Welcome to our roundup of 10 offbeat stories you might have missed during the past week. If you’re after the serious headlines, feel free to click elsewhere, but if you love the strange, the quirky, and the downright weird, keep scrolling.
This week’s batch includes a swimming sea cucumber with a nickname that sounds like a horror movie, an inflatable colon that vanished into thin air, a septuagenarian felled by mischievous monkeys, a survey revealing what scares Americans most, a perfectly rectangular iceberg, a courtroom drama fueled by flatulence, a doppelgänger of a beloved sitcom star, illegal construction at a world‑famous basilica, a fossil preserving bird lungs, and the oldest intact shipwreck ever found.
10 The Headless Chicken Monster Of The Deep
A rare marine creature was captured on film for the first time while gliding through the deep waters of the Southern Ocean. The odd‑looking animal earned the nickname “headless chicken monster,” marking only the second recorded sighting of its kind.
Despite the eye‑catching moniker, the “monster” is simply a sea cucumber known scientifically as Enypniastes eximia. This vivid purple cucumber, roughly the size of a basketball, sports wing‑like extensions. What sets it apart from most of its relatives is its rarity and its ability to swim, preferring to drift in the water column before settling on the seabed to filter feed on plankton.
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) discovered the creature about three kilometres (1.8 mi) beneath the surface off Heard Island. Research scientist Dirk Welsford and his team were initially baffled, turning to a quick internet search to identify the organism. Their sense of humour led them to label it the “headless chicken monster,” a playful nod to its chicken‑like silhouette.
9 Why Steal A Giant Colon?
A massive, three‑metre‑long (10 ft) inflatable colon vanished from the University of Kansas Cancer Center.
Weighing 68 kg (150 lb) and valued at $4,000, the colon belonged to the Cancer Coalition, which loans the device for educational events nationwide. Set up as a tunnel, it allows visitors to walk through and learn about colorectal cancer, encouraging screenings. According to John Ashcraft, a surgical oncologist at the center, screening is “the most powerful weapon we have against colorectal cancer,” and the inflatable colon serves as a “great conversation starter” on the sensitive topic.
The thief’s motive remains a mystery. The colon was found in the bed of a parked pickup truck, suggesting the perpetrator may have seized an unexpected opportunity without realizing the true nature of the item.
8 Monkey See, Monkey Hit
We can’t say there’s a “right” way to meet your end, but a 72‑year‑old Indian man was fatally pelted with bricks by a troop of monkeys. While police are treating the incident as an accident, the victim’s family insists foul play is at work.
On October 17, Dharampal Singh ventured out to gather dry wood in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. A group of monkeys began hurling bricks at him, striking his head, legs, and chest. Singh was rushed to a hospital where he later died from his injuries.
His brother, Krishnapal Singh, filed a request for law enforcement to open a First Information Report (FIR) against the monkeys, effectively charging them with a cognizable offense. Local police have so far refused, arguing that such a demand would make them a “laughingstock.” Undeterred, the family has appealed to higher authorities.
7 What Are Americans Afraid Of?
Chapman University in California released its annual survey ranking the biggest fears among Americans. Researchers interviewed a random sample of 1,190 adults across the United States in June, asking them to rate their level of fear on 94 different topics.
The top concern this year was government corruption, with nearly 74 % of respondents indicating they were either afraid or very afraid of corrupt officials. This marks the fourth consecutive year that corruption has topped the list. In 2018, environmental worries also featured prominently, with pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes ranking second, and drinking‑water contamination third. The top five fears also included financial insecurity and serious illness among loved ones.
Common phobias didn’t rank as high as one might expect. Acrophobia (fear of heights) placed 41st, with 33.6 % of respondents expressing fear, while fear of sharks landed ten spots lower at 29.2 %. Oddly, 8.4 % of Americans admitted to being afraid of zombies—slightly more than ghosts but far less than demons.
6 The Most Satisfying Iceberg In The World
NASA recently posted a photo on Twitter that left many viewers puzzled: an iceberg with a perfect rectangular shape and a flat top.
The ice block was spotted drifting off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula near the Larsen C ice shelf. NASA captured the image as part of Operation IceBridge, a mission that surveys polar ice to create detailed 3‑D maps of both the Arctic and Antarctic, helping scientists track changes over time.
Ice scientist Kelly Brunt admitted the iceberg looked “a bit unusual.” While most icebergs are chaotic and irregular, this one is a classic tabular iceberg—a large, flat‑topped slab with near‑vertical sides that broke off an ice shelf. Its crisp, straight edges suggest it calved very recently. Over time, wind and sea currents will erode those perfect lines, turning the iceberg into a more typical, irregular shape.
5 Flatulence Will Get You Nowhere
A man dubbed the “farting felon” recently pled guilty to several charges, including gun and drug possession, in Kansas City, Missouri.
The bizarre saga began in the fall of 2017 when police stopped a vehicle and discovered drugs and firearms. Sean Sykes Jr., seated in the passenger seat, denied any knowledge of the contraband. When a detective asked for his address, Sykes “leaned to one side of his chair and released a loud fart before answering.” He continued to fart throughout the interview until the detective ended the questioning.
No charges were filed at that time. Two months later, Sykes was stopped again, this time with marijuana, cocaine, and a stolen revolver found in his possession. He entered an arraignment this week and pleaded guilty. It remains unclear whether his flatulence was a defensive tactic or simply an expression of contempt for law enforcement.
4 Is David Schwimmer A Ruthless Criminal?
Speaking of felonies, could the former Friends star have turned to crime? While David Schwimmer himself remains innocent, a look‑alike did not.
Police in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, posted an image on social media of a man fleeing with a case of beer, asking the public to help identify the suspect. Observers quickly noted the thief’s resemblance to Schwimmer.
Blackpool Police’s Facebook page flooded with thousands of “Ross Geller” quotes and references. Police later confirmed that Schwimmer was in the United States at the time of the robbery, ruling him out as a suspect.
Schwimmer himself joked about the mix‑up, posting a video of himself stealing a case of beer in New York as an alibi. Lancashire officers subsequently announced they had identified the actual thief.
3 Sagrada Familia Is Illegal
Although nearly 140 years old, Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia basilica is still under construction. When architect Antoni Gaudí died in 1926, the project was only a quarter complete. Since then, construction has proceeded intermittently, with hopes of finishing by 2026 to mark the centenary of Gaudí’s death.
However, the entire build has technically been illegal because the church never secured a proper building permit. After more than a century of oversight, the church’s board of trustees recently reached an agreement with the city council to pay €36 million to bring the project up to code.
The payment will be spread over the next decade, funding improvements to the surrounding neighborhood, upgrading transport infrastructure, and enhancing four major roads to accommodate the millions of tourists who flock to this UNESCO World Heritage Site each year.
2 Bird Fossil Still Has Lungs
An international team of Chinese and American paleontologists uncovered the first known example of fossilized lungs belonging to a bird that lived alongside the dinosaurs.
The species, Archaeorhynchus spathula, dates to roughly 120 million years ago in the Cretaceous period. A specimen from Northeastern China was abruptly buried by a volcanic eruption, preserving the bird in ash. The rapid burial fossilized not only its skeleton but also soft tissue, leaving remnants of its lungs intact millions of years later.
Early avian evolution remains a mystery, and this discovery provides priceless insight. Lungs were crucial for the development of powered flight, and the find suggests that specialized avian lungs emerged earlier than previously thought. Prior to this, scientists inferred lung structure from skeletal features alone.
Even before the lung discovery, the specimen attracted attention for preserving its plumage—a first for this group of extinct birds. When researchers examined the torso, they were thrilled to spot the lung tissue, prompting one team member to exclaim, “Boom! Lung tissue.”
1 Oldest Intact Shipwreck In The World
Maritime scientists have hailed the discovery of the world’s oldest intact shipwreck, located at the bottom of the Black Sea off Bulgaria’s coast.
The find emerged from the Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project, a joint Anglo‑Bulgarian effort to locate historic wrecks. Radiocarbon dating indicates the 23‑metre‑long (75‑ft) vessel is about 2,400 years old, likely a Greek merchant ship that shuttled between the Mediterranean and Greek colonies along the Black Sea shoreline.
The ship bears a striking resemblance to the vessel depicted on the Siren Vase in the British Museum, which dates to around 480 BC and shows Odysseus passing the Sirens. The wreck’s exceptional preservation stems from its location in anoxic (oxygen‑free) water at over 2,000 metres (6,560 ft) depth. This environment prevents wood‑eating organisms from damaging the hull, and the depth makes it inaccessible to divers, though remote‑controlled submersibles can explore it.
Two robotic explorers captured a 3‑D image of the wreck and retrieved a small sample for carbon dating. Future expeditions aim to investigate the cargo hold and uncover further secrets of this ancient seafaring marvel.