In the journalism business they are called Brights - little stories of mostly average people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Oddly Enough: Unbelievably Outrageous but True Stories from the News contains the best of these nuggets of the bizarre compiled by Reuters News Agency.

The Road to the Ridiculous

Editor (and Reuters employee) Robert Basler begins the festivities with a two-page introduction in which he describes how the sheer volume of stories from thousands of reporters in over 200 bureaus worldwide led to their daily Oddly Enough column. All stories contained are brief and concise; some are strange and tragic, and all definitely qualify as odd. The approximately 5 x 6 inch book is pocket-sized and contains twelve chapters with titles such as “Not the Brightest People” and “Roadside Sex and Other Moving Violations”. The final chapter is entitled “Potpourri” and holds treasures like exploding sofas and such items not easily classified.

It’s Not Brain Surgery

The first chapter is one of the most entertaining, since stupid people doing likewise things are always good for a chuckle or two. The better brights include the story of how a pair of Colombian women smeared their chests with a powerful drug, inviting men to take a lick, and then robbing them of their wallets and cars.

A Texas man was found guilty of assault when he attacked his girlfriend because he thought she was going to say “New Jersey”. The man, with a history of mental illness (say it ain’t so!) displayed a similar reaction to the words “Wisconsin”, “Snickers” and “Mars”.

By far the most entertaining of this lot concerns three year-old twin boys from France who ransacked a neighbors empty house. They shed their clothes after covering themselves with shampoo and toothpaste, and were found walking in the street naked carrying a bedside lamp, which they though would light their way home.

Can I get the Steak Knives instead?

A scan of Oddly Enough reveals gems from every category, including the perils of Chinese capitalism. A gas war has erupted in western China - but it’s not the prices that are going down. Over one thousand enterprising filling station owners are luring customers with offers of sex with every fill-up.

An Iranian bank-robber was arrested after the invisibility spell he purchased from a sorcerer proved faulty. Another thief in Austria was found passed-out after drinking a bottle of schnapps to boost his courage before setting-off on his bank-robbing deed.

Animals Do the Darndest Things

After you sift through the “Exploding Toilets” and the stolen Krispy Kreme truck that leaves a fifteen-mile trail of donuts for police to follow, there’s always the animal component.

A hungry ferret jumped aboard a British commuter train and terrorized passengers before entering the engineer’s cabin to devour the man’s lunch.

To curb the smuggling of Caspian Sea sturgeon, producers of the world’s finest caviar, Russian police have in their possession a Fish Sniffing Cat. Rusik assists police by identifying fish-smugglers in random checks of area vehicles. Reports reveal he has many successes to his credit, with few flounders.

A Norwegian rat built a nest behind the dashboard of a woman’s car and evaded capture for two weeks. Traps set with a variety of foods including cheese didn’t interest the dirty rat, though his love of liver pate eventually became his downfall.

Pranksters in San Francisco tied one hundred helium balloons to a chicken, which then became entangled in a set of power-lines. The chicken was unharmed, but rescue involved cutting power to thousands of local homes. The petrified pullet was put up for adoption, and the utility issued a statement requesting all chickens be grounded in the future.

So, What About the Exploding Sofa?

Oddly Enough: Unbelievably Outrageous but True Stories from the News contains 250 tales hot off the Reuters News Agency wire. Glossy, heavy-stock paper gives the softbound book a quality look and feel, and the interpretive artwork inspires a giggle or two - making it suitable for either powder-room library or coffee-table display.

As for the exploding sofa, it seems with the political unrest in Albania lately, people are always misplacing their hand grenades. A young couple bought the sofa of their dreams, only to have it blown to pieces when movement caused by unloading detonated the mislaid device.

Oddly Enough, you too can unearth treasures like this - the Epinions Database holds hundreds of such wacky items - Dive into the Kingfish Write-Off Today!

Oddly Enough: Unbelievably Outrageous but True Stories from the News (2004)
Edited by Robert Basler
MQ Publications Limited
12 The Ivories
6-8 Northhampton Street
London, N1 2HY
mqpublications.com
ISBN: 1840725958
Cover Price: $14.95 (US) $22.95 (CAN)
Purchase Price: $3.95 @ edwardrhamilton.com


Recommended: Yes