Weirdest News Story of March

This is True has been covering weird but true news since 1994, and has more than 100,000 online readers in over 200 countries.

In March, two stories stood out as "weirdest" says This is True author Randy Cassingham.

In the first, the Salt Lake Tribune complains that pending legislation helps in "maintaining Utah's status as the go-to state for late-night punchlines," and then goes on to slam PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

In the second nominated story, a pizza parlor owner jumped over the counter at his restaurant to attack a customer -- "and then it gets interesting," Cassingham said. It turns out the restauranteur is a mafia hitman in the federal Witness Protection Program, and the attack blew his cover. He was also arrested for assault.

Each month, two stories are chosen as the "weirdest" out of the 7-9 stories in the site's weekly lineup. At the end of the year, This is True's readers vote on "the" strangest true news story of the year.

To read the stories nominated so far, see http://www.thisistrue.com/weirdest.html.