Secret Chicken Recipe Moved to Higher Security

The top secret Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe was moved to a more secure location Tuesday.

Nothing went afoul when the recipe was returned from an undisclosed location to KFC's headquarters late Monday in a lockbox handcuffed to the wrist of a security consultant.

KFC President Roger Eaton was visibly relieved when the door to a new electronic safe was shut with the single sheet of yellowing paper stashed inside. "Mission accomplished," he said.

"It was very nerve wracking," Eaton said later of the recipe's hiatus from a vault where it has been kept for decades. "I don't want to be the only president who's lost the recipe."

The recipe is such a tightly held secret that not even Eaton knows its full contents. Only two company executives at any time have access to the recipe. KFC won't release their names or titles, and it uses multiple suppliers who produce and blend the ingredients but know only a part of the entire contents.

"We've very comfortable with the security," Eaton said. "I don't think anyone can break into it."

Just how valuable is the recipe?

Thomas P. Hustad, professor of marketing at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, said the recipe "goes to the core of the identity of the brand." The recipe, along with the man who created it, conjure images for the chain that help set it apart in the minds of customers, he said.

"I would say that the heritage value is just as high for this secret recipe as the stories around the Coke formula," Hustad said by phone Tuesday. "I guess I'd put the two of those at the top of the pyramid."

Dietl said the security measures he installed replaced an "antiquated" system. For years, the recipe was kept in a filing cabinet equipped with two combination locks in the vault.

"The colonel could have used a pry bar to open that thing up," Dietl said.

I'm glad to know the recipe is safe. It would be terrible if terrorists got a hold of the recipe . . . . .

Teenager arrested for candy scam

An Ohio teenager was arrested after he ordered 37,000 worth of candy and charged it to his high school.

Police say the 18-year-old used a Middletown High School purchasing number to place orders for thousands of lollipops and candy bars from Michigan-based The Goodies Factory. It wasn't clear how he accessed the number.

The candy company became suspicious, contacted the school and was told by detectives to send an empty box.

The brilliant teen had the candy delivered to his house where the police arrested him upon receipt of the package.

Scientists create cancer doll

Scientists in Japan have created a doll made out of cancer cells.

The 5mm high figure – which bears a passing resemblance to a jelly baby – was created from liver cancer cells held in place with the help of 100,000 capsules of collagen.

Each capsule was also coated with special cells that secreted a protein which helped bind the 3D structure.

The entity's humorous shape was created with a specially-made mould, but scientists at the University of Tokyo say that the technique has serious medical applications.

Shoji Takeuchi, who led the team at the Institute of Industrial Science, says that it will enable researchers to create a range of structures containing multiple cell types, allowing them to test cancer drugs in environments more closely resembling the human body.

The structures will be more useful than cell collections grown in petri dishes that are not so closely bound, he said.

Well if that doesn't work they can use it to scare little girls.

Police reassigned because of nude pictures

Several police officers in Sweden were reassigned after having a crazy naked party.

Police officials in Gothenburg said the nine officers, all of whom were male, were celebrating at a cabin near Gothenburg after completing supplemental training to serve in special tactical units, Swedish news agency TT reported Monday.

"These are officers with several years of experience. They are between 30 and 40-years-old," said Erik Nord, commander of field duty police officers in Gothenburg.

Nord said a game played at the party involved taking pictures of the officers' nude bodies while holding police-issued sub-machine guns. A male stripper was also in attendance at the party, Nord said.

He said none of the activities at the party were illegal, but they were "inappropriate" and "not acceptable."

"It shows a complete lack of judgment. You can't do what you want when you're off-duty and a policeman," said Nord.

No word as to whether or not the cops looked good in the photos. They have been reassigned to desk duty during the investigation

Twins escape death penalty because of their identical looks

A set of twins in Malaysa has escaped the death penalty because no one can be sure which twin is which.

The 27-year-old twins, R. Sathis Raj and Sabarish Raj, had been charged with trafficking 166 kilos of cannabis and 1.7 kilos of raw opium in 2003. But police had trouble identifying which one was in possession of the drugs.

"This is a very unique case as they are identical twins. Even the DNA evidence could not prove anything as the DNA could be either Sathis' or Sabarish's," said High Court judge Zaharah Ibrahim.

"I can't be calling the wrong twin to enter his defence. I can't be sending the wrong person to the gallows," she said according to the New Straits Times as she acquitted the pair.

The court heard that one of the twins was caught taking a car load of drugs to a house in suburban Kuala Lumpur. After he was apprehended the other twin arrived at the house and was also arrested.

"It is clear that the first twin who was caught was the only one who had access to the house. Therefore, it is impossible for him not to know what was inside the bags," the judge said according to the daily.

However, she said there was reasonable doubt as to which twin had been arrested first. The brothers cried and embraced family members in the court room when the verdict was handed down.

It wasn't me, it was my evil twin!

Man calls 911 because there is no lemonade

A Florida man was arrested after he called 911 to report that a restaurant was out of lemonade.

Boynton Beach police charged Jean Fortune with misusing emergency services for his alleged phone call Saturday in which he complained about that lack of his preferred beverage at a local Burger King, The Palm Beach Post reported Sunday.

An arrest report alleges Fortune became upset upon learning the fast-food restaurant was out of lemonade.

After a drive-through employee failed to respond to Fortune's threat of contacting the police, the upset diner called 911, the report alleges.

When a police officer showed up and talked to all involved he issued a citation to the man to appear in court.

The race that makes you gain weight

Racers in North Carolina raced two miles to a doughnut shop where they then ate two dozen glazed doughnuts and then raced back to the start.

That's 2,400 calories and 144 grams of fat consumed while burning about 400 calories during the run.

The student-run Krispy Kreme Challenge raised about $35,000 for the North Carolina Children's Hospital.

The event began on a dare among college friends in 2004. Then-freshman Ben Gaddy won the first race by beating nine guys in about a half-hour.

That sounds terrible. I bet it's a hit with the frat boy crowd.

Man uses Klingon weapon to rob store

A man in Colorado Springs was seen robbing several gas stations with a Klingon sword.

Both clerks described the weapon as a Star Trek Klingon-type sword, called a "bat'leth."Neither clerk was injured in the robberies.

The Startrek.com Web site describes the Klingon weapon as crescent-shaped and about a yard long. However, the weapon that the man was wielding appears to be smaller than that. The bat'leth has points on both ends, two points in between and a handle on the outside.

Police said they don't know if the sword used by the robber was made of metal.

They do however, know that the robber is weird.

NY Prostitute takes credit cards from bankers

A New York prostitute told ABC news that she regularly took corporate credit cards from bankers.

Wall street lawyers, investment bankers, CEOs and media executives often used corporate credit cards to pay for $2,000 an hour prostitutes, according to the madam who ran one of New York's biggest and most expensive escort services until it was busted last year.

But prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's office chose not to pursue any of the corporate titans, says Kristin Davis, who pleaded guilty last year to charges of running a prostitution business that used more than a hundred women.

"They showed no interest," said Davis in an interview for broadcast Friday on the ABC News program 20/20.

"Some of these guys, I was invoicing on corporate credit cards," she said. "I was writing up monthly bills for computer consulting, construction expenses, all of these things, I was invoicing them monthly so they could get it by their accountants," Davis said.

Now that's nice. Hopefully they get our tax dollars back for those deductions.

Vampyre political canidate threatens ex-girlfriend

A political candidate who calls himself a vampyre was arrested for harassing his ex-girlfriend who broke up with him by telling him that she was a vampire hunter.

John Alfred Sharkey, 44, of Toms River, N.J., was held in the Olmsted County jail Wednesday in lieu of $125,000 bail. He was charged last summer, but didn't appear in court until last month after he was arrested on a warrant.

Sharkey, who calls himself the "The Impaler," ran as the Vampyres, Witches and Pagans party candidate for Minnesota governor in 2006, when he listed Princeton, Minn., as his address.

The criminal complaint says he was running for president in 2007 when the 16-year-old Rochester girl wrote a message of support on his MySpace page. She told police they began dating online, and the threats began when she tried to break off the relationship.

She told police that "in a desperate attempt" to get him to leave her alone, she had e-mailed him that she was a member of an elite vampire hunter society and that continuing their relationship would put him in danger. Her father told police he talked to Sharkey, but Sharkey continued to call the girl and write letters to her parents.

There's a Vampres, Witches and Pagans party in Minnesota? How do they get enough signatures to get on the ballot?

Giant rat has free speech rights

The New Jersey Supreme Court has declared that large inflatable rats have free speech rights.

In a case that pitted an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union local against a central Jersey town, the high court ruled unanimously that the rodent is protected speech under the First Amendment.

"The township's elimination of an entire medium of expression without a readily available alternative renders the ordinance overbroad," Justice John E. Wallace Jr. wrote for the court.

The super-sized rat, sitting on its hind legs and bearing fangs, is a national symbol used by organized labor to signal a labor dispute. It had been blown up and displayed at a 2005 labor event in Lawrence Township until police enforced a law that bans banners, streamers and inflatable signs, except those announcing grand openings.

The township claimed the union's use of the rat was a form of commercial speech, less deserving of First Amendment protections.

The state Supreme Court found that the law wasn't neutral, and therefore was unconstitutional. It said an ordinance "that prohibits a union from displaying a rat balloon, while at the same time authorizing a similar display as part of a grand opening, is content-based."

Yay giant ugly rat! I guess

Man arrested for PDA with a blow up doll

A man in Florida has been arrested for fondling a blow up doll in a supermarket parking lot.

George Bartusek was sitting in his car Wednesday outside a Publix with the dolls."As I walk by I saw this guy with two blow-up dolls -- kissing them and bouncing them and trying to get people's attention," said a witness.

Another customer saw what was happening and ran inside the grocery store to get the manager while someone else called police."It's just crazy, you know, and I'm with my daughter and she couldn't believe what we were seeing," said witness Arthur Castro.

This is so not going to help him get a girlfriend.

Text messanging for toddlers

LeapFrog has created a blackberry for toddlers.

The LeapFrog Text & Learn, which is scheduled to arrive in U.S. stores this summer, is modeled after a personal digital assistant and allows children to practice spelling and computer skills with games that emulate text messaging, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

"Busy 3-year-olds will love to 'play' like their parents do," LeapFrog wrote in the description for the $21.99 toy.

No word as to if the toy will teach toddlers how to spell using text language and smileys ;) .

Chimpanzee Riding on a Segway

Woman breaks world record for largest breasts

A Texas woman has broken a world record for the biggest breast implants, 38KKK.

The 28-year-old, a Texas housewive, has had nine operations to get her up to this size.

She traveled to Brazil to get her last procedure which took her from an FFF to a KKK after Texas officials refused to do it, for fear that her breasts could explode.

Hershey, from Houston, said: "To me, big is beautiful. I don't think I have anything to worry about."

Hershey is now in record books for having the biggest breast implants ever.

I wonder if she's able to swim to the bottom of a pool. Those things look like flotation devices.

Is that a pigeon in your pants or are you happy to see me?

A traveler in Australia was caught trying to smuggle (among other things) two live pigeons in his pants.


The 23-year-old man was searched after authorities discovered two eggs in a vitamin container in his luggage, said Richard Janeczko, national investigations manager for the Customs Service.

They found the pigeons wrapped in padded envelopes and held to each of the man's legs with a pair of tights, according to a statement released by the agency. Officials also seized seeds in his money belt and an undeclared eggplant.

Not sure which is weirder. The pigeon or the eggplant.

Man found in chimney has no idea how he got there

A Vermont man rescued by fire fighters from a chimney has no idea how he got into the chimney.

Assistant Fire Marshal Thomas Middleton said police were called early Sunday by a woman who said she heard someone yelling for help near 144 Church Street.

They followed the voice — and footprints on a snowy roof — to find the unidentified man in a chimney. He told them he didn't know how he got there. He was stuck in the chimney for about four hours.

First, they tried to pull him out with a rope, but it didn't work.

Then they had to disassemble part of the chimney to get to the man, whose name isn't being released.

Perhaps he thought it was Christmas Eve.

Baby born with 12 perfectly formed fingers and toes

A baby in California has been born with 12 fingers and 12 toes.

According to doctors at the Saint Luke's Hospital in San Francisco, a perfectly healthy baby with extra fingers and toes was born three weeks ago, to Kris Hubbard and Miryoki Gross of Dale City.

“Nurses and doctors, looked so normal they couldn't tell, they told me he was six pounds in good health, that was all they said,” said Miryoki Gross. Nobody initially took notice of the abnormality in the baby, until his father pointed it out.

The condition of having extra digits is called polydactyly and has a genetic origin. Though it is not a very uncommon trait, it was special in the case of Baby Kamani Hubbard since all his 12 fingers are fully developed and functional, as are the toes.
Usually, the extra digits in cases of polydactyly are vestigial and do not serve any function.

The condition has been running in Kamani Hubbard's paternal family. “Some family members have had six fingers, not completely developed,” said his father, Kris Hubbard, adding that six toes had never cropped up before, in his family.

Mostly, cases of polydactyly are surgically corrected. Kris Hubbard himself had nubs of sixth fingers, which were removed during his early childhood.

But the perfect development and functionality of the fingers in Kamani Hubbard's case is intriguing and the doctors are now in a dilemma over their surgical removal.

“I would be tempted to leave those fingers in place. I realize children would tease each other over the slightest things, and having extra digits on each hand is more than slight,” said Dr. Michael Treece, a Pediatrician at St. Luke's Hospital. “But imagine what sort of a pianist a 12-fingered person would be imagine what sort of a flamenco guitarist, if nothing else think of their typing skills.”

So would you keep the extra toes and fingers if this was your child?

Sign hackers are at it again

Motorists were confused (or terrified) when a road sign told them that raptors were ahead.

The sign, which read "Raptors Ahead Caution," amused motorists in a construction zone on Keystone Avenue, just north of 116th Street.

"It's kind of crazy. I'm totally confused," said one motorist. "I'm kind of expecting … dinosaurs to run down the road, or something."Another puzzled motorist said, "Which raptors?" before adding that he hadn't seen the sign.Carmel spokeswoman Nancy Heck said the signs on Keystone Avenue are owned by a contractor, Highway Technologies, which is responsible for programming signs in the Keystone Avenue construction zone.

Giggle.

There are instructions on how to hack road signs on the internet. While funny, reprogramming signs is illegal.

Old John is dead, survived by the sink and urinal

John, a toilet killed in an accidental restaurant shooting has been laid to rest in Utah.

The toilet was shattered by a bullet Jan. 12 when a man's gun fell from its holster as he was pulling up his pants, police said. Police do not plan to file criminal charges in connection with the incident.

Christian Martinez, manager of the Carl's Jr. where John was gunned down, held a memorial service Friday at the restaurant. He gave away bottles of John's favorite toilet cleaner, Kaboom Bowl Blaster, to the eatery's first 50 patrons.

A Bountiful flower shop provided a large floral arrangement.

"In all my years, I can say without a doubt that I have never delivered for a toilet," said deliveryman Doug Graham, "but I thought it was the funniest thing I've ever heard. I got a kick out of it."

Remnants of John hit and cut the gun owner's arm, but he was not seriously injured.

Police blamed John's death on the gun and style of holster the man was using.

"He was survived by the men's urinal and wash sink," said Martinez. "He left us way too soon."

This is a sad occasion for everyone. I hope that his replacement can fufil his duties as well as he can. Please leave your well wishes in the comments section.

Scientists figure out how to write really really small

Scientists in California have figured out how to write really really small.

Two Stanford University physicists have succeeded in writing two letters -- an "S" and a "U," in honor of their employer -- small enough that if used to print out the 32-volume set of Encyclopedia Britannica 2,000 times, the contents would fit on the head of a pin, the San Jose Mercury News reported Sunday.

The nanoscribes, Hari Manoharan and Chris Moon, say the accomplishment, in which they used electron beam lithography, has no practical purpose but proves that information can be stored at small sizes below the level of the atom, giving theoretical backing to continued efforts to reduce the amount of time and space necessary for computers to store and retrieve data, the newspaper said.

Attention Stanford Students and Donors: Your money is going to pay for things that have no practical purpose. Why create new technology or find cures to medical problems when you can create something with no practical purpose.

Man stabs his ex-girlfried to get his implants back

A man in California tried to cut out his ex-girlfriends breast implants.

San Bernardino County prosecutor David Foy said 28-year-old Thomas Lee Rowley attacked his ex in July 2006 outside her mother's home in Hesperia, some 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert.

Rowley is on trial in Superior Court in Victorville for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, burglary, and false imprisonment.

The 26-year-old woman survived six stab wounds and the punctured breast implants were repaired.

Rowley's former roommate Dennis McGill testified this week that the defendant wanted to reclaim what was rightfully his. Rowley allegedly told McGill, "I'm gonna cut 'em out and get 'em back."

What exactly was he going to do with those implants when he got them back?

Zoo serves mousesicles

A zoo in New Zealand will be serving its wild cats mousecicles and bloodsicles to help them beat the heat this weekend.

Zoo spokeswoman Stephanie Gray said staff members at the tourist site in the New Zealand capital will be freezing whole mice to feed to the zoo's African wild cats, The (Wellington) Dominion Post said in its Saturday edition.

Gray said in anticipation of a heat wave this weekend, zoo staff will have mousesicles on hand as well as so-called bloodsicles for the servals.

The wild cats' bloodsicles, actually diluted blood ice blocks, will be accompanied by a paddling pool and hammocks for the cats to relax and cool off in, the Post said.

New Zealand sounds nice. No snow or cold. . .

Man wants to build a great wall in Wisconsin

A man in Wisconsin wants to create a replica of the great wall of china.

Don Trent's proposed Great Wall would be a mile long, while the original wall in China stretches for some 4,000 miles. The scale model would be manned by Chinese terracotta soldier figurines.

The 70-year-old Spring Valley resident visualizes a Great Wall complex just off Interstate 94 in western Wisconsin with a 400-room hotel and an open-air theater, the Milwaukee Journal reports. He also visualizes the Beijing Opera at the grand opening.

"The dream is to build the thing," he said. "The Chinese are behind this; it's getting the Americans behind it."

So far, he has failed to find financing to buy the land and build the Great Wall. He believes it would be a winner, given the popularity of all things Chinese in the United States.

I'm so shocked that he can't get financing.

Caution: Zombies Ahead!

Hackers in Austin, Tx changed a traffic sign to say "Zombies Ahead" and "Run Zombies Run!"

Messages that typically alert Lamar Boulevard drivers to a detour for Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard splashed several warnings like “Caution! Zombies Ahead!” and “Nazi Zombies! Run!!!”

As he drove south on Lamar, traffic controller Bruce Jones saw the first sign flash the Nazi zombies message at 6 a.m. and wheeled his truck around for another look. Then he said he noticed that the second sign, directed at northbound drivers, had also been tampered with.

Jones, who has one of only two keys to the locked access panels on the portable signs, said that the hacker broke into the panels on each sign and bypassed the passwords before leaving five different zombie messages and even changing one of the passwords. Jones said he had to wait until 8 a.m. to call the manufacturing company to figure out how to override the hacker’s work. He speculated that the hacker could be a computer genius from UT.

The biggest safety hazard came from drivers slowing down or stopping their car to take pictures, Jones said.

The hacking occurred within weeks of various articles appearing online with descriptions of how to hack into these road signs — which point out that such an act is illegal.

Dennis Crabill, project manager with the Public Works Department, said the access panels are always locked and are not programmed with the default passwords these sites suggest. Short of having a watchman on duty around the clock, he said there is little more the city can do to prevent such vandalism.

“It’s a pretty childish prank,” he said.

See, I don't think that's a childish prank. I think it's an awesome prank. I hope there are copycats where I live. The signs that say "Caution, winter driving conditions exist" are not really helpful when there is obviously six inches of snow on the road. It would be better if they prepared us for the Zombie Apocalypse.

Family spends $155,000 to clone their dog

A family in Florida has spent $155,000 to clone their dog.

The 10-week-old golden Labrador retriever is a clone, created in South Korea by a California biotech firm from the DNA of the first Sir Lancelot, the beloved pet of Ed and Nina Otto of Boca Raton.

The original ''Lancy'' died, at age 11, in January 2008.

A celebrity from the moment he bounded off an American Airlines flight Monday night at Miami International Airport, Lancy redux ''very quickly integrated into the menagerie and held his own,'' said Lou Hawthorne, CEO of BioArts, the firm that auctioned off five dog-cloning procedures last July.

The Ottos spent $155,000 to win the second-round auction.

''He's a spunky little critter,'' Hawthorne said. ``He was nipping and stealing things.''

By Tuesday morning, Regis and Kelly and the BBC were clamoring for the inquisitive, 17-pound bundle of energy. The Ottos say he is the first single-birth, commercially cloned puppy in the United States.

Well, I guess the recession isn't effecting everyone. . .

Robber chased off by huge spoon

A chef in Wisconsin chased away a robber with a huge aluminum spoon.

Investigators alleged Joey Geraci, 39, entered the Williams Supper Club in Waukesha at about 10 p.m. Friday and grabbed an employee by the arm as part of a demand for money, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Chef Erik Minor said he spotted Geraci, wearing a black motorcycle helmet and matching leather jacket, allegedly attempting to leave with the employee and two bags of cash that had been handed over by a bartender.

"I said, 'He's not leaving with one of my employees.' So I hit him over the head with a big aluminum spoon," Minor said.

Minor said the spoon broke in half and he was able to wrestle the helmet from Geraci's head. The suspect was subdued by Minor with help from a cook, Andrew Tess, and a customer.

Who needs a gun when you have a spoon.

Woman subdues cop with the taser she kept in her diaper bag

A woman in Georgia helped a police officer subdue a criminal using the taser that she kept in her diaper bag.

Tanisha Cross, 20, of Atlanta, said she was driving with her mother to a Wal-Mart in Lithonia when they spotted the police officer struggling with an attacker who had rubbed pepper spray in the officer's eyes, WBS-TV, Atlanta, reported Monday.

Cross said she retrieved the Taser stun gun her husband had given her for Christmas from her child's diaper bag.

"I went straight for my kid's diaper bag and I got it and asked it if he (officer) wanted me to do it and he said, 'Yeah,'" Cross said.

Cross said she used the stun gun on the suspect's arms and legs, giving the police officer the chance to subdue the attacker with a help of a security guard.

"He's brave," she said of the police officer. "He did his best to keep him from his gun. He handled the situation very well. I was just glad I could help him."

She keeps a taser in her diaper bag?

Man steals underwear and mannequin from Texas store

A thief in Dallas stole underwear and a mannequin from a condom store.

Investigators said the items were taken from Condoms To Go by a thief who apparently entered the store before dawn Monday by removing the front glass door, The Dallas Morning News reported Monday.

I do not want to know what he did with the mannequin.

Chefs in Mexico make the worlds biggest cheesecake

Chefs in Mexico spent hours making the worlds largest strawberry cheesecake.

Chef Miguel Angel Quezada says 55 cooks spent 60 hours making the world's biggest cheesecake — a 2-ton calorie bomb topped with strawberries.

The monster cake used nearly a ton of cream cheese, the same amount of yogurt, 350 kilograms (772 pounds) of pastry, 250 kilograms (551 pounds) of sugar and 150 kilograms (331 pounds) of butter.

However, this is the only cheesecake that has competed to be the world's largest. Expect their record to be topped soon.

Man gets drunk and thinks he's a dog

It took six police officers to restrain a drunk man in Florida. The man was growling and biting like a dog.

Eric Marusak, 37, of New Port Richey was ordered held without bail for driving drunk, violently resisting an officer, battery on an officer and habitually driving with a suspended license, The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Sunday.

Marusak's arrest record of previous skirmishes with police is 18 pages long, police said. Marusak was arrested Saturday after running his car into a chain-link fence on U.S. Route 19.

"I'm wrecked, dude. I got a suspended license," Marusak allegedly told the officer who witnessed the crash.

Once in the police cruiser, Marusak allegedly kicked the officer in the crotch, spit on him and tried to bite the officer twice while growling and barking like a dog, police said.

Marusak's kicking allegedly bent the cruiser door and caused more than $1,000 worth of damage to the cruiser's frame.

I think he should go to jail.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.