Offbeat
Latest stories
Woman Rises from the Dead at Polish Morgue

A 91-year-old Polish woman surprised morgue workers when she started moving, 11 hours after being declared dead at home, public television reported Thursday.

Janina Kolkiewicz woke up inside a body bag in a cold chamber at the morgue in eastern Poland last Thursday, according to the TVP public broadcaster.

W140 Full Story
Ban the Cowbell? Swiss Farmers Say Utter Nonsense

Holy cow! A Swiss university has sparked ire by suggesting that cowbells -- as emblematic of the Alpine country as chocolates, watches and Heidi -- should be banned.

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich said the traditionally heavy bells had high decibel levels and could cause deafness.

W140 Full Story
Tiger Still on the Loose Near Paris

A tiger remained on the loose near Paris early Friday after firefighters and police called off the search for the night following a fruitless all-day hunt, with worried residents told to stay indoors.

A local woman sounded the alarm the morning of the previous day after spotting the fearsome animal in a supermarket car park in the town of Montevrain -- just a stone's throw from Disneyland Paris.

W140 Full Story
World Tallest, Shortest Men Meet on Records Day

The world's tallest and shortest men came face to shin on Thursday to celebrate the 10th annual Guinness World Records Day, as people across the globe set several bonkers new benchmarks.

Turkey's Sultan Kosen, who stands 2.51 meters (eight feet, nine inches) tall, met with Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Nepal, who measures just 55 centimeters (21 and a half inches).

W140 Full Story
Two Window Washers Rescued from 69th Floor of World Trade Center

Two window washers were rescued at the new World Trade Center Wednesday after the cable secured to their platform snapped and left them dangling 69 floors up for nearly two hours.

Rescuers cut through a window to reach the workers who clung to a platform suspended at a precarious angle at the south side of the building, a frightening 787 feet (240 meters) above ground at Tower One of the complex in lower Manhattan.

W140 Full Story
Troopers Warn of Underwear Bandit in Alaska Town

An underwear bandit is actively stealing women's undergarments in Kodiak, Alaska.

Alaska State Troopers say there's been a rash of burglaries reported lately. People have returned to their homes to find items — mostly women's underwear — missing.

W140 Full Story
Royal Cake Could Fetch Thousands

A three-year-old slice of cake from Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding could raise as much as $2,000 next month when it is put up for auction in California.

Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, California is offering the royal slice at a sale in December dedicated to items belonging to William's mother, the late Princess Diana.

W140 Full Story
Get that Obama or Putin Look for $44, on Chinese Web

Chinese traders are offering the chance to get that "world leader look" by selling copies of the garb worn by Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at this week's APEC summit in Beijing.

While the silky high-collared tunics were based on the traditional "Mao suits" once beloved by Chinese leaders, social media commentators outside the country joked that they resembled the uniforms worn in the sci-fi TV show Star Trek.

W140 Full Story
Arctic Storm has Colorado Shoveling ... Tumbleweed

An arctic storm system has some Coloradoans shoveling out from under tumbleweeds rather than snow.

Tumbleweeds piled up around houses and shops and along roads several feet high in and around Colorado Springs and Pueblo on Monday as the system moved from north to south across the state.

W140 Full Story
Man Rescued from Colorado Department Store's Walls

Authorities say a man who was freed from a space between two walls of a Colorado department store may have been there for several days yelling for help.

Longmont police Sgt. Matt Cage says Paul Felyk was rescued Tuesday. The Longmont Times-Call reports (http://tinyurl.com/mokop25 ) firefighters used a circular saw to cut into the side of the building to free him.

W140 Full Story