`For more than 30 years, crowds have flocked to the small English fishing village of Lyme Regis to watch an annual tradition – two teams of fishermen standing on wooden platforms as human bowling pins, hurling a dead giant eel at each other. But the ritual was abruptly abandoned after an animal rights activist threatened to draw negative publicity to the latest tournament, organizers said Saturday.
The practice, known as conger cuddling, is the annual highlight in the small coastal town about 155 miles southwest of London. The object of the game is to knock the opposing team off the platform by swinging a 25-pound eel at them.’
`Jockey Paul O’Neill has apologised for the headbutt on a horse which could see him punished by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority.
He will be asked to explain his actions by the HRA next week after the incident at Stratford was caught by TV cameras.
O’Neill said: “I would like to say to the public that I’m very sorry they had to see such a thing. I’ve never done it before and it will never happen again.”‘
with video of the headbutt.
`A Japanese man has been found guilty of sexual harassment for forcing a female work colleague to pluck his beard.
“Asking a female colleague to pluck your beard is totally inappropriate and illegal,” media reports quoted the judge as saying as he ordered the man and the government, as his employer, to pay a total of almost $5,000 (2,700 pounds) in compensation.
According to the lawsuit filed by the woman, the man — an employee in his 30s in an office affiliated with the Labour Ministry — had repeatedly asked her to pluck his beard.
The woman, also in her 30s, told him he should do it himself but finally was forced to give in, Kyodo news agency said.’
`A German woman sparked panic at her local post office when a 1.5-meter (5-foot) albino python escaped from a packet she had mailed, police said Tuesday.
The 28-year-old woman, who had sold the snake over the Internet, stuffed it in a package labeled “attention — glass” to be sent to its new owner.
“Staff accepted the package and put it in the back of the office — they had no idea what it was,” said police spokesman Andreas Blum. “All of a sudden, they noticed that it started moving around and then saw a big snake wriggling out of it.”‘
`With Australian outback hero Crocodile Dundee as her inspiration, an 80-year-old British pensioner foiled a knife-wielding burglar with an even bigger blade of her own.
When woken by a masked man holding a knife, Winifred Whelan screamed and ran downstairs to the kitchen.
Grabbing a giant carving knife, she told the startled intruder “You call that a knife? This is a knife” in an echo of the famous scene in the Crocodile Dundee film when actor Paul Hogan confronted a New York mugger.’
`A Ffemale driver has taken a wrong turn on her way home – and ended up following a train along a railway line.
Police in Brisbane said the woman, 52, had picked up her daughter from work and was driving home about midnight on Saturday, when she took the wrong turn at a level crossing.
She allegedly drove along the track, honking her car horn at the train as she followed it for 300m before being stuck on the tracks.
She has been charged with dangerous driving.’
`Nobel peace laureate Betty Williams displayed a flash of her feisty Irish spirit yesterday, lashing out at US President George W.Bush during a speech to hundreds of schoolchildren.
Campaigning on the rights of young people at the Earth Dialogues forum, being held in Brisbane, Ms Williams spoke passionately about the deaths of innocent children during wartime, particularly in the Middle East, and lambasted Mr Bush.
“I have a very hard time with this word ‘non-violence’, because I don’t believe that I am non-violent,” said Ms Williams, 64.
“Right now, I would love to kill George Bush.” Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.’
`Frogs playing cards, seated at a café, in the schoolroom, at the barber’s or in a soldier’s garb. Discover our collection of 108 different frogs in satirical scenes of everyday life circa 1850. A truly unusual experience.’
`A jury acquitted a man who had been charged with assault after authorities said an assistant prosecutor, police officer and courtroom bailiff got sick after shaking hands with him.
John Curtis Ridgeway, 42, was seen pulling out a vial of liquid and rubbing his hands with the contents after a December jury trial in which he was found guilty of driving without insurance, authorities said. [..]
Ridgeway told The Associated Press after he was charged that the substance was olive oil. He testified that he used oil to anoint “corrupt buildings” and that it was meant to rid the buildings of demons.’
followup to Toxic handshake lands man in jail.
`At first, Bushra Khayyat tried to ignore the incessant ringing of the phone at her house in Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon. It was 4 a.m., but she finally got out of bed.
“I said hello and got a recorded message from Israel,” she told Reuters.
In clear Arabic, the strong voice on the phone said: “Oh Lebanese people, we tell you not to follow Hizbollah. We will continue to strike and no one will bring your prisoners back from Israel except the Lebanese government.”‘
`It took surgery to save a 12-foot Burmese python after it swallowed an entire queen-size electric blanket — with the electrical cord and control box.
The blanket must have gotten tangled up in the snake’s rabbit dinner, owner Karl Beznoska said. He kept the blanket in cage to keep the 60-pound reptile, named Houdini, warm. [..]
X-rays showed the tangle of the blanket’s wiring extending through about 8 feet of the python’s digestive tract. The surgery to remove it took an 18-inch incision.’
`America’s Mattress co-owner Jim Sather is left puzzled after a rustler stole Serta Mattresses’ inflatable 14-foot sheep from their store here.
“I can’t figure out what someone would do with a 14-foot sheep,” Sather said. “It can’t go in your basement and if it’s in your back yard, your neighbor will notice. If it’s target practice, it only lasts once.”
All the thief or thieves left was a handwritten note at the scene of the crime that read: “For the sheep, bring peace to the earth.”‘
This seems to be from a Japanese show that teaches how to speak English. In this episode, we see how to deal with a mugger and learn how to say “Take anything you want” and “Spare me my life”, among other things.
(9.0meg Flash video)
see it here »
`A Tasmanian man had to convince police he had not been drinking when he reported finding a 180kg seal wandering with his horses in a paddock on Sunday. [..]
The man lived in Cambridge, east of Hobart, and about 400 metres from the ocean’s edge.
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He discovered the seal in a paddock with his horses but had no idea how long it had been there, Sgt Lee said.
“When it (the seal) was found so far from the ocean, it makes us wonder what it had on its mind,” he said.’
`Police in the Northern Dutch city of Groningen are investigating a man who rummages though rubbish bags in search of used tampons and sanitary towels.
The 40-year-old local man is particularly interested in tampons used by students and young women, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The fetishist has been active for at least the last six months and has been regularly spotted searching through garbage outside student dorms. It is not known what he does with the items he collects.’
`Malevolent ghosts stealing your chickens and torturing you in the night? Who you gonna call? For farmer Sunil Das, his first call was the police, who laughed at what they thought was a joke, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Tuesday.
But a judge in India’s northeastern state of Assam saw little humor in Das’ allegation that ghosts controlled by his neighbors were making off with his poultry at night. Instead of laughing, the judge ordered police to get to work and find the culprits, the newspaper reported.’
`The man who won “Survivor: Thailand” four years ago is charged with battery and cruelty to animals.
Officials say Brian Heidik shot a puppy with an arrow. [..]
An Atlanta TV station (WSB-TV) reports Heidik told the judge he thought the dog was a coyote that has been harassing his pets.
But a prosecutor says Heidik’s wife called authorities at about 3:00 Wednesday morning to say he’d shot a puppy “and planned to shoot another one.” ‘
`A man grabbed two cordless power saws off a subway station workbench and went on a rampage Thursday, swinging the saws at riders and slicing open a man’s chest before running away, police said.
The 64-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Police were searching for the suspect, described by witnesses as a thin man in his 30s, who had earrings in both ears and was possibly carrying a teddy bear.’
`A Slovakian man has been charged with attempted murder after a pensioner was savaged by a cackling “cannibal” during a raid on his home. [..]
A police source said it was like a scene from the horror film The Silence of the Lambs, in which cannibal killer Hannibal Lecter wears a gruesome mask.
The source added: “There was blood on the walls and this guy was just laughing like a maniac.” [..]
“The old chap lived a peaceful life with his wife, then someone jumped through his window and bit off his thumb. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”’
`Straight out of a toilet and into your bed . The new Pee & Poo toys are cute, cuddly and a little controversial. Designer Emma Megitt launched her unique friends at the Future Designer Days Expo this year. The first batch of Pee & Poo toys hit Sweden and where sold out quicker than you can say Abba. The controversy surrounding a line of toys representing human waste has created great publicity for Megitt and has launched her name into the designer world spotlight. Originally sold separately Pee & Poo now come in a duo pack. So you get both bodily functions covered in the one box.’
‘A Sudanese man has been forced to take a goat as his “wife”, after he was caught having sex with the animal.
The goat’s owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders.
They ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.
“We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together,” Mr Alifi said.’
‘Downed racer avoids other bikes by doing the skatman. If racing doesn’t work as a career, dancing might. Skibby yibby yibby dome da da da I’m a skatman!’
(3.1meg Windows Media)
see it here »
`Drinking your own urine? Orland Park police have no problem with that.
But drink it in a front-page newspaper article while wearing your crossing guard uniform complete with official police insignia, and there will be problems.
Ed Danis, the 84-year-old Orland Park “urine therapy” devotee featured in a Jan. 29 Southtown story, has been suspended from his job as a crossing guard, effective Wednesday.
Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy, whose department oversees the part-time guards, said Danis had been warned in writing twice before that he was not allowed to espouse his beliefs while on duty or in his uniform.’
`Smashing, (but not totally P.C. nowadays!) 10 Little Nigger Boys sticker book.
It would have originally come with a sheet 48 sticky back pictures to stick on the relevant pages. These have all been stuck in the book correctly so the book is complete.
It is in good condition for its age.’
`A Manilla, Iowa, man is accused of chasing county deputies with his tractor.
Crawford County deputies said a Taser gun was used on Daniel Hinners and he was arrested Tuesday night.
The deputies were responding to a domestic abuse call at Hinners’ home when he started chasing them on a large farm tractor.’
`A 20-year-old porn actress is wanted by police on child rape charges after allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy, giving him drugs and convincing him to run away with her to Oklahoma, authorities said. [..]
Silva allegedly met the boy, a former DeAnza High School student, through her brother and began a sexual relationship with him in June, Peixoto said.
The boy ran away from his home in El Sobrante and moved in with Silva in Richmond. In an interview with police, he said Silva had supplied him with methamphetamines, ecstasy and marijuana.
At some point, Silva, her mother and the boy moved to Roosevelt, Okla., where Silva and the boy continued their relationship and their drug use, Peixoto said.’
`This is a full-sized, authentic stuffed horse. Real animal hair, hooves, mane, tail. Stuffed in a very unusual position. Measures approximately 60″ x 36″ x 75″ Free standing, doesn’t need pedestal. Old style taxidermy, not done anymore. Highly unusual prop for stage or theatre, wonderful gift for horse-lover, conversation piece for living room, unique and rare. Chestnut color, black mane and tail. Front right leg is missing, approximately 3″. Some tears in skin – approximately 5-10, no longer than 1″. Two tears in back, approx. 8″. More pictures on request. Contact seller for shipping fees.’
“very unusual position” could be an understatement.
`This fish didn’t have a chance. A rainbow trout pulled out of Holmes Lake last weekend had double the chance to get hooked: It had two mouths.
Clarence Olberding, 57, wasn’t just telling a fisherman’s fib when he called over another angler to look at the two-mouthed trout. It weighed in at about a pound.
“I reached down and grabbed it to take the hook out, and that’s when I noticed that the hook was in the upper mouth and there was another jaw protruding out below,” said Olberding.’
Not safe for work, though not as bad as that Mr. Hands thing from the other week.
