The 3 Weirdest News Stories of the Week

What does a ballerina, the Hell's Angels and Jesus have in common? They all had some seriously ridiculous stuff happen to them this week.

It's been a crazy week, and it's only Thursday. Maybe the summer heat's just getting to everyone? Or World Cup fever is bringing out the weirdos? Regardless, we've read a ton of ridiculous stories lately, and these three are, by far, our favorites.

ballerina toes en pointe

(Image credit: Robert Maxwell)

1. Ballerina Robbed for Her Shoes

Two muggers attacked American Ballet Theater guest artist Natalia Osipova (a star of the Bolshoi Ballet) outside New York's Metropolitan Opera House on Tuesday. The scumbags punched the world-famous ballerina in the nose and stole the bag she was carrying. But the joke's on them: Osipova's agent says she will be fine to perform in "Sleeping Beauty" on Saturday night, and get this — she'd left her passport and money at home and her computer at the Met, so all the thieves made off with was her toe shoes and the hammer she uses to shape them!

2. German Man Attacks Hell's Angels with … a Puppy?

This so reminds us of Monty Python's "Spanish Inquisition" ("Poke her with the soft cushions!"): A 26-year-old student in Germany carrying a puppy and wearing only shorts inexplicably decided to moon a group of Hell's Angels at their clubhouse near Munich. He then threw the dog at the bikers and — this might be the best part — escaped on a bulldozer. Which went so slowly that he caused a 5-kilometer traffic jam. Which caused him to abandon the bulldozer and start hitchhiking. Some time after reaching his home, he was arrested. A possible explanation for all this? He'd gone off his depression medication. But this quote from a police spokesman sort of says it all: "What motivated him to throw a puppy at the Hell's Angels is currently unclear."

3. "Touchdown Jesus" Statue Goes up in Flames

A 62-foot statue of Jesus at a "megachurch" in Ohio was struck by lightning on Monday and completely incinerated, leaving only the oddly abstract metal frame that had previously given the Styrofoam-and-fiberglass monument its shape. Locals were awestruck, with some calling the lightning strike an "act of God." Many were simply sad to see the famed roadside attraction (known to some as "Touchdown Jesus" thanks to the referee-like position of His arms) disappear. We say, just watch the video. Seriously.

Anna Maltby

Anna Maltby is an award-winning journalist and editor and was most recently the executive editor of Elemental, Medium’s in-house health and wellness publication. She was previously the deputy editor at Real Simple magazine and a deputy editor at Refinery29, and also held staff positions at Men’s Health, Marie Claire, SELF, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health and Condé Nast Traveler. Her writing has appeared in such outlets as The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, O, Family Circle, Fitness, Redbook, Vogue.com, TeenVogue.com, MensJournal.com, CondeNastTraveler.com, FastCompany.com_ _and Brides.com. She received her BSJ and MSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Anna is also an American Council on Exercise–certified personal trainer and functional training specialist, a certified prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist, and a certified mat Pilates teacher. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two children, and two tuxedo cats.