News from a Weird World : Offbeat News 06 April 2011

In this edition of News From A Weird World, you can find some really weird stories that include Fake Australian Wine Flooding UK Market, Nazi Sabotage In The USA Thwarted, A Potty Place For Phosphates, Not A Bright Way To Throw Dogs Off Your Scent, No Kids Allowed To Play Outside and more.

News From A Weird World (previously known as Offbeat News) is a selection of weird stories that have appeared in the news during the past week, which have been tracked down by scouring news sites from around the world while wearing my Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat.

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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Fake Australian Wine Floods Market

Another scam has hit the High Street in the UK this week, and this time it's fake bottles of Australian wine with a label from the popular Jacob's Creek Winery that are being sold in a number of locations in the country.

Other than the fact that the fake wine tastes awful, which is a little after the event should you have fallen for the scam and bought a bottle, there is one way that you can tell if it's the real thing or not.

It is thought that the wine originated in China, and as is typical in items from that part of the globe, there is a typo on the label.

Instead of saying "Wine Of Australia" the fake labels read "Wine Of Austrlia".

Read the full story HERE .

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Nazi's Invade The USA : It's A WWII Comedy Of Errors

It's rather like the movie Red Dawn but going back a generation, but had it not been for a comedy of errors, the Germans might have been able to successfully disrupt things in the USA in the middle of 1942.

According to documents that have recently been released by MI5, the Germans planned to sent saboteurs to the USA by submarine, with the intention of their creating havoc by blowing up factories, as well as roads and railways.

The plan all started to go wrong however, when one of the team got drunk in a bar in Paris and told his companions about his mission.

Then when the submarine finally reached the USA, it ran aground on a sandbar off the coast of Long Island.

As the four spies were attempting to bury their supplies on the beach, still in their German uniforms, they were spotted by a coastguard, who was persuaded to leave them alone by means of a $300 bribe.

They were however captured later, after the leader called the FBI, demanded to speak with J Edgar Hoover, and said that he was a saboteur.

The submarine was apparently allowed to get away because the coastguard were too slow to take action.

Another team landed on the coast of Florida, where they were to also undertake a similar mission, but they too were swiftly captured.

I did check and it's genuine, although it reeks strongly of April Fools Day don't you agree.

Read the full story HERE .

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A Pretty Potty Place To Find Phosphates

Imagine the scene if you will. Here is a group of geologists in a remote area of Australia's Northern Territory, looking for phosphates and other mineral resources.

They had spent a few days searching the area without success, and then one of the team, while sitting on the toilet at their campsite, was kicking rocks around with his feet and happened to spot something of interest.

Deciding that they ought to survey the area, their instruments showed that what they thought was a barren area, was actually one that had some rich deposits.

Well what do you know. Sometimes good things happen to those who shuffle their feet while sitting on the potty.

Read the full story HERE .

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Not The Best Way To Throw Dogs Off Your Scent

When a drunken woman crashed her car in Port St. Lucie in Florida, she reckoned that by taking off her clothes she would be able to throw the police dogs off her scent.

A K9 unit found her soon after, hiding in some nearby woods wearing just her bra and panties.

Apparently she had drunk at least 4 beers and a cocktail, and a marijuana pipe was also found in the car.

The police dogs could most likely have caught on to her scent from a mile away.

Now she is of course behind bars. Whether she remains in just her bra and panties is another story, but if the face is anything to go by, I hope not for those who have to look after her.

Read the full story HERE.

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Kids Banned From Playing Outside

Well now I have just about heard it all, having read that an official in a place called Edgewater in Florida wants to ban kids from playing outside.

Admittedly there isn't much green space in the development, which is called Persimmon Place, but they want to prevent kids from playing outside unless they are accompanied by an adult.

The penalty for breaking the rules would be a $100 fine!

In addition, there would be no skateboarding, games of tag, or loud toys allowed.

Sounds to me like a pretty boring place for a kid to grow up, unless they are fat and addicted to video games.

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 - 16_Mar_2011 - 23_Mar_2011 - 30_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.