Adolf Hitler ‘thought of himself as Jesus Christ’
And other stories from the stranger side of life

Adolf Hitler thought of himself as the second coming of Jesus Christ, declassified documents reveal. The Fuhrer wished to be “Germany’s future Messiah” and saw himself as a “demigod,” they say. “Hitler's conception of the Messiah is not Christ crucified but Christ furious. Christ with a scourge,” add the documents, which were compiled in 1942 by the Office of Strategic Services – a forerunner to the CIA.
Man travels with skeleton to use high occupancy lane
Police have fined a driver who put a fake skeleton in his passenger seat so he could use a high occupancy vehicle lane. The plastic skeleton wore a bucket hat and was secured to the seat with yellow rope. High occupancy vehicle lanes are used to ease congestion for motorists with passengers in the car.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Man mortified when he discovers why his legs are blue
A man who rushed himself to hospital when he noticed his legs had turned blue has was embarrassed when doctors told him the cause. Mark Shrayber said he thought he might have deep vein thrombosis. But, he added: “I have the ‘dumb**s who doesn’t wash his new jeans before wearing them’ disease and I would like to be executed immediately.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For more outlandish tales and news to make you smile, sign up for our new Tall Tales email at theweek.co.uk/sign-up-for-the-tall-tales-email.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The state of Britain's Armed Forces
The Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
By The Week UK
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish
Under the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Sudoku hard: April 21, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Zoos offer cockroach naming and hippo poo candles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
NHS tells Scots to walk like penguins
Tall Tales Walk like penguins in the snow, says NHS
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Experts discover why dogs wag their tails
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Peruvian 'aliens' aren't really aliens
Tall Tales And other stories from stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Woman accidentally puts nan in washing machine
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Couple sues after ‘farting dog’ ruins flight
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden
-
Experts suggest the real-life Dracula was vegan
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden
-
Pedants forgive Waterstones over apostrophe
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden