# Strangest thing you've seen **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842 "2009-03-26T07:14:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/61 "2009-03-27T23:07:06Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Central Iowa is eerily unstrange. > > The oddest thing I’ve seen in the past week was a Black woman student at Iowa State University. They’re practically invisible here. I used to know a Black female nurse who married a white Iowa farm boy. They lived in Iowa for several years and she told me she had never felt more welcome anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/62 "2009-03-27T23:09:43Z")
lately? Hmm. That’d have to be the guy who walked out of the bathroom stall with his pants around his ankles in the state office building I work in. I recognized the guy; he works on my floor. He turned around and walked back into the stall while I took care of my own business, washed and left. He didn’t come again out while I was there. I assume he ran out of toilet paper or something. I’ve passed him in the hallway since; a bit awkward. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/63 "2009-03-28T00:09:46Z")
I was in a bus on the way to work. We enter the freeway, Highway 427, which has a collector and express layout, with transition lanes between them. A police car passes the bus and blocks the entrance to the express lanes that we were aiming for. We continue in the collector lanes and I notice that the express lanes are _empty_. Accident up ahead? They plug into the ramps to westbound Highway 401, which we need to take. Are we going to be diverted? Suddenly a motorcade screams past in the express lanes. Big SUVs, limos, a stretch limo in the middle with flags on the fenders. Some VIP out of downtown heading for the airport, it seems. Then suddenly the cops are gone and traffic is resuming normally. When I get to work, I look up the flag. Dark red with a white stripe: Latvia. Yes, I’d been cut off by the President of Latvia (a former Canadian by the way) on the way to work. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/64 "2009-03-28T03:04:12Z")
I found [this](http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/100600081/Grape_Sausage_With_Walnut_Or_Pistachio/showimage.html) in a local grocery store. It looks even more like feces in person. You can also buy raw, salted pig fat and canned squid in the same store. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/65 "2009-03-28T03:42:09Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Oh, shut the hell up! I’m not afraid of anything “slightly different”, you’re just trying to start a fight. I see it as putting a little child in an ANIMAL CARRIER on wheels. I thought I explained that they are purpose-designed _child carriers_. They have seat belts, safety flags, reflectors, etc. > [@](#): > > You can’t talk to the kid, or see how it’s doing, or point out things like flowers and clouds. The neighbors see a conveyance hauled behind a bike, not a child. What’s the fucking point??? For many people, the point is to transport a child without having to use a car. For others it’s a way to enjoy the fresh air and include the kids in an activity you enjoy. And most American drivers know that a canvas-covered bicycle trailer is usually a child trailer, and give them extra attention and caution. I’m surprised you weren’t aware of them - those trailers are sold in most sport equipment stores and even Target, Walmart, etc. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/66 "2009-03-28T04:45:17Z")
I was in Lancaster, CA, last week, and looked up in the sky to see something that I took at first to be a kite. But I looked again, and it was a [B2 bomber](http://media.photobucket.com/image/B2%20bomber/_lito_jimenez/Air%20Force/B2_Bomber.jpg). Of course, this is not an unusual sight there on the outskirts of Edwards Air Force Base, where they’re stationed. But it was the first time _I’ve_ ever seen one in person. It was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/67 "2009-03-28T05:07:33Z")
A few days ago a couple walks by me. The lady has her hand up over her ear in her hair on one side. So as they pass I overhear her saying, “Well it’s not like I planned to sneeze with superglue on my hand.” They kept on walking and she kept her hand right where it was until they passed out of sight, so I rather fear that I heard it correctly. Poor gal. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/68 "2009-03-28T05:34:02Z")
Totally boring in comparison to some posts but I saw the weirdest mule EVER today. It was dark amber colored and had a shockingly blond mane, which is completely unlike any mule I’ve ever seen before. I knew it had to be a mule because it’s face looked like one, however it didn’t have mule ears…but it also had the legs of a draft horse. Think Clydesdale, only a bit smaller. It just looked SO strange, I had to slow down to take a closer look. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/69 "2009-03-28T05:39:26Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > A few days ago a couple walks by me. The lady has her hand up over her ear in her hair on one side. So as they pass I overhear her saying, “Well it’s not like I planned to sneeze with superglue on my hand.” They kept on walking and she kept her hand right where it was until they passed out of sight, so I rather fear that I heard it correctly. > > Poor gal. The superglue’s one thing, but covering your ear when you sneeze? Must be a local thing. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/70 "2009-03-28T07:09:16Z")
> [@imfloating](#): > > I live on a boat. Last Friday a womans body floated by. I have read the entire thread to this time. You win. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/71 "2009-03-28T07:42:55Z")
Giant slug trails. Since I thankfully did not see any giant slugs, the slimey trails could have been caused by something else. But they looked exactly like regular sized trails, except about 6" wide. They were on a steep river bank. The water level was about 4 feet lower than normal. It looked like something crawled out of the water, did a few loopty loops on the vertical surface of the bank then went back in the water. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/72 "2009-03-28T15:17:37Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > The superglue’s one thing, but covering your ear when you sneeze? Must be a local thing. I presume she was holding her hands up because they had glue on them and she didn’t want to smear it on the table or something, and then when she sneezed her head rocked forward to meet her hand. (No idea) ---
**Author:** ![catflea12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@catflea12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catflea12)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/73 "2009-03-28T15:27:00Z")
Someone in the town I live in notified the police of finding what they thought might be a severed penis at a gas station. (In the picture, it sure looked like one) After the state crime lab tested it, turned out it was a cow udder ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/74 "2009-03-28T16:01:34Z")
A big white swan keeps coming to my window to peck at it violently. My window’s all smudged up, and I’ve got no idea what the swan wants. Maybe he sees his own reflection? ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/75 "2009-03-28T16:25:19Z")
Perhaps the strangest thing I’ve _not_ seen… coming out of a hotel in central Riga, Latvia about an hour before sunrise one April morning, we were on our way to the bus terminal. There were a few lights, but the sky was still dark. We rounded a corner and after about 5-10 meters, a dark fog of sorts appeared very quickly and everything was **pitch black**. We could not see our hands in front of our faces and could not see each other although we were just 2 feet apart. It was the weirdest feeling I have ever experienced. I have been in pitch blackness in caves or in an underpass, but this was on a street in a major city. We stood there not sure what to do and just through touch, fished around in my bag for a torch (flashlight). The light was useless as everything was white. We felt our way about 2-3 blocks like this before it cleared enough to see the ground and another block to see a few buildings. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/76 "2009-03-28T17:16:46Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I was in a bus on the way to work. We enter the freeway, Highway 427, which has a collector and express layout, with transition lanes between them. A police car passes the bus and blocks the entrance to the express lanes that we were aiming for. We continue in the collector lanes and I notice that the express lanes are _empty_. Accident up ahead? They plug into the ramps to westbound Highway 401, which we need to take. Are we going to be diverted? > > Suddenly a motorcade screams past in the express lanes. Big SUVs, limos, a stretch limo in the middle with flags on the fenders. Some VIP out of downtown heading for the airport, it seems. > > Then suddenly the cops are gone and traffic is resuming normally. When I get to work, I look up the flag. Dark red with a white stripe: Latvia. > > Yes, I’d been cut off by the President of Latvia (a former Canadian by the way) on the way to work. Be thankful it wasn’t _Latveria_. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/77 "2009-03-28T19:28:51Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > It’s a new species of bag tree! You should document it. I wish I had taken a picture, but I didn’t have a camera and I was in a hurry to get to school. The next time I passed by, the bag was gone ( I wonder how, since it was really high up in that tree!) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/78 "2009-03-28T20:33:46Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > Giant slug trails. Since I thankfully did not see any giant slugs, the slimey trails could have been caused by something else. But they looked exactly like regular sized trails, except about 6" wide. > They were on a steep river bank. The water level was about 4 feet lower than normal. It looked like something crawled out of the water, did a few loopty loops on the vertical surface of the bank then went back in the water. !!! That’s so cool. I’m kinda sad I haven’t seen more strange things. I have the feeling I’m the strange thing other people see. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/79 "2009-03-28T21:13:04Z")
In Worcester Massachusetts the bowling alley in Auburn just out of town had one of those big signs on a pole that could be changed with different letters. Usually the message was about leagues or tournaments. One day it is replaced with “Ask us about our whips and leather”. I expected it was a prank, but it stayed up for months. We finally went in and sure enough, next to the bowling supplies was a glass case with leather fetish material. Other than that just your standard redneck bowling alley. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842/80 "2009-03-29T01:56:02Z")
I actually read a thread that was not about Latvia in any way, but where Latvia was mentioned twice. That is probably more publicity than that country has ever had. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-thing-youve-seen/490842.md?page=3)