Offbeat News : Weird News Stories 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.

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"Touchdown Jesus" Is Destroyed By Fire

No not the famous one at the University Of Notre Dame in Indiana, this is (or was) a statue of Jesus outside of the Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio, that was erected in 2004 and which was a prominent landmark for motorists traveling on I-75.

The huge 62 foot high statue was made of wood and Styrofoam and appeared as if Jesus had his hands up in the air pointing towards Heaven.

Well being the tallest point around, and with Ohio being prone to thunderstorms in the summer months, the statue was hit by lightning at 11:15pm and consumed in a ball of flame. Within minutes, all that was left was the framework where the statue had been.

Damage to the statue and the church is estimated at $700,000.

Read the full story HERE

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Police Ticketing Drivers Stopping To See "King Of Kings" Remains

I couldn't leave the previous story just yet, having seen follow up articles stating that the police in Monroe, Ohio, are now issuing citations to drivers that are stopping outside of the Solid Rock Church on I-75 to take photographs of the remains of the "King Of Kings" statue that was destroyed by lightning.

The number of people slowing down to 10mph or pulling over on the side of the road, has caused traffic jams on this major highway, forcing police to take action.

Read the full story HERE

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Churchill's Cigar Airbrushed Out To Discourage Smoking

A giant copy of a famous photograph of Sir Winston Churchill doing a "V For Victory" salute, that is outside the "Britain At War Experience" in South East London has had his trademark cigar airbrushed out.

The interesting thing is that the museum manager doesn't know who did this, and it apparently wasn't the anti-smoking lobby or the Churchill family either.

The mystery as to why Churchill now remains cigar-less to appear politically correct in today's smoke free environment remains.

Read the full story HERE

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Student Puppy Hurler Escapes On Bulldozer

I think this issue has hit the bizarre limits almost before it begins, with a story from the Bavarian town of Allershausen.

A student it seems, caused a huge traffic jam in the town, when he made a rude gesture at a gang of Hells Angels, when hurled a puppy at them, and took off on a Bulldozer.

Nobody seems to know why he threw the puppy at the biker gang, but he then fled home, where he was apprehended by the police.

I wish I could see a video of this, and if done in true Hollywood style, it might have been epic to see a guy on a Bulldozer trying to escape from a chain wielding gang of stormtroopers... but that's just how Hollywood might have pictured it. I have a feeling that the reality was less exciting, especially if you were one of those stuck in the 3 mile traffic jam.

In case you are concerned, the puppy is apparently ok.

Read the full story HERE

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Mental Research Fund Raising Trek By Singing Trio

A trio of singers are riding their cycles 3,500km across Australia to help raise funds for mental health research.

Starting their journey at Uluru "Ayers Rock", the trio are cycling to Brisbane, and hope to raise AUS$10,000 for charity in the process.

It's great what they are doing, and at least with it being winter in Australia they won't have to suffer the blistering desert heat in the barren red centre of Australia, but I can't help having a Monty Python style mental picture of John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin on a tandem, wearing traditional Yorkshire trousers with braces (suspenders), knotted handkerchiefs over their heads, and singing silly songs as they go on their journey.

Read the full story HERE

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Chavez Says "Put Your Kids To Sleep With Me"

The Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is telling mothers of children that refuse to go to sleep, to have them watch his televised speeches.

It seems that local television in Venezuela is interrupted regularly by Chavez giving speeches, and mothers are turning on his speeches instead of cartoons to get their children to go to sleep.

Well I guess it makes a change from counting sheep. I wonder when someone will come out with "Chavez" for the Xbox or the Playstation.

Read the full story HERE

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Woman Found Living With Skeleton Believed To Be Her Mother

The police were called to a house in Fort Myers, Florida, to check on a 61 year old woman to make sure that she was ok.

What they found was astonishing.

The condition of the house was described as "deplorable", and in the house was a skeleton, believed to be the woman's mother.

The mother was bed ridden and had not been seen for years by the neighbors, and although they suspected that she had died, the woman never mentioned it.

The woman liked to take care of animals, but apparently took this to an extreme, and it was a common sight to see rats pouring in and out of the windows, and to the woman's car, where she often left groceries.

Well this is one of those news stories that makes me pleased to not be in the police force. I am not so sure that my stomach is up to sights and smells like this. It's bad enough to read about it.

Read the full story and see the picture HERE

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Camera Survives Trip From Aruba To Key West

A man walking along a pier at a marina in Key West saw what he thought was a rotting tomato in the water. On retrieval it turned out to be a red Nikon camera that was coated in six months of sea growth, but the camera itself was in perfect condition.

The photographs and video on the camera showed two men going scuba diving, and so the man posted the photographs to a scuba diving bulletin board, where the location was soon identified as Aruba. Within a week the owners had been found, which is amazing don't you think.

The camera had apparently floated away while they were on a dive, and they were never able to recover it.

Another big surprise was a video clip that was taken two months after the camera was lost. It looks like a turtle had taken a fancy to the camera, and had managed to trigger the video somehow. The video shows a lot of thrashing around and a fin. Amazing...

Read the full story HERE

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74 Year Old Woman Arrested For Pouring Mayonnaise In Library Drop Box

Police now believe that they have solved a year long crime spree involving various condiments.

A 74 year old woman was caught red handed, pouring mayonnaise into the drop box, used for members to return library books, and it is believed that she is also responsible for at least 10 other crimes.

Over the last year, librarians have found books covered in corn syrup and ketchup.

I wonder if they will ever find out why she did it. Maybe she didn't find the books saucy enough.

Read the full story HERE

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The Wrong Type Of Bra - Then No Bra - Still No Joy

An attorney trying to see her client at the Miami Federal Detention Center in Florida was stopped by guards because her under-wired bra set off the metal detectors.

Despite her reminding the guards of a ruling that under-wired bras are permitted to be worn by female attorneys, the guards would not allow her through.

The attorney then removed her bra, and tried to go through wearing just her blouse and jacket.

She was again refused admission because she was bra-less, which is against the prison dress code guidelines.

Just another case of officials following the law to the letter, and making news headlines as a result.

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:

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

Dayton Daily News, Ohio

The Bournemouth Echo

ABC News Australia

South Florida Sun-Sentinel