Offbeat News

BERLIN (AP) — A lawnmower robot’s electronic cries for help foiled a thief’s plan to make off with the grass-cutting automaton. German police said Friday that a homeowner in the western town of Lippstadt was surprised on Tuesday evening with a smartphone message from the robot that

LONDON (AP) — A former birdkeeper who stole a pair of penguins from a British zoo and sold them on Facebook has been sentenced to 32 months in prison. Bradley Tomes was jailed for taking Humboldt penguins Pablo and Penny from Lakes Safari Zoo in northwest England, where he had previously worked

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — What is a 104-year-old woman to do if she wants to visit family members but can’t sit in a car for a long period of time? Denmark resident Margrethe Hansen opted to take a helicopter to go see her 82-year-old son and her grandchildren on Tuesday. A grandson

Sparkplug is back home where he will be safe for the winter

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — Some mistakes are costly, but not this one. A Detroit-area man who accidentally bought an extra lottery ticket won two $1 million jackpots. Samir Mazahem of Dearborn Heights says he was saving numbers on a lottery app after buying a $2 ticket for the June 9 Mega

By MARION RENAULT Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists say the armor of a seemingly indestructible beetle offers clues for designing stronger planes and buildings. The aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle can withstand being crushed by forces almost 40,000 times its body weight. In a

EMBDEN, Maine (AP) — A North Carolina man with a metal detector has found a long-hidden, 222-year-old coin under a few inches of soil outside a church in Maine. The Bangor Daily News reports that Shane Houston was on a metal-detecting trip with a friend from New Hampshire when he found the coin