Sounds like a cool music venue for jazz, but it's actually real: The Blue Strawberry. Stems from research into helping berries resist freezing temps. These are research berries only, so don't get excited about blue shortcakes and such, at least not yet.
Such is life in the GMO world, where one researcher has made a transfer of genes from the Arctic Flounder Fish -- it produces a sort of anti-freeze that allows it to protect itself in freezing waters. Once the anti-freeze-making gene was isolated, it was introduced to berries. The result was a blue berry that doesn't turn to mush in the freezer.
What else has 2012 managed to bring us? A shopping mall Santa in the UK got his beard hung up in the ropes, suspending him 15 feet off the floor for half an hour. He had been rappelling down a ceiling into a throng of people waiting for Santa to land, then throw the switch on a lighted tree.
He could have removed the fake beard, but the man apparently wanted to stay in character for the sake of the children. Reactions in the crowd reportedly ranged from hilarity to mortification regarding the dangling Santa.
Here are some other strange feats to ponder while ushering in the new year:
A budget airlines based in Vietnam, VietJetAir, was fined $956 by officials for unauthorized dancing aboard an aircraft. It may be helpful to mention that the airline had five beauty contestants on board dressed in bikini tops. The thinking here was that this would help passengers catch a festive air for their flight to a popular holiday destination.