This is a searchable database of the stranger stories we have covered in HCB, showing their title, published date and a brief overview.

You can search for reports by date and subscribers can then click on the title to see the full article.


  • Blame it on HSE

    British people are curious creatures. It is hard to square their cherished belief of being free-born and independent – “an Englishman’s home is his castle” sort of thing – with their delight in having rules to live by.

  • Control freak?

    Now here’s a tale. A 55-year-old Austrian man ended up in hospital last December after taking an angle grinder to a safe he had inherited from his late brother.

  • Where there’s a well

    There are many reasons for entering an enclosed space, but the principles of safe entry apply whatever the reason.

  • Tell it like it is

    When Memphis police pulled a red pickup truck over for a traffic violation last month, they did their usual investigation of the vehicle.

  • Nature strikes back

    Over in Canada, a man in Goulais River, Ontario, “accidentally shot himself in the forehead trying to kill a mouse,” according to CNews. The man was said to be using the butt of a rifle to kill the rodent when it went off, a bullet grazing his forehead. 

  • Bang to rights

    It looks like we were a little previous in blaming poor housekeeping for the $400m fire aboard the nuclear sub USS Miami under refit at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine back in May.

  • Dust to dust

    This column has spoken more than once before about its antipathy towards do-it-yourself and the same goes for housework (as any visitor to HCB Mansions would report).

  • No comment

    Sometimes the headline says it all. ‘Freak Tofu Explosion Terrorizes Portland’ screamed The Oregonian back in November last year.

  • It’s that balloon thing again

    We are increasingly of the opinion that this column should be circulated more widely. Perhaps even passed to children in junior schools around the world, to warn them of what can happen when stupidity strikes during the handling of dangerous goods

  • Don’t try this at home

    This column is, as regular readers may be aware, no great fan of doing it itself. Particularly during times of recession, there are plenty of people who can be hired for a shilling or two – or maybe a residency permit – to undertake those tasks that are particularly noxious or strenuous. 

  • Back to the park

    This column took a little sabbatical last month but returns fully refreshed and with more tales from the trailer parks. 

  • Steam cleaned

    Pest control – or rather, inappropriate pest control technique – features regularly in this column, but this is the first time we can recall a sauna being involved. 

  • Blow the bloody doors off

    Across cultures, winter is celebrated with fire and flame. Think of Diwali’s festival of lights, the Chanukah menorah, Christmas candles, Bonfire Night in the UK, and so on.

  • Bongs and balloons

    Different strokes for different folks, but we all have ways we use to keep ourselves cheerful. One highly popular method is the use of mind-altering drugs, which tend to be illegal in most countries (except for alcohol, thank goodness).

  • Not-so-bright sparks

    One of the greatest achievements of humankind has been the harnessing of electricity. Where would the modern world be without it?