19 weirdest news stories of 2018

The Oval Office is arguably one of the most important rooms in the world, a meeting place for presidents, political leaders and esteemed guests from around the world.

But in October, rapper Kanye West stopped by to meet with President Trump to tell him what a great job he’s doing.

The Oval Office has seen more Hollywood celebrities of late, including West’s wife, Kim Kardashian.

Weird, yes. Odd, maybe. We asked psychiatrists, psychologists and ­other ­experts to weigh in on some odd behaviours that are surprisingly common.

In a brilliant and inspiring prank, a Florida man converted his Smart car into a replica of Fred Flinstone’s prehistoric vehicle, dressed up as Fred, and drove it around town.

It wasn’t his bizarre cosplay that got him pulled over, but the fact that he was speeding.

He was later arrested when the officer deemed him to be acting in an unruly manner.

Strange thing to do, but not completely unhinged. Perhaps it was part of a mid-life crisis?

The U.S. Embassy in Australia had a training exercise go hilariously wrong when a faux invitation to a “Cat Pajama-jam” party was accidentally sent out on an email blast by a new staff in training.

The embassy had to send a follow-up email rescinding the invitation and apologizing for not hosting what could have been a hilarious party.

Whether its for cats, dogs or human friends, here’s how to get the party started and keep it moving.

Is it time to welcome our new robot overlords? The field of artificial intelligence has made incredible and, at times, disturbing advances lately—like this development from China: An AI news anchor.

Modelled on real Xinhua news anchor, Zhang Zhao, the robot news anchor went live in November.

He’s remarkably lifelike.

The virtual world is making fast inroads into the ‘real’ world. For instance, take a look at these 8 reasons video games are better for you than books.

If you’ve written an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband,” it’s probably a bad idea to go ahead and do so.

But that’s exactly what Portland, Oregon writer Nancy Crampton-Brophy is accused of doing after her husband was discovered dead from a gunshot wound.

Weird? Maybe, but at least the murder was solved quickly. Unlike these unsolved mysteries that are among the most chilling we’ve ever heard.

Authorities determined in 2018 that the cause of one Arizona wildfire was a gender reveal party gone wrong: On state land, a soon-to-be father shot a bag filled with blue powdered explosives to indicate he and his wife were expecting a boy.

A spark ignited dry grasses nearby, leading to a serious flame.

He now owes $8 million in damages.

A Washington, D.C. court clerk refused to issue a marriage certificate when the groom presented a New Mexico state ID.

The clerk thought that New Mexico was a foreign country—like Mexico—instead of one of the 50 states.

New Mexico has been a state for over a century.

Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity? These former identity thieves confess the tricks they use to scam you right under your nose.

Same-sex relationships don’t just occur in the human world, but in the animal world as well; there are many documented cases of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, reports Yale Scientific.

Two male penguins at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia have not only bonded, but they hatched a fertilised egg and are now raising their baby chick as their own.

Fumbling for words of love? Check out these 10 heartfelt love poems that stand the test of time.

A beer thief in England who looks suspiciously like American actor David Schwimmer (who played Ross Geller on Friends) set the Internet ablaze this autumn.

The suspect resembles Schwimmer so strongly that Schwimmer himself tweeted about his alibi for that date, and the United Kingdom police force officially cleared him as a suspect.

Your own identity is a commodity online. Here are 8 facebook scams that try to usurp yours.

The most Banksy thing the street artist Banksy has ever done occurred at an auction in London in October.

After one of his signature pieces was purchased for $1.4 million, the painting shredded itself—Banksy had hidden a shredder in the painting’s frame.

Whatever the mysterious artist’s intentions were, the painting—which only shredded halfway—is now estimated to have doubled in value, reports the Evening Standard.

Like collectables? Take a look at the 9 most expensive, valuable, and collectable records of all time.