Robot passenger delays flight, cat vs. coyote

Robot passenger delays flight, cat vs. coyote

Author: Ben Hooper May 4, 2026 Duration: 2:44

A robot passenger delays a Southwest Airlines flight out of Oakland, Calif., for more than an hour and a pet cat is caught on camera fighting off a coyote on today's UPI Odd News Minute.

For these stories and more, visit UPI.com/Odd_News.

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Each weekday, Ben Hooper sifts through the global newsfeed to find those peculiar gems that make you pause and smile. UPI Odd News Minute delivers exactly that: a brief, daily dose of the wonderfully strange and unexpectedly uplifting stories happening around the world. You’ll hear about animals getting into improbable situations, ordinary people stumbling upon extraordinary luck, and discoveries that defy easy explanation. This isn't your typical news cycle; it's a curated collection of moments that highlight the curious, heartwarming, and downright bizarre side of human and animal endeavor. Tuning into this podcast offers a refreshing break, a reminder that amidst the usual headlines, there's always room for a tale that inspires a chuckle or a sense of awe. It’s the kind of content that sparks conversation, perfect for a quick mental reset during your commute or afternoon. Think of it as your daily allowance for delight, a guaranteed highlight in your news consumption that proves truth is often stranger and more entertaining than fiction.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

UPI Odd News Minute
Podcast Episodes
Fart-tracking underwear, Amazon driver's wrong turn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:36
A University of Maryland team develops Smart Underwear to track and analyze a wearer's flatulence and an Amazon driver's wrong turn ends with the delivery van stuck in mud on a military firing range on today's UPI Odd Ne…
Odds and Ends: Mystery light, lost leg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:58
The UPI Odd News Minute presents Weekend Odds and Ends, our weekly roundup of the missed odd-portunities that didn't quite make this week's podcasts. This week's stories include a mystery light in the sky over South Aust…
Serial underwear thief, wallaby influencer escapes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:21
A serial thief at a New Zealand school is identified as a neighborhood cat after over a year of incidents and a reported escaped "kangaroo" in Colorado turns out to be a wallaby with an Instagram following on today's UPI…
Nevada zebra, world's oldest cockatiel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:29
A couple driving in Nevada encounter an escaped zebra in the middle of the road and an Illinois family's 33-year-old cockatiel officially becomes the oldest in the world on today's UPI Odd News Minute. For these stories…
12-year-old's nuclear fusion machine, manatee in a storm drain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:38
A 12-year-old Texas student may have become the youngest person to ever achieve nuclear fusion and crews rescue a manatee trapped in a Florida storm drain on today's UPI Odd News Minute. For these stories and more, visit…
Bad Bunny impersonators, paper plane world record [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:51
A Bad Bunny Look-alike Contest in San Francisco features 28 competitors and a Texas man folds 250 paper airplanes in one hour on today's UPI Odd News Minute. For these stories and more, visit UPI.com/Odd_News. Follow the…
Odds and Ends: World's longest snake, ice skaters drift away [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:45
The UPI Odd News Minute presents Weekend Odds and Ends, our weekly roundup of the missed odd-portunities that didn't quite make this week's podcasts. This week's stories include the world's longest wild snake being found…
Turkeys terrorize neighborhood, 'pooch pirates' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:47
A Wisconsin neighborhood is plagued by a flock of aggressive wild turkeys and a security camera at an Oklahoma City home catches a pair of dogs stealing a package from a neighbor's porch on today's UPI Odd News Minute. F…
Finely-aged brew, emu's weather prediction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:42
Archaeologists in Utah unearth a 150-year-old bottle of alcohol believed to be a low-ABV beer and an escaped emu in Ontario predicts 6 more weeks of winter on today's UPI Odd News Minute. For these stories and more, visi…
Michigan teacher's 67-year-career, deer breaks into house [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:37
A 90-year-old teacher in Michigan is honored with a Guinness World Record for her 67-year career in the classroom, a deer crashes through a living room window into a Florida home and a cat picked up as a stray turns out…