xxxNews Of The Weirdxxx

Bizarre but true stories about real people collected by syndicated columnist Chuck Shepherd.

A 23-year-old man in Hartland, Maine, was hospitalized in March after apparently attempting to commit suicide by crucifying himself. According to an account in the Portland Press Herald, he built a wooden cross, placed it on the floor, and nailed one hand to it. According to the officer, “When he realized that he was unable to nail his other hand to the board, he called 911,” although the officer said he wasn’t sure if the call was for an ambulance or for someone to come help him nail the other hand.

News of additional bizarre species was released recently from last year’s deep-sea research voyage by scientists from Australia and New Zealand (and reported in News of the Weird in October). The oddest this time was the “deep sea angler fish,” because of its sex life. According to Dr. Mark Norman, curator at Museum Victoria in Australia: “The female is the size of a tennis ball. It has big savage teeth” and “a rod lure off the top of its head with a glowing tip to coax in stupid prey.” The male “looks like a black jellybean with fins.” The mating male bites into the female’s side, drinks her blood and gives her sperm. Their flesh eventually fuse together permanently. Said Norman, “They have found females with up to six males attached.”

Mice Living the Good Life: University of Southern California researchers announced in February that they were able to breed mice with a certain skin gene “overexpressed,” resulting in the mices’ growing thicker hair, more whiskers and “significantly larger” “external genitalia.”
Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla. 33679 or Weird@compuserve.com
Copyright © 2001 by Chuck Shepherd

NEWS OF THE WEIRD