Chuck Shepherd
Columnist | Weird news
E-mail: WeirdNews@earthlink.net
Chuck Shepherd writes the syndicated column News of the Weird.
Recent content from Chuck Shepherd
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News of the Weird
CNN, reporting from the London Zoo in August, described the excitement surrounding news that the zoo would soon acquire a 12-year-old male gorilla from a preserve in France. Zoo officials were pleased, but its three older female gorillas were almost ecstatic. Shown posters of Yeboah, the male, female Zaire "shrieked in delight"; Effie wedged the poster into a tree and stared at it; and Mjukuu held the photo close to her chest, "then ate it."
Nov 20, 2009 -
News of the Weird
Procter & Gamble announced in October that it will once again create and host a public restroom for the holiday season in New York City's Times Square as a promotion for Charmin tissue. Last year's installation was merely specially outfitted toilet facilities. This year, P&G will upgrade by hiring five bloggers (Charmin Ambassadors) to "interact" with the expected "hundreds of thousands of bathroom guests" and write about their experiences with Charmin tissue on the company's website (and include family-friendly photographs). P&G is calling the campaign "Enjoy the Go."
Nov 13, 2009 -
News of the Weird
For three weeks in September, budget-conscious Mayor Sallie Peake of Wellford, S.C., barred the police from chasing perpetrators of crimes in progress, even if officers drove at the speed limit.
Nov 6, 2009 -
News of the Weird
The human brain's 100 billion neurons might have such specific functions that a few electrically charge only upon recognition of a single celebrity, such as Oprah Winfrey or Bill Clinton.
Oct 30, 2009 -
News of the Weird
Before Arthur David Horn met his future bride, Lynette (a "metaphysical healer"), in 1988, he was a tenured professor at Colorado State, with a doctorate in anthropology from Yale, teaching a mainstream course on human evolution.
Oct 23, 2009 -
News of the Weird
Beneath the luxury hotels on the Las Vegas Strip lie flood tunnels that are home to dozens of people who work odd jobs such as hustling leftover change in casino slot machines.
Oct 16, 2009 -
News of the Weird
What is believed to be the world's only commercial lounge openly serving cocaine operates in La Paz, Bolivia. The owners of Route 36 do have to change locations from time to time, depending on the moods of the bribed authorities.
Oct 9, 2009 -
News of the Weird
Police in Deer Lake, Newfoundland, decided in August not to press charges against three boys whom they previously believed had harassed a young moose so badly that it had to be put down. A final piece of evidence against prosecution came from the father of one of the boys, who vouched that the three could not have committed such a crime since they had been busy at the time, vandalizing a nearby church.
Oct 2, 2009 -
News of the weird
If society were ever attacked by zombies, we would probably be doomed, and quickly. That was the conclusion of two university researchers in Ottawa, Ontario, who set up mathematical models hypothesizing zombie attacks as infectious diseases with the well-known characteristics of zombie biology from popular fiction. In fact, according to a July BBC News report, zombies are more threatening than virulent diseases because they can regenerate (unless decapitated or incinerated, of course).
Sep 25, 2009 -
News of the Weird
The pharmaceutical company Allergan has introduced eyelash-thickener Latisse, a $120 per month prescription "medication" to help a woman overcome feelings of inadequacy if she suffers from scrawny lashes.
Sep 18, 2009
