Saturday, January 24, 2009

Record snowball fight failed


A group of college students in Wisconsin failed in their attempt to have the worlds largest snowball fight.

Freshman organizer Mike Basak had hoped the epic snowball fight would break a 2006 record set by 3,700 students at Michigan Technological University, but acknowledged Saturday that the turnout at his school was disappointing.

Basak guessed that 2,000 or more students showed up, but other observers put the total at hundreds of students, not thousands.

"It was definitely huge and it was a great event," he said.

In advance of the fight, more than 4,000 people had joined the event's Facebook group, and word continued to spread as rival dormitories got ready to rumble in the center of campus.

School officials also prepared, recruiting a student group of volunteer emergency medical technicians to be on the scene.

Basak said no one was hurt in the melee, although "there were a few bumps and scrapes."

It is thought that the chilly temperatures and a basketball game caused the numbers to be reduced. The organizer said that he will try again next year.

Perhaps he should offer free hot chocolate to the participants.

Obama toy fights Darth Vader


A Japanese toy company has made an Obama action figure that can fight Darth Vader with his light saber.

Gamu-Toys' Obama Action Man figurine also can battle against enemies, both foreign and domestic, with a samurai sword or, in a less bellicose stance, be posed casually with a coat jacket slung over his shoulder, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

The Japanese dolls are one-sixth scale, standing roughly 12 inches high, and come with plenty of accessories, such as outfits and weapons, which are not included as part of the basic package. Prices of the Obama Action Man dolls were not provided.

I know that Obama stays in shape, but I doubt he does it with samari swords.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Police hold goat for car theft


Police in Nigeria are holding a goat that is being accused of using witchcraft to steal a car.

A police spokesman in Kwara State has been quoted as saying that the "armed robbery suspect" would remain in custody until investigations were over.

But another police spokesman told the BBC the goat was being held in case its owner claimed it.

The belief in witchcraft and the power to change shapes is common in Nigeria.

Police reform activists have condemned the "arrest", saying it highlights the low education levels of many Nigerian police officers.

Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper has a picture of the goat and reports that police paraded it in front of journalists in the Kwara state capital Ilorin on Thursday.

But this was denied by national police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu.

"The vigilante group arrested the goat and took it to the police, then they told the media."

The next morning journalists turned up demanding to see the goat, he said.

"But of course goats can't commit crime."

Really, a goat? Stealing a car?

Mayor encourages kissing


The mayor of Guanajuato, Mexico is denying that her town has banned kissing and has declared her town the kissing capital.

The flap arose over an anti-obscenity law that many people believed would fine anyone caught kissing in public. The government denied it intended to ban kissing, but agreed to suspend the legislation so its wording could be reviewed.

Romero unveiled advertisements Tuesday featuring a couple locking lips on one of Guanajuato's many winding, cobble-stoned streets. They read: "Guanajuato, the kissing capital."

Smack!

Virginia tax department uses puppet to educate taxpayers


The state of Virginia has released a youtube video urging taxpayers to file online.

Phil, a white mouse hand puppet clad in a blue mask and cape, is seen in the clip, which advocates "Mouse Power," that is using a computer mouse to file taxes.

"We are very lucky to have a superhero mouse working with us to encourage online filing," Tax Commissioner Janie Bowen said in a written statement announcing the Phil campaign.

The web ad was produced by the tax department and posted on the agency's web site Thursday.

"Some people may think it's cheesy, but that's fine with Phil. He loves cheese," noted Bowen in the statement.

I wonder how much it cost to produce this video?

Thursday, January 22, 2009

This penguin is scared of the water!

A penguin named Kentucky who lives in a UK zoo refuses to get in the water.

They've tried forcing Kentucky in to keep his feathers clean – but have resorted to pouring water on him.

'It's a bit too cold for him in the water, so he spends all his time on the rocks just walking around,' said Kentucky's keeper, Adam Stevenson.

'It's a bit of a pain having to go over to feed him because he won't go in the water but he's a real character and everyone at the zoo loves him.'

Aw, poor thing. It's good that he lives in a zoo where he doesn't have to go fishing in the water.

Is that chicken wing worth your life


A man in Florida pulled a knife on his brother after arguing about their chicken wings.

Investigators said Calvin Edwards, 48, of Fort Pierce was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery after the alleged Tuesday incident, TCPalm.com reported Thursday.

The arrest affidavit quotes Edwards' brother as saying he and his sibling were "scuffling over chicken wings when Calvin pulled a small pocket knife and threatened to cut him." The brother, who said he was injured when Edwards scratched him on the wrist, said he backed down from the confrontation and called police.

I imagine the fight went like this. Brother 1, steals chicken wing off of brother 2's plate. Brother two stands up and runs to the kitchen to get a knife and then holds it at his brother's throat, saying "if you eat that I will slit your throat."

Man shaves eyebrows for charity


A man in Indiana with bushy eyebrows raised sixteen hundred dollars for charity by having his eyebrows shaved off.

Burgher's eyebrows were so long he used to brush them before leaving the house. But he agreed to have the overgrown brows tamed last week by members of the Bloomfield Rotary Club to raise money for a polio eradication campaign.

Burgher barely winced as his wife, Amy, got the first whack at the overgrown hairs.

"I don't care if they ever grow back," he told The Herald-Times of Bloomington. "My wife says I look 20 years younger."

Lawyers, bankers and others put up $100 each for their turn to snip away at Burgher's eyebrows, with the money going to Rotary International's PolioPlus, which has raised $500 million for polio eradication in the developing world since 1985.

The campaign started with his friends wondering how they could get him to shave his bushy brows.

I think he looks better without them.


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Man returns lobster -- after he ate it


A man in New York stole a bag of crab legs after trying to return an empty lobster shell to a grocery store.

Montgomery County sheriff's deputies said Walter Tessier told employees at the Price Chopper store in Amsterdam that he wanted to return a $10.99 lobster because "it was bad," the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union reported Wednesday.

However, Tessier allegedly ran from the store with the bag of crab legs he was planning to exchange the lobster for after workers discovered the lobster was only a reassembled shell, deputies said.

They said Tessier was arrested at his home but he allegedly had already eaten the pilfered crab legs. He was charged with petit larceny and given a court appearance ticket.


Think he would have stolen shrimp or clams next?

Woman finds a deer in her house


A woman was upset when she found that a deer had been hanging out in her house.

Natalie Jolly said after the deer came through one of her windows earlier this week, the apparently frightened animal took an impromptu home tour, WAPT-TV, Jackson, Miss., reported Wednesday.

Tuesday morning's visit by the deer included a jump on one of the beds and stepping on bath preparations in a bathroom, Jolly said.

The homeowner said after finding its way into her bathroom, the animal somehow turned on the tub faucet and flooded the floor.

I wonder if the deer ate her porridge also.

Baby calls 911 -- sends Dad to jail


An eleven month old in Canada called 911 on his Dad's cell phone. When officers arrived to investigate they found a Marijuana farm at the home and arrested the babies father.

The incident occurred Friday morning in the town of White Rock, several miles north of the U.S. border, The Province newspaper in Vancouver reported Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police received an emergency call, but the line went dead. The RCMP automatically responds to hang-up calls, and when officers arrived at the home, they found a marijuana farm of 500 plants, the report said.

The unidentified 29-year-old father was arrested, and the child was placed in the custody of the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development, which later located the mother, police said. The child's mother did not live at the residence.


Note to stupid criminals. Do not program your cell phone to automatically call 911.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Bad Bank Robber


A bank robber in Ohio was caught after he got stuck between the double doors while trying to leave with his loot.

Bystanders said the man entered the National City Bank branch Tuesday morning in Dayton and handed a note to a teller demanding money, the Dayton Daily News reported Tuesday.

However, bank employees activated a security system as the man attempted to leave the bank and he became trapped in between the interior and exterior doors of the bank, witnesses said. He attempted to break through the exterior door but was interrupted by the arrival of a Dayton police officer, who took the man into custody.

Oops.

Ice cream causes postive alchohol reading


A man in Australia demonstrated to a court how his ice cream caused his alcohol lock on his car to activate.

The man, whose name was not given, had asked Frankston Magistrates' Court to remove the breath testing alcohol interlock device from his car, the (Melbourne, Australia) Daily Sun reported Tuesday.

Prosecutors inquired why the machine had registered a "fail," which prevents the car from starting, despite the man's claims that he had not been drinking.

The man claimed the alcohol reading was the result of eating a Bubble O' Bill ice cream treat and Magistrate Rod Crisp ordered a test to be performed to back up the claim. Police recorded the man's blood alcohol content as 0.00 and performed the test a second time after he took a few bites of Bubble O' Bill, yielding a 0.018 reading.

Crisp granted the man's request to remove the breath testing device from his car.

That must have been some good ice cream.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Mr. Policeman, Mommy is under the bed


When police entered a house in Florida looking for a woman with outstanding warrants they were told she was not home by the adults in the household. However, the woman's daughter informed the police that her Mommy was under the bed.

Officers said two men and a woman at the house told officers that the woman had left, but then a 4-year old child approached one of the officers and revealed that the woman was under a bed.

Officers found the woman exactly where the child said she would be.

Sounds like she's an outstanding mother.

Woman locks repairman in her laundry room


A woman in England locked her repairman in her laundryroom with her washing machine because she was enraged that it had not been fixed.

"It broke early December, but they told me that I would have to wait until after Christmas," Fox said. "When the man came round on the 13th … the machine still wasn't working, and I asked when he would fix the other problems."

"He said that I'd have to pay for any repairs, even though the machine was still under warranty, and I might as well get a new one because the amount it would cost to fix it would be the same as buying another one," she said.

Fox said she used her body to brace the laundry room door shut and told the worker that she would not let him out until the appliance was fixed. The man called police and Fox said she allowed him to leave.

The washingmachine has been replaced by the company and she was not arrested.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Tights for men!


I bet you did not know that men are now wearing pantyhose. According to an article in the Daily News they are all the rage.

Pantyhose for men, or "mantyhose," have been popular throughout Europe for years and now the trend - even outside the ballet barre - has crept stateside.

Deborrah Ashley, managing director of Luxelegwear.com, sells 13 different lines of hosiery for men, but when her site launched in 2005, she sold just one line.

Sales have been steadily increasing, Ashley says, and the Batman craze fueled by "The Dark Knight" mid-July gave the site a spike.

"Before the movie it was repeat bulk orders ... it was almost like a secret society, and now it's brand new customers," says Ashley, whose customers like their mantyhose for warmth, support for athletics, and circulation.

Um, Ok. I can tell you with 100% certainty that my man in combat boots will never wear tights.

This website that sells them claims that they are perfect for playing sports.

This is NOT your mother’s panty hose! ACTIVSKIN tights for men and pantyhose for men are designed for male dimensions and anatomy. In sports they will help increase your lower body power and stamina, making them ideal for running, biking, skiing, football, soccer, and golf. For better health, this mild compression therapeutic hosiery will stimulate your blood flow and improve leg circulation. Stand or sit all day in your job? For work, leisure, and fashion, the thin, stretchy, engineered fabrics of ACTIVSKIN men’s tights, men’s pantyhose, and men’s stockings and socks will make you feel and look your best! ACTIVSKIN provides benefits you won't get from ordinary men’s socks and men’s underwear or even from conventional compression hosiery: Full leg support, climate control, energizing massage, and chafing and insect protection, for example.

That website also sells men's lingerie. . . . .


Cops tell superheros to stop fighting crime


Cops in California are sending a message to all real life super heros. Stick to reporting crime, we will fight it.

"Anyone who goes out and tries to assist law enforcement by handing out fliers and being proactive against the criminals is appreciated," spokesman Bernard Gonzales said. "But when you start physically involving yourself in crime fighting, that's vigilantism."

San Diego police Capt. Chris Ball agreed, saying the two amateur crime-fighters should stick to simply reporting crimes and serving as witnesses.

But Mr. Xtreme, whose identity is a secret, said he and his fellow crime-fighting members of an online superhero community are well within their legal rights.

So, what do you think? Are these superheros supercool or superstupid?


He should have flown south


Earlier this winter I expressed worry for the geese that did not fly south and what would happen to them when it got cold. Well, a goose here in the Detroit suburbs had to be rescued after it froze in a river.

Sgt. Dan Willis, of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, said someone reported seeing the goose in the river in the park, which is located in the Clinton River Drive and Gratiot area in the southern end of the city

When divers and a marine officer arrived, they first tried to put warm water around the goose which was trapped in the ice. As rescuers worked to free it, the goose let out loud quacks as if to say “get away” but then quieted down, Willis said. Within a hour of the 7:30 p.m. run, divers were able to chip away the ice and the goose was free, Willis said.

The goose then waddled over to a group of geese sitting in open water nearby.

“It let out a couple of good quacks and it was on its way,” Willis said. “It swam away with the rest of the pack.”

Poor thing. I'm glad that it's ok. Next year he should fly south where he can't get stuck in a frozen river.