Weird News

One of the gorillas at Zoo Atlanta has been under pressure lately. Zoo keepers, along with undergraduate students from Georgia Tech and reseachers from Emory University, got a western lowland gorilla named Ozzie to voluntarily have his blood pressure taken by a machine students designed called the Gorilla Tough Cuff. Zoo officials say it's the first time a gorilla has ever voluntarily had its blood pressure taken in any zoo in the world. Read More

"They call me the hardware store," says Requelme Abanto from his hospital bed in northern Peru. Doctors in the city of Cajamarca said they removed 1.5 pounds of metal from Abanto's stomach, including nails, coins, and rusted copper wire and scrap metal. Read More

It was just a routine car wash. Except there was no car _ and no clothing. Four Australian men who allegedly undressed and soaped up at a car wash have been charged with exposure and public nuisance. Police said the men paid for a wash before stripping nude and cleaning themselves in the soapy water while their female companions took photos. Read More

Prosecutors have decided to drop charges against two men who got into a raucous fist fight at a St. Petersburg City Council meeting. Frederick Dudley and Ronald Deaton were arrested in October after they began throwing punches during an argument over a decision to privatize a public sidewalk. The men, ages 76 and 61, respectively, were charged with disorderly conduct. Read More

A middle school in North Carolina is selling test scores to students in a bid to raise money. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that a parent advisory council at Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro come up with the fundraising plan after last year's chocolate sale flopped. Read More

Sanitation workers sorted through 10 tons of trash to recover a wedding ring accidentally thrown away by a New Jersey couple. Read More

A Northern Ireland filmmaker has won euro46,000 ($69,000) in damages after a judge ruled that his Irish island home was transformed into a parking lot while he was overseas for six years. Read More

Police said an East Texas man has outsmarted himself in trying to get a quicker response from officers to an alleged assault. Tyler police said 38-year-old Mark Anthony Johnson called 911 on Monday night and reported that he'd just committed a homicide and was armed with a weapon. Read More

A Richmond man will have to live more than a month in one of his neglected rental houses as punishment for failing to maintain his properties. Oliver Lawrence was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail, followed by 40 days in home incarceration at a small, single-story house owned by his company, Bayou Properties. He also was fined more than $177,000. Read More

A man was charged with domestic battery and illegal dumping after authorities said he pushed his girlfriend's car into a river. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office reported that a 36-year-old man and his live-in girlfriend were arguing in her car Sunday night when he kicked her out and drove off. Witnesses reported seeing the man a short time later at a nearby boat ramp, pushing the car toward the water. Read More