More From Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton

HOLLYWOOD - More Strange News from Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton. The couple recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary and exchanged unique gifts. Jolie bought his and hers cemetery plots in Alpine, Arkansas, which are reportedly next to Thornton's brother who died when he was 30. In return, Thornton had a nurse draw some of his blood and painted some pictures in it for his wife. He told the London Telegraph, "We're not the types to give each other candy or a bunch of flowers." 
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Bear Burglar With Sweet Tooth Busted

PUEBLO, Colorado - Wildlife officers followed a trail of sticky paw prints at the Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. in Colorado to a small bear. The young cub apparently weaseled its way in the plant and had a feast on about four gallons of raspberry-tea syrup used in beverage dispensers. Wildlife officers said they believe the same bear was spotted the previous week outside the warehouse. According to State Wildlife Manager Al Trujullo, "Bears would normally be eating acorns in the foothills this time of year, but a late spring freeze severely limited the crop." The sugar craving bear has since been sedated with a tranquilizer gun and release in another area.
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Peeping... and Getting Away With It

PARIS, France - Author Gerard Courcel, who describes himself as the world's greatest "Peeping Tom" has Paris feminists up in arms over his latest book; Peeping... and Getting Away With It. The book details his 20 years of exploits of zeroing in on nude women. Among his controversial boasts is the claim that he has looked in on more than 40,000 women.
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Contraceptive Dress on Display in Glasgow

GLASGOW, Scotland - Textile artist Susie Freeman and Bristol GP Liz Lee have designed a ball gown out of 6,000 contraceptive pills. It's part of a project looking at how art can highlight medical issues. According to Freeman, "There is a supply of the pill on the dress to last a woman 26 years, and there is also one contraceptive coil which was used by a woman. It is in a joking context but there is a serious message behind it." Freeman claims she got the idea when talking with her friend about how hard it is to get men and women to think about forms of contraception other than the pill. The gown is now on display in Glasgow.
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Surprise Birthday Party Shocker

BIRMINGHAM, England - A legal secretary from a well known office was having a birthday. This time the popular secretary was in for the embarrassment of her life when co-workers threw her a surprise birthday party. Before she got home, co-workers had let themselves in her house with a spare key given to a friend. Unfortunately, upon arriving the secretary made a bee line straight for the kitchen. After a few minutes, she sauntered into the living room in search of her dog. Alas, while in the kitchen she had stripped and applied peanut butter to her private parts before searching for her pet.
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Hack Up Your Girlfriend and Mail Her To...

SEPTEMBER 4, 2001 - A manhunt started on August 24 in the Czech city Brno after postal workers found a human arm and leg in a foul smelling package which no one had collected. Another package was found a day later. According to police spokeswoman Dagmar Bartonikova, a man suspected of murdering his girlfriend and mailing parts of her body to fictitious addresses has been arrested by police in the Czech capital Prague. The woman, born in 1969, had apparently gone missing earlier in August and police had talked to friends and relatives to help find the suspect. "(Police suspect) he killed her and mailed parts of her body to Brno in packages from various Prague post offices. Parts of her remains were found in Prague, and some parts are still being searched for," Bartonikova concluded.
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Six-Year-Old Girl Has Jaw Removed From Chest

NEW DELHI - Doctors in New Delhi discovered a six-year-old girl had a jaw growing in her chest during exploratory surgery. The jaw was reportedly putting pressure on the young girl's heart and lungs and causing her much pain. According to Doctor Yogesh Kumar Sarin, who headed the operation, "It must have been growing inside the child since she was born. It had well-developed teeth and even a tongue." Sarin went on to explain that the condition, known as Incomplete Twinning, happens when a few growth cells remain in a person's body after birth. Had it not been detected, the jaw could have continued growing for up to 30 years and become cancerous.
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Cow Urine Making a Big Splash in India

INDIA - Many Hindus are thrilled by new studies showing that cow urine can be used for ailments ranging from liver disease to obesity and even cancer. The urine is being sold under the label "Gift of the Cow", and is being enthusiastically promoted by the government of Gujarat. It also comes in tablets or a cream mixed with other traditional medicinal herbs. Although most Indian doctors view the medicines as eccentric, several advocates of the  treatment have come forward in Gujarat to support the claims including one 65-year-old woman with a cancerous tumor on her chest who has been taking cow's urine for the past three years. She says she is no longer in pain and has survived in spite of medical predictions that she would die two years ago.
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Teen Saved By The 'Good Book'

NORTH FT. MYERS, Florida - Religion is supposed to save your soul, but apparently it can save your life as well. At least for this 16-year-old boy when his mother allegedly shot at him and his six-year-old brother. The younger boy was killed, but the older was only slightly injured when a Bible the teen had in his coat caught the bullet. The younger boy was shot at the family home. The woman then reportedly drove to the church her older son was attending and shot him there, at close range. So far police report no motive for the attacks.
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Samaritan Donates Car to Impoverished Family

INDIANA - When news broke about a little boy who was born with his heart outside his chest cavity needing extensive surgery, businessman Mike Glenn decided to help. Reflecting on the joy he experienced with his own three healthy sons, Glenn purchased a Plymouth Neon for the boy's mother so she could transport him for doctor's visits. The car is worth approximately $10,000 and was offered with no strings attached. The gift tremendously helped the financially-stricken family. A newspaper reported that the boy's mother cried when hearing about the gift, and she said, "I didn't really think people did that kind of thing."
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Houston Man Trapped In Manhole 3 Days

HOUSTON - Kevin Funchess, a  41-year-old school teacher, was rescued three days after he fell into an open manhole while crossing the street for fried chicken. Funchess' body wedged in just 3 feet below the surface, but he could not get out or move enough to reach the cell phone that was stuck beneath him in his backpack. His shouts for help reportedly went unheard and he was unable to answer the phone, which rang repeatedly as anxious family members tried to call him. After three days without food and water, he was able to maneuver enough to reach the phone and call 911. Rescuers who pulled him out said he was dehydrated and sore, but in good condition.
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One Million Children Create British Earthquake

BRITAIN - Brits got a jump on a new World record as one million jumping children successfully caused an earthquake. Thousands of schools around Britain were asked to send children outside at 11 a.m. last Friday to jump up and down for a minute in hopes of creating a measurable quake. The Giant Jump event was held to mark the launch of the government's Science Year, and organizers said it was a success. Scientists said a million children with an average weight of 110 pounds jumping 20 times in a minute would release two billion joules of energy and trigger the equivalent of an earthquake measuring three on the Richter scale. Children were surveyed before the event to make predict the outcome. Perhaps the most accurate prediction came from this child, who said, There will be lots of hospital visits from people with sprained ankles."
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With Friends Like This You Don't Need Enemies

AMES, Iowa - An Iowa State graduate student allegedly tapped into a former friend's e-mail account and impersonated him to turn down a $200,000-a-year job. 36-year-old King Chong Iris Fung and the victim had known each other years before when they both attended school in Wisconsin. Fung had been viewing the e-mails of her former "friend" and his wife for months, logging on from an ISU school computer. Fung became a suspect after the unnamed company called her former friend, saying they were disappointed that he'd turned down the job. The alleged victim can sue Fung if he loses the job offer. "The nature of their relationship has not been determined," said Jerry Stewart, interim director of ISU's campus police department.
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Annapolis Woman Wakes to Find She is Not Alone

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland - A woman awakened late one night last week when she heard strange noises. After she searched her house, she concluded that she was alone. She woke up early in the morning, however, when she felt someone or something brush up against her hand. She realized an unidentified man had slept on the floor next to her bed all night and immediately went in the kitchen to call the police. When she was unable to get her phone to work, she ran outside for help. Police say they think the man was drunk. 
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The Orgy That Just Wouldn't Stop

As police approached a group of tourists on a Spanish beach, they realized the visitors were engaged in an orgy. Not only that, but they were filming themselves, too! The group, ranging in ages from 22 to 40, included a British couple, a French man and two Swiss. A local newspaper indicated they were arrested for exhibitionism and were taken to the police station. But the party doesn't end there, folks. One officer said, "When we opened the doors, the women was pleasing the men again!"
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Man Extinguishes Car Fire With His Own 'Hose'

NEWBOLD, England - A driver of Newbold, England doused the flames of his  burning automobile using his own built-in fire extinguisher. According to car owner Carl Ellis, the key got stuck in the ignition and when he removed the barrel some metal caught a wire and sparked a fire. With no water or a fire extinguisher immediately at hand, Ellis reportedly unzipped his pant and "let nature do its work." Derbyshire fire service have accepted the fact that Ellis' actions possibly saved greater damage but advised anyone in a similar situation to call them out instead.
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3,500 Mile Cell Phone Call Saves the Day

LONDON - A British kayaker who capsized in heavy seas off southern England used his cellphone to raise the alarm - by calling his father 3,500 miles away. Mark Ashton-Smith, a lecturer at Cambridge University, told rescuers he knew he was in serious trouble but did not think to call nearby emergency services. His father Alan Pimm-Smith, who was instructing army troops in Dubai, was shocked to get the call from his son and raised the alarm with the British coastguard. It is not the first time people in trouble on the seas have made long-distance calls on the cellphone to raise the alarm. In February a British woman sent an SOS text message to her boyfriend in England after becoming stranded at sea on a boat off the coast of Indonesia.
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Toy Metal Detector Makes Quite a Find

ENGLAND - As a couple walked on Hampstead Heath, their car was broken into and several valuables, including their house keys, were stolen. Deciding to take matters in their own hands, Coral and Steve Pearce returned to the crime scene with their son's toy metal detector. Amazingly, they uncovered many items such as three stolen wallets, two purses, a make-up bag, a ring box and collection of credit cards. Unfortunately, they did not find their own items. Mrs. Pearce told a London paper, "We were absolutely shocked and shaken up when we saw the car had been broken into. We reported it to the police, but they didn't seem that interested."
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I'd Like Half a Pound of Maggots, Please

OSHKOSH, Wis. - Medieval medicine meets modern technology as one man takes his maggot supply company online. Dr. David Janssen began farming maggots about one and a half years ago providing the squirmy larvae to medical centers and private doctors who use them to clean wounds. But now that Dr. Janssen is online getting the medicinal worms is easier than ever. Maggots will eat any dead or decaying flesh leaving only healthy tissue which surgeons can graft. All you have to do is sit still while maggots eat away at your wounds.
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Biologists on the Run From... Naked Women

KENYA - A dozen biologists in rural Kenya actually ran away from naked women that were chasing them. The 12 were apparently conducting a census of the endangered Tana River Colobus monkey - a project funded by the World Bank - when more than 300 women stripped and charged at them. Authorities believe the angry horde of women, who were from the village of Baoma, were protesting against a plan to turn the area into a nature reserve for the primates. The plan involves relocating about 2,000 families outside the proposed reserve. According to the local police chief, the women were forced to retreat when police officers arrived and fired shots over their heads. No arrests were reportedly made, however, security was tightened.
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Woman Found Dead With Arm Stuck in Sofa

SEPTEMBER 1, 2001 - According to police in Cape Coral, Florida, a 75-year-old woman who got her arm caught in a sofa bed and was just inches from a telephone and a whistle died after being stuck for at least two days. Police reportedly found Stocksdale on Saturday after getting a call from a friend who was worried that the woman hadn't been heard from for a few days. Police spokesman Angelo Bitsis stated that it was unclear how Stocksdale got stuck, but she could have been trying to retrieve something that may have fallen under the sofa.
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I Know... I'll Carve That Tree Stump Into a Penis

Jean Paul Parshall's landlord decided to cut down a tree in front of their apartment building. To take the chore off his hands, Parshall cut the tree for him and carved the two-meter stump into the shape of a penis. The 'artist' said, "I was sitting there one day thinking, 'I know what I can make out of that.' No one ever says anything to me. The kids drive past and honk and whistle." Neighbors are complaining, though. One lady said, "I take my daughter to school down that road every day. It's not something a six-year-old needs to view." But, authorities indicate there's nothing they can do: "People have the right to poor taste. We don't have a county ordinance that I know of that says you can't carve your tree into a penis," said Thurston County Sheriff Captain Dan Kimball. Let freedom ring...
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Mom Deserves Some Kind of Award For This

LONDON, England - Carol Dukes helped her son pack for his school trip to the isolated island Iona to learn how to live without modern amenities. So which item was the most important on her list for him? His Gameboy. But, she forgot to include the electronic toy in his bags and ended up traveling 900 miles to get it to him in time. She spent $220 on planes and taxis and finally caught up with her son near Glasgow, Scotland. The relieved mom said, "If you decide to do something, you do it and worry about the money later, but I think everyone was quite surprised to see me." She later admitted her son seemed a little embarrassed by her surprised, hurried trip in front of all his friends.
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How About a Website Dedicated to Urinals?

Are you looking for a good place to "piss your time away?" Than here is the place for you. At Urinal Net, one can check out a gallery of urinal photos, visit a message board, shop and even look at a US urinal map so you and the kids can take a road trip to visit them all. One of its founders, Joe U Rinator, of San Francisco, says he and his friends were inspired after coming across many different urinals while touring Europe. So just where are the best urinals? According to the site, a female urinal at Dairy Queen, in Port Charlotte, Florida ranks among the top five.
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Finding a Room With a Sheep Getting Harder

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - The sheep really hit the fan after 20 landlords refused accommodation to an Argentinean man and his ewe. The man, identified as Roberto, reportedly just moved from Buenos Aires and was looking for a place to live with his pet sheep. After being shunned by virtually every landlord in Buenos Aires, Roberto has tied himself to his wooly friend, vowing to stay that way until they find somewhere to live together. Tropicana Radio reports he's carrying a sign declaring "down with the discrimination".
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Now This is What I Call Undercover Work

ALTOONA, Pennsylvania - The Altoona state police received tips that a local massage parlor was offering oral sex to clients for $60. What's an officer to do but investigate? State troopers went "undercover" as massage customers, paid for the extra service with taxpayer money, and then arrested the 44-year-old masseuse. Department officials are supposedly surprised at such actions and plan to institute a rule saying troopers cannot engage in sex to gather evidence "except in a lifesaving situation or where officers' lives are at stake." The director of the state police's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Maj. Ralph Periandi, said of the troopers "their heart was in the right place."
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A Very Different Kind of Nude Calendar

TASMANIA, Australia - A group of elderly Tasmanian women have reportedly bared all in a nude calendar to raise money for their local community center. These feisty seniors, aged 65 to 82, told officials the hall needed sprucing up so they decided to launch a "Bare to be Different" calendar to raise funds. According to 70-year-old grandmother and featured model Dot Kelly, the calendar was inspired by an English Women's Institute calendar published in 1999 as a fund-raiser for leukemia sufferers featuring women in their 40s and 50s. The calendar shows elderly women in nothing more than hats and jewelry doing everything from playing cards to knitting. The first print run of 1,000 copies has already sold out.
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Chinese Man Killed By (Dead) Poisonous Snakes

AUGUST 2000 - There is an old proverb goes "Don't bite the hand the feeds you, but it obviously doesn't include biting the hand that feeds YOU to OTHERS. This was the case for this food-stall owner on Hainan Island, China. While preparing his special snake dishes, the man was killed by two snakes he'd just beheaded.  As he went to pick up the severed heads, they both sank their fangs into his hand and he died of the poisonous bites. 
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Stamford Man Sets Fire to 'Possessed' Teddy Bear

STAMFORD, Connecticut - Lucson Aladin, 32, allegedly burnt a teddy bear because he believed it was possessed. Aladin told police he burned the plush toy in his back yard as part of a voodoo ritual to rid it of its evil spirit. Firefighters had responded to a report of a brush fire at Aladin's house and found the teddy bear burning in the back yard. Aladin was charged with reckless burning.
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Potatoes Becoming Sexy?

GREAT BRITAIN - Could Mr. Potato Head become an international sex symbol? The British Potato Council thinks so. They are undertaking and advertising campaign to promote the potato as being sexy. Advertising agency Naked Communication apparently wants to use magazine ads to promote the potato's aphrodisiac qualities. Katherine Race, Potato Council marketing manager, told reporters, "We want to tap into people's mind sets when they are feeling stressed, tired hungry or romantic and offer them the variety they need to suit those different moods."
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Some Strange New Guinness Records

We all know that some people have engaged in questionable, if not downright dangerous actions t get into the record books or have their two minutes of fame on TV. Now, the  2002 edition of the Guinness World Records lists some records that just make you wonder. Here are three examples of daring do, all carried out by U.K. citizens. 

Just for fun: Vic Gallucci holds the record for the most appearances by an actor in a TV series. He's appeared more than 800 times as a detective in the police drama "The Bill" over the years. 

And stranger still: A former British rat catcher now holds the record for eating cockroaches. He downed 36 medium sized ones in one minute, last spring, for his page in the book. 

The Guinness book also notes that another Brit, Paul Hunn, has the loudest documented burp on record -- as loud as a plane taking off.
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Pamela Anderson Wakes to Find Stalker in Her Bed

Actress Pamela Anderson is having trouble sleeping. Ever since she found a stalker, a lesbian stalker, sleeping in her bed, Anderson has been having nightmares. The obsessed fan hid in the house for three days before they found her curled up on Pamela's own bed. Pamela says, "My nanny went to prepare the guest room and when she came back she said, 'Pamela, there's someone sleeping in the bed'. The moral of the story is, if someone can live in your house for three days without you knowing it, your house is too big for you.
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Diff'rent Strokes Actor Files for Bankruptcy

As TV's top-paid child actor in the late '70s and early '80s, Gary Coleman was pulling down a high-end, five-figure weekly salary. By 1990, his TV fortune amounted to an estimated $7 million. It didn't last. Closing out a decade of spotty employment and bad luck, Coleman filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $72,000 in debts - approximately what he once earned in a single week on Diff'rent Strokes. What makes this story particularly strange is that an Internet company launched a 14-day Gary Coleman Web-a-thon to raise funds for the cash-strapped tube icon via the sale of Coleman-branded, commemorative plates, stickers and T-shirts.
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Strange Ig Nobel Prizes

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor people whose achievements "cannot or should not be reproduced." The Igs are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology. Here are some of last year's winners.

Richard Wassersug of Dalhousie University, for his first-hand report, "On the Comparative Palatability of Some Dry-Season Tadpoles from Costa Rica." 

Andre Geim of the University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and Sir Michael Berry of Bristol University (UK), for using magnets to levitate a frog and a sumo wrestler.

Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, and Eduard Mooyaart of Groningen, The Netherlands, and Ida Sabelis of Amsterdam, for their illuminating report, "Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Male and Female Genitals During Coitus and Female Sexual Arousal."

Chris Niswander of Tucson, Arizona, for inventing PawSense, software that detects when a cat is walking across your computer keyboard.

The British Royal Navy, for ordering its sailors to stop using live cannon shells, and to instead just shout "Bang!"

'Digging for Gold' has earned Dr. Chittaranjan Andrade a 2001 IgNobel award at Harvard University in the U.S. Dr. Andrade, from Bangalore, based his adolescent nose picking research on general behavior in the population and hypothesized if there is any possible pathological behavior in it. "Somatic habits amounting to psychiatric disorders have long been recognized," explained Dr. Andrade. "Nail biting (onychophagia) and twisting and twirling of hair (trichotillomania) until it comes off from the scalp are common among children and adults," he concluded.
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Matt LeBlanc Attacked by Stripper

FRIENDS star Matt Le Blanc was paying for a little attention at a Los Angeles strip club recently when a topless dancer started getting over-friendly with the celebrity. Le Blanc suddenly found himself wrestling with the dancer after he refused her advances. The actor was enjoying a night out with friends at the SPEARMINT RHINO CLUB when the incident occurred. When Matt told her to 'Get lost' the busty brunette threw a drink over his head. One onlooker says, "She was trying to punch him when she was pulled off by security." Furious Matt later stormed out of the club, shouting, "She poured a beer on my head!" An unconfirmed source quoted one of Le Blanc's friends as saying, "Could she BE any more nuts?"
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Ghost-Chasers Score in Utah Prison

UTAH - A group of paranormalists chasing ghosts in Utah's old penitentiary buildings claims to have documented proof that ghosts actually exist. The group supposedly recorded strange glowing orbs and voices while going through the buildings, and six members of The Ghost Investigators Society say they photographed the phenomena. They claim to have heard voices saying "Dr. White can" and "fall guy." The group reported that
the ghost activity primarily occurred in Cell Block A's shower room. Publication notes indicate that more killings happened in that part of the prison than any other section. Coincidence? 
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Lucky Dog Survives 140 Foot Fall

EASTBOURNE, Great Britain - Who says only cats have nine lives? Obviously not Henry, a retriever that fell 140 feet off the Seven Sisters cliffs in Eastbourne, Great Britain. The playful pooch went over the edge of the cliff while chasing a seagull. Owner Louise Chavannes obviously feared the worst as she ran down hundreds of steps and along half a mile of beach to reach him. "I couldn't bear the thought of his body floating in the sea and I was convinced he was dead. But when I got to the point where he had jumped I saw his body moving and he was swimming to the shore. I just could not believe it," Chavannes gushed. Henry suffered a broken leg in the fall and had to have a metal plate and artificial tendons in his front right leg.
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Art Student Dies in Fall From Cliff

OCTOBER 7, 2001 - A Christchurch arts student failed to cheat death a second time while visiting a mountain range in New Zealand. Joshua Grant, 22, had hit a guard rail at Candys Bend, but walked away from the crash without injury and hitched a ride to Arthurs Pass village to arrange for a tow truck to retrieve his car. On returning to the accident scene with the tow truck driver, Grant decided to relieve himself at the Candys Bend lookout. In order not to be seen, police say he stepped beyond a car park guard rail and fell over the edge. Grant, who was in his final week of work towards his art degree, plunged 60m and ended what was said to be a promising career in photography and art.
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The Force is Strong in The British Isles

LONDON - An e-mail campaign convinced more than 10,000 fans of the enduring science-fiction films to list Jedi as their religion on Britain's 2001 census. Apparently that was enough for the Office  for National Statistics (ONS) because the  grouping of Jedi was given its own code and will appear in the 2002 census. A spokesman for ONS explained that all data is encoded because a large group of people have entered it on their forms, but doesn't mean that Jedi has become an official religion.
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Man Crushed in Bizarre Sexual Ritual

OKEECHOBEE, Florida - 28-year-old Bryan Loudermilk was a hard man to please, so much so that devoted wife Stephanie crushed him to death in an effort to satisfy his sexual desires. Loudermilk's body was found trapped beneath a board, which was underneath a rear wheel of his sport utility vehicle. Police believe Bryan enjoyed erotic thrills from being driven over. Stephanie also had videotapes of herself stomping rabbits and mice, which Bryan had been selling on the Internet. 
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ACLU Declares Patriotism Unconstitutional

According to United Press International, the Rocklin, Calif., Unified School District and the ACLU are fighting over a "God Bless America" sign posted outside Breen Elementary after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. ACLU says the posting of the phrase on a school building marquee is unconstitutional and that the words send a "hurtful, divisive message." The school district, however, supported Breen's actions and did not ask the school to remove the sign.
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Acrobat Seeking to Raise 12 Children

QUITO, Ecuador - Some people might think that trying to raise 12 children would be somewhat of a circus. But acrobat Wilmer Granda Vega is banking on it. The 28-old is conducting a plan that includes having his future partner sign a legal document agreeing to have a dozen children. Wilmer, 28, claims he will teach his children all his skills. He performs as an acrobat, trick motorcyclist, trapeze artiste, magician, dancer and clown. "It is my dream to found the first family circus in the whole of the Americas. It will be spectacular when I finally achieve my dream," Vega concluded.
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Turkish Man Uses Super Glue to Reattach Ear

TURKEY - Four youths attacked a Turkish bus driver on his regular route at Antalya and stole his mobile phone  and some money. And then they cut off his ear. The injured driver, Recep Yavrucu, answered questions from the police, but refused to be taken to the hospital. Yavrucu simply bought some super glue and glued the ear back to its proper place. He said, "I've never been to a doctor, and I'm not likely to start now. I have this fear of doctors and I've always treated my own wounds. Having a piece of my ear cut off was not that serious and I fixed it myself with super glue."
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German Pigs Dislike Brittney

GERMANY - Germany has experienced an increase in wild pigs lately, but farmers are not allowed to shoot them: they are a protected species. Farmer Herrmann-Josef Becker concluded that the only way to get rid of the pigs was to scare them off with music. First he tried Madonna and then European sensation Robbie Williams. The farmer said, "Madonna didn't work too well, Robbie Williams was a dead loss but they can't stand Britney Spears. When I switch on 'Oops!...I Did It Again...the pigs come snorting out and running for the woods." The strategy worked so well other farmers have adopted the method, too. 
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Five Years Spent Studying Wrong Species

LONDON - Chris Bostock, head of the government-funded Institute of Animal Health, told the BBC that the government's veterinary laboratory -- the VLA -- had sent him an e-mail admitting mistakes had been made. Bostock led a study by the Edinburgh-based Institute of Animal Health of samples of 2,867 sheep to determine whether bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow" disease, was present in British sheep. The government had already developed a contingency plan for the destruction of 40 million sheep and lambs if necessary. The results of the IAH study indicated that up to 1 percent of the sheep had been infected by BSE. But two days before the report was to be submitted to a key meeting of the government's BSE Advisory Committee, scientists discovered they had spent nearly half a decade and $312,000 studying cows' brains -- not sheep. Peter Smith, the committee's chairman, said, "It appears to have been a dreadful mistake."
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John Takes Too Long Having Sex

PEDEROBBA, Italy - A 30-year-old "Italian Stallion" was put out to pasture after a prostitute told him he'd taken too long to have sex. The man was so upset, that he called police officers to convince the woman to carry on their session since he had already paid her. The authorities responded by charging him with indecent exposure.
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Killed While Masturbating in Another Man's Yard

OCTOBER 17, 2001 - A homeowner in East Dulwich, England appeared in court after being charged with the manslaughter of a 30-year-old naked man who had been masturbating in his yard. Prosecutor Brian Altman told the court that Michael Barrett had run wild with fury after Jason Williams when he saw Williams naked, and possibly masturbating in Barrett's yard. Barrett admitting catching up to Williams and striking him once. Williams then ran off as Barrett tried to take another swing at him, twisted and fell on to the live track, electrocuting himself. Altman reportedly told the jury: "This was not self-defense. The prosecution say this was no have-a-go hero but simply a man having a go."
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Constipation Results in Standoff With Sheriff

MONROE COUNTY, Indiana - 47-year-old Steven Brummett was quite upset about being constipated and ended up in a shootout with a Monroe County sheriff's deputy. Brummett reportedly fired several shots from a pistol and a rifle at the officer, surrendering only after he was shot in the abdomen. According to Sheriff Steve Sharp, Brummett was in police custody at Bloomington Hospital after undergoing surgery and was in stable condition. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
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New Invention - The Electric Sports Bra

CALIFORNIA - Michael Pottenger from Santa Monica has invented an electronic bra that will stop sportswomen's breasts bouncing and keep them warm. According to Pottenger, piezoelectric strips are woven into the cups. When the switch is activated electricity goes to a resistor which stiffens the bra's cups, which in turn steadies the movement of the breasts and warms them up. The switch is said to also power separate piezo strips to more actively counteract breast movement.
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Taxi Driver Attacked With Frozen Food

BERGEN, Norway - A Norwegian taxi driver escaped injury from a 19-year-old delinquent passenger who was packing meat - frozen hamburger patties that is. The incident reportedly happened outside a petrol station and shop in Bergen after the passenger refused to pay. The young man apparently raided the store's frozen food counter and started throwing items at the driver. He was later arrested. 
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Fossilized Fetus Found inside 76-Year-Old

DECEMBER 31, 2000 - Taiwan doctors operating on a 76-year-old woman discovered a "fossilized" fetus in her abdomen conceived 49 years ago - a phenomenon recorded only three times in history, hospital sources said on Wednesday. The Veterans General Hospital said doctors on December 31 found a .7 ounce lithopaedion, the rocklike remains of a fetus hardened by calcium buildup, in the abdominal cavity of a woman named Wu. The baby appeared to have died in the 20th week of Wu's pregnancy when the fetus moved from her womb to her abdomen.
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Vagina Costume Gets 17-Year-Old Suspended

ANN ARBOR, Michigan - Christian Silbereis, 17, wanted his Halloween costume to be educational. So he came to school dressed at a giant vagina. The costume was created by his mother, to wear at his school's Halloween fancy dress contest. School officials did not feel the pink cape decorated with wig hair, satin and lace was appropriate, however, and they suspended the student for the remainder of the week. Silbereis's mother warned him that the costume might make some people uncomfortable, but he still won first prize in the contest. Silbereis defended his choice saying, "It's anatomically correct. It's just another body part - they teach us about it in school. I mean, what if I was wearing an elbow costume? That's part of the body. Would they suspend me then?" A petition is being passed around to students objecting his suspension. High School officials refuse to comment on the reason for the suspension.
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Richard Harris Finds Viagra Too Effective

Actor Richard Harris, 71, recently tried the anti-impotence drug Viagra only to discover it works a little too well. He tried the drug and after entertaining a lady friend, he attempted to take her out to dinner. As he put it, "I wouldn't use Viagra again. Your heart has to be good to take it. It worked too well. I was taking this woman out to dinner after- wards and I couldn't zip up my trousers." Now there's a prob- lem to have. Harris will next appear in the upcoming movie "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
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Dance Music and Speed Found to be Deadly

CAMBRIDGE, England - Researchers at Cambridge University have been attacked by animal rights groups for cruel and unusual music. The study examines how loud dance music increases the effects of speed, specifically methamphetamine. In the study, scientists drugged 238 mice and them forced them to endure fatal doses of loud dance music. Wendy Higgins of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection said, "These sick experiments are absolutely despicable. Just because people choose to take drugs and go to raves doesn't justify subjecting animals to suffering and death in a laboratory." The overall conclusion was that the loud music strengthened the effects of the methamphetamine in animals.
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Pray Your Way Out of a Traffic Ticket in Poland

POLAND - I am sure we have all said our own little prayers to help get us out of a bind, but never quite like this. Motorists in south-west Poland can now escape fines for traffic violations as long as they pray with a priest working with the police. Local police are hoping the priest's presence on the road will be an effective preventive measure, which will help to reduce the number of offences. According to Sergeant Sebastian Kuzmiak, he admits he can not escape the feeling that someone is always watching them from above. The only downturn for him is that offenders often escape unpunished. "I am powerless in the priest's presence. After he talks to the offender, I simply can not issue a fine ticket," Kuzmiak confessed.
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Jack Nicholson's Teeth on the Auction Block

Academy Award-winning actor Jack Nicholson is reportedly fuming over the sale of his missing teeth. His baby teeth and adult molars are being auctioned as a collectible set of 11 teeth. The auction is scheduled to begin on December 10th on Sky digital show Auction World Dot TV. The teeth have been available separately for years, but this is the first time they have ever been sold as a set. Producers have already received offers for the collection. But Nicholson wants the teeth returned. His agent said, "My client obviously feels more than a little uneasy about his missing molars going up for sale, we're eager to strike a deal with the channel's people to get the teeth back." I guess he better place a bid.
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Fascinating Japanese Can-Crushing Technique

OSAKA, Japan - So you thought that the US was the only place with outlandish game shows? Well how about the Japanese game show that has scantily clad women in bikinis who take turns crushing aluminum cans with their breasts. The last round of "sweeps" in Japan had this show among the most heavily viewed shows in prime time.
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Husband's Ashes Injected Into Her Implants

A GRIEVING Australian widow has had her husband's ashes injected into her breast implants, a British newspaper has reported. Sydney woman Sandi Canesco, 26, took the bizarre step after her husband Dustin was killed in a car accident, the tabloid the Daily Star reported. "It dawned on me that if I carried Dustin's cremated remains in my breast implants, I'd never really have to part with him at all," the paper quoted Canesco as saying, under the headline "Dust to bust." 
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Graffiti on Her Butt After a Rectal Exam

MISSOURI - Phyllis DeForrest is suing for loss of dignity after colleagues drew a heart on her buttocks with the message "I love Dr. Shaffer" while she had a rectal exam. When DeForrest woke after the procedure, one of the nurses reportedly showed her a photo of her backside which her colleagues had taken with an endoscope, a special camera used in the procedure. She says the group also showed the photo around the hospital and made jokes about her new "tattoo". Although representatives from the health center claim that the incident was merely a practical joke between friends, DeForrest fails to see the humor in the situation. "It's not a practical joke when you're put to sleep. It's a bit like date rape as far as I'm concerned," DeForrest concluded.
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What Would You Do for a Nintendo Game Cube?

TEXAS - Nintendo inspired the craziest, most die-hard fans with its "What Would You Do for a Nintendo GameCube?" contest. Texan teenager Corey Olcsvary, 19, defeated four other finalists to become the grand prize winner with the wackiest stunt. For becoming a human "Pikmin," Olcsvary received a Nintendo GameCube (they don't go on sale until later this month), a Game Boy Advance a video game software package, and $5000 in cash. The teenager shaved his head, donned a leaf, and painted himself blue. He then munched on a bowl of typical "Pikmin food" including live worms and crickets. Other finalists' stunts included a teenage girl from Arizona who ate a Nintendo GameCube-sized replica of chocolate syrup, cat food and uncooked Spam, a man dressed as Nintendo's Mario who proposed to his girlfriend wearing a Princess Peach costume, and others.
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You, Too Can Have J-Lo's Butt

NEW YORK - For a while, you couldn't turn on the television without hearing something about Jennifer Lopez's rear end. Her buttocks were the topic of every comedian's rants, and now they have inspired a surgery phenomenon. Her bottom is increasing interest in silicone buttock implants. According to plastic surgeon Bruce Nadler, most people simply didn't know the option was available. He explained, though, that the trend is dependent on J-Lo's continued success. The surgeon says the famous Latina singer/actress has done for the derriere what Pamela Anderson did for the breast. 
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Duct Tape Ensures Court Appearance

PHOENIX, AZ - Certainly you've heard the phrase, "Duct tape solves any problem." A  Phoenix resident took this axiom a bit too literally when he employed a roll of duct tape to bind his wife to her legal obligations. To ensure his wife showed up for her court date, Robert Horton bound her arms, legs and mouth with duct tape and drove her to Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. He dropped her off at the security officer's desk in a very matter-of-fact manner. Wife Belinda was arrested several days prior for aggravated assault and resisting arrest, but was unwilling to talk this time even after the tape was removed. Authorities are still considering whether to bring charges against Robert.
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Bomb in Toilet Turns Out to be Vibrator

TORONTO - A vibrator discovered in a cafe toilet in Toronto caused everything but sexual gratification. Buildings were reportedly evacuated and traffic stopped when a woman who was getting ready to clean the men's toilet mistook the vibrator for a bomb. The woman was obviously shaken up pretty badly and failed to see the words "Swedish erotica" printed on the remote control attached to the device. In her defense, the vibrator was wrapped in electrical tape and stuck in a length of plastic pipe. Whether it was placed there as a practical joke or left by chance has not been determined. Police were able to identify the device for what it was in a very few minutes.
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New Packit Jeans Will Enhance Your Package

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Tel Aviv Rabbi Targets Masturbators

TEL AVIV, Israel - The Holy Land is credited with being the birthplace of all three monotheistic religions. But in recent years, it has become a magnet for unorthodox interpretations of scripture. That's where Rabbi David Batzri comes in. It seems that the Rabbi recently began advertising his services to a special group of sinners. He specializes in blessings designed to save obsessive masturbators from being possessed by the devil.
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Korean Dog Beatings Irk Soccer Organization

Soccer's international governing body, FIFA, has a problem with one South Korean custom. Since South Korea is going to host the 2002 soccer World Cup finals FIFA wants the country to improve its international image by curbing its habit of animal cruelty. South Koreans beat dogs with bats to soften the flesh before slaughter. "I have told FIFA that it should not raise concerns about that," said Chung Mongjoon, the head of the Korean Organizing Committee. "It is impossible to forcibly end people's dietary traditions for a sports event." Handlers say it is not even an issue any more since they now kill "meat dogs" swiftly with electric shock, and not with bats.

Italian Woman Delivers Babies 3 Months Apart

ROME, Italy - Flavia D'Angelo, 20, will be the first woman to ever be pregnant for 12 consecutive months. The woman will give birth to a baby girl, whom she will name Denise, but she will be back in the hospital in three months. She will then deliver THREE more babies, a girl and two boys. She called the double pregnancy a "gift from God, " and said she was both "happy" and "scared." She told reporters, "I am scared because I still don't know how the deliveries will work." Her partner, Riccardo Tarquini, reacted a different way. In fact, the news almost gave him the giggles. Tarquini said, "My first reaction was to burst out laughing, while she burst into tears and asked the doctor to take a closer look." There has been only one precedent for this case when a woman kept ovulating after her first pregnancy. For D'Angelo, though, becoming pregnant with three more babies has been called a "one in two million event." 

ATM Pays Off Big-Time

FRIDLEY, Minnesota - On his way to work Wednesday, Keith Obraske stopped by an ATM machine to withdraw $20 for soda and cigarettes. But the machine didn't stop at $20. It kept pumping out bills until he had $5,580. "I felt like I'd won the lottery," said Obraske. "I just kept scooping it up."
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And Now... The Shopping Boyfriend

SCOTLAND - We've all seen them... Those uncomfortable guys pacing anxiously in the corner of a boutique while holding a cute little leather purse as their wives and girlfriends are hitting every clearance rack in the joint. Representatives from the Brae- head Shopping Center in Glasgow feel their pain and are in the process of testing a scheme which lets women drop off their partners and borrow "a fresh new shopping-friendly specimen for a few hours." The Shopping Boyfriend is said to be the ultimate retail therapist: enthusiastic, attentive, admiring and complimentary. "He'll even say her bum looks small," says Carol-Ann Stewart, the brains behind this scheme. According to Stewart, she got the idea after viewing the results of an NOP poll that showed "shopping" was one of the most dreaded words for young British men -- coming just behind "babies."

Vending Machines to Vend Clothing

LONDON, England - Clothing from a vending machine will soon be the next fashion craze. At least that's the hope of designer Helena Rosen who offers disposable T-shirts, dresses, bags and skirts that have no seams, zips, or buttons. She is currently working on making disposable trousers, too. The clothes will come flatpacked in the vending machine, and the consumer would need to properly fold, assemble, and tuck the garment and perhaps tug on a cord. As she designed her "AnyWear" collection, Rosen marveled at its simplicity: "I was amazed to realize how much can be achieved by simple folding, cutting, and gathering techniques." Though the sales plan is still in development, her goal is to someday have her vending machines in airports, train stations, and hotels for those on the go. T-shirts will be $14.80, and the other products may be a bit more expensive.

Air-Conditioned Underwear Improve Fertility

FRANKFURT, Germany - Doctors at Giessen University near Frankfurt wanted to prove men are more fertile if their crotch is kept cool, so they have rigged up an air conditioning system for underpants. The system works by clipping a battery-powered fan on to a belt around the waist. This pumps air into tubes which lead to the groin while nozzles direct the airflow. Straps attached to the belt go around the legs like a climbing belt, keeping the tubes and nozzles in place. "It works," says head researcher Andreas Jung. "Not only is the amount of sperm increased but it is faster-moving too. And that adds up to more chance of fathering a child."

Pre-Schooler Drives Uncle to Sheriff's Department

MOULTON, Alabama - Last week Emmett Ayers II needed to get to the Sheriff's department to pick up his suspended driver's license. Problem was he couldn't drive there without that license. So he allegedly enlisted his 4-year-old nephew to drive the car. The chief jailer and other deputies said they saw the car pull up with the boy standing on the driver's seat while Ayers worked the gas and brake from the passenger's seat.
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Good Samaritan Wins Ten Thousand Dollars

ROSEDALE, Minnesota - Kathleen Healy was minding her own business as she tried on jeans at Marshall Field's. When she entered the dressing room, she found a money clip full of cash. Though she could see a $50 and $100 bill, she didn't count it all because "it wasn't my money," she said. She then gave the wad to the clerk and refused any reward. The sales clerk "screamed and said 'Oh, a customer's been looking all over for this.'" The frantic customer burst into tears of relief when they returned the cash to her, but Healy still refused a reward. The sales clerk insisted she take a box of Marshall Field's signature chocolates, Frango Mints. When Healy opened the box, a note was enclosed indicating she had won $10,000. As part of their "Win a Mint" game. "I've never won anything before. I've never won a toaster," the ecstatic winner said. 
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Dwarf-Tossing at Issue in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. - It may be small potatoes to some, but it's a big issue to Tampa radio broadcaster "Dave the Dwarf." He is going to court to overturn Florida's ban on "dwarf tossing." 3-foot-2 inch David Flood believes he should be able to earn money by allowing bar patrons to hurl him through the air onto mattresses. Flood said. "I don't have a mental handicap. I don't like the government telling me what I can and cannot do." But overturning the 1989 law will be a tall order. Cara Egan, vice president of public relations for Little People of America called Flood's lawsuit a publicity stunt. "There are plenty of other ways for him to make a fool out of himself that are legal," she said.
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Pagan Ritual Renders Woman Homeless

ENFIELD, Connecticut - Maybe instead of a cauldron, this aspiring witch should keep a fire extinguisher handy. Mary Palmieri is now homeless after she allowed her pagan friends to perform a ritual in her house to "burn her troubles away." The witchcraft ritual involved burning a piece of paper with Mary's problems written on it. The flames got out of control and set fire to the house. Mary's bedroom was gutted and the house suffered extensive smoke and water damage. Mary says next time she will talk to her priest instead.
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EU Rules Prostitutes Have Right to Work

The world's oldest profession has won limited approval from the European Union's highest court. The Court of Justice in Luxembourg has ruled that a group of Eastern European women has the right to work as prostitutes in the Netherlands. The case involved 6 Polish, Czech women who work as window prostitutes in Amsterdam. They're denied residence permits that would've allowed them to work on a self-employed basis, on the grounds that prostitution is not a regular job or a profession. The court said prostitutes could work in EU countries where selling sex is tolerated - if they have sufficient financial resources for carrying out their activity and a reasonable chance of success. According to the ruling, prostitution in a self-employed capacity can be regarded as "a service provided for remuneration."
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Pokemon Pulls Swastika Card

CORTLANDT, N.Y. - Nintendo will stop making a Pokemon card featuring a reverse image of a swastika due to pressure from the Anti-Defamation League. The manji is an ancient Asian symbol of good fortune rooted in Buddhist culture, but the boys in Japan failed to consider the impact a symbol so closely resembling Nazi Germany's flag would have on American buyers. The irony is that the original, Japanese-language cards were not even meant for the U.S. market. Collectors were so eager to get their hands on them, many cards were imported without Nintendo's approval, the company said. 


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