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Saturday, January 05, 2008
Overheard at Washington zoo
Two Mandarin Ducks are perched on the handrail close to visitors who are snapping lots of pictures.
Young dad calls to daughter: "Gina! Gina! Those are the Mandarin Ducks we get at the Chinese restaurant!"
Other onlookers exchange shocked looks.
Young dad turns to others: "What? It's true."
Thanks Marilyn!
Young dad calls to daughter: "Gina! Gina! Those are the Mandarin Ducks we get at the Chinese restaurant!"
Other onlookers exchange shocked looks.
Young dad turns to others: "What? It's true."
Thanks Marilyn!
One-week ban for 10mph drive on motorway - Update
A woman has been banned from driving for seven days after she drove along a motorway at speeds lower than 10mph.
Stephanie Cole, 58, of Fishponds, Bristol, repeatedly braked as she straddled the hard shoulder of the M32.
When police caught her there was a sign on her car which read: "I don't do fast. If I'm too slow for you DON'T hoot just overtake!"
Mrs Cole, who admitted driving without reasonable consideration, was also ordered to take another driving test.
Magistrates said they took into consideration the fact that Mrs Cole has multiple sclerosis.
Stephanie Cole, 58, of Fishponds, Bristol, repeatedly braked as she straddled the hard shoulder of the M32.
When police caught her there was a sign on her car which read: "I don't do fast. If I'm too slow for you DON'T hoot just overtake!"
Mrs Cole, who admitted driving without reasonable consideration, was also ordered to take another driving test.
Magistrates said they took into consideration the fact that Mrs Cole has multiple sclerosis.
Man says he hit sister to free her demons
A Florida man says he hit his sister in the head with an iron so he could release the demons that he said were inside of her.
When Oswald Varemond's 80-year-old mother intervened and tried to stop him, he allegedly bit off her fingertip and started pulling his own teeth out, a police report said.
According to the police report, Varemond had asked his girlfriend, Yolette Lagrandeur, and his mother, Anne Marie Saget, to pray with him.
When they started to pray, Lagrandeur noticed Varemond "change," she told police. He locked the doors and jumped on Lagrandeur and started biting her on her back and beating her head with the iron.
He was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of attempted homicide, battery, false imprisonment and resisting arrest with violence.
When Oswald Varemond's 80-year-old mother intervened and tried to stop him, he allegedly bit off her fingertip and started pulling his own teeth out, a police report said.
According to the police report, Varemond had asked his girlfriend, Yolette Lagrandeur, and his mother, Anne Marie Saget, to pray with him.
When they started to pray, Lagrandeur noticed Varemond "change," she told police. He locked the doors and jumped on Lagrandeur and started biting her on her back and beating her head with the iron.
He was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of attempted homicide, battery, false imprisonment and resisting arrest with violence.
Woman gives birth in pants
A Connecticut woman and her newborn twins are doing fine despite their unusual birth.
On Wednesday, Larryette Thomas, unexpectedly gave birth with one of the tiny boys born inside her pants.
Thomas wasn’t due until February but she says she started to feel contractions around 3 o’clock on Wednesday morning.
That’s when her concerned mother called 911 for help. But just as medics arrived one of the children landed in his mother’s pants.
Thomas said, "One pant leg was on and the other wasn’t and he just came right down and firefighters had to cut my pants to take the baby out."
Rescue crews delivered the second child a few minutes later using flashlights since there were no lights in the house. Mother and newborns Kurt and Kurtis are reportedly doing fine.
With news video.
On Wednesday, Larryette Thomas, unexpectedly gave birth with one of the tiny boys born inside her pants.
Thomas wasn’t due until February but she says she started to feel contractions around 3 o’clock on Wednesday morning.
That’s when her concerned mother called 911 for help. But just as medics arrived one of the children landed in his mother’s pants.
Thomas said, "One pant leg was on and the other wasn’t and he just came right down and firefighters had to cut my pants to take the baby out."
Rescue crews delivered the second child a few minutes later using flashlights since there were no lights in the house. Mother and newborns Kurt and Kurtis are reportedly doing fine.
With news video.
Wife takes ‘divorce by text’ to court
A woman is seeking clarification from a court on whether her husband’s declaration of divorce by text message is legally valid.
After missing a call from her husband on her mobile phone Iqbal Abul Nasr received a text message from him which read: “I divorce you because you didn’t answer your husband,” it was reported in the state-run daily newspaper al-Akhbar.
In line with Sharia, men do not need to go to court to file for divorce. A unilateral declaration of divorce by a man, repeated three times, formally ends a marriage. It was the third time that Mrs Abul Nasr, an engineer from Cairo, had received such a text message.
If a family court declares the couple divorced, it would be the first reported case of divorce by SMS in Egypt. The practice has been much debated across the Muslim world and some Islamic countries have banned it. According to Egypt’s state-run statistics bureau, a couple files for divorce every six minutes.
After missing a call from her husband on her mobile phone Iqbal Abul Nasr received a text message from him which read: “I divorce you because you didn’t answer your husband,” it was reported in the state-run daily newspaper al-Akhbar.
In line with Sharia, men do not need to go to court to file for divorce. A unilateral declaration of divorce by a man, repeated three times, formally ends a marriage. It was the third time that Mrs Abul Nasr, an engineer from Cairo, had received such a text message.
If a family court declares the couple divorced, it would be the first reported case of divorce by SMS in Egypt. The practice has been much debated across the Muslim world and some Islamic countries have banned it. According to Egypt’s state-run statistics bureau, a couple files for divorce every six minutes.
Mother and daughter spent two days trapped in an elevator
Two cleaning women, trapped inside a broken elevator for two days, survived on two cough drops and six aspirin until they were rescued. Beata Bartoszewicz and her mother, Roma Borowski, entered an elevator in an empty building in this Chicago suburb on Dec. 22. After the elevator doors closed, the women discovered they were stuck on the first floor of the two-story building.
There was no response from an emergency call alarm and the women couldn't pry open the doors.
Neither had a cell phone or water and the building wasn't due to open until after Christmas.
Two days later, on Christmas Eve, an employee of the building happened to go to work. Borowski said she heard him talking on his cell phone. The women yelled for his attention and he heard them.
Fire crews freed the women an hour later.
Bartoszewicz said the moral of the story is simple: "Always take your cell phone with you."
There was no response from an emergency call alarm and the women couldn't pry open the doors.
Neither had a cell phone or water and the building wasn't due to open until after Christmas.
Two days later, on Christmas Eve, an employee of the building happened to go to work. Borowski said she heard him talking on his cell phone. The women yelled for his attention and he heard them.
Fire crews freed the women an hour later.
Bartoszewicz said the moral of the story is simple: "Always take your cell phone with you."
Sacked workers barricaded in hotel for 3 weeks
Two workers have spent three weeks barricaded in the bedroom of a closed hotel in protest at losing their jobs.
Assistant manager Mark Craig, 20, and kitchen porter Steven Black, 16, staged their protest at the Meldrum Arms Hotel in Oldmeldrum, Inverurie.
The pair live on food delivered in a bucket pulled up on a piece of string.
Their former employer Oxford Hotels and Inns said the duo have now been paid the £500 each in outstanding wages they are owed.
But Mr Craig and Mr Black said they would not be leaving the hotel until they had confirmation that the money was in their bank accounts.
Police are understood to have warned their former employers to leave the heating on until the dispute has been sorted out. A Grampian Police spokesman said: "This is a civil matter and unless a breach of the peace is committed we would not intervene."
Assistant manager Mark Craig, 20, and kitchen porter Steven Black, 16, staged their protest at the Meldrum Arms Hotel in Oldmeldrum, Inverurie.
The pair live on food delivered in a bucket pulled up on a piece of string.
Their former employer Oxford Hotels and Inns said the duo have now been paid the £500 each in outstanding wages they are owed.
But Mr Craig and Mr Black said they would not be leaving the hotel until they had confirmation that the money was in their bank accounts.
Police are understood to have warned their former employers to leave the heating on until the dispute has been sorted out. A Grampian Police spokesman said: "This is a civil matter and unless a breach of the peace is committed we would not intervene."
Fancy dress parties drive women to drink
Women drink more than men at fancy dress parties, scientists say.
Previous research into alcohol consumption in social gatherings has almost universally found men drink more than women.
However researchers who attended 66 American student parties found this to be true, except when they involved guests wearing fancy dress - especially with a sexual theme.
Lead author Dr John Clapp, director of the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Studies at San Diego State University, said that as his team was unable to explain the surprise finding it would be necessary to carry out further field work.
Dr Clapp said: "One of the more interesting findings was that young women drank more heavily than males at themed events.
"It is rare to find any situation where women drink more than men, and these events tended to have sexualized themes and costumes. Given that some theme parties can be highly sexualized, future investigation of the mechanisms that may explain this effect is warranted."
Previous research into alcohol consumption in social gatherings has almost universally found men drink more than women.
However researchers who attended 66 American student parties found this to be true, except when they involved guests wearing fancy dress - especially with a sexual theme.
Lead author Dr John Clapp, director of the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Studies at San Diego State University, said that as his team was unable to explain the surprise finding it would be necessary to carry out further field work.
Dr Clapp said: "One of the more interesting findings was that young women drank more heavily than males at themed events.
"It is rare to find any situation where women drink more than men, and these events tended to have sexualized themes and costumes. Given that some theme parties can be highly sexualized, future investigation of the mechanisms that may explain this effect is warranted."
Serial burglar caught after leaving trail of Corn Flakes
A dozy serial burglar was caught after leaving a trail of Corn Flakes from the scene of her crime.
Amber McCarthy, 31, broke into a flower shop, forced the till open and stole cash.
When the owners arrived to prepare floral displays at the shop next to the Cooden Beach Hotel in Bexhill they found Corn Flakes and blooms scattered outside.
Rachel Beckett, prosecuting at Hove Crown Court, said: "The owners noticed a trail of Corn Flakes outside the shop and called the police.
"The trail led from the flower shop to Room 118 at the hotel. When they searched the room police found items taken from the shop."
McCarthy, of Cavendish Place, Eastbourne, was arrested. She was given a three-year supervised community order.
Amber McCarthy, 31, broke into a flower shop, forced the till open and stole cash.
When the owners arrived to prepare floral displays at the shop next to the Cooden Beach Hotel in Bexhill they found Corn Flakes and blooms scattered outside.
Rachel Beckett, prosecuting at Hove Crown Court, said: "The owners noticed a trail of Corn Flakes outside the shop and called the police.
"The trail led from the flower shop to Room 118 at the hotel. When they searched the room police found items taken from the shop."
McCarthy, of Cavendish Place, Eastbourne, was arrested. She was given a three-year supervised community order.
Lonely dog's 10 year wait for a home
Loveable Errol is the unluckiest dog in Britain after spending the equivalent of 70 human years waiting for a home.
The border collie was abandoned at a rescue centre in 1997 with his brother William.
But last year William died leaving Errol alone and lonely. Now the owners of the kennels are hoping someone will finally adopt him.
Families were not keen to take on two dogs and Gemini Kennels in Wickford, Essex, refused to split the brothers up.
Owner Michael Knight, 51, said: "Some people don't want to take on two, but now William has gone and Errol is a bit older, we feel it's time for him to move on. There is nothing like a home environment for a dog to live out its final years.
"He is a very happy dog and just a big ball of fluff," he said. "He is fit and healthy - he just has a few teeth missing. Errol is not aggressive at all and he is still full of life."
The border collie was abandoned at a rescue centre in 1997 with his brother William.
But last year William died leaving Errol alone and lonely. Now the owners of the kennels are hoping someone will finally adopt him.
Families were not keen to take on two dogs and Gemini Kennels in Wickford, Essex, refused to split the brothers up.
Owner Michael Knight, 51, said: "Some people don't want to take on two, but now William has gone and Errol is a bit older, we feel it's time for him to move on. There is nothing like a home environment for a dog to live out its final years.
"He is a very happy dog and just a big ball of fluff," he said. "He is fit and healthy - he just has a few teeth missing. Errol is not aggressive at all and he is still full of life."
Real life 'Eleanor Rigby'
Olive Archer, from Swindon, is due to be buried on January 14 after dying at the age of 83. The minister who will conduct the funeral ceremony, the Rev Akasha Lonsdale, put out an appeal for mourners as only a funeral director and herself were expected to attend the funeral.
Miss Archer had spent five years in a care home in Chippenham, Wiltshire, during which time she did not have a single visitor.
But after the appeal more than a dozen people have offered to pay their last respects.
Miss Archer had spent five years in a care home in Chippenham, Wiltshire, during which time she did not have a single visitor.
But after the appeal more than a dozen people have offered to pay their last respects.
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