Offbeat News - News & Opinion - BostonHerald.com

NC school sells test points for $20 to raise money

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:27:22 -0500

GOLDSBORO, N.C. - A middle school in North Carolina is selling test scores to students in a bid to raise money. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that...

Wedding ring found in dump amid 10 tons of trash

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:08:49 -0500

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Sanitation workers sorted through 10 tons of trash to recover a wedding ring accidentally thrown away by a New Jersey couple. Bridget Pericolo had placed...

Mama Mia! Muncher gobbles 50 meatballs

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:59:51 -0500

LAS VEGAS - Joey Chestnut maintained his dominance in the sport of competitive eating - and expanded his palate - by winning the first-ever Martorano's Masters Meatball...

Chestnut wins meatball-eating competition in Vegas

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:19:39 -0500

LAS VEGAS - Joey Chestnut maintained his dominance in the sport of competitive eating - and expanded his palate - by winning the first-ever Martorano's Masters Meatball...

UC Berkeley students make world-record California sushi roll

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:02:01 -0500

BERKELEY, Calif. - It began with ninjas and it ended with tofu, and somewhere in the middle hundreds of amateur sushi rollers set a new world record. The world's longest...

Don't press which button? This one or . . .

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:29:40 -0500

A civilian passenger in a South African military jet accidentally pressed the ejector button, launching him out of the aircraft. The parachute deployed. IT'S...

Don't let Fluffy catch your flu

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:57:06 -0500
If you're not kissing your colleague when you have the flu, then don't kiss your cat. That's the advice from animal advocates who are urging pet owners...

Rolex-obsessed thief to be sentenced in Florida

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:10:44 -0500
KISSIMMEE, Florida - A Florida thief with a peculiar penchant for Rolex watches faces up to 25 years in prison. Leonardo Perez has pleaded guilty to charges he stole eight...

Van stolen 35 years ago in Wash. state recovered

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:41:49 -0500
SPOKANE, Wash. - A Volkswagen van stolen 35 years ago in Washington state has been found in a shipping container at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport. Customs agents found...

Pachyderm panics Okla. driver

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:42:20 -0500
OKLAHOMA CITY - You'd think it would be hard to miss. But an Oklahoma man not only didn't see the escaped circus elephant in the road until the last minute,...

Man appears alive at own funeral in Brazil

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:18:22 -0500
RIO DE JANEIRO - A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral. Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves,...

Judge: Mich. man can sue store he robbed

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:32:52 -0500
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. - A Michigan judge says a man who claims he was chased, shot and beaten by workers at a store he'd just robbed can sue the men. But only if he comes...

Town sets limits for cat lovers

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:15:45 -0500
DUDLEY - Cat ladies, take notice! It's now illegal in Dudley to own more than three cats without getting a special license. Town meeting voters in this central Massachusetts...

Honk for double helix!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:14:03 -0500
SANTA ANA, Calif. - We might never be able to feel sympathy for lousy drivers. But new research may at least help us understand them. A new study at the University of...

343 pounds of sea cucumbers seized at border

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:56:45 -0500
SAN DIEGO - Customs officials say they seized 343 pounds of sea cucumbers at a San Diego border crossing as smugglers tried to bring the Asian culinary delicacy into the U.S....

Ohio woman hopes trick-or-treater may find ring

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:47:20 -0500
TERRACE PARK, Ohio - A Halloween trick or treater in Ohio may have gotten a bigger treat than expected - a diamond ring. A woman in suburban Cincinnati says she thinks...

NH restaurant sets meatball record

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:31:10 -0500
CONCORD, N.H. - The bouncing mega-meatball record has landed in the East Coast. Matthew Mitnitsky, owner of Nonni's Italian Eatery in Concord, said Sunday that a 222.5-pound...

Passenger bolts from plane using ramp

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:42:54 -0500
NICOSIA, Cyprus - Police in Cyprus say a passenger bolted from an airliner after opening a rear exit and sliding down an emergency chute as it prepared for take off. Police...

NH hunter shot while using rope to hoist rifle

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:51:10 -0400
OSSIPEE, N.H. - A New Hampshire deer hunter has accidentally shot himself in the right hand while trying to lift his loaded rifle into a tree stand using a rope tied around...

Yes, that's right, officer, the cow is drunk

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:23:45 -0400
A heavily intoxicated man, driving home from a Halloween party dressed as a cow, became confused when his GPS navigator malfunctioned, causing him to drive right into the...

Cops: Mechanic disabled parked cars for repairs

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:51:15 -0400
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Tennessee police say a mechanic was drumming up business by tampering with parked cars, then charging to help start them. Police arrested 41-year-old...

Police: US man stole ferret by shoving in pants

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:25:57 -0400
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Florida - Police say a homeless man stole a live ferret by stuffing it in his pants. Thirty-eight-year-old Rodney Bolton is charged with theft over...

Florida man creates giant rubber band ball

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:48:24 -0400
LAUDERHILL, Fla. - Look, over there. Under that blue tarp in a suburban driveway. That thing that's the size of a Smart car? It's Joel Waul's rubber band...

Wal-Mart undercuts undertakers

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:48:18 -0400
MILWAUKEE - The world's largest retailer wants to keep its customers even after they die. Wal-Mart has started selling caskets on its Web site at prices that undercut...

Bigfoot hunters turn to rugged W.Va. wilderness

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:12:32 -0400
ELKINS, W.Va. - A team of Bigfoot enthusiasts is hoping to find the legendary creature in the bogs and barrens of a West Virginia wilderness area. Members of Sasquatch...