Today's Top Odd News Story
Russia picks cast for movie to be shot in space
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has picked four people to serve as nonprofessional crew members and actors in what is planned to be the first movie to be shot in outer space, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said on Thursday. Learn More
More Top Odd Stories
Vlad the vaccinator: Dracula's castle lures visitors with COVID-19 jabs
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Visitors to Dracula's castle are more likely to find puncture marks in their arms than their necks this month, after medics set up a COVID-19 vaccination centre at the Transylvanian attraction. More »
Ordering takeout? Try a live concert at home
(Reuters) - Live concerts are on the menu for home delivery, as musicians and audiences seek to satisfy their appetite for human interaction. More »
Fresh pizza vending machine prompts curiosity and horror in Rome
ROME (Reuters) - Raffaele Esposito, the 19th century Neapolitan credited with inventing Italy's most famous type of pizza, may be turning in his grave: Rome has a new vending machine which slides out freshly cooked pizzas in just three minutes. More »
Kings of Lagos: children learn chess to seek escape from Nigeria's slums
LAGOS (Reuters) - A dozen children crowd around plastic tables in the Majidun neighbourhood of Lagos. Intently focused on plastic mats printed with chess boards, the children thoughtfully move pieces on the board as supervisors observe their moves. More »
French stunt school's 'badass' women snapped up by film industry
(Correct paragraph 11 in May 6 story to make clear MacNair filed a complaint with the U.S. EEOC and not a civil lawsuit; adds paragraph 12 with EEOC response) More »
Bees in the Netherlands trained to detect COVID-19 infections
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch researchers have trained bees, which have an unusually keen sense of smell, to identify samples infected with COVID-19, a finding they said could cut waiting times for test results to just seconds. More »
How scientists are using a 'romantic solution' to save endangered white abalone
(Reuters) - White abalone - whose flesh is a delicacy and polished shell is prized as mother of pearl - are threatened with extinction. But scientists are looking to turn the tide for these unique sea snails by playing Cupid. More »
Art attack: Israeli ex-sniper blasts paint in mental health message
ASHDOD, Israel (Reuters) - Former Israeli army sniper David Roytman has turned his hand to action painting, using guns and live-fire ranges instead of brushes and studios to blast colours onto canvases. More »
Frontier flap: Belgian farmer moves border with France by 2 metres
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian farmer unwittingly extended his country's territory by moving an ancient stone marking the border with France that was on his land, a group of local history enthusiasts discovered on a walk in a wooded area on the French side. More »
