Offbeat News - Weird News from Around the World
Truth is Stranger Than Fiction as Can Be Seen in the Stories Reported Here
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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Farmer Uses A Cannon To Prevent Eviction
A dispute in Central China over land which the Government wants to take over, has resulted in a farmer taking action to defend his property, with weapons that include a cannon and fireworks.
Yang Youde who is 56, has successfully fought off Government employees and demolition crews twice, using his cannon, which is made out of stove pipes, and a variety of fireworks. The invaders left on both occasions, after being peppered with fireworks.
Read the full story HERE
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Indonesian Chain Smoking Toddler Cuts Back To 15 Cigarettes A Day
The papers were buzzing recently with stories of a 2 year old boy in Indonesia who is smoking up to 40 cigarettes a day.
Apparently the boy's father began giving him cigarettes when he was six months old, and once addicted he would burst into violent tantrums if his cravings were not satisfied.
The good news is now that he is now down to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
They have managed to lower his demand by getting him interested in playing with toys (a novel concept), and by telling him that if he continues to smoke he will never grow up to be a singer, as he enjoys singing.
Read the full story HERE
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Census Records 157 Year Old Woman In Indonesia
Well my research for this article has us not only still in Asia but still in Indonesia, where census officials have discovered a woman who claims to be 157 years old.
If her claim of being born in 1853 is true, this is the year that "La Traviata" debuted in Venice and the Crimean War began.
There are no authentic records in existence that help to prove her age, but based on the things that she remembers and also the fact that she has an adopted daughter aged 108, there is no reason to doubt it.
This woman still apparently has a sharp mind, with an excellent memory and no hearing or vision problems either.
Sadly to say, she burnt all her official identification documents in 1965 to avoid being linked to a communist coup.
I would love to see a documentary on this, and I wonder how many scientists will be gathering around trying to work out the secret of her eternal youth.
Read the full story HERE
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Jungle Woman Found In Toilet
I don't believe it, but on continuing my research, here we are still in Asia, with the story of a woman from Cambodia.
A 29 year old woman went missing when she was a little girl in Cambodia and spent the next 18 years living in the jungle, and has been described as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl", somewhat similar to the story of Tarzan.
Her discovery in 2007 gripped the nation, and her family took her in and tried to rehabilitate her, but 11 days ago she once again disappeared, it was believed back into the jungle.
Her father found her though, only 100 yards from her home, in a dugout toilet 30 feet deep. He was alerted by her crying, and she must have been there for 11 days.
Such a sad story, and a sad case of a little girl who will never be able to lead a normal life, but what lessons she could maybe teach us about survival in the jungle.
Read the full story HERE
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Music Literally Goes To The Dogs In Sydney
A new musical event took place outside the front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia this week, a 20 minute production entitled "Music For Dogs" and starring - well dogs...
The event was organized by Laurie Anderson and her husband Lou Reed, and described as "an inter-species social gathering on a scale never seen before in Australia".
A number of dogs took part in the production, which included a lot of high pitched music and even more howling from the dogs.
Only one injury was reported, caused when someone stood on a dog's leg.
The concert was staged as part of the Vivid light festival which runs in Sydney from May 27 to June 20.
Read the full story HERE
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The Ugliest Dog In The World Is No More
Labeled "The World's Ugliest Dog" a bug-eyed Chinese Crested hairless pooch called "Miss Ellie" died at her home in Tennessee aged 17.
The dog was rescued by her owner when she was 8 years old, and had gone blind in recent years. Her tongue always hung out of the side of her mouth, and she had achieved fame last year, when voted the World's Ugliest Dog by Animal Planet.
Miss Ellie had also featured in a number of television commercials and other programs, and performed regularly with other dogs in her owner's troupe at the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge in Tennessee.
Read the full story HERE
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Topless Woman Makes A Splash At Community Pool
A 39 year old woman who appeared to be drunk went to the community pool at an apartment complex in Naples, Florida, and removed her top while talking to a man in the pool.
Deputies were called to the scene, and witnesses said that they had told her that her top was off, but she ignored them.
The woman appeared to be un-cooperative, and was let away by the deputies. She now faces charges of obstructing an officer.
In a way it's sad, since pretty much anywhere in Europe, nobody would bat an eyelid if this happened, although a few males sitting around the pool might get a rise out of it. The USA is far more conservative than Europe when it comes to public nudity, and yet shows on television feature it, although it's blurred out. There are in my opinion a lot of double standards.
This story did remind me however of an incident years ago in England where a very busty woman streaked across the field at a Rugby game, and the arresting police officer had to use his helmet to help cover her well formed assets. She woman was quite famous for some time after that.
Read the full story and see the picture HERE
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Two Children And Pets Left In Car By Babysitter
This happened in Fort Myers, Florida, in the last week, where a passer by noticed a car with the windows closed, and inside was a 6 year old boy, 7 year old girl, and 2 pets.
The babysitter had left them in the car, supposedly with the engine running and the air conditioning on, while she went for a facial, which took about 45 minutes. The engine was not running at the time the car was spotted by the passer by, and the children were extremely lucky.
The children were treated at a local hospital for heat related stress and later released, and the Country animal control took away the pets.
Read the full story HERE
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Florida Zombie Defense Plans Are Dead
The University of Florida removed a link to a disaster recovery exercise, that described in detail how they could deal with the threat of an attack by Zombies.
Officials in Orlando apparently did not see the humor in this plan, which was alongside others for dealing with hurricanes and pandemics.
Read the full story HERE
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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:
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.
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Published by Tony Payne
Tony Payne is a freelance writer who lives on the South Coast of England with his wife Debbie. He has worked in the IT Industry all his life, and has been writing on various sites for the last 10 years. T... View profile
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33 Comments
Post a CommentI saw that indonesian toddler smoking--that so naueated me....the cannon one is hillarious.
Another fun edition.
Wow, that's something else about that chain smoking toddler.
I love these!
Great write up.
What a list! Love it! To pet owners: I can't stress enough to pet owners how dangerous heatstroke is and how quickly it can occur. Do not leave your pets in the car; their body temperature is higher than ours and vehicles heat up quicker than you think.
LOL!! :-) Gotta love weird news...hehe. Congrats on your hot 500 badge...way to go!
Write on!
Hey! Zombies are getting to be a serious threat! People are watching way too much TV these days and that's what happens to them... Good article.
It's bizarre to think that this stuff is real. Good work Tony.
Great take on the "offbeat" news! :-)