10 Weirdest News Stories of 2015

The world is full of weird and wonderful things, and while some may find the items in this list amusing, strange, or even shocking, other will find them bizarre, incredible, or improbable, but we hope that everybody finds them to be entertaining. Herewith then, ten of the weirdest news stories and reports of the year 2015.

Werewolves in Brazil.Photographs and security film footage from the Brazilian city of Ceilândia shows what is purported to be werewolf roaming the streets. Several witnesses allegedly saw the creature, which prompted authorities to issue a warning to citizens to be careful, and to keep a sharp lookout for what might be an actual werewolf.

“Lobismem”, or werewolves, are believed by many in Brazil to be the seventh male child of the same parents, and that the metamorphosis happens when the child enters puberty at around the age of thirteen. However, it can also happen on any Friday during Lent, or on Friday 13th during a full moon, but apparently only during the hours from midnight to 2 am.
Many sightings of werewolves have been reported in Brazil in recent years, but no empirical , or even circumstantial evidence of their existence, or predations has yet been found, although residents in areas where sighting have been reported are said to be extremely wary of 13 year-old boys.Source: http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/08/werewolf-photograph-has-brazilian-city-on-alert/

Pigeon Caught Spying In India.

The Times of India recently reported the saga of an attempt by Pakistan to use pigeons for espionage in India. According to reports, the small white pigeon, which was captured by a young boy inside India, carried a note containing a Pakistani telephone number and some words in Urdu, Pakistan’s national language.
India and Pakistan have fought three deadly wars, and since both nations possess nuclear weapons authorities in India chose to err on the side of caution, and as a result subjected the hapless pigeon to a thorough X-ray examination, which however, failed to produce further evidence of espionage on the part of Pakistan.

Nonetheless, the incident was officially recorded as a suspected attempt at spying, which prompted the Pakistanis to respond by Tweeting about “India being in a flutter about a recently discovered nest of spies”, and posting pictures of pigeons dressed as James Bond. Soon after the incident, Pakistani game developers released games in which players get to shoot down feathered secret agents. Read more at http://www.npr.org/2015/06/03/411660219/pigeon-from-pakistan-captured-in-india-is-it-a-spy

Demon captured on camera?

A 42-year-old man from Richmond, south London, who understandably wishes to remain anonymous, recently took a picture of what he believed to be demon while he was visiting with his parents in Jamaica.

According to reports, the secondary school teacher took a photograph of a painting depicting a tranquil waterfall, but instead of a waterfall, the picture showed the angry face of a demon, which disturbed family members believe resembles an elderly, disgruntled relative. The reason for the disgruntlement of the relative is believed to revolve around the fact that she was removed from her house to end her days in a care facility.

Upon seeing the image of the leering, demonic face, one family member said that “It is disgusting and has given me headaches.” The family has since fled from the haunted house, and now lives in rented accommodation. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/demon-captured-camera-spooky-picture-5992033

Female Alien On Mars!

The presence of aliens on Earth is accepted as fact by many, but a recent NASA image seems to show the figure of a female alien watching the Mars Rover approach her. Although the image lacks clarity and focus, it seems to show the figure of a female with long flowing hair watching the Rover from the crest of a small hill. You decide- artefact, living being, or Photoshop? Source: http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2015/08/alien-woman-on-mars-watching-rover-from.html and the NASA photo: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl-raw images/msss/01001/mcam/1001ML0044610000305331D01_DXXX.jpg

Police Department Pays Ransom For Their Data.

When officers of the Tewksbury, Massachusetts, Police department encountered difficulty in accessing their data files, they thought at first that the computer system was just being cranky again. However, closer inspection showed that the system had been hacked and encrypted.

With some difficulty, a IT specialist managed to extract this chilling message-(paraphrased) “Your personal files are encrypted, and the decryption key will cost you $500.” The massage also stated that- “If you really value your data, then we suggest you do not waste valuable time searching for other solutions because they do not exist.”

Five days of unrelenting efforts by Federal, State, and two independent internet security companies failed to unlock the data, which left the Tewksbury Police Department with no other option than to pay the $500 ransom in Bit coin. According to official Police sources in Tewksbury, no data was lost, or compromised in any way other than being held ransom for five days.
Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/04/06/tewksbury-police-pay-bitcoin-ransom-hackers/PkcE1GBTOfU52p31F9FM5L/story.html

Legal Lunacy: Drug tests for chess players, band members, and the Academic Team.

According to reports from the city of Tecumseh, Oklahoma, drug use among school children is so widespread that concerned parents decided the only way to stop it, would be to impose mandatory drug tests on all children involved in extracurricular school activities- including the chess team.

However, a member of the choir, marching band, and the Academic Team, Lindsay Earls, took grave offence on behalf of all students, and instituted legal action against the parents that eventually ended up being decided in the Supreme Court. As a defence against the charge that children high on drugs pose a danger to themselves, and society at large even while playing chess, Earls cited the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees personal privacy, and requires reasonable suspicion before a search of your person can be carried out by law enforcement officials.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who heard the case, restored sanity during her decision, part of which is reproduced here: “The School District cites the dangers faced by members of the band, who must perform extremely precise routines with heavy equipment and instruments in close proximity to other students and by Future Farmers of America, who are required to individually control and restrain animals as large as 1500 pounds … Notwithstanding nightmarish images of out-of-control flatware, livestock run amok, and colliding tubas disturbing the peace and quiet of Tecumseh, the great majority of students the School District seeks to test in truth are engaged in activities that are not safety sensitive to an unusual degree.” Source: http://www.cracked.com/article_19147_5-awesomely-sarcastic-supreme-court-decisions.html

Weird inventions: Blood lamp.

Designer Mike Thompson has come up with a sure fire way to prevent turning on lights unless it is absolutely necessary. Concerned about the profligate use of electrical energy, Thompson has designed a lamp that requires a drop of your blood before it will light up.

The lamp consists of a container filled with Luminol, a substance that is used in forensic investigations to confirm the presence of blood, which glows bright blue when brought into contact with red blood cells. The only way to light up this lamp is to add a drop of your blood to the container, which is a personal sacrifice that is sure to make anyone think twice before turning on all the lights in the house. Source: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/photos/15-bizarre-green-inventions/blood-lamp

Environmentally friendly warfare?

Concerned about the environmental devastation caused by falling bombs, German scientists have developed eco-friendly bombs which will still kill as many of your enemies as you want, but at a reduced cost to the environment.
Traditional bombs derive their explosive power from carbon; however, the new eco-friendly bombs use tetrazoles, nitrogen-based explosives that generate fewer toxic substances upon detonation. Two bombs, code-named HBT and G2ZT, have been shown to be less prone to accidental detonation, while still retaining the destructive power of their carbon-based predecessors. Way to go! Source: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/photos/15-bizarre-green-inventions/eco-friendly-bombs

New marine species discovered.

Scientists have released details of a new species of angler-fish that live in the Gulf of Mexico, at depths between 3 280-, and 5 000 feet, where they are subjected to pressures of about one ton per square inch. According to reports, the fish that look like something from another world are only 1.2-. to 3.7 inches long, and have what appear to be controllable “lures” growing out of their heads.

Equipped with needle-like teeth, the little monsters snap at their prey that approach the brightly shining “lure” that is lit up by bio-luminescent bacteria. Although no males have been observed, scientists are not surprised, since it is known that females of the various angler-fish suborders can be as much as 60 times longer, and 500 000 times as big as the males, who sometimes fuse into the female’s body in order to extract nutrients- for which they deliver sperm in return.
Source: http://www.livescience.com/51785-haunting-anglerfish-discovered.html

Shocking cultural practices: Eating the ash of the dead.

Recent reports from Venezuela and Brazil state that despite Governmental efforts to eradicate the practice, it is still common for relatives of deceased persons to cremate the remains, before crushing the bones- and eating the ash.

According to tradition, it is forbidden for members of the Yonamamo tribe, who live in both countries to keep any part of the body, which is why the ashes are consumed by all members of the tribe, no doubt to ensure that nobody gets to keep a part of the body as a souvenir.