Strange News

[Insert disturbing reference to HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey here.]

Alexa, Please Stop Laughing: Amazon Says It's Fixing Device's Unprompted Cackles

10:12am March 08, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

After social media lit up with tales of creepy laughter, we now know why: The Echo's virtual assistant has been spontaneously laughing at its users. Now, the company says it is working on the issue.

What's So Funny, Alexa?

6:51am March 08, 2018

Over the past few days, Amazon has received complaints saying Alexa devices are laughing without being prompted. Amazon says it will fix the bug by making the laughing command more specific.

Queue Listen Now

A Swan's Swan Song

5:52am March 08, 2018

Police in Cheshire, England received a disturbing call. Someone had beheaded a swan. They discovered it was a plastic swan.

Queue Listen Now

The message in a bottle was discovered on the beach in Wedge Island, Australia.

World News

Oldest-Known Message In A Bottle Found In Australia

4:30pm March 06, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

In 1866, sailors on a German barque called Paula tossed a gin bottle with a message into waters hundreds of miles off the Australia. It's just been uncovered on Australia's Wedge Island.

National

A Phrase For Our Time: Merriam-Webster Adds 'Dumpster Fire' To Dictionary

4:54pm March 05, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

Editor Peter Sokolowski predicts the phrase is here to stay. "It's been used so broadly in the last two to three years ... that people in the future will have to know what it meant."

Story In 'The Onion' Is Kind Of True

5:02am March 01, 2018

The parody website The Onion had a story about "open-air" sewers in Cleveland. But it was partially true. City officials noted that the city has two elevated sewers.

World News

Strange News

Alexa, Please Stop Laughing: Amazon Says It's Fixing Device's Unprompted Cackles

What's So Funny, Alexa?

A Swan's Swan Song

Oldest-Known Message In A Bottle Found In Australia

A Phrase For Our Time: Merriam-Webster Adds 'Dumpster Fire' To Dictionary

Story In 'The Onion' Is Kind Of True

Toilet Paper Price Rise Triggers Shortage In Taiwan

A Vermont High School Has Just 3 Students

Radio Host Gives Birth On Air

11-Year-Old Summoned For Jury Duty