Offbeat News

It's Wednesday.

Do you know what Wednesday means?

Wednesday means it's Offbeat News Day!

Offbeat News, Offbeat News, We All Love Offbeat News
Offbeat News, Offbeat News, We All Love Offbeat News

"What is Offbeat News?" you might ask.

Offbeat news items are those events that make you realize that fact is stranger than fiction, the odd but true bizarre news stories that make you wonder how, why, what on earth were they thinking, and that's just amazing! It's amazing just how many things happen in our modern world that are Odd But True or totally Bizarre.

This is a selection of news items from the past week that had me laughing and bemused.

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City Bans Shopping Carts In Sydney Supermarket

Sydney City Council in Australia have banned shopping carts from a new supermarket, because they believe that if you are not allowed to take a cart outside the store, you don't need to use one to carry your shopping around while in the store.

Apparently the original plans were for a smaller store that didn't require shopping carts, but six months later the property developer changed the plans.

The city want to maintain traffic levels in the area, and are therefore opposing any attempt to make this a place where people will go to do a large shop.

Customers will now need to bring their own devices to push their shopping around in.

Red tape and local politics, I ask you...

Click HERE for the full article

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Frozen Lamb Stuffed With Drugs - Recipe For Disaster

A man was stopped and arrested at an airport in the Northern territory of Australia this week, when it was found that he was carrying a frozen leg of lamb that contained 106 grams of cannabis.

A woman was also arrested when a bag containing 27 grams of cannabis fell out of a pocket in her dress.

I wonder if they were carrying this to MEAT demands for drugs on the islands?

Click HERE for the full article

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Stranded Man Cuts Down Power Poles To Get Rescued

A man who had been stranded in the wilderness of Saskatoon in Western Canada, chopped down power poles with an axe in an attempt to alert people to his plight.

The man had been up at Wollaston Lake, 500 miles north of Saskatoon, when he got stranded because of bad weather.

Within 24 hours the power company sent a helicopter to investigate, and the man was rescued.

Maybe next time my car breaks down, I could cause the traffic lights to fail... just a thought...

Click HERE for the full article and picture

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Superheroes Turn Out In Force To Break Record

29th May 2010 is the data that the city of Melbourne in Australia got into the record books as having the largest group of people all dressed in superhero costumes and gathered together in the same place at the same time.

No less than 1,245 people dressed in costume for this event, with literally hundreds of people dressed as Batman and Robin, Superman, Wonderwoman and many more characters from comic books.

The attempt was part of a celebration of the 75th anniversary of DC Comics, which began publishing in 1935.

Click HERE for the full story

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Bizarre Channel Crossing By Balloon

A man has crossed the English Channel by using a number of balloons filled with helium, attached to a wicker basket.

Taking off from a field in Ashford, Kent, the man used 55 helium filled spheres to ascend, similar to the Pixar animated movie "Up".

The flight covered over 60 miles and ended close to the city of Dunkirk in France, taking about 4 hours.

Once he was over land, the man cut some of the balloons away and gradually dropped to the ground.

Click HERE for the full story

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Woman Sues Airline For Leaving Her Asleep In Plane

A woman has sued United Airlines for "False Imprisonment" when she was left on board after her plane landed at Philadelphia airport.

The woman was one of 50 passengers on the late night flight from Washington DC, and did not wake up after the plane landed and de-boarded.

Apparently she was woken up by a cleaning crew, but then detained until it could be proved that she was not a terrorist.

Well that's one to tell the grandkids isn't it!

Click HERE for the full story

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13 Year Old Girl Crashes SUV On Shopping Trip

A 13 year old girl from Orlando in Florida faces points on her drivers license years before she can legally drive.

She was driving her father's Ford Explorer to the grocery store, with her siblings, when she lost control, went through a fence and hit a tree.

The girl had been driving with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake, and worst of all, she had her father's permission to drive the vehicle.

Sad but true, a number of Americans that I have met also admit to driving an automatic with one foot on each pedal, even though only the right foot should be used, the left foot being used for the clutch when driving a vehicle with a manual gearbox.

Click HERE for the full story

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Penguins Need 250 People To Flush Toilets Simultaneously

Sounds bizarre doesn't it, but would I lie to you? Of course not.

The Pittsburgh Penguins NHL (Hockey) team are looking for a group of 250 or more students that can flush all the toilets and urinals in their new stadium at the same time, to test that everything is functioning correctly.

Well, this could be fun if they find a leak. Let's see, that's 250 times how many gallons of water...

Click HERE for the full story

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Couple To Marry 24 Years After Mothers Gave Birth

A couple from eastern Pennsylvania are engaged to be married 24 years after their mothers gave birth.

They were both born on the same day, in the same maternity room, and with their families attending the same church, they became lifelong friends. The wedding is set for 12th June 2010.

Well that's a nice story with a happy ending for a change.

Click HERE for the full story
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How To Make Pancakes By Remote Control

Bomb disposal units in Los Alamos, New Mexico, are sharpening their skills with controlling robotic devices, by learning to use them to make pancakes.

A 3 day "Robot Rodeo" was help last week, to help training on the robotic devices that are used to deal with hazardous waste and bomb detection and disposal.

Teams had to compete to make the pancakes, armed with pancake mix, a pitcher and a spatula. Using the robotic devices, they has to mix the batter, cook 4 pancakes, and then bring 2 plates to the judges table.

Apparently not all the pancakes were perfect, but this was a good exercise in training with robotic equipment.

It does give a whole new meaning to the phrase "untouched by human hand".

Click HERE for the full story

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Well you heard these stories first on Offbeat News, and if these aren't proof enough that the truth is stranger than fiction, check the previous installments of this weekly series:

26th May 2010

19th May 2010

12th May 2010

5th May 2010

28th April 2010

21st April 2010

31st March 2010

24th March 2010

17th March 2010

10th March 2010

3rd March 2010

24th February 2010

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

Sources

ABC News Australia

South Florida Sun-Sentinel