A former British Defense Ministry official revealed that Royal Air Force planes have fired on UFO's several times with little effect. Nick Pope said RAF planes have had numerous encounters with mysterious aircraft, and only fired when a UFO was deemed to be a threat.
Source: The Week, February 6, 2009 issue
The Albuquerque Police Department is recruiting informants through classified ads, promising to pay 'people who hang out with crooks' $50 for drug-crime information and $700 for murder. The ad assures prospective applicants that their own criminal past won't be scrutinized.
Source: The Week, December 5, 2008
Within a recent 10-day time period, Kansan Michael Horton won a Saturn Outlook, a Mitsubishi Lancer and two tickets to a Kansas City Chiefs game.
Source: The Week, December 5, 2008
The Iraqi government is having trouble selling Saddam Hussein's $30 million yacht. The luxury craft measures 269 feet and is outfitted with swimming pools, gold-tap bathrooms, a secret escape passageway and several barely used rocket launchers.
Source: The Week, November 14, 2008
Susan Scott-Ker and her husband recently took civic duty to a new level. When their absentee ballots failed to arrive on time, the couple flew 9,300 miles from India to New York so they could vote in the Presidential election.
Source: The Week, November 14, 2008
Calignosity, niddering, fusby and olid are among two dozen archaic words a British dictionary publisher has promised to retain only if the public begins using them more regularly. The words mean darkness, cowardly, squat and foul smelling, respectively.
Source: The Week, October 3, 2008
A group of college students hyping their party business on MySpace claiming they'd hosted more than 100 events. When the state of Oklahoma subsequently hit them with a $320,000 tax bill, the students insisted they'd only hosted 20.
Source: The Week, October 3, 2008
A Kentucky woman was recently asked by security guards to leave a shopping mall because her dress was too provocative. She had purchased the dress at the same mall the day before.
Source: The Week, August 22-29, 2008
A Canadian entrepreneur announced he was almost finished restoring the SS Minnow, the boat that carried the castaways of Gilligan's Island. The Minnow will be used for tourist excursions.
Source: The Week, August 22-29, 2008
Police arrested Sean Gallagher of Illinois on charges he robbed the same gas station three times over the last few months. After the third robbery, a gas station employee pointed Gallagher out to police as he was walking to his home. He lived 200 yards away from the station.
Source: The Week, August 8, 2008
A New Zealand judge recently ordered the parents of a 9-year old girl to legally rename her, citing their "very poor judgement." The child was formerly known as Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii.
Source: The Week, August 8, 2008
A computer system called Polaris beat several of the world's top poker players in a match in Las Vegas. To prepare for the poker match, Polaris practiced by playing 8 billion games with itself.
Source: The Week, July 25, 2008
Russian Nikolai Sazhin recently won the world chess boxing championship by pummeling his German opponent, Frank Stoldt, in the ring and then checkmating him. "I took a lot of body blows in the fourth round and that affected my concentration," said Stoldt. "I did not see him coming for my king."
Source: The Week, July 18, 2008 issue
In preparation for next month's Olympics, the Chinese government has issued to Beijing restaurants more appealing English translations of traditional dishes. "Husband and wife's lung slice" will now appear on menus as "beef and ox tripe in chili sauce." "Bean curd made by pockmarked woman" will become 'mapo tofu.'
Source: The Week, July 4-11 issue
Wisconsin Sculptor Troy Landwehr has carved a version of John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence in a 2,000 pound block of cheddar cheese. The painting of the historic signing hangs in the U.S. Capitol. The cheddar cheese sculpture will be displayed near Independence Mall in Philadelphia for July 4th festivities. Landwehr has previously done cheese sculptures of the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.
Source: The Star Tribune, June 30, 2008
Six-year old Bennett Christiansen of Illinois was recently approved for a credit card with a $600 spending limit. Young Bennett had accurately filled out the application, listing the year of his birth as 2002 and his income as $0.
Source: June 27, 2008 issue of The Week
A Romanian village re-elected Mayor Neculai Ivascu even though he died shortly before the election. Ivascu had been mayor for almost 20 years. Said one voter, "I know he died, but I don't want change."
Source: June 27, 2008 issue of The Week
The man who invented the Pringles potato chip packaging system was so proud of his accomplishment that he requested that a portion of his ashes be buried in one of the iconic cans. Frederic Burr's children have honored their father's request, dividing his remains among a Pringles can, an urn buried with the can and another urn for his grandson.
Source: The Star Tribune, June 3, 2008
A Nebraska man recently saved his own life by using a steak knife to give himself a tracheotomy. Steve Wilder woke up in the middle of the night to find his airway swollen shut. Unable to breathe, Wilder took the steak knife and plunged it into the base of his neck. He was able to reach the hospital where surgeons performed a second tracheotomy.
Source: The Week, May 23, 2008 issue
An Illinois man recently built himself a coffin in the form of a giant Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can. Until he needs the casket, Bill Bramanti, 67, will use it as a beer cooler.
Source: The Week, May 16, 2008 issue
Afraid that he might be arrested for some unpaid traffic fines, a Wisconsin man gave the police a fake name when he was pulled over. He was forced to admit his lie because he had coincidentally used the name of a wanted murderer. He was subsequently charged with obstruction.
Source: The Week, May 16, 2008 issue
Commerce City, CO police answering a public disturbance call found a couple fighting over which street gang their 4-year old son should join. The child's teenage mother had her heart set on the toddler joining the nationwide Crips organization. The boy's father wants his son to join the Westside Ballers.
Source: The Week, April 25, 2008 issue
A Utah salesman sued his former employer for waterboarding him during a team-building exercise. "You saw how hard Chad fought for air," the boss allegedly said. "I want you to go back inside and fight that hard to make sales."
Source: The Week, April 25, 2008 issue
An author who wrote 12 guidebooks for the Lonely Planet series admitted that he often cut corners. "They didn't pay me enough to go to Columbia," said Thomas Kohnstamm. "I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating."
Source: The Week, April 25, 2008 issue
At a recent wedding reception in California, the party got a bit unruly and the bride and groom had to be subdued with a Taser. The newlyweds were arrested and spent their wedding night in jail.
Source: The Week, April 18, 2008 issue
An Oregon man arrived home from work to find 30 people carrying off nearly everything he owned. A prankster had placed an ad on Craigslist.com announcing that Robert Salisbury was giving away everything in his house. "They refused to give the stuff back," said Salisbury. "They honestly thought that because it was on the Internet, it was true."
Source: The Week, April 4, 2008 issue
Dutch wine taster Ilja Gort has insured his nose for $8 million. The policy requires the lavishly bearded Gort to patronize only experienced barbers who can keep their razors steady near his valuable appendage.
Source: The Week, March 28, 2008 issue
A Missouri man who shot his wife to death says he was using the .22-caliber handgun to punch a hole in an exterior wall while installing a satellite TV system at their home.
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 26, 2008
A Washington State man was arrested for falsely reporting a drive-by shooting. Police said Daniel Kuch had a friend shoot him in the shoulder so he could avoid going to work and having to take a drug test.
Source: The Week, March 14, 2008 issue
A Wisconsin man recently used a torch to clear the snow from his driveway and accidentally set fire to his garage. Damage to the garage and the two cars inside are estimated at $20,000.
Source: The Week, March 7, 2008 issue
Scientists have devised a way to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand of hair, a technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims. The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in the hair of people.
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune, March 1, 2008
A Detroit-area restaurant owner believes he has broken the world record for "largest hamburger commercially available." After 12 hours of preparation and baking, the 134-pound burger with 50 pound bun emerged at Mallie's Sports Bar and Grill. Flipping the burger required three men using two steel sheets.
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune, February 25, 2008
A Louisiana man who had just completed a videogame called a friend to announce, "I have killed them all." Thomas Ballard had dialed the wrong number, and the frightened woman who answered called police. No bodies were found, but police arrested Ballard anyway on an outstanding drug charge.
Source: The Week, February 29, 2008 issue
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