Offbeat News - Weird News from Around the World

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 weird news items 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 Offbeat News stories from the past week that had me laughing and bemused.

______________________________

Robert Pattinson Is The Most Snogged Figure

Although there are dozens and dozens of other celebrity figures to choose from, the lifelike waxwork figure of Robert Pattinson at Madame Tussaud's in London is apparently the most snogged at the moment.

Pattinson, who is 24 and comes from Barnes in Middlesex, plays the role of Edward Cullen, star of the Twilight movie series, which is one of the latest horror movie series to take off in a big way.

If you were not aware of Robert Pattinson or how big he is right now, and I don't mean stature either, Forbes magazine is listing him as a bigger player in Hollywood than legends like Tom Cruise, George Clooney and Leonardo Di Caprio.

The Twilight series alone earned him £11 million ($17 million) last year, and with Twilight, the popularity of vampires preying on innocent virgins has returned to the silver screen in a big way.

With the media also reporting recently that Robert Pattinson is loosely related to Vlad III, the inspiration behind Bram Stoker's "Dracula", his career is set to bloom, at least as long as vampires are in fashion.

Read the full story HERE

Definition of Snogging:
Verb. To kiss lengthily, passionately or lustfully.
Noun. A lengthy and passionate kiss.

______________________________

Fish And Chirps - And Grunts And Pops

A marine scientist from the University of Auckland in New Zealand has found that fish can communicate with each other using a variety of noises, including what sound like grunts, chirps and pops.

They are believed to communicate for a number of reasons, from helping to attract a mate, to scaring off predators or merely to help orientate themselves.

Although all fish can here, they are no all able to make sounds with their mouths, and so they vibrate their swim bladder to generate different noises.

The Gurnard is apparently a really chirpy fish, happy to keep up a constant chatter, while the Cod just stays quiet, unless it's spawning.

For those of you who are suddenly thinking that you might one day be able to have a conversation with your pet goldfish, well it's going to be a bit one sided. Although goldfish have excellent hearing, they are unable to make any sound at all.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Achy Breaky Ukelele - Record Attempt Fails

An attempt to break the world record for the most people playing the Ukelele together at the same time failed last weekend in the city of Cairns in Queensland, Australia.

A total of 677 Ukulele players had gathered to play a mass rendition of "Achy Breaky Heart", the country hit by Billy Ray Cyrus, but they failed to reach the 851 needed to beat the previous record that is held by the United States.

While I am sure it had to actually sound pretty awful, if had to be far better than listening to 677 people trying to play the same on the violin

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Japanese Hot Dog Top Dog Arrested At Competition

Takeru Kobayashi, known as "Tsunami" was arrested this week at America's premier hot dog eating contest which was being held in New York.

Takeru has been crowned the champion hot dog eater six times, and for a skinny Japanese man to be able to down hot dogs way faster than his huge American competitors is something to behold.

If you have never seen him at work, take a look at this video clip from You Tube.

Anyhow, this year he did not compete due to a dispute with the organizers, and having watched his arch rival Joey "Jaws" Chestnut down 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win for the fourth time, Takeru tried to storm the stage.

The hot dog eating contest, which is sponsored by Nathan's, has a grand prize of $20,000 and is considered to be the Holy Grail of eating contests.

The new champion's face apparently contorted in pain as he swallowed his final hot dog, leaving him 9 ahead of his nearest rival. That's a rate of 5.4 hot dogs (in buns) a minute for 10 minutes.

Phew! It's enough to make you feel nauseous isn't it, or at least enough to give you a heart attack.

Read the full article HERE
.

______________________________

Wife Carrier First Over The Finnish Line

Well here we go from one strange contest to another, this time the annual Wife Carrying World Championships, which are held in the town of Sonkajaervi in Finland.

The reigning champion, Taisto Miettinen (these names are driving my brain crazy by the way) raced his way to the finish line of the 250 meter course, which consisted of two hurdles and a pool, in just over one minute and four seconds, with his wife Kristina Haapanen slung over his back.

Apparently the course was harder this year because the pool was larger, and with his wife slung over his back, legs in the air, looking at the picture I was wondering how she managed to breath.

The inspiration for the race is a 19th century legend of a local thug, who lived in the forest and was known to snatch food and sometimes also ladies from villages in the area.

And here was I visualizing something like Raquel Welch in One Million Years BC being snatched by Neanderthals.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

National Anthem Banned From Mobile Home Park

La Casa Mobile Home Park which is located near Sarasota in Florida, has over 900 mobile homes and a lot of organized community events.

With seven percent of the residents being Canadian, it has not been unusual for the Canadian national Anthem to be played after dances and other events. But not any more...

The Activity Board, which organizes events at the park, has established a new policy that prohibits the playing of anything other than God Bless America. Even The Star Spangled Banner is banned, on the pretext that God Bless America refers to the whole of America and not just the USA.

Well what a load of bull....

In my opinion this is just another case of trumped up people getting on a committee and going power crazy with these frivolous and frustrating rules.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Smuggler Attached Drugs To His Genitals With Rubber Band

It wasn't the cleverest of plans, but when Jason Graham, 33, was being admitted into the Manatee County jail in Florida, he attached a package of drugs to his genitals using a rubber band.

While he was changing into his blue jail uniform, a deputy heard a rubber band snap, and a white object with a rubber band attached fell onto the floor.

Graham is now also charged with drug trafficking and bringing contraband into a government facility.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

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.

You can now also find an index to all of the Offbeat News editions at Squidoo.

30th June 2010

23rd June 2010

16th June 2010

9th June 2010

2nd June 2010

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

Bournemouth Echo

ABC News Australia

South Florida Sun-Sentinel