WEIRD, BIZARRE and UNUSUAL Volume I Excerpts

While U.S. authorities seized less than 1 percent of the estimated $18-$39 billion in drugs smuggled across the Mexican border in the last two years, in July 2011, El Paso border officials were able to confiscate 3 kilograms of raw pig rind, and fine the 37-year-old “smuggler” $300.

The Dallas Morning News reported on June 19, 2007, that police were "investigating the death of a man found dead" in a wooded area of Dallas. The story also reported that the "cause of death had not been determined." The next day, the paper ran a "Correction" that read: "Because of erroneous information provided by Dallas police, a brief in Tuesday's Metro section incorrectly said a man's body was found Monday night...Police said Tuesday that the corpse found was that of a dog."

The only legitimate child of Roman Emperor August Caesar was his daughter, Julia, who was well known for her promiscuous behavior. Once asked by a friend how she made sure all five of her children looked like her husband, Marcus Agrippa, she admitted, "Passengers are not allowed on board until the hold is full." ("numquam enim nisi navi plena tollo vectorem.")

In 1983, at a peat company's extraction site in Cheshire, England, workers discovered a well-preserved human skull, which a forensic pathologist determined belonged to a 30 to 50-year old female. The site opened on to the back yard of a Mr. Peter Reyn-Bardt. It seems Mrs. Malika Reyn-Bardt had mysteriously disappeared in 1961, with her husband denying any involvement. Questioned again, after the skull was uncovered, Mr. Reyn-Bardt broke down and confessed. Meanwhile, the skull had been sent to Oxford University's Research Laboratory for Archaeology, where it was determined the skull's human had died between 163-323 A.D. Even though his wife's body was never found, based on his confession, Peter was still convicted.