Reuters: Oddly Enough

Nats pitcher Strasburg brings the heat, regrets it

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:48:20 GMT

(Reuters) - Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg may read warning labels a little closer in future after some 'Hot Stuff' heat rub ointment got on "the wrong place" and made Tuesday's outing on the mound an uncomfortable one.

Paris exotic dancers strike, say wages "miserable"

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:40:01 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - Topless dancers at the renowned Crazy Horse night club in Paris have gone on strike, saying they are not being paid enough to take the shirts off their backs.

Man bitten by rattlesnake at Washington state Walmart

Tue, 15 May 2012 01:54:01 GMT

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - When Mica Craig reached down to brush what he thought was a stick off some mulch in the garden section of a Washington state Walmart, it turned around and sank its fangs into his hand.

Shock-seekers snap up new Aussie art dare

Mon, 14 May 2012 01:45:42 GMT

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Smelling excrement may not be everyone's idea of fun, but for those who like to push the boundaries, Australia's most controversial new museum may be just what they are looking for.

Topless Ukraine activist grabs Euro soccer cup

Sun, 13 May 2012 15:24:29 GMT

KIEV (Reuters) - A Ukrainian women's rights activist stripped to the waist and seized the Euro-2012 soccer trophy while it was on public display in Kiev on Saturday in a protest against the forthcoming month-long championship.

Universitario given 3-0 win over short-handed Bolivar

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:23:13 GMT

(Reuters) - Universitario have been awarded a 3-0 victory against Bolivar after Thursday's Bolivian league match was abandoned with the visitors down to six men.

"Subversive" newspaper crossword stirs Venezuela

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:04:44 GMT

CARACAS (Reuters) - A veteran Venezuelan crossword-writer has been accused of hiding a coded message to assassinate President Hugo Chavez's brother in the latest surreal twist to election year politics in the South American nation.

Afterlife comes at a discount for diehard Benfica fans

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:30:31 GMT

LISBON (Reuters) - Diehard fans of Portugal's Premier League soccer club Benfica can now rest in peace knowing they can be buried at a discount thanks to a deal signed between the club and the country's largest undertakers agency.

Handshake ends S.African "Tempest in a D-cup" race row

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:04:40 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Two models at the eye of a race storm that has exposed the thin veneer of social harmony in South Africa 18 years after the end of apartheid shook hands on Thursday and vowed to work towards Nelson Mandela's vision of a non-racial "Rainbow Nation".

World's biggest boxes of pasta on sale in Turkey

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:04:08 GMT

ROME (Reuters) - Shoppers can buy a half-tonne box of pasta from Thursday at supermarkets in Turkey, but not in the world's spaghetti capital of Italy.

German man has last laugh with "new home" obituary

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:03:06 GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - A man who announced his change of address in a local newspaper sparked national media attention on Thursday due to the unusual location of his "new home" - six feet under the ground.

Scientists may recreate beer from 1840's shipwreck

Thu, 10 May 2012 17:02:17 GMT

Finnish researchers say they may be able to recreate beer from the 1840s after finding living bacteria in beer from a shipwreck near Aland islands.

Foreigners can't pick new German names, court rules

Wed, 09 May 2012 18:59:27 GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court has refused to allow a family to shed their "foreign-sounding" names for new German ones they said would protect them from discrimination and aid integration into a country becoming attractive for immigrants.

It's a gas: dinosaur flatulence may have warmed Earth

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:44:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a major new climate finding, researchers have calculated that dinosaur flatulence could have put enough methane into the atmosphere to warm the planet during the hot, wet Mesozoic era.

Snake blamed for Oklahoma City power outage

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:23:44 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A snake that crawled into an electrical substation on Thursday knocked out power to nearly 14,000 homes on the northwest side of Oklahoma's state capital, utility officials said.

Man who dressed as dead mother guilty of fraud

Thu, 03 May 2012 23:01:00 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man who impersonated his dead mother as part of a real estate scam - using lipstick, manicured nails and even an oxygen tank at a meeting - was convicted of fraud on Thursday and faces up to 83 years in prison, prosecutors said.

California student jailed 5 days without water drinks own urine

Thu, 03 May 2012 20:08:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A California university student who was mistakenly left handcuffed in a cell without food or water for five days and survived by drinking his own urine is planning to sue, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Thieves stealing manhole covers in New York City, utility says

Thu, 03 May 2012 20:07:21 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhole covers are being stolen from the streets of New York City, leaving dangerous holes in the roads and sidewalks, authorities said on Thursday.

Oklahoma says running out of death penalty drug

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:12:38 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Oklahoma, which executes more prisoners per capita than any other state, said on Wednesday it has only one remaining dose of pentobarbital, a key drug used to kill condemned prisoners.

Woman blames moths for fiery Colorado car crash

Wed, 02 May 2012 23:26:23 GMT

DENVER (Reuters) - An 18-year-old Colorado woman who survived a fiery crash in her sport utility vehicle told authorities she lost control and struck a tree after being distracted by fluttering moths, police said on Wednesday.

Bronzed U.S. mom denies taking daughter, 5, into tanning booth

Wed, 02 May 2012 23:01:01 GMT

(Reuters) - A New Jersey mom with a passion for tanning is facing a child endangerment charge for allowing her then 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth.

Pig poo power the answer to China's porky poser?

Wed, 02 May 2012 05:30:36 GMT

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Seven hundred million pigs produce a lot of poo.

One in seven thinks end of world is coming - poll

Tue, 01 May 2012 14:40:29 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - - Nearly 15 percent of people worldwide believe the world will end during their lifetime and 10 percent think the Mayan calendar could signify it will happen in 2012, according to a new poll.

"Octomom" files for bankruptcy in California

Tue, 01 May 2012 03:38:06 GMT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California mother of octuplets, dubbed "Octomom," filed for bankruptcy on Monday, after previously admitting she was on public assistance to support herself and her 14 children.

Merkel's old VW sold at auction, second time lucky

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:19:59 GMT

(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's old Volkswagen wasn't worth the 130,000 euros ($172,100) bogus online bidders kited it to earlier this month, but the first woman chancellor's 1990 Golf finally went to the highest bidder on Monday for 10,165 euros.