Kick off your weekend with a quick dive into the 10 offbeat stories that slipped under most headlines this week. From a massive wooden dragon that’s distracting drivers, to a daring robbery thwarted by fruit, we’ve gathered the quirkiest bits of news you might have missed. Ready for a roller‑coaster of oddities? Let’s get started.
10 Offbeat Stories Overview
Below you’ll find a ranked rundown of each bizarre incident, complete with vivid details, eye‑catching images, and just enough background to keep you both amused and informed.
10 Beware Of Dragon
North Wales Police have issued a warning to motorists cruising the A5 near Tregarth, Gwynedd: keep your eyes on the road, not the massive dragon perched beside it.
The “dragon” isn’t a beast at all but a 7.6‑meter (25‑foot) oak carving titled Y Ddraig Derw (“the Oak Dragon”). Crafted with a chainsaw by Simon O’Rourke from a fallen oak, the sculpture sits on private land directly facing the highway.
Its sheer size makes it a magnet for drivers who slow down to stare, creating a safety hazard. Since its installation about a month ago, the carving has already been linked to one collision and several near‑misses.
While Welsh police admit they “love the oak dragon,” they stress the importance of maintaining full concentration while driving and advise anyone wishing a closer look to pull over safely. The owner has not announced any plans to relocate the piece.
9 Super Bowl Scandal
Super Bowl LIII may be remembered for its final score, but a lesser‑known controversy erupted over the length of Gladys Knight’s national anthem performance.
While Americans wagered roughly $6 billion on the game, a sizable chunk of those bets were “prop bets” on quirky details—from halftime show outcomes to the color of Gatorade dumped on the victorious coach.
One such prop bet focused on the anthem’s duration. Bookmakers set the over/under line at 1 minute 50 seconds for Knight’s rendition. Initially, it seemed the singer finished the official lyrics at 1:49, which would have paid out the “under.” However, she repeated the phrase “the brave,” extending the performance to about two minutes and pushing the result into the “over” territory.
The crux of the dispute: should the clock stop at the end of the official lyrics, or when the performer finally ceases singing? While one sportsbook placated bettors by paying both sides, most others ruled that the clock stops after the original “brave.”
8 Banana Attack Makes Robber Split
A 69‑year‑old convenience‑store owner in Mississauga, Ontario, turned a potential robbery into a slap‑stick showdown by using a bunch of bananas as her weapon of choice.
Seungae Kim was munching a banana at the till when a masked intruder demanded access to the cash register. When she refused, the thief attempted to leap over the counter.
Kim seized the nearest object—her banana stash—and began smacking the assailant in the face. After a few firm strikes, the robber retreated toward the exit, only to be met with another volley of bananas as Kim tossed the fruit after him. In a later interview, she emphasized that protecting her husband outweighed any concern for the money.
7 It’s Not Smutty If It’s Historical
The British Library has digitized its “Private Case,” a trove of roughly 2,500 erotic and pornographic volumes dating back to the 17th century, making them publicly accessible online.
Among the highlights is the Merryland series, first published in the mid‑18th century. These works use metaphorical language to describe the female body as uncharted territory that must be “ploughed” and explored, penned by various, often anonymous, authors under the narrator Roger Pheuquewell.
The collection also includes writings by the Marquis de Sade and dozens of copies of John Cleland’s 1748 novel Fanny Hill or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, regarded as the first original English‑language pornographic novel. The oldest volume, Rare Verities: the Cabinet of Venus Unlocked and Her Secrets Laid Open, dates to 1658.
Some entries serve more pragmatic purposes. For instance, Harris’s Lists of Covent‑Garden Ladies is an 18th‑century directory cataloguing London’s prostitutes, complete with names, addresses, and brief descriptions. One entry notes that Miss Spencer of No. 35 Newman Street “is never so good a companion as when a little enlivened with the juice of the grape.”
6 USB Drive Sealed Away
Scientists at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) routinely analyze seal scat to monitor marine mammal health. In a surprising twist, one sample yielded a fully functional USB stick packed with holiday photos.
The stick was recovered from a leopard seal collected on Oreti Beach, Invercargill, by a veterinarian and stored frozen for over a year before being thawed for analysis.
After allowing the USB to air‑dry for several weeks, researchers were amazed to find it still in good condition, considering its marine origins. The drive contained images of seals, sea lions, and a video of a mother playing with her pup.
NIWA encourages the public to report seal sightings via a dedicated hotline, and volunteers even patrol beaches searching for more scat samples. The organization posted the USB’s contents online in hopes of identifying its owner.
The mystery was solved when the stick was traced back to Amanda Nally, a local volunteer with the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust, who had inadvertently lost the drive during a field trip.
5 Was James Brown Murdered?
A fresh CNN investigation has reopened the debate surrounding the 2006 death of soul legend James Brown, suggesting that foul play, rather than natural causes, may have been involved.
Brown passed away on Christmas Day after a brief illness. His attending physician, Dr. Marvin Crawford, noted that Brown’s condition had initially improved before deteriorating sharply. Crawford found the sudden decline suspicious, especially after a nurse reported drug residue in the breathing tube that was keeping Brown alive.
More than a dozen individuals—including Brown’s relatives, former manager Frank Copsidas, and Reverend Al Sharpton—have called for renewed scrutiny. The investigation’s primary source, Jacqueline Hollander, a former friend of Brown’s third wife Adrienne Rodriguez, also accused the singer of past sexual assault.
Hollander further alleges that Rodriguez herself may have been murdered by a physician. Officially, Rodriguez’s death was ruled an accidental overdose following plastic surgery, but an informant linked to the investigating officer has claimed she was killed. Whether authorities will launch a new criminal inquiry remains uncertain.
4 Toilet Trouble In Space
The International Space Station experienced an unexpected water leak while astronauts were installing a brand‑new double‑stall toilet system, known as the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS).
The previous toilet, in service since 2008, was due for replacement. The UWMS promises several upgrades, most notably a separate double‑stall design that isolates the toilet from the rest of the hygiene module.
During the process of disconnecting a quick‑disconnect valve for the potable water bus, a mishap caused roughly 9.5 liters (2.5 gallons) of water to gush out. Crew members quickly contained the spill, using towels to absorb the excess, and no serious damage was reported. The new system is slated for full deployment in 2020.
3 Diamond Heist In Belgium
Following a recent Florida tunnel heist, thieves struck again—this time in Antwerp, Belgium, the global hub of the diamond trade.
The criminals rented a house about 400 meters (1,310 feet) from the BNP Paribas Fortis branch, then dug a tunnel connecting to the city’s sewer network. After navigating the sewers, they breached the bank’s vault from below.
When bank staff inspected the vault on Monday, they discovered that approximately 30 safes had been pried open and their contents removed. While officials have withheld details on the exact loot or its estimated value, the bank’s clientele suggests a substantial haul of diamonds.
Police have arrested a 27‑year‑old suspect linked to the operation, though further information about accomplices or the full scope of the theft remains scarce.
2 Beer Or Wine First?
The age‑old adage “Beer before wine, and you’ll feel fine; wine before beer, and you’ll feel queer” was put to the scientific test by British and German researchers.
Ninety volunteers aged 19‑40 were recruited to consume a standardized meal followed by three different drinking sequences: 1.2 liters (2.5 pints) of lager then four large glasses of white wine; the reverse order; and finally, a control group drinking only beer or wine of equivalent alcohol concentration. Participants stopped once their blood alcohol reached 0.11 %.
Throughout the night, subjects completed cognitive quizzes and were given a glass of water before bedtime. The following morning, they rated their hangovers on a scale measuring nausea, dizziness, headache, thirst, fatigue, and loss of appetite.
After repeating the experiment a week later with swapped drink orders, researchers found no statistically significant difference in hangover severity. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study concluded that the order of beer and wine consumption does not affect hangover intensity.
1 A New Look At Dyatlov Pass
Russian prosecutors have reopened the infamous 1959 Dyatlov Pass case, which claimed the lives of nine seasoned hikers in the Ural Mountains.
On January 23, 1959, a group of seven men and two women led by Igor Dyatlov set out on a trek. In the dead of night, all fled their tent clothed only in underwear, subsequently succumbing to the elements.
Rescue teams later discovered the tent slashed open, with bodies exhibiting broken bones and head injuries. Soviet officials at the time blamed “spontaneous power of nature,” but that explanation failed to account for the hikers’ inexplicable decision to abandon shelter.
Over the decades, theories have ranged from secret KGB operations and escaped convicts to local Mansi tribal violence, Yeti attacks, and alien involvement. Prosecutors have now dismissed any criminal motive, focusing instead on three natural scenarios: an avalanche, a snow slab, or a hurricane‑like windstorm.
Modern investigative technology is expected to shed new light on the mystery, with officials planning a field visit to the remote site next month.