Chuck Shepherd et al. Beyond News of the Weird (1991)

     Chuck Shepherd et al. Beyond News of the Weird (1991) Chuck Shepherd for several years ran a newsletter gathering strange news. I have a nearly complete collection. The criterion for inclusion was publication in an actual newspaper, with as much detail as possible. He asked people to send him clippings; I did this for a while, and my reward was this book and my name listed as a contributor to his efforts. The newsletter morphed into a syndicated column and a web site. His collections show that reality is weirder than urban legends. I read this one over two days. It’s definitely a potato chip book.
     Samples: In Jasper, Texas, a panty bandit was arrested after 11 months of stealing panties; many of the victims were too embarrassed to report the thefts. (p.11) The owner of the Whispers nightclub in Columbia, Missouri, sent letters to fraternities touting his bar as a place to meet “drunk, horny women”. (p.64) Three teenagers in East Wenatchee, Washington, dug up a corpse because they wanted to take photos of themselves with it. (p.73) In June 1990, about 7,000 King penguins stampeded near McQuarrie, Tasmania, and died in the crush. (p.114) Eight inmates broke out of jail in Nashville, Tennessee, and found themselves in the women’s cell block. They stopped to have sex with their fellow prisoners, and were apprehended by the guards, of course. (p.166)
     As you can see, these events would make good starting points for fictions, if they weren’t so unlikely. Good book. ***
     Update 20200508: News of the Weird still exists. Find it here.