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Today's wacky stories from the web: gangster guns, cryogenics and Amityville horror house for sale

A wikipedia for hip hop, Italy's most tyre-rannical politician, frost-bitten penis, snake bite vs. morphine and the brand new Taj Mahal

Marie Winckler
Friday 05 October 2012 13:38 BST
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Real estate photograph of a house located at 112 Ocean Avenue in the town of Amityville, New York March 31, 2005.
Real estate photograph of a house located at 112 Ocean Avenue in the town of Amityville, New York March 31, 2005. (Getty Images)

Amityville horror house for sale

Just in time for Halloween, the owners of the home made famous in the spooky 1970s film The Amityville Horror have slashed the asking price on their Toms River, New Jersey, colonial. Apparently there aren't too many takers for a notoriously haunted house that gives you the willies just to look at it. Weird. cnn.com

You talking to me?

It turns out movie gangsters and movie gangster-wannabes aren't just posing. According to a former Marine Corps marksmanship instructor, there's a very good reason to discharge a firearm sideways on. gizmodo.com

Cryogenics: Family album from the future

Stats are hard to come by, but it's estimated about 2,000 people have signed up to be cryogenically frozen after death, in hopes of returning to life in a technologically advanced future. Wired has some fascinating pictures from the lab. Approximately 250 people, and over 100 pets are currently cryo-preserved in vats of liquid nitrogen. wired.com

Wiki-rap

Founded in 2009 by a trio of Yale University graduates, Rap Genius is a community-driven site dedicated to explaining and providing the context behind the lyrics to rap songs. Rap Genius says its serious, academic take on rap lyrics will help elevate the genre to the level of poetry. venturebeat.com

Identity crisis

A $1bn (£621m) project to build a replica of the Taj Mahal has been unveiled in the Gulf emirate of Dubai. The Taj Arabia complex will be much bigger than the original monument to love and include a 300-room hotel, shops and commercial buildings, developer Arun Mehra said. bbc.co.uk

Tyre-rannical

Just when it seemed the behaviour of Italy's political class could get no worse, a member of Silvio Berlusconi's party has been forced to resign after being caught slashing the tyres of a car owned by a disabled man. telegraph.co.uk

Frostbitten penis

Michael D. Nash of Louisville says ice packs nurse used after surgery gave him frostbite, gangrene, and ultimately caused him to have part of his penis amputated. nydailynews.com

High times

Huge Marijuana Field Found On Chicago’s South Side. cbclocal.com

Anyone for a snake bite?

A painkiller as powerful as morphine, but without most of the side-effects, has been found in the deadly venom of the black mamba, say French scientists. bbc.co.uk

Why we are so rude online

Jennifer Bristol recently lost one of her oldest friends -thanks to a Facebook fight about pit bulls. wsj.com

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