Most bizzarre story you have ever written

I wrote a story that was published today about some exotic birds that showed up on a local man's deck.
He had no idea where they came from, but the vagabond birds kept eating and hanging out on his deck.

We publish the story this morning, and I get a phone call at about 9 a.m.

The owner wanted to call and tell us that the birds were his. Oh, and that they had both been killed in separate hit and run accidents last night.

What are the odds for this? He said he would have never called us, but his wife opened the newspaper and saw the original story about the birds, so he figured it was news worthy.

This is by far the weirdest story I have ever written. And I think I need to stop writing stories. Just this year, stories I have written caused the breakup of a marriage and killed two birds.

I'd like to hear about some other bizarre stories out there.

 

Talk about killing two birds with one stone...


...and I am showing myself the door.

 

If you're looking for suspects, I'd start with George Costanza

 

Piglet born with 8 legs in Midway, New Mexico.

 

A friend wrote this one:
Ref starts the game by calling two technicals and ejecting coach of undefeated boys HS basketball team.
Coach misses next two games because of "illness," but still teaches classes those days.
Principal and AD insist it's an illness, not a suspension.
Coach doesn't respond to repeated phone messages.
Digging reveals this: Coach walked up to ref before game, handed ref box of condoms and said: "Here, use these when you [expletive deleted] us tonight."
Reached by phone, ref gladly confirms all the details.
AD now says: "Who told you that?"
Told the ref, AD says: "Oh. He did?" And finally confirms the story, and that it was a two-game suspension.
Bottomline: Had they just acknowledged a suspension for some vague "violated school policy" reason, the paper probably would have run a four-paragraph item and moved on. Instead, it became a priority once a lot of man hours were poured into chasing the initial rumors.

 

Sirs, Madames,

Al Howie, a record-setting ultra-marathon runner who was a functioning alcoholic--he would drink a 24 while winning 24-hour races.

I should add, the late Al Howie.

o-<

 

In Jamaica I had to go on a journey in the countryside near a bauxite location to find Coco the shepherd and do a story on a 5-legged cow. The fifth leg protruded from the cow's neck. A week or two later I made the same journey to the same Coco to do a little story on his 3-ear cow.

Something definitely wrong with the water in that part of the country.

 

What was the story that caused the marriage breakup?

 

Well it was more of an engagement. Guy told me he wouldn't move into his fiance's place because she lived on a dirt road.

It was great kicker, because the story was about how this guy is a car fanatic and his cars are pristine. The lady flipped out and gave him back the ring after she read the paper.

I stand by my decision. He later thanked me because he said "she was too crazy."

 

One of my first assignments at my current shop was on a blind team roper. They put bells on the steer's head or tail (depending on whether he's roping the head or feet) and he ropes from the sound. Won an award for the story simply because the guy could spit out great quotes one right after the other. It was one of those stories where you either win an award or you give up writing.

Given the state of our ownership, maybe I should have tanked the story and given up writing.

 

that is awesome

 

Column about a 50-something high school football coach in Podunk implementing the single wing, with the added bonus that he has a PhD and grew up as a carnie (his mother was the bearded lady).