Reuters: Oddly Enough

• Pets, owners flock to Madrid church for blessing of animals
  Dogs, cats and birds were blessed at a church in Madrid on Thursday on the feast day of St. Anthony, the patron saint of animals, with many of the owners making an annual pilgrimage for their pets.
• Face value: One-time Afghan wedding singer a ringer for Canada's Trudeau
  Afghan singer Abdul Salam Maftoon's striking resemblance to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned him into an unlikely celebrity in the war-torn country since his debut on a talent show.
• All the rage: Beijingers vent their stress in 'anger room'
  It took Smash customer Qiu Siyu just a few sharp blows with a baseball bat to wreck what looked like an old car radio, after which two friends battered telephones, audio speakers, rice cookers and even a mannequin.
• College fanatics living it up on San Jose billboard
  Diehard sports fans often go to great lengths to show their allegiance but some college football supporters took their loyalty to new heights when they agreed to live on a San Jose billboard ahead of Monday's national championship game.
• 'Why don't you die?': Australian's fight with a spider sparks police call
  An Australian man triggered an emergency police response after a noisy exchange with a spider startled a passerby into reporting what sounded like a violent disturbance to the authorities, media reported.
• Thieves use mechanical diggers to tear open Italian security van
  Thieves used mechanical diggers on Wednesday to prise open an armored van on a highway in southern Italy and made off with more than 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in cash, police said.
• Korean Air to raise refund fees after K-pop fans get the picture, get off
  Korean Air Lines Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will raise refund penalties after K-pop fans got on a plane only to take pictures of a boy band on the flight, then demanded to get off before it departed and got refunds on their tickets.
• Bees, brothels and monkey selfies: oh my; 2018 abuzz with odd U.S. stories
  A hive of honeybees in the heart of New York City, a monkey with a photographer's eye, a brothel full featuring robotic sex dolls and a political candidate who carried the day from his grave were among the characters featured in the strangest stories of 2018.
• Worth the sting: Cuba's scorpion pain remedy
  Once a month for the last decade, Pepe Casanas, a 78-year-old Cuban farmer, has hunted down a scorpion to sting himself with, vowing that the venom wards off his rheumatism pains.
• No free money in New Jersey: Police want spilled banknotes back
  Police in New Jersey on Thursday urged people who grabbed banknotes that spilled out of the back of an armored truck during rush-hour traffic to return the cash, no questions asked.