World you can find bizarre news stories that include the mystery of the Miami Grand Piano, the Smell Of Rotting Flesh, Invasion Day Protests, The Perfect Holiday Companion, a woman with a Strange Addiction 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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Rare Plant Blooms In Australia - However...

The Titan Arum which is native to Sumatra and stands almost 10 feet high is one of the rarest plants in the world ( picture ).

The Cairns Botanic Gardens on Northern Queensland in Australia have managed to cultivate one of these, and according to the curator, it is a sight - and smell to behold.

The Titan Arum is better known as the Rotting Flesh Plant, and anyone who has been close to one that is mature will agree that it smells rather like a rotting corpse..

So expect this plant to be a popular attraction, at least while it is in bloom, but be prepared to hold your nose while appreciating it's better features.

Read the full story HERE .

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Australia Day Protests Over Invasion Day

The 26^th January 2011 is the annual holiday in Australia when they celebrate Australia Day, to commemorate the date in 1770 when Captain James Cook landed in Botany Bay in his ship Discovery, and claimed the land for Great Britain.

The Aborigines are not celebrating however, in fact they are protesting, since they see the 26^th January as the date on which their country was invaded.

Protests were held around the country, and over 300 people rallied outside the Queensland Parliament building in Brisbane, before marching through the city.

It seems that great Britain claimed the land under Terra Nulla, which means "land not owned by anyone", and yet the Aborigines had occupied the land for hundreds of years prior to the first European landing.

It seems that us Europeans did a lot of claiming land for ourselves back in those days, doing the same with all parts of North and South America, as well as the islands in the Caribbean.

I'm not sure what the Aborigines can do though, save protest and hope for better human rights for their people, who have always been treated as inferior by the mainly white population.

Read the full story HERE .

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Croc-o-dial Can't Stomach Mobile Phone Diet

A crocodile at an aquarium in the Ukraine had staff worried when it stopped eating, refusing food for a whole month.

Although concerned, they did not know what was causing the problem, until a woman reported that she had accidentally dropped her mobile phone into the enclosure, and the crocodile had eaten it.

The staff didn't believe the woman, until they heard the phone ringing from inside the crocodile's stomach.

It seems that the crocodile is in pain, and depressed (well wouldn't you be if you swallowed a mobile phone), and the only option might be surgery.

The crocodile is due to have X-rays taken this week, and then the appropriate treatment will be taken, with surgery used as a last resort. Can you give crocodiles laxatives?

Apparently though, the woman is asking if she can have her SIM card back.

It makes you wonder what she has on there that is so important, apart from contact numbers. Keep your eyes peeled for saucy pictures of "crocodile woman" posted on the internet.

Read the full story HERE .

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The Perfect Companion To Take On Holiday With You

You know what it's like, many of us have been there, you take an expensive vacation, only to find that your partner just gives you grief the whole time, and you end up returning home, wishing that you had never gone in the first place.

Well Dave Hockey from Nova Scotia has a cure for the holiday companion blues, a little bit odd you have to admit, but it obviously works for him.

Dave has taken a special companion "Bianca" with him on road trips across the USA, around the UK, including trips to Oxford and Stonehenge, and there hasn't been a single disagreement from his companion.

Dave leaves his wife behind at home, and I guess over the years she has just come to terms with her husband's love of - inflatable dolls.

"Bianca", who weighs 90lbs and has to be moved in a wheelchair, is just one of 14 dolls that Dave has collected over the years, spending over £16,000 ($24,000) on travel and clothing, including £1,270 ($1,500) on lingerie.

His favorite companion goes everywhere with him, she has even been skydiving, and that's more than most women have done.

Well it takes all kinds I suppose. I have a feeling that a few people I know who write on Associated Content and who love to leave "interesting" comments, will be commenting on this story.

Read the full story HERE .

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A Woman With A Strange Addiction

Well we began this edition with some strange stories from Australia, it got weirder as we traveled west, and as we head south from Nova Scotia to one of our regular destinations for News From A Weird World, namely Florida, I think this story takes some beating.

This is the story of Adele, who lives in Bradenton in Florida, and who came to fame via the TLC television show "My Strange Addiction".

So what is so strange about Adele's addiction? She literally eats couch cushions, that's what.

It's not the cushion covers that she eats though, it's the foam inside, and Adele says that she was introduced to the delights of foam eating by her cousin twenty years ago.

Over the years, it is estimated that Adele has eaten over 200 pounds of foam, or the equivalent of seven couches and two chairs.

There is apparently a medical disorder called PICA which people like Adele have, which gives them an appetite for craving odd things to eat.

Can you just imaging Adele out shopping and she feels a little puckish, so off she trots to the local furniture store, finds a secluded corner, and tucks into a nice recliner or armchair.

Just imagine the horror of the staff when they find big chunks missing from items of furniture, and to top it all, teeth marks in them!

The worst is yet to come though, since it's not the nice clean bits of foam that adels likes the best. "They are lacking in flavor" she told reporters. "It's the dirty brown bits of foam that are the best". Oh yuck....

Read the full story HERE .

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The Mystery Of The Miami Grand Piano

Well continuing in Florida, here is truly strange story, one that nobody has yet been able to solve, the mystery of the Grand Piano that appeared overnight on a sandbar off Miami.

The sandbar is in Biscayne Bay off NE 107^th Street in Miami, and as can be seen HERE there is now a piano sitting there, surrounded by water.

The real mystery is who put it there, and just how did they put it there, since a Grand Piano weights at least 650 pounds, far too heavy to be transported in a small boat, and not exactly easy to move without the proper lifting equipment - and that's on land.

The other curious thing is why anyone would go to great lengths to put a Grand Piano in such a strange place, especially as in decent condition even a used one would cost over $3,000.

Only one thing is certain, and that is the authorities are not going to be moving is, unless it becomes a danger to wildlife or boaters, which is possible should it begin to break up in a storm.

It would be curious however should it begin to play tunes when the wind blew or the waves washed over it. I wonder if come the weekend, a crowd will head out there and see if they can knock up a few tunes on it.

Karaoke on the sandbar - sounds like fun.

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.

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

5 Jan 2011 - 12 Jan 2011 - 19_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.

News Reports Are Taken From The Following Sources:

ABC News Australia

Courthouse News

Demotix

Digital Spy

Football 365

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Bournemouth Echo

The Daily Mail

The Daily Telegraph

The London Evening Standard