Oldest Man Turns 113, Aims for More

The world's oldest man celebrated his 113th birthday Thursday in southern Japan, telling reporters he wants to live another five years. Tomoji Tanabe, who was born Sept. 18, 1895, received birthday gifts, flowers and $1,000 cash from the mayor of his hometown of Miyakonojo, on Japan's southern island of Kyushu.

Tanabe told reporters he wants to live "another five years or so," according to city spokesman Akihide Yokoyama. That was a slight downgrade from last year, when he said he wanted to live "for infinity."

http://news.aol.com/article/oldest-man-turns-113-aims-for-more/179114

Italian model plans to sell virginity for 1m euros

An Italian model who swears she has never had sex plans to sell her virginity for one million euros, or £792,000.

Showgirl and men's magazine model Raffella Fico, 20, told an Italian magazine: "I can't wait to see who's going to pull out the money to have me."

Miss Fico, who appeared in the Italian version of Big Brother earlier this year, said she would use the cash to buy a house in Rome and pay for acting classes.

"I don't know what it's like to have sex," she told the magazine, Chi, adding that if the man who bought her virginity was ugly then she would quickly get over it.

"If I don't like him I'll just have a glass of wine and forget about it," said the aspiring actress from Naples - hometown of screen siren Sophia Loren.

Her family insisted that despite her good looks and sexy image, she remained a virgin.

"She's never had a boyfriend. I swear on my mother's grave. She's a devout Catholic and prays to Padre Pio every night," her brother told the magazine.

She is the not the first woman to auction her virginity for a large sum. An 18-year-old US student in San Diego, Natalie Dylan, recently told the Howard Stern show she would have sex for the first time for $1 million to pay her college fees.

In 2005 a Peruvian model, also 18, put herself up for sale to help pay her family's medical bills but ended up having second thoughts and turning down $1.5 million.

Nigerian with 86 wives, 107 kids is arrested

Police in northern Nigeria have arrested a Muslim preacher who has 86 wives and 107 children for breaking Islamic marriage laws.

Niger state police spokesman Richard Oguche says Mohammed Bello Masaba, 84, was detained Monday.

It was unclear when he would appear in court, or what the potential punishment could be. Muslim principles forbid men from taking more than four wives. Almost half of Nigeria's 140 million people are Muslim and Niger is one of twelve states in the country where Islamic Sharia law holds sway.

Smoking man clipped by passing train

A southern Illinois man will probably pay more attention the next time he lights a cigarette near railroad tracks. Authorities said 25-year-old Brandon Robles escaped serious injury early Sunday when he was clipped by a passing Union Pacific train when he stopped near the tracks for a smoke.

Workers on the train told authorities they thought they'd hit a man, launching a search that included dogs. But nobody was found.

Robles had managed to walk home, only to call emergency dispatchers hours later to report that he couldn't get out of bed. He was treated at a hospital. Robles told investigators he'd been drinking heavily and saw the train approaching when he stopped at the tracks for a cigarette.

Discos protest after 'nude dancing' ban

Hundreds of disco workers in Nepal have protested against a government crackdown on "nude dancing".

Police have raided scores of discos, nightclubs and dance bars in the past two weeks and detained 1,500 people saying many were running bars where "nude dances" were performed, not allowed by law in the Hindu majority society.

There are hundreds of such night spots in the Kathmandu valley, although the country has no specific law to regulate them.

A Maoist-led government which took power in August has already ordered the bars should be closed an hour before midnight, to halt worsening public security in the capital, home to more than two million people.

Bar and disco operators are protesting the move would jeopardize their business and render 80,000 people jobless.

Smallest man meets world's longest legs

Here's an image you don't see very often: the world's smallest man standing directly underneath the woman with the longest legs ever.

Svetlana Pankrtova's legs rise a whopping 51.96in while He Ping Ping measures at just 29.37in tall.

They met today in London's Trafalgar Square to celebrate the launch of this year's Guinness Book Of Records.

She may not be the world's tallest woman, that record is held by Yao Defen, who stands 7ft 9in.

But she certain has pins to die for and was not afraid to show them off in a daring ocean blue mini dress.

Student Auctioning Virginity at Brothel

A 22-year-old woman in the United States is publicly auctioning her virginity to pay for her college education, sparking a heated online debate about sex and morality.

The student from San Diego, California, who is using the pseudonym Natalie Dylan for "safety reasons," said she had no moral dilemma with her decision and found it "empowering."

But few bloggers sided with her and some suspected her intentions.

"I don't think auctioning my virginity will solve all my problems," she told celebrity television show The Insider on Wednesday. "But it will create some financial stability. I'm ready for the controversy, I know it will come along. I'm ready to do this."

"We live in a capitalist society. Why shouldn't I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?" she added.

The woman, who has earned a bachelor degree in women's studies and now wants to start a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, is hoping the bidding will hit $1 million.

The online auction site eBay turned her down so the auction will take place at a Nevada brothel, the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, where her sister is working to pay off her college debts.

The date for the auction was not immediately available.

In a flurry of media interviews and appearances, she admitted that her mother, a fourth grade teacher, does not agree with her decision. Many on the Internet also disapprove.

"Maybe this is the conservative in me coming out, but this seems so wrong," wrote one blogger, Mike. "Isn't this prostitution?"

"I must say I feel sad for the future of our society," said Mike from Montclair State University in New Jersey.

"What disgusts me about this whole thing is the fact that she is promoting it so heavily. It seems less about having some guy pay for her virginity and more about trying to get her 15 minutes and a reality show," said a blogger called "Ent Lawyer."

She does have her supporters -- not surprisingly Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch.

"I think it's a tremendous idea. Why lose it to some guy in the backseat of a Toyota when you can pay for your education?" he told reporters.

Fish flies out of lake, breaks Arkansas teen's jaw

Arkansas - A teenager's jaw was broken when a fish flew from the lake where he was riding in an inner tube and smacked him in the face.

Seth Russell, 15, was cruising Lake Chicot in Arkansas on a large inner tube towed by a boat when a Silver Asian carp leaped from the water and hit him in the face. Seth was knocked unconscious.

"He doesn't remember anything at all," the boy's mother, Linda Russell, said last week. "He was laughing, and the next thing he remembers, he is waking in a hospital."

The teen has had oral surgery to wire several teeth together and still experiences back pain that doctors attribute to whiplash from the high-speed collision, his mother said.

‘Their jumping behavior is a problem’
He's not the only one who's has a run-in with the "flying" Silver Asian carp.

"They do not fly, but they are quite good jumpers," said Carole Engle, director of aquaculture and the fisheries center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. "Over the past year, we have had some calls about fish jumping and causing injuries on Lake Chicot.

"Their jumping behavior is a problem, and their population appears to be growing there," Engle said.

Silver Asian carp were first imported to the United States in the 1970s. Catfish farmers brought them here to remove algae and other suspended matter from their ponds. The Environmental Protection Agency started a program allowing cities to use the fish to help clean the water in sewer treatment plant ponds.

Woman awakens from coma to marry

An Italian newspaper says a terminally ill woman was briefly awoken from an induced coma to get married.

La Repubblica reported that the 50-year-old nurse asked doctors to help her marry her longtime partner after being diagnosed in July with a terminal strain of hepatitis.

The Rome daily — which only gave the woman's first name, Giovanna, and her husband's, Enzo — reported that family members and witnesses donned masks and sterilized clothes to attend the ceremony Sunday in the northern city of Padua.

Doctors brought the woman to consciousness for a few minutes — long enough to say "yes" — before she slipped back into the coma, which was induced to relieve pain, the paper said. The couple's son was also at the ceremony, the paper reported, but did not give his age or name.

This is “a last wish that finally became reality,” the paper quoted Enzo as saying. “This is a fairy tale, a dream.”

The woman is only expected to live for a few weeks, according to unidentified doctors cited by the daily.

The newspaper said city hall official Giuseppe Contino married the couple. Contino did not return calls seeking comment and his office said he did not wish to give further interviews.

Hospital officials at the Vincenzo Gallucci cardiac center also declined to discuss the event, citing privacy laws.

The newspaper did not say whether it was following the family's wishes or Italy's strict privacy laws for not giving the couple's full names.

Politician quits over underwear 'dirty dance'

Australia - The police minister in Australia's most populous state was forced to quit Thursday over reports he "dirty danced" in underwear over the chest of a female colleague in a drunken late-night office party.

Matt Brown resigned just three days after being sworn in as police minister of New South Wales state, which includes Sydney.

"I'm a human being and I made a mistake and I am going to cop the consequences," Brown told reporters. "I am not wanting to duck or weave this issue. As you can imagine this is a pretty tough day for me."

Witnesses said Brown stripped down to his underpants and danced to loud techno music on a green leather Chesterfield lounge before he "mounted the chest" of a female politician and simulated a sex act.

Brown did not deny stripping, but said he had not tried to simulate sex with his colleague. The party occurred in parliament three months before Brown was sworn in as police minister.

The resignation was a blow to the center-left state government, already reeling from months of political scandal, leadership instability and poor opinion polls.

State Premier Nathan Rees, sworn in with Brown after a leadership tussle, promised a more accountable government and said Brown had to go because he initially promised that "absolutely nothing untoward" occurred during the party.

"I subsequently put it to former minister Brown late last night that 'there are too many reports of you in your underwear for me to ignore'," Rees told local radio.

"Embarrassed doesn't begin to describe it. He conceded he'd been in his underwear and that gave me no option but to demand his resignation," Rees said.

Burj Dubai hits a new high

Burj Dubai, the iconic tower being developed by Emaar Properties, has
reached another record height of 688 metres (2,257.2 feet).


The
tower became the world's tallest after surpassing North Dakota's,
United States, KVLY-TV mast (628.8 metres; 2,063 ft) in April 2008.
Currently at more than 160 storeys, the tower also has the largest
number of floors in any building.

When completed, Burj Dubai
will meet all four criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and
Urban Habitat (CTBUH), which classifies the world's tallest structures.

CTBUH
measures the height of buildings to the structural top, the highest
occupied floor, the top of the roof and the tip of the spire, pinnacle,
antenna, mast or flag pole.

Designed by Chicago-based
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Burj Dubai is constructed by
high-rise experts South Korea's Samsung Corporation.

Turner Construction International is the project and construction manager.

Currently, some 7,500 professionals and skilled workers are employed on-site at Burj Dubai.

Cladding work is almost nearing completion and work has started on the interiors, which will boast superior finishes.

The
best energy efficient technologies are being deployed to ensure that
the iconic building is also a standard for energy usage and recycling
of water.

Burj Dubai anchors Emaar's flagship mega-project, the Dh73 billion Downtown Burj Dubai.

Described
as the new heart of the city, Downtown Burj Dubai is a mixed-use
neighbourhood with premium hotels, business facilities, modern
residences, shopping malls as well as excellent leisure facilities.

Man Gets Nut Stuck Around Penis

One poor Malaysian man, who in an effort to increase his size, put a heavy welding nut on his penis and then accidentally got an erection which almost lead to him losing his penis. The unnamed welder in his 20’s was attempting to lengthen his penis before his engagement next week by placing a heavy welding nut on then end of his penis in hopes it would stretch him out and make him longer.

During the process he gave himself an erection which caused the nut to become stuck on his penis, forcing him to call for help.

Fire and Rescue arrived on the scene but where unable to assist the man and were forced to take him to the hospital. Sultanah Aminah hospital staff had to removed the top layer of his
penis in order to get the welding nut off the poor guys penis.

Two-headed baby boy under police guard

The 5.5kg boy, named Kiron, was born by caesarean on Monday in Keshobpur, 135km from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

"He has one stomach and he is eating normally with his two mouths.
He has one genital organ and a full set of limbs," gynaecologist
Mohamad Abdul Bari said.

"He was born from one embryo but there was a developmental anomaly."

The clinic had been unable to determine whether the baby had one or two sets of vital organs, Dr Bari said.

The baby's life was not in immediate danger but he and his mother,
22, had been moved to a larger hospital in nearby Jessore city because
large crowds had gathered at the clinic, he said.

"Around 150,000 people gathered ... from different areas. It became tough for us to care for the baby.

"We called police to tackle the situation and they are guarding the hospital in Jessore as well," he said.

The newspaper Samakal said many well-wishers had left money for the baby's family.

Priest organizes beauty contest for Nuns

An Italian priest and theologian said Sunday he is organizing an online beauty pageant for nuns to give them more visibility within the Catholic Church and to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour.

The "Miss Sister 2008" contest will start in September on a blog run by the Rev. Antonio Rungi and will give nuns from around the world a chance to showcase their work and their image.

"Nuns are a bit excluded, they are a bit marginalized in ecclesiastical life," Rungi told The Associated Press after Italian media carried reports of the idea. "This will be an occasion to make their contribution more visible."

Rungi, a theologian and schoolteacher from the Naples area, said that visitors to his site will have a month to "vote for the nun they consider a model."

Nuns will fill out a profile including information about their life and vocation as well as a photograph. It will be up to them to choose whether to pose with the traditional veil or with their heads uncovered.

"We are not going to parade nuns in bathing suits," Rungi said by telephone from his town of Mondragone. "But being ugly is not a requirement for becoming a nun. External beauty is gift from God, and we mustn't hide it."

Rungi said the idea was first suggested to him by nuns with whom he regularly prays and works. He hopes there will be dozens of submissions once the Web site is started.

The contest drew criticism from the association of Catholic teachers.

"It's an initiative that belittles the role of nuns who have dedicated themselves to God," the group's president, Alberto Giannino, told Italy's ANSA news agency on Sunday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26379900/

Auctioneers find explosives in suitcase

Auctioneers preparing for a backyard estate sale Saturday morning made an explosive discovery among the china and other items up for bid — a suitcase full of military-grade explosives.

The rusted, padlocked suitcase sat alongside a porcelain coffee service set, decorative enamel-finished eggs and a vintage gas-powered model of the 1965 Chaparral II race car prototype.

Auctioneers got the suitcase open just before the sale on Saturday and found three blocks of military-grade C-4 plastic explosive, two tubes of a similar plastic explosive, a blasting cap and some dynamite.
Auctioneers preparing for a backyard estate sale Saturday morning made an explosive discovery among the china and other items up for bid — a suitcase full of military-grade explosives.

The rusted, padlocked suitcase sat alongside a porcelain coffee service set, decorative enamel-finished eggs and a vintage gas-powered model of the 1965 Chaparral II race car prototype.

Auctioneers got the suitcase open just before the sale on Saturday and found three blocks of military-grade C-4 plastic explosive, two tubes of a similar plastic explosive, a blasting cap and some dynamite. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26383425/

Shoplifting suspect crushed in trash compactor

Michigan authorities say a shoplifting suspect has died after being crushed in a trash compactor where she was hiding.

The Eaton County sheriff's department said two women fled a
Lansing-area TJ Maxx discount store after spraying a security guard
with Mace. A deputy found one of the women behind a nearby trash
compactor.

Deputies say the woman wouldn't say where the other woman was hiding.

Shortly afterward, authorities got a call about a woman trapped in
the trash compactor. Tyree Monique Tate of Delta Township was pulled
from the machine by rescuers and taken to a hospital, where the
26-year-old later died.

The surviving suspect's name hasn't been released.

Dead man stands throughout 3-day wake

A Puerto Rican man has been granted his wish to remain standing — even in death.

A funeral home used a special embalming treatment to keep the corpse of 24-year-old Angel Pantoja Medina standing upright for his three-day wake.

Dressed in a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses, Pantoja was mourned by relatives while propped upright in his mother's living room.

His brother Carlos told the El Nuevo Dia newspaper the victim had long said he wanted to be upright for his own wake: "He wanted to be happy, standing."

The owner of the Marin Funeral Home, Damaris Marin, told The Associated Press the mother asked him to fulfill her dead son's last wish.

Pantoja was found dead Friday underneath a bridge in San Juan and buried Monday. Police are investigating.

Confused sea turtles march into restaurant

About 60 newly hatched sea turtles lost
their way during their ritual passage to the sea and marched
into an Italian restaurant instead, a conservation worker said
on Monday.

The baby turtles -- which ended up under the tables of
startled diners at the beachside restaurant -- were probably
thrown off track and lured by the eatery's bright lights, said
Antonio Colucci, who was called to help rescue the group.

"They saw the artificial lights and took the wrong route,"
said Colucci, who works on a turtle monitoring project for the
conservation group WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature).

"The diners were at first quite curious and then someone
alerted the coastal authorities."

The stranded turtles, which had hatched on a beach in the
southern Italian region of Calabria, were released into the
sea.

Female sea turtles nest on beaches and their offspring
instinctively head to the sea after hatching from their eggs.

Woman 'shot in crotch after sex demand'

Laurie Edward Elliott, 54, of Fairfield Gardens in Adelaide, was today
found guilty of threatening a person with a firearm and possessing a
firearm without a licence.

District Court Judge David Lovell
entered the verdicts following a trial without a jury and will hand
down his reasons at a later date.

Crown prosecutor Sandy McDonald told the court at Elliott's trial that the victim was shot in her car in January, 2006.

She
said the woman had owed Elliott money and as part of the deal over her
debt she was to drive Elliott whenever he needed transport.

Ms
McDonald said that on the day of the shooting, the woman picked Elliott
up from a Largs Bay address and noticed he was carrying some black
shopping bags.

During the drive he produced a gun and loaded and unloaded the firearm.

Elliott then asked the woman to perform oral sex on him.

Ms McDonald said the woman refused but then agreed if he reduced some of the debt she owed.

"The accused didn't agree to the alternative proposal and he threatened to shoot (the woman)," she said.

The
woman called her father on her mobile phone and noticed that Elliott
was pointing the firearm around her crotch, Ms McDonald said.

She said the gun went off and Elliott told the woman he didn't mean to shoot her.

The woman was shot in the inner thigh and the bullet lodged in the car seat.

She let Elliott out of the car and then drove to a shopping centre where she called her father and then woke up in hospital. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24199205-12377,00.html

Septuplets' mother hopes to hold them soon

Egypt - A day after giving birth to septuplets, a 27-year-old Egyptian woman said Sunday she's only seen her babies on television and hopes to hold them and name them soon.

Ghazala Khamis was still hospitalized after giving birth a day earlier to four boys and three girls. She said she is "very anxious to see them" and to breast-feed at least some of them.

"I saw them on TV. They are very cute," she told The Associated Press from her hospital bed in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria.

"I am just waiting to hold them in my arms and breast-feed them," she said in a weak voice. "I don't know if I can do it to all, but I will try."

Her husband and other relatives are brainstorming names, said Khamis, who took fertility drugs to conceive in an effort to produce a son. She is already the mother of three girls, ages 7 to 11.

The family lives in Beheira, a northern province on the fertile Nile River delta where, like much of rural Egypt, sons are preferred to daughters.

The newborns, who weigh between 2.3 and 4 pounds, are being kept in incubators but appear to be healthy, said Dr. Emad Darwish, who delivered the babies Saturday at El-Shatbi Hospital.

He said three remain at El-Shatbi while the other four have been sent to two other hospitals in Alexandria "because we do not have enough incubators."

"They are doing well, but they still need a lot of care," Darwish said.

Khamis was also in good condition, he said, after receiving a blood transfusion because of bleeding during a Caesarean section.

Darwish said he decided to perform a Caesarean at the end of the woman's eighth month of pregnancy due to pressure on her kidneys.

The babies' father is a farm worker who earns about $4 a day when he is employed, which is usually only a day or two each week, said Khamis' brother, whose name is Khamis Khamis.

He said Egypt's health minister has promised to give the babies free milk and diapers for two years, but the family is still worried about the long-term financial burden of feeding and taking care of a total of ten children.

"What they need most is a dwelling to live in. I hope the government will give them an apartment," Khamis said.

"With the help of Allah, they will make it, but I think it will be difficult," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_fe_st/egypt_septuplets

Forgotten bifocals lead to $3 million jackpot

A man's forgotten bifocals led to a $3 million lottery jackpot.

Bobby
Guffey usually plays the same combination of numbers representing the
birthdays of his five children. But he left his glasses at home when he
bought the winning ticket Aug. 6, accidentally entering the last number
as 48 instead of 46.

The Hoosier Lotto ticket ended up being worth $3 million.

"My wife says it pays to be blind," Guffey
said Thursday after he accepted his winnings at the Indiana State Fair
in Indianapolis.

Guffey,
who's from the northeastern Indiana town of Roanoke, said he didn't
realize he'd used the wrong number combination until he had left the
Huntington service station where he bought it.

Double winner
He went back inside to buy a ticket with his usual numbers and that ticket won him $1,000 to go along with the jackpot.

Guffey
said he has been playing the Hoosier Lotto since it started in 1989. He
said he's won about $5,000 on various tickets over the years.

His
wife, Janell, said they are going to pay off their house, take a cruise
to Hawaii next year and set up a trust fund for their five children and
10 grandchildren.

Alleged robber locked keys in getaway car

Memo to anyone planning a drug store robbery: don't lock your keys in the getaway vehicle.

Police
said John Wilkinson, 24, of Big Spring, did just that after he
allegedly robbed the Stanton Drug Store of Zanax and hydrocodine.

They said Wilkinson used a caulking gun, wrapped in a dark cloth, to get the drugs Thursday afternoon.

Afterward, he allegedly headed back to his
vehicle, which was parked and running in front of the drug store, and
discovered he was locked out, the Midland Reporter-Telegram reported in
its online edition Thursday.

Stanton
Police Chief Mike Adams said Wilkinson then tried to get away on foot.
Police, who thought he had a gun, shot him in the top of his shoulder
during the short chase.

Wilkinson
was treated at the Midland Memorial Hospital and taken to the Martin
County Jail on a charge of armed robbery. A jail official said late
Thursday he did not know whether Wilkinson had an attorney.

New Zealand man leaps from bridge 103 times in 24-hour span

A New Zealand man has set a world record for
the most bungee jumps in 24 hours, diving 103 times Friday from
Auckland's Harbor Bridge.

Mike Heard set a new world mark with his 102nd jump, then made his 103rd to celebrate.

"I'm feeling pretty sore but not from anything you'd normally get from bungee, just from hitting the water," Heard said.

Heard broke the record of 101 jumps set in South Africa in 2002. His effort raised $3,600 for a children's cancer charity.

Forklift helps 700-lb Mexican man take rare outing

A 700-pound (310-kilogram) man once considered the world's most obese person left his home for the first time in five months Sunday with the aid of a forklift and a platform truck.

Manuel Uribe traveled to the shore of a lake in northern Mexico without ever leaving his specially designed bed. A forklift hoisted the bed onto the truck, which then hauled him to the lake, where he snacked on fish and vegetables and joked with a local boat operator.

Looking at the boatman's small craft, Uribe joked, "Too bad I can't get on it — it would sink."

Once considered the world's fattest man when his weight hit over half a ton, more than two years of steady dieting had helped Uribe drop to about 700 pounds (310 kilograms) as of June — 550 pounds (250 kilograms) less than his former Guinness record weight of 1,235 pounds (560 kilograms). He did not say what his current weight is.

While somewhat bothered by the summer heat, Uribe appeared to enjoy Sunday's outing. He is still unable to walk, and his last planned outing in March was aborted after the platform carrying his bed got stuck under an overpass.

His last successful trip outside his home was in March 2007, when six people pushed Uribe's wheel-equipped iron bed out to the street as a mariachi band played and a crowd gathered to greet him.

Before that, he hadn't left his home in five years. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080811/ap_on_fe_st/mexico_half_ton_man

Man Almost Loses Penis Humping Steel Bench

Last night in Hong Kong, the police received a disturbing call from a man in trouble.

Xing, a 41 year-old man, was calling from LanTian park in the middle of the night. The lonely and disturbed man had apparently thought it would be fun to have sex with one of the steel sit-up benches around the park.

The bench has numerous small holes in it, which Xing used to attempt to satisfy himself. However, once he became aroused he found that he was stuck and could not get his penis out of the small hole.

He panicked and called the police to help him.

hk-man-penis02 Man Almost Loses Penis Humping Steel Bench picture

When police arrive they found Xian stuck face down where he had been stuck for some time.

When doctors arrived on the scene they tried to release some of the pressure by removing some of his blood, but the penis was so swollen that they ended up having to cut the entire bench free and take it, with Xian attached, to the hospital.

Slingshot wrong way to get girlfriend's attention

Utah - An 11-year-old boy who wanted to get his girlfriend's attention without waking her parents got a lesson in the strength of a window pane. A pebble fired from a slingshot has more velocity than a pebble tossed by hand.

"We were just trying to get her attention," said Joe Brunton, who is now doing odd jobs around his neighborhood to raise the money he needs to replace the window.

Joe and a friend were trying to see the girl early one morning a few weeks ago. At first, they threw wood chips at the window, but that wasn't enough, so the boys went home for heavier artillery. The slingshot worked in getting the girl's attention, but it also cracked the window.

The boys immediately owned up to the broken window and promised the girl's parents that they would replace it.

Joe went to his mother, who covered the $160 replacement cost but said the boy was going to have to do extra chores. Joe's friend Justice Kane decided that was going to take too long, so they have been going door to door and asking neighbors if they need any household chores done.

They also explained why they are raising the money.

"It was kind of embarrassing," Joe said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080806/ap_on_fe_st/odd_broken_window

British couple wed strapped to wings of airplanes

It was Katie and Darren's wedding day and they were in the clouds — strapped to the top of biplanes reciting vows 1,000 feet above the earth. Katie Hodgson, 23, took to the skies Tuesday in a full bridal gown on the top wing of red-and-white plane operated by Team Guinot, a group of stunt pilots.

Groom Darren McWalters, 24, flew by her side on an identical plane, while Rev. George Bringham — flying ahead of the couple — married them over an airborne communications system.

Sky News television footage of the ceremony showed the bride's dressed fluttering wildly in foul weather as the three shouted to make themselves heard over the din of the aircraft.

"I ask you therefore, will you love her, honor and keep her and be faithful to her so long as you both shall live?" Bringham yelled.

"I will!" McWalters yelled back.

The airplanes sent out trails of white smoke as the couple belted out their vows about 1,000 feet above the ground. Special microphones relayed the ceremony to Rendcomb Airfield near the English city of Cirencester — 90 miles west of London — where the wedding guests were waiting. Wind and rain eventually cut the flight short, but the couple said they had a blast.

Hodgson said that as a girl she never would have imagined she would wed on the wing of an airplane.

"As I got older I became more adventurous," she said, before adding: "I bring the adventurous side out of Darren — he used to be scared of heights."

McWalters told Sky: "We are a bit crazy together ... so we wanted something that suited."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_on_fe_st/britain_airborne_wedding

Ultimate $1m stay

Luxury comes in different shapes, sizes and price tags.

The latest comes from the Emirates Palace Hotel - the Dh11 billion luxury hotel, which is more a palace than a hotel - worth Dh3.67 million ($1 million).

The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi yesterday said it is offering a once-in-a-lifetime package worth $1 million.

"It's really a royal vacation for guests purchasing the offer as the Emirates Palace submits itself to the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive holiday," the company said in an e-mailed statement.

The package includes a deep sea fishing trip, Emirates Palace Sunset and Desert Island Tour, gifts including Emirates Palace Gold Champagne, the rarest pearls in the world from Robert Wang and a selection from Holland and Holland Sporting Guns.

Bullet-resistant Bra for German Police

Females in the German police force are grateful for the supply of bullet proof vests that have helped prevent deaths and serious injuries during the line of duty, but such vests don't do favors for the female body as side-effects include pushing underwires and fixings of standard lingerie into the skin, resulting in pain and injury. Hence, all 3,000 female cops have recently been issued with three bullet-resistant bras to help them function more efficiently while on duty, kissing goodbye to flesh-puncturing fastenings.

Bikers Down to Bare Basics for Eco Demonstration

Fewer clothes and lots of skin have made a political point in a public park in St. Louis.

Hundreds of mostly nude bicyclists joined curious spectators in the city's Tower Grove Park on Saturday night for a 10-mile "World Naked Bike Ride."

The ride has been staged in 70 cities worldwide since 2004 as a way to protest society's dependence on oil. St. Louis police were on hand to ensure the riders wore the bare minimum, which included thongs, pasties, loin cloths, bathing suits and even body painting.

However, officers didn't seem to notice one rider wearing nothing but a pink derby hat.

Scientists Find World's Smallest Snake

The new species, named Leptotyphlops carlae, is smaller than any of the other 3,100 previously known snake species, according to Pennsylvania State University biologist Blair Hedges, who also had helped find the world's smallest frog and lizard.

It is one of about 300 different species of threadsnake and is a dark brownish gray with two yellow stripes, Hedges said. It was determined to be a newly identified species due to genetic differences from other snakes and its unique color pattern and scales, he said.

The snake, which is not venomous, eats termites and termite larvae but little is known about its behavior, including whether it is nocturnal, Hedges said. It was found in 2006 in a forest on the eastern side of Barbados.

"It was under a rock. We got two of them," Hedges said in a phone interview. "It's about as wide as a spaghetti noodle."

The snake is about 0.2 inches (5 mm) shorter than another species from the Caribbean island of Martinique.

"When you get down that small, every millimeter counts," said Hedges, whose findings were published in the scientific journal Zootaxa on Sunday.

http://news.aol.com/article/scientists-find-worlds-smallest-snake/115402

Girl falls 14 stories, saved by sooty landing

A 12-year-old girl fell into a chimney on the roof of her apartment building, plummeted 14 stories down the flue and landed almost unscathed in a pile of furnace soot.

Grace Bergere, a young rock drummer, remained hospitalized Saturday for treatment of an injured hip.

The 2-foot-deep pile of ash and dust may have saved her life, cushioning her fall when she crashed into a basement furnace, fire officials said.

Authorities said Grace was showing a cousin, visiting from California, the spectacular view of the city from the top of her family's West Village apartment building, which has a rooftop deck overlooking the Hudson River.

To get to the highest point Thursday night, she climbed up a 25-foot ladder alongside the big brick chimney. When she reached the top, she fell into the gaping mouth of the chimney and plunged down the narrow flue to the basement.

"I think she probably went down head first and landed on her back," fire Lt. Simon Ressner said.

While her father screamed her name, firefighters opened a metal door at the bottom of the chimney, ready for the worst.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080802/ap_on_re_us/plummeting_girl

Boys bounce for 24 hours in world record attempt

Bounce, bounce, bounce ... for 24 hours.

That was what eight boys in Michigan did this week in an effort to set a world record.

The boys began the attempt Friday morning at the Bounce-a-Lot entertainment center southwest of Detroit in Flat Rock. They bounced two at a time in shifts in an inflatable castle.

Ten-year-old Mason Brott says the bouncing wasn't as tough as he thought it would be.

Guinness World Records must still authenticate the record, a process that could take months. The boys, ages 8 to 11, decided to try to beat the bouncing record of 19 hours and 24 minutes, set nearly two years ago.

Sex and the city forbidden, but let the Games begin

Whatever happened to the Mongolian prostitutes? Where have all the "money boys" gone?

Looking for a high-class hooker in the lobby of a five-star hotel? It could be a tough assignment.

Anyone hoping for some readily available sex-for-sale in Beijing during the Olympics may be in for a shock. China is clearly keen to portray a squeaky clean image at the Summer Games and picture postcard Beijing is a top priority.

Prostitution is illegal in China. Banished after the Communist revolution in 1949, it returned with a vengeance in the 1980s when the country embarked upon economic reforms and started opening to the outside world.

For prostitutes and pole dancers alike, pickings now are slim. They cannot wait for the Olympics to end.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080804/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_olympics_sex

Man presumed dead in 1976 Colorado flood found alive

A man believed to have died in a Colorado flood in 1976 has been found living in Oklahoma.

Sixty-three-year-old Darrell Johnson told the Fort Collins Coloradoan for a story Friday that he didn't know he had been counted among the 144 victims of the Big Thompson Canyon flood until a resident called him last year.

Barb Anderson said residents didn't want his name on a memorial plaque without proof he was dead.

Johnson and his family had decided to leave their shabby cabin the morning of the flood after just one night. A few hours later, the resort was washed away.

How Johnson ended up on the victims list remains a mystery.

He now directs funerals in Oklahoma City and acknowledges he was lucky to get the bad cabin.

Oops! Parents forget girl at airport

Israeli airport police say a couple going on a European vacation remembered to bring their duty-free shopping and their 18 suitcases, but forgot their 3-year-old daughter at the airport.

The couple and their five children were late for a flight to Paris Sunday and made a mad dash to the gate. In the confusion, their daughter got lost. A policeman found her wandering around the terminal, crying for her mother.

Israeli media report Monday that the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parents, whose names were not released, didn't notice the child was missing until they were told, in the air, that she had been found at Ben-Gurion airport. The child, accompanied by an airline staffer, took the next flight to Paris where she was safely reunited with her parents.

Alleged thief stuck under trash bin for 12 hours

A suspected thief trying to steal $10 worth of copper got himself into a stinky situation when he was trapped under a trash bin at a county landfill for 12 hours, sheriff's deputies said.

Deputies said Gibson Cook, 56, broke into the landfill, then got stuck as he tried to crawl under the large container. Landfill workers found him about 12 hours later with his legs sticking out from under the bin. Emergency workers had to inflate air bags so they could lift the bin to free him.

Cook was charged with trespassing and petit larceny, deputy Wayne Kirby said. He was waiting for a bond hearing and it was unclear if he had an attorney.

"He's one of our local petty thieves," Kirby said. "But he has never been in a jam like this."

Break-ins at the landfill in Dillon, a town of about 6,400 people in the northeast corner of the state near the North Carolina line, have increased in recent months as thieves look for discarded scrap metal. But employee Charlie Brown said that in 27 years at the dump, this is the first time he's seen anyone get stuck. He said the copper under the trash bin could not have been worth more than $10.

"It was right disgusting," he said. "I wouldn't be under there."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080801/ap_on_fe_st/odd_stuck_suspect

Clothing store opens bar in middle of sales floor

A Cleveland clothing store wants to make sure its customers are comfortable, so it has opened a bar in the middle of its sales floor. M. Lang Executive Attire owner Mike Lang said he hopes the cash bar will not only help put shoppers in a relaxed mood to buy clothing but also will encourage people to hang out at the shop with their friends.

Lang said when he approached the Ohio Department of Liquor Control, he was told they'd never had anyone request a liquor license for a clothing store. For now, he and his only sales person do double duty, as the bartenders.

After 20 years of catering to men, the store also added women's apparel recently, along with the bar.

Couple's pumpkin sets SC record at 897 pounds

COLUMBIA, S.C. - It's a big pumpkin. A Lexington County couple's pumpkin has broken the state record. Frank and Tina Finders' pumpkin tipped the scales at the State Farmer's Market Friday at 897 pounds. That's the equivalent of two Siberian male tigers or about 9 old truck tires.

The couple told The State newspaper they grew the vegetable organically in an Arcadia Lakes garden. They plan to sell the pumpkin, but hope to harvest the seeds and try again next year for another record.

The previous state record set in 2006 was 737 pounds. The world record was a 1,689-pound pumpkin.

6-legged deer gets new home after dog attack

A six-legged deer found in north Georgia after being attacked by a dog has a new home. An Athens woman with a permit to keep unique animals in captivity has agreed to take the unusual deer. The animal was found July 18 near Armuchee and underwent surgery to repair its minor injuries.

Berry College animal science professor George Gallagher took the deer after its surgery. He said he is hoping to avoid making the deer a "circus sideshow." He said the animal's condition prevents it from surviving in the wild. The fawn has two complete pelvises and two tails. One of the tails had to be amputated. Gallagher said the fawn has a condition that is similar to Siamese twins in humans.

Canadian woman gives birth to 18th child

A Romanian immigrant has given birth to her 18th child in British Columbia, making her the province's most prolific mother in 20 years. Proud dad Alexandru Ionce said Saturday that his 44-year-old wife, Livia, gave birth on July 22. Their daughter Abigail weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces (3.5 kilograms).

"We never planned how many children to have. We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life comes from God and that's the reason we did not stop the life," Alexandru Ionce said.

The couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990 and now live in Abbotsford. Their 17 other children range in age from 20 months to 23 years.

Ionce said he did not know if the couple would have more children. The family now has 10 girls and eight boys.

"We would have liked a boy to be even," he said. "We thank God all of them are healthy and happy."

Guests at party mistake police for strippers

Police say two officers who responded to complaints about a raucous weekend party in western Germany were mistaken for male strippers by the female guests.

Simmern police spokesman Bernd Hoffmann says neighbors called police around 12.45 a.m. Sunday to complain about noise from a birthday party in their building.

A round of applause from the apartment resident — who had just turned 30 — and her friends greeted two officers who went to investigate. Hoffmann said Monday that "they thought the policemen were dressed like that because they were strippers. It took them a while to realize they were real police officers."

Hoffmann says the women had not ordered strippers but thought someone had sent them as a birthday surprise.

The incident resulted in no arrests.

Piglet with monkey's face

Villagers were shocked after a monkey-like piglet was born in China.

Curious locals flocked to the home of owner Feng Changlin after news of the piglet spread in Fengzhang village, Xiping township.

"It's hideous. No one will be willing to buy it, and it scares the family to even look at it!" Feng told Oriental Today.

He says the piglet looks just like a monkey, with two thin lips, a small nose and two big eyes. Its rear legs are also much longer than its forelegs, causing it to jump instead of walk.

Feng's wife said the monkey-faced piglet was one of five newborns of a sow which the family had raised for nine years.

"My God, it was so scary. I didn't known what it was. I was really frightened," she said.

"But our son likes to play with it, and he stopped us from getting rid of it. He even feeds it milk."

Neighbours have suggested the couple keep the piglet to see how it looks as it matures.

Bambi Threesome, Gay Dolphins Highlight Animal Erotica Show

Consider the sex life of the spotted hyena, depicted in three shocking photographs at New York's Museum of Sex (MoSex).

You'll find it difficult not to notice that both the male and female have penises. The female, it turns out, has a scrotal sack too. For reproductive purposes, the male transfers his sperm through the female's penis, which doubles as her clitoris.

``When the male inserts himself into the female, it looks like a mid-air refueling,'' Joan Roughgarden, a professor of evolutionary biology at Stanford University, said in an interview.

Roughgarden and other scholars were enlisted by the museum to help curate and lend a scholarly tone to ``The Sex Lives of Animals,'' which aims to be more than a ``Wild Kingdom'' peep show.

The exhibition, which opened this week, is believed to be the most comprehensive and uncensored look at animal mating habits since the University of Oslo's Natural History Museum staged a show on gay animal sex in 2006.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=apenOcMVR54U&refer=muse

With this fake wife, I divorce thee

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - An Indian man who took an impersonator to
court to get a divorce faces legal action after his real wife found
out, lawyers said Friday.

Sanjib Saha presented a woman as his wife in a lower court in the
eastern city of Kolkata this month. Both said they sought a mutual
divorce, something the court granted immediately.

Saha's real wife was then asked to leave the marital home. She has
since appealed the ruling at a higher court, charged her husband with
cheating and the original divorce was suspended.

"The case exposed the legal loopholes in our system," Kaushik Chanda, lawyer of Saha's real wife, said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1827940420080718?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Let priests watch porn, says star

The Pope should allow Catholic priests to watch porn to stop them penting up their sexual urges an adult film star has said.

Porn star Belladonna, 27, has offered 300 of her own films to the Catholic church in Australia for distribution to priests.

She also has offered to donate some of her own time to help set up a
'meaningful set of exercises for priests to help them deal with sexual
tension and stress'.

The star of 250 X-rated films is in Australia at the same time as the
Pope -- but to promote the Sydney Sexpo rather than the message of God.

"The Pope has indicated he might apologise to victims of sexual abuse
and that is a positive thing to do," the heavily tattooed Belladonna
said.

"But unless he follows up with some practical advice that addresses the
sexual needs and desires of clergy, the problem will simply continue.

"Church clergy are at a crisis because they get no real street-level
sex education but are expected to ply the streets to deliver their
spiritual message."

The Eros Foundation - Australia's national adult retail and
entertainment association - says the sex industry could help the
clergy.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=225313&in_page_id=2

Retirees to have gay old time

A retirement village catering exclusively for gays, lesbians and transgenders has got the go-ahead in Australia.

The £12 million Linton Estate, will feature a tennis court, bowling green, open-air theatre and a multi-million dollar leisure centre with a pool, spa, gymnasium, cafe, restaurant, piano room and business centre.

Despite vocal opposition from community activists construction of the 120 two and three-bedroom units is expected to start early next year.

Managing director Peter Dickson said the village would suit older members of the gay and lesbian community.

"Whether we're in a relationship or whether we're single, we want to be surrounded by friends," Mr Dickson said.

"I wanted Linton Estate to be different to other retirement facilities and this has now come about.

"It's a wonderful achievement for all."

The estate is near Daylesford, which has one of the largest homosexual populations in rural Australia.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=227483&in_page_id=2

Donkeys to spice up sex lives

Feral Australian donkeys are usually given a wide berth but now their skins are to be used as an aphrodisiac for Chinese women.

A Hong Kong company that specialises in traditional medicines is trying to locate up to a million donkey skins every year. Usually it gets them from South America but now it's seeking the fertile skins of some of the 300,000 wild donkeys ranging the Northern Territory.

Sydney-based exporter John Fleming is applying to hunt feral donkeys in the Northern Territory to sell overseas.

"They want the skins, but not for leather. Apparently there is a certain extract in the skin they can use for traditional medicine," he said.

Chinese traditional healers use donkey skins to extract Ejiao, which is used to make Nu Bao, a traditional Chinese medicine that supposedly improves vitality, increases a woman's libido and help with period pain.

"They're after a lot of donkey skins. As much as they can get their hands on," Mr Fleming said.

"It seems there are a lot of feral donkeys out there and people are basically shooting them for sport."

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=227466&in_page_id=2

Wife Kills Husband With Folding Couch

A Russian woman in St. Petersburg killed her drunken husband with a folding couch, Russian media reported Wednesday.

St. Petersburg's Channel Five said the man's wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.

The couch, which doubles as a bed, folds up automatically in order to save space. The man fell between the mattress and the back of the couch, Channel Five quoted emergency workers as saying.

The woman then walked out of the room and returned three hours later to check on what she thought was an unusually quiet sleeping husband.Police refused to comment.
The St. Petersburg Emergency Services Ministry said a private rescue service removed the man's body.Video on the television channel's Web site showed emergency workers sawing away the side panels of a couch to remove a man in his underwear lying headfirst between the cushions.

Thousands Expect Apocalypse in 2012

Survival groups around the world are gearing up and counting down to a mysterious date that has been anticipated for thousands of years: Dec. 21, 2012. Across the United States, Canada and throughout Europe, apocalyptic sects and individuals say that is the day that ...

http://news.aol.com/article/thousands-expect-apocalypse-in-2012/84461

Woman Finds 8-Foot Snake in Washer

GORHAM, Maine (July 17) - A woman got the shock of her life when she
found an 8-foot snake mixed in with clothes in her washing machine. The
snake, identified as a reticulated python, somehow got into the water
pipes of Mara Ranger's 1800s-era farmhouse and slithered into the
machine.

http://news.aol.com/weird-news/article/woman-finds-8-foot-snake-in-washer/88525

Flight attendant wins $1.2 million in suit

A federal court jury in San Francisco awarded more than $1.2 million in damages Thursday to a former American Airlines flight attendant who said the airline concocted reasons to fire her after she complained about an assault by a passenger.

Airlines fired Greta Anderson in 2005 at least in part because of the company's belief that she was mentally disabled, even though she was able to do the job she had held since 1976. The jury awarded her $238,000 for wage losses and $1 million for emotional distress.

she disobeyed supervisors' orders by repeatedly asking a psychiatrist for a copy of his report that found her unfit for duty. Company lawyers were unavailable for comment late Thursday, but Anderson's attorney,Gregory Redmond, said the airline's position during the trial left little doubt that it would appeal the verdict.

Anderson, 57, lives in Reno and was based in San Jose as a flight attendant. In trial testimony and an interview, she said her problems with the airline started in May 1995 when a passenger frustrated by flight delays kicked her in the back. The passenger turned out to be the wife of a French diplomat, Anderson said, and when she tried to get American Airlines to do something about it, the company turned on her instead.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/18/BA7S11R9JJ.DTL&tsp=1

Man collects $800 a month renting vacant house he doesn't own

SILVER SPRINGS SHORES - Until Wednesday, Carl Kopsho had no idea that
the man who collected $800 from him every month was not legally his
landlord.

When sheriff's deputies told him he was living in the house without
permission from the owner, Kopsho was confused. Then it all started to
make sense.

Deputies say a man pretended to own a house at 15
Olive Drive and rented it to Kopsho, 34, and his girlfriend, Heather
Peteck, 23, without the knowledge of the owner, who lives in New York.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20080717/NEWS/316611023

Egypt's men blame women for harassment

Nearly two-thirds of Egyptian men admit to having sexually harassed women in the most populous Arab country, and most say women themselves are to blame for
their maltreatment, a survey shows.

The forms of harassment reported by Egyptian men, whose country attracts millions of
foreign tourists each year, include touching or ogling women, shouting sexually explicit remarks, and exposing their genitals to women.

"Sexual harassment has become an overwhelming and very real problem experienced
by all women in Egyptian society, often on a daily basis," said the report by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights.

Egyptian women and female visitors frequently complain of persistent sexual
harassment on Egyptian streets, despite the socially conservative nature of this traditional Muslim society.

The behaviour could have repercussions on Egypt's tourism industry, a major foreign income earner, with 98 per cent of foreign women saying they had experienced
harassment in the country, the survey said.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24038687-5005961,00.html

Oops! Windows not tinted

She thought the windows were "tinted."

An anonymous topless woman featured in yesterday's paper said she thought she was shielded from view by tinted glass at last Saturday's Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre.

The woman was clearly visible through a hotel window that oversees the field and Toronto Sun photographer Dave Abel captured her shapely image.

"The (stag hosts) told me that no one could see through it," said the former SUNshine girl.

The 26-year-old grad student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she has been working as a hostess for a few years to pay for school.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/Toronto/2008/07/16/6171531-sun.html