Magpie News Collector

Canadian woman breaks two speed records on penny farthing bike

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/23/2025 11:39 AM

A Canadian woman with a talent for riding big-wheeled bikes broke two speed records at an Australian track while pedaling a Victorian-style penny farthing. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Look: Florida deputies wrangle escaped emu

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/23/2025 10:30 AM

Sheriff's deputies in Florida had an unusual day on the job when they were called to wrangle an escaped -- and thirsty -- emu on the loose in Orange County. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Watch: Illegal pet pig 'runs the street' in California, neighbors say

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/22/2025 1:43 PM

Residents of a California neighborhood are complaining about a local pet pig named Wiggly that they say frequently escapes to dig up and damage their yards. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Merchant marine from New York wins $1M lottery prize in Md.

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/22/2025 1:09 PM

A merchant marine from New York City ended up at the Port of Baltimore on assignment and won a $1 million prize from a Maryland Lottery scratch-off ticket. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Look: Illinois firefighters rescue escaped snake on a train

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/22/2025 12:55 PM

Firefighters in a Chicago suburb were called to a train to help capture a ball python that got loose from its owner and slithered into a control box panel. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Look: Firefighters rescue four cows from quicksand on riverbank

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/22/2025 12:14 PM

Firefighters in Carlisle, England, responded to a local riverbank where four cows had sank into quicksand that hardened overnight into a thick mud. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Look: Philippines arcade installs world's largest claw machine

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/22/2025 12:01 PM

An arcade in the Philippines earned a Guinness World Record by installing the world's largest claw machine, which encompasses an area of 1,761 cubic feet. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Watch: Thai zoo uses Moo Deng mascot costume for hippo escape drill

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/22/2025 11:24 AM

A zoo in Thailand used a mascot version of its most famous resident, Moo Deng the pygmy hippo, for a drill testing zookeepers' response to an animal escape. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Maryland woman's accidental purchase earns her second big lottery win

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/21/2025 4:09 PM

A Maryland woman who won a $100,000 lottery prize a few years ago scored another $50,000 prize from a scratch-off -- and this time, she's keeping it a secret. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Look: Baby raccoon removed from engine compartment of semi truck

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/21/2025 1:47 PM

An animal services officer in Colorado's Arapahoe County came to the rescue of a baby raccoon found taking a nap in the engine compartment of a semi truck. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Pokémon superfan collects 1,200 Gengar items

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/21/2025 1:27 PM

A Hong Kong man's 22-year devotion to his favorite Pokémon earned him a Guinness World Records title for the largest collection of Gengar memorabilia. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Look: Water monitor lizard on the loose in Massachusetts town

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/21/2025 11:32 AM

Animal control officers in Massachusetts are using a drone to search local swimming pools for a water monitor lizard on the loose in a Webster neighborhood. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Woman flooded with calls about nonexistent cat due to a T-shirt

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/18/2025 1:47 PM

A British Columbia woman's phone has been flooded with calls about a missing cat that doesn't exist, and it's all because of a T-shirt sold online. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Watch: Golf tournament cancels opening day due to bear on the course

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/18/2025 11:53 AM

The opening day of a golf tournament in Japan was called off when a bear was spotted on the course -- the second such incident in the past two months. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Man wins $50,000 twice in one month from the same lottery game

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/17/2025 4:29 PM

An Arkansas man scored a $50,000 prize from a scratch-off ticket less than a month after winning the same amount of money from the same lottery game. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Rosebud sled from 'Citizen Kane' auctioned for $14.75 million

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/17/2025 2:11 PM

The Rosebud sled from Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" was auctioned for $14.75 million, becoming the second-most expensive piece of movie memorabilia ever sold. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Watch: Reported person stuck in California canal turns out to be blow-up doll

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/17/2025 1:47 PM

A 911 call about a person trapped in the rushing water of a canal led emergency responders in California to the discovery of a discarded blow-up doll. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

Watch: Paramedics rescue raccoon with head stuck in soup can

By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/17/2025 11:47 AM

Paramedics in Little Rock, Ark., came to the rescue of a hungry raccoon that ended up with its head stuck inside an empty Campbell's Chunky Soup can. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

North Dakota's 4th Largest City Overrun By Ground Squirrels

By HuffPost.com | | 7/17/2025 11:30 AM

The rodents have proliferated in Minot, where they are causing damage to driveways, sidewalks and lawns; and creating tripping hazards with their holes. ... Read full Story

odd_fun

A humanoid robot has painted a picture of Charles. How did it do?

By Sky News | | 7/16/2025 10:25 PM

Whether or not the UK will have a Royal Family in the future is something that often comes up in debate. ... Read full Story

art

INCONTRI at Deborah Schamoni

by Contemporary Art Daily | Aug 01 2025

auto

Sony-Honda Is Now Building Pre-Production Units Of The Afeela EV

by carbuzz.com | Aug 02 2025

connecticut

Judge sends English Station cleanup dispute back to DEEP

by CT Mirror | Aug 01 2025

fashion

Mystery $10M Birkin buyer says purchase was his ‘most expensive’ ever: ‘Made me sick to my stomach’

by NY Post | Aug 01 2025

FFNEWS

For-Hire Trucking Index shows fourth month of volume declines

by FreightWaves | Aug 01 2025

golf

War Amputees Find New Purpose on the Golf Course

by NY Times | Jul 25 2025

metro

Two convicted NYC killers released without bail after drug-dealing arrests in tony Greenwich Village: ‘Insanity’

by New York Post | Aug 02 2025

nation

Photos show how White House gardens have bloomed in years past -- and today

by upi.com | Aug 01 2025

new_jersey

NJ Spotlight News: August 1, 2025

by NJ Spotlight | Aug 01 2025

odd_fun

Thousands of hot dogs spill across busy highway

by Sky News | Aug 01 2025

opinion

BROADCAST BIAS: ABC compares Sydney Sweeney ad to Nazis as networks go nuts about her ‘genes’

by Opinion on Fox News | Aug 02 2025

real_estate

Radiant’s Exterior Takes Shape at 24-01 Queens Plaza North in Long Island City, Queens

by New York YIMBY | Aug 02 2025

science

Aye-ayes: The strange nocturnal lemurs with long, creepy fingers

by LIVE SCIENCE | Aug 02 2025

travel

French seaside town will fine “half-naked” tourists

by The Travel Magazine | Aug 02 2025

upstate

Aerosciences museum receives funding as plane crash victim remembered

by NEWS10 ABC | Aug 01 2025

Word of the Day

palimpsest

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2025 is:

palimpsest • \PAL-imp-sest\ • noun

Palimpsest in its original use refers to writing material (such as a parchment manuscript) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased; the underlying text is said to be “in palimpsest.” Palimpsest in extended use refers to something that has usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.

// Scholars believe the motive for making palimpsests was often economic—reusing parchment was cheaper than preparing a new skin.

// The ancient city is an architectural palimpsest.

See the entry >

Examples:

“My aim was to trace the course of … the Aqua Marcia, built between 144 and 140 B.C. by Julius Caesar’s ancestor Quintus Marcius Rex. … The original tuff arches carried the Marcia across a steep ravine. Subsequent retaining walls and buttresses have transformed the bridge into a palimpsest of building styles.” — David Laskin, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024

Did you know?

Long ago, writing surfaces were so highly valued that they were often used more than once. Palimpsest in its original use referred to an early form of recycling in which an old document was erased to make room for a new one when parchment ran short. (The word is from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning “scraped again.”) Fortunately for modern scholars, the erasing process wasn’t completely effective, so the original could often be distinguished under the newer writing. De republica, by Roman statesman and orator Cicero, is one of many documents recovered from a palimpsest. Nowadays, the word palimpsest can refer not only to such a document but to anything that has multiple layers apparent beneath the surface.

Canadian woman breaks two speed records on penny farthing bike

Look: Florida deputies wrangle escaped emu

Watch: Illegal pet pig 'runs the street' in California, neighbors say

Merchant marine from New York wins $1M lottery prize in Md.

Look: Illinois firefighters rescue escaped snake on a train

Look: Firefighters rescue four cows from quicksand on riverbank

Look: Philippines arcade installs world's largest claw machine

Watch: Thai zoo uses Moo Deng mascot costume for hippo escape drill

Maryland woman's accidental purchase earns her second big lottery win

Look: Baby raccoon removed from engine compartment of semi truck

Pokémon superfan collects 1,200 Gengar items

Look: Water monitor lizard on the loose in Massachusetts town

Woman flooded with calls about nonexistent cat due to a T-shirt

Watch: Golf tournament cancels opening day due to bear on the course

Man wins $50,000 twice in one month from the same lottery game

Rosebud sled from 'Citizen Kane' auctioned for $14.75 million

Watch: Reported person stuck in California canal turns out to be blow-up doll

Watch: Paramedics rescue raccoon with head stuck in soup can

North Dakota's 4th Largest City Overrun By Ground Squirrels

A humanoid robot has painted a picture of Charles. How did it do?

INCONTRI at Deborah Schamoni

Sony-Honda Is Now Building Pre-Production Units Of The Afeela EV

Judge sends English Station cleanup dispute back to DEEP

Mystery $10M Birkin buyer says purchase was his ‘most expensive’ ever: ‘Made me sick to my stomach’

For-Hire Trucking Index shows fourth month of volume declines

War Amputees Find New Purpose on the Golf Course

Two convicted NYC killers released without bail after drug-dealing arrests in tony Greenwich Village: ‘Insanity’

Photos show how White House gardens have bloomed in years past -- and today

NJ Spotlight News: August 1, 2025

Thousands of hot dogs spill across busy highway

BROADCAST BIAS: ABC compares Sydney Sweeney ad to Nazis as networks go nuts about her ‘genes’

Radiant’s Exterior Takes Shape at 24-01 Queens Plaza North in Long Island City, Queens

Aye-ayes: The strange nocturnal lemurs with long, creepy fingers

French seaside town will fine “half-naked” tourists

Aerosciences museum receives funding as plane crash victim remembered

Word of the Day

10 Odd & Fun

1.Wild Pennsylvania Highway Spill Leads To Commuters' Wurst Nightmare

2.Thousands of hot dogs spill across busy highway

3.'This shouldn't have happened': Bishop who interrupted church choir in dressing gown apologises

4.Watch: Newborn squirrel rescued after falling out of tree

5.Watch: Paddleboarding pooches break three world records

6.Look: Escaped monitor lizard returns to Massachusetts, evades capture

7.Look: Firefighters rescue bobcat stuck in front grill of vehicle

8.Watch: Giant baseball with 6,750 signatures breaks world record

9.South Africa Hopes Injecting Horns With Radioactive Material Curbs Rhino Poaching

10.Wayward sea lion found wandering in California road