Offbeat News - Weird News from Around the World

It's time to present to you some more weird news stories from around the world .

What Is Offbeat news?

Offbeat news stories are those weird news items that make you realize that fact is stranger than fiction. These are the odd but true bizarre news stories that make you wonder how, why, what on earth were they thinking, and that's just amazing!

In case you were wondering why this is still called Offbeat News after my quest for a new name last week. Well, I just ran out of time trying to come up with a new name and a new logo, but I want to thank everyone for their suggestions and these are helping me to make a decision. With Luck, next week will see a new name and a new identity for Offbeat News.

This is a selection of the Offbeat News stories from the past week that had me bemused and amazed...

______________________________

Of All The Phobias - Woman Has Banana-phobia

A new phobia has been recognized, with a woman from the UK having such a fear of Bananas that her condition is being called Banana-phobia.

Just the sight of a banana makes Fran Dando, who is 21, shake, sweat and sometimes vomit as well.

Apparently it all started when she was seven years old, and her brother put a banana in her bed as a joke. She felt the strange object in her bed, and froze in panic. Ever since then, whenever she sees a banana, her fear returns.

Fortunately her son, aged 2, loves bananas and shows no fear of them.

Unfortunately, this means that Fran has to buy them when she goes shopping, and so she uses a blanket to pick them up and put them in the shopping cart, and then when her son wants one, she has to put on rubber gloves and use a tea towel to open it for him.

Although her son has no fear of them, Fran works with children, and you wonder what they might think if they see her handling the apparently innocent banana with such care. Hopefully it won't give them phobias as they get older.

And as for Fran's son, I just hope his favorite television show isn't Bananas In Pajamas. That could drive his mother into a mental home.

Read the full article HERE and thanks to Karen Sanders for sending this story.

______________________________

Harry Popper Sets Warner Brothers In A Tizz

A Swiss company is marketing a brand of condoms called Harry Popper and Warner Brothers, the producers of the Harry Potter series of movies are not pleased.

The logo for the Harry Popper condoms shows a purple condom, wearing glasses, and twirling a wand, with it's tongue extended.

Apparently this brand has been on sale since 2006, so I don't know why it took so long for Warner Brothers to take action.

A lawyer representing them was reported to have said that the image of their client is in danger.

Well, a magic condom, fancy that! I just hope when you use one it doesn't live up to it's name and go "POP"!

Read the full article HERE

______________________________

Swarm Of Bees Traps Policeman In Car

A policeman in North Carolina became trapped in his car for three hours this week, when a swarm of angry bees decided to kick up a buzz.

The bees were being taken in their hives to fertilize an orchard near Raleigh Durham, when the truck transporting them broke down.

The bees became confused without their queen, and between 30,000-50,000 of them surrounded the police car since it was the largest thing around that they could find.

The policeman had only stopped to respond to a call about the broken down truck, but I wonder if he will now suffer from a bee phobia, or at least nightmares.

I know when I watch a movie about ants or killer bees, I end up twitching and wriggling, it's impossible to sit still. I bet he was panicking in case they found their way inside the car through the air ducts.

Fortunately a bee keeper was able to calm them down using a spray made of sugar and water, and got them back into their hives.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Londoners Warned Over New Wave Of Air Raids

It seems that seagulls have been unusually noisy this year, and in London where you often get huge flocks of them, people have been warned to be wary of them.

Seagulls can be aggressive, and are likely to dive bomb anyone who they think might be a danger to their young.

So next time you are in London, watch out for the seagulls, or you might get a nasty peck.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Boy Gets His Head Stuck In A Toilet Seat

We all know what toddlers get up to, and you have to keep an eye on them, but this 18 month old boy from Essex in the southeast of England got more than he bargained for when he stuck his head through a toilet training seat.

According to the boy's mother, he had been wearing the training seat as a hat, and the next thing she knew was that it had slipped over his ears and was stuck around his neck.

Fortunately with it being around his neck, it didn't cause the boy any breathing difficulties, however there was no way the seat was going to slide back up over his ears, and so his mother called the emergency services.

It took firemen a while to cut the boy free, and fortunately he sat still during the process. They had to use specialized cutting equipment to remove the lid, but finally they were able to remove it.

This was a lucky break I suppose, because if it had been stuck over his ears for any length of time, he might have had an embarrassing story to tell over why his ears stuck out.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Robot Tossing Causes Man To Set House On Fire

This could only happen in Japan I suppose, and it's another of those stories that some Geeks might relate to, but hopefully not.

A 30 year old man in Japan, who lived with his mother, became practically suicidal after she threw away some of his favorite toy robots.

He was so distraught in fact, that he set fire to their two storey wooden home, which was completely destroyed as a result.

The man had been collecting the figures most of his life, and many were from the 1970's Gundam animated television series, about giant robots.

His mother had become so fed up with them taking up room in the house, and had complained that there were enough toys to fill 300 boxes. Finally she had enough, and threw some of them away.

According to the court, the man said that the figures were partners that he wanted to spend his life with.

It just goes to show that they walk among us...

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Snake Delays Drivers Removal After Car Crash

A car came off the road and crashed into some trees in New South Wales in Australia this week, but when paramedics went to help get the driver out of the car, a large snake crawled in and made their job rather more complicated.

The snake was 1.5 meters long (about 5 foot), black and with a red belly.

It literally climbed into the car while the paramedics were trying to cut the man out, and got up behind the dashboard.

While one of the paramedics helped to keep the snake at bay with a stick, the others continued to free the driver from the car.

Well that would be one to tell the children and grandchildren wouldn't it.

Read the full story HERE

______________________________

Woman Gets Tattoo On Her 101^st Birthday

For her 101^st birthday, you would have thought that what great grandma Mimi Rosenthal of St. Petersburg in Florida would have wanted would be to have her family around her.

But no! What this great grandmother wanted was a tattoo on her leg.

At the age of 99, Mimi decided to get her first tattoo done, a blue butterfly about the size of a dime on her ankle.

She thought that was too small however, and so for her 100^th birthday she requested a local tattooist to create a silver dollar sized flower on her other leg.

This past week, she got her third tattoo, a sunflower on her left arm.

Apparently she told reporters at the St. Petersburg Times that next time she is having a tattoo on her buttocks.

The mind boggles...

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 links to all of the 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 Offbeat News:

18th August 201011th August 20104th August 2010

28th July 201021st July 201014th July 20107th July 2010

30th June 201023rd June 201016th June 20109th June 20102nd June 2010

26th May 201019th May 201012th May 20105th May 2010

28th April 201021st April 2010

31st March 201024th March 201017th March 201010th March 20103rd 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

Digital Spy

ABC News Australia

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Bournemouth Echo

The London Evening Standard