It's not a mad, mad, mad world. No, it's a weird, weird, weird world. Just check out the AP news and you'll get a dose of truth being much more interesting than straight fiction.

Exhibit A: An Australian scientist, and fan of Beyonce, has named a horsefly with a golden bottom after the pop star. It's called Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae. Weird, yes, but he has his reasons (he must of liked the insect so he put her name on it). No word whether the diva is shooing off the honor or telling him to buzz off, but it must be rather interesting to be immortalized in such a way. Guess we'll have to ask her the next time she stops by for a sit-down interview before she flies off somewhere else.

And check this one out, which falls in the category Of Not Mice and Men: A Massachusetts man figures 94 is enough-he was running out of room in his apartment so those hamsters had to go so he turned them over to his local animal shelter. (Just imagine an apartment with 94 hamsters! Or a shelter with that many, for that matter.) And we thought eight was enough-no, I guess that was Bradfords, not Bradford pets. It's just a shame he couldn't have held out for an even 100-that would have truly been special, indeed.

There's fans, then there's real fans. A North Carolina man reports 30 pairs of Nike Air Jordan sneakers he's been collecting since middle school has been stolen. No word if they were worn or what size they were, but they were apparently still in their boxes.

Stealing shoes? What's the world coming to? Cashing in on someone's shoes? Weird, yes, but what seems even weirder is thinking of shoes as collectables.

Then there's this AP story from Oregon where a dozen plus of rabbits reported stolen just missed out on a second chance. Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton Tail and Peter would normally have been happy to return home, we suspect, but the theft was reported the night before the farmer was teaching a class on raising, slaughtering and cooking rabbits. The bunnies were found at an adoption agency.

Guess those lucky rabbits feet may have paid off a little too well-for the farmer, that is.

And then there's this story: One of the newest additions to the U.S. melting pot comes from Iraq. While it is not special to anyone other than the woman and her family and friends, what makes this unusual is her age. She was 111 as of her swearing in, making her (according to the story) the second oldest person to be naturalized.

Perhaps it's never too late to do something you really want to do. There was no word on what her immediate plans were after the ceremony.

And, we guess, sometimes things do add up. A team from Providence College placed first in a national accounting competition. Accounting? Yes, accounting. Although we never knew such a competition existed, upon further reflection-given that Americans compete for just about everything else-we're left with the conclusion that it just figures.

And, finally, a pot bellied pig named Bacon Bits held at an Ohio dog pound has found a new home. According to the story, the sitter for the animal got stuck with the pig and the warden allowed him the brief stay.

While we can't confirm such details, we don't doubt he squealed on the dogs to secure his release.

There's also no word on whether Bits hammed it up for the cameras on his way to the rescue farm.

Weird?

Yes, it's a weird, weird, oddly weird world.