STRANGE DAYS

Chronicling the year in weirdness, Strange Days #1 is organized according to Fortean Times's exclusive annual Strangeness Index. This legendary barometer of the bizarre is an attempt to reflect the overall weirdness of the world. In order to quantify worldwide weirdness as accurately as possibly, the Fortean Times editors break down abnormal phenomena into 34 specific categories, noted below. Complete evidence for each of these categories is offered within the book. Herewith, the result of the 1995 Strangeness Index:

Taking into account the ups and downs noted above, we have calculated that the world was 1.5% less weird last year than the year before.

How did we arrive at this?

When the original Index was created in 1992 each category was assigned a baseline value of 100. Starting with a total baseline value of 3,400 in 1992, the Index rose to 3,520 in 1993, fell to 3,450 in 1994, and has now slipped back to its original value of 3,400.

IT'S ABOUT TIME

Polite Japanese risk death by bowing. At least 24 Tokyo residents have died in the last five years while bowing to each other. Five fell under trains after head butts, seven died in curbside and escalator collisions and many more have been injured in revolving doors. The city has introduced safe "Greetings Zones."

The Turkish religious affairs directorate, Diyanet, has distributed a booklet rebutting over 60 beliefs attributed to Mohammed. These included: biting a tombstone to cure toothache; cramming earth down a child's throat to prevent bedwetting; and hiding a child's umbilical cord in a mosque to guarantee a career as a famous scientist.

On March 16, the Mississippi House of Representatives finally ratified the 13th Amendment to the constitution, abolishing slavery. The state failed to ratify the amendment in 1865 because legislators were angry that they had not been reimbursed for the value of freed slaves.

Comedian Jacob Haugaard became Denmark's first independent Member of Parliament in the general election on September 21. His campaign promises included better weather, shorter lines, tailwinds for cyclists and the right of men to be impotent.

SAY WHAT?

A man on a giant inflatable lobster rescued a young girl drifting out to sea on a set of blow-up teeth off Dover, England. The coast guard launched two lifeboats, but the lobster reached the girl first.

Police in Germany are baffled by a wave of accordion stabbings. A person or persons unknown have broken into 11 Bonn music stores and plunged butcher's knives into the instruments.

From Churchdown Parish Magazine in Gloucestershire, England: "Would the congregation please note that the bowl at the back of the church labeled 'For the Sick' is for monetary donations only."

A varnished human hand found in a car glove compartment by a mechanic in Austin, Texas, was "handed down as a family heirloom" and was not evidence of foul play. Originally owned by an anatomy professor, it now belongs to his granddaughter.

MOWER ODYSSEY

When Alvin Straight, 73, heard that his 80-year-old brother Henry had had a stroke, he knew he had to visit him. Since, like his brother, Alvin can't see well enough to get a driving license and is too independent to let anyone else drive, he bought a John Deere lawn mower and a 10-foot trailer for gasoline, clothes, food and camping gear. On July 5 he set off on the 240-mile trek from his home in Laurens, Iowa, to Henry's place near Blue River, Wisconsin.

In mid-July, Straight made it to Charles City 111 miles away, where he ran out of money. He camped out until his next welfare check came through in August, and set off again. On good days, he averaged about 5 mph for 10 hours. His mower broke down two miles from his brother's house on August 15, 1994. A farmer helped him push it the rest of the way. He planned to stay through the winter, but said he might head home after a month--on his lawn mower.

Each chapter in STRANGE DAYS #1 presents a selection of exclusive Schwascar Awards; prizes given by the editors of Fortean Times to some of their favorite and most implausible stories, for a range of notable categories. Here are the Strange Death Schwascar contenders for 1995:

THE SCHWASCAR WINNER:

Slapstick comedian Yves Abouchar, 45, choked to death on a custard pie thrown in his face. The French star breathed in just as the pie landed and was suffocated by the foam.

RUNNERS-UP:

Chef Juan Ruiz was stabbed through the heart with uncooked spaghetti strands when 150 mph winds hit his restaurant in Mexico City.

Karate brown belt and Thai boxing enthusiast Scott Kell, 23, lost his balance doing high kicks and plunged to his death through an open window on the 10th floor of a tower block in Salford, England, on July 6, 1994.

A young employee of the Bennett Food Factory in the Bronx, New York, died instantly when he fell headfirst into an industrial dough mixer making macaroni and was impaled by the mixing blades.

A gum-chewing motorist was killed after he blew a giant bubble which burst and stuck to his glasses, blinding him. Abner Kriller, of Albany, Australia, ran his car off the road and plunged down a hill.

Cory Quinn, from Sydney, Australia, committed suicide by locking himself in his estranged wife Mary's freezer when she went on holiday. He left a note for the 280-pound woman which said: "Gorge on this, you fat pig!"

To support her ample frame, Berbel Zumner, 23, had to wear a bra reinforced with metal wires. These conducted a bolt of lightning which killed her as she was walking through a park in Vienna.

Janet Smith, 28, walked into a grocery store in Gresham, Oregon, on August 21, 1994, holding a knife to the throat of her Siamese cat, and sat down in an aisle. Told by police to drop the knife, she threatened to kill the cat. Suddenly, she jumped up and began walking towards the police, who sprayed her with pepper mace. She then raised the knife above her head and charged at the police, who shot her dead. The cat escaped and could not be found.

Robert Puelo, 32, entered a 7-Eleven in St. Louis on October 10, 1994, and started shouting and cursing. When an employee threatened to call the police, Puelo grabbed a hot dog, stuffed it down his throat and left the store without paying. The police discovered him unconscious and turning purple outside the store. He choked to death soon afterwards.