Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Priests told to lose weight

A Romanian bishop has ordered his priests to lose weight.

Bishop Calinic fears his priests' fat tummies suggest they enjoy too many worldly pleasures.

He wants them to extend their fast over lent and recommends extended prayer sessions to reduce weight.

The bishop, in charge of the Arges region, said: "Oversized bellies only prove to people that priests have a good life and are not concentrating on their holy mission."

However, he says he is not recommending they take up sport, which was not appropriate for men of the cloth, adding: "Marathon prayer sessions will work much better."

His priests have all agreed to follow the advice, although some were quoted in the papers as saying they had always been "big boned".

Father Marioara, from Pitesti, says: "All the members of my family are a bit fat, it is genetic, and I do not believe I can lose weight no matter how hard I try."

Father Tintea said: "Being fat does not mean that I eat or live well, it is a matter of metabolism."

And Father Popescu added: "I do not believe that God dislikes big bellies. He brought into the world thin and fat people and makes no difference between them.

"But because I do not want people to believe I live an opulent life, I will try to lose some pounds during Lent as my bishop advises."

Monday, February 26, 2007

Indian woman aims for hot chilli record

An Indian woman hopes to get into the record books by eating a huge amount of the world's hottest pepper.

Anandita Dutta Tamuly, 26, aims to eat as many Bhut Jolokia peppers as she can in one sitting. The current record was set by South African Anita Crafford, who ate eight jalapeños in a minute in 2002.

Tamuly is a lifelong fan of the Bhut Jolokia or 'ghost' chili pepper - rated about 100 times as hot as a jalapeno.

She said: "Such is the hotness of this chili that it can drive away the ghost and hence the name."

Tamuly says she got hooked on the chillis as a child after her mother smeared chili paste on her tongue to cure an infection. Tamuly, who will attempt to create a new record in London, added: "I have already created history on Indian television by munching 60 of the chilies in two minutes. I am more than confident of creating a record."

She is currently awaiting a British visa to make the trip.

The 'ghost' pepper clocks slightly more than one million Scoville units, almost twice as hot as the previous reigning champ, the Red Savina habanero. An average jalapeno, used widely in salsa, measures only about 10 000 heat units, www.int.iol.co.za reports.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Woman swallowed lover's false teeth

A Romanian woman needed medical help after she swallowed her lover's false teeth during a moment of passion.

The 38-year-old woman, from Galati, went to hospital with stomach pains claiming she had swallowed a foreign object but without saying what it was.

Doctors were surprised when the x-ray showed false teeth in her stomach.

Eventually she admitted she gulped down the denture while experimenting a 'special type of passionate kiss' with her boyfriend.

After spending two days in hospital, the foreign object left the woman's body the natural way.

King of the swingers

A tree surgeon rescued by helicopter after he broke his leg in a 130ft tree suffered further injuries when he was swung into another tree.

Gavin Finch, 31, of Marlborough, New Zealand, was near the top of the tree when the initial accident happened reports the New Zealand Herald..

Police, ambulance and fire officers tried in vain to reach him from the ground, before rescuers decided to airlift him.

A paramedic was winched down and once Mr Finch was in a rescue harness his safety lines were released, with both men winched into the helicopter.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing.

Westpac rescue helicopter spokesman Dave Greenberg said Mr Finch suffered extra cuts and bruises after he was swung into a second tree while being lifted out of the first.

High winds and surrounding trees and power lines meant it had not been an easy rescue, Mr Greenberg said.

Mr Finch is in a stable condition in Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.

Grooms weds best man

A Loughborough man was horrified to learn that he had accidentally 'married' his best man.

Chris Adams, 33, had exchanged vows with bride Gemma Mortell, 19, in a Valentine's Day wedding.

But when the couple returned from honeymoon and checked the wedding certificate they had a surprise, reports the Sun.

Gemma had mistakenly signed her name in the 'witness' space - and best man Paul Hickleston had put his signature where the bride's should have been.

Chef Chris said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what we'd done. I've known my best man for over 20 years and he's a great guy - but I don't want him as my missus."

Gemma added: "When he told me Paul was down as his wife, I just laughed. I thought he was winding me up. "But it's not funny. The wedding cost a lot of money. It was the biggest day of our life and we wanted it to be just right. We'd planned it for nine months."

The couple had feared their marriage might not be legal but the Rev Elaine Skinner, who conducted the ceremony, has reassured them.

"I've told them they have nothing to worry about - any mistakes can be corrected and I can issue a new certificate," she said.

Balloon steals wedding ring

A Scarborough man lost his wedding ring - after he tied it to his son's helium balloon and it floated away.

Calum McFadyen, 35, tied the gold ring to the string of four-year-old Henry's balloon to see if he could weigh it down.

But as he watched television in the front room he heard Henry open the front door and wave goodbye to the Thomas the Tank Engine balloon as it floated off with the ring still attached.

Mr McFadyen, 35, a housing support officer, said: "The ring has not been off my hand in years - I was just messing about with the kids. I guess it could be in France now!

"My wife wasn't too impressed and told me it was a stupid thing to do. I tend to agree!

"I've been getting a ribbing from the people at work but I deserve it. Now I just want the ring back."

Wife Vicky, 36, said: "This could only happen to my husband, he's one of those people!"

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Fishermen land colossal squid

New Zealand fisherman have caught what is expected to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid.

The squid, 10m long and weighing about 450kg, took two hours to land in Antarctic waters, reports the BBC. It is believed to be the first adult colossal squid landed intact. One expert said calamari rings made from it would be like tractor tyres.

"I can assure you that this is going to draw phenomenal interest. It is truly amazing," Steve O'Shea from Auckland's University of Technology told local media.

Colossal squid, found deep in Antarctic waters, are thought to be about the same length as giant squid but are much heavier. The species was first identified in 1925, but very few specimens have been found.

Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said the fishermen had been fishing for Patagonian toothfish in deep Antarctic waters when the squid - which was eating a toothfish - was caught.

"The squid was almost dead when it reached the surface, and the careful work of the crew was paramount in getting this specimen aboard in good condition," he said.

The squid was frozen in the ship's hull and brought back to New Zealand for scientific examination.

"The colossal squid has just arrived in New Zealand and it is likely that it is the first intact adult male colossal squid to ever be successfully landed," Mr Anderton said.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Astronaut's nappy for sale on eBay

A nappy allegedly worn by a US astronaut charged with plotting to kidnap a love rival is up for grabs on eBay.

The starting bid for the Nasa-issued nappy is more than £1,000, reports Metro.

Lisa Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando wearing the nappy so she wouldn't have to stop for bathroom breaks.

She was allegedly on her way to confront a woman she believed was a rival for the affections of a fellow astronaut.

However, a bed and breakfast in Mississippi claims she stopped for something to eat and, in her rush, left the nappy behind.

The 43-year-old, who flew to the international space station last July, has been charged with attempted kidnapping, battery and other crimes.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Surgeons' lame excuse

Surgeons trying to correct the limp of a five-year-old boy in China has apologised after lengthening the wrong leg.

They say the mistake was down to the boy being anaesthetised on his back but then operated on while lying on his stomach.

Xiangya Second Hospital in Changsha city operated on Miao Mingming whose right leg is shorter than his left.

"The doctor suggested surgery to extend the withered tendon, and we agreed. But when Mingming came out of the operating room, I found his left leg was in the cast," complained his father.

The hospital has admitted its mistake and promised to take full responsibility, reports Xinhua News.

Chief doctor Zhao said: "I am very sorry about what happened. Before the surgery, the patient was lying on his back and received full anaesthesia, and then the surgery was done with the patient lying on his stomach."

Now Mingming has to undergo two more operations, one to extend the right leg, the other to shorten the extended left leg.

Mexican businessmen break kebab record

MEXICO CITY - A group of businessmen in the northern Mexican City of Chihuahua broke a tasty record Friday, making a hunk of meat on a skewer big enough to serve 24,000 tacos.

In the Friday event dubbed as the "Tacoton," the meat for a pastor taco, a variety of the Mexican dish that consists of pork squashed onto a stake, weighed 3.9 tons and was 13 feet high, Mexican government news agency Notimex reported.

Officials from the Guinness Book of World Records recognized the hunk of meat as the world's "largest skewer of kebab meat," Notimex reported.

Portions of the vast snack were sold with a drink for $1 a piece to hungry spectators. Chihuahua businessmen financed the mega taco and gave proceeds from sales to a home for abandoned children, Notimex said.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Bridge too far?

Two Macedonian men who stole two 30ft bridges have been arrested after they tried to sell them to a scrapyard.

Police said Nikodim Bozinovski and David Gorgievski had taken the two 30-foot bridges over the rivers Crna Reka and Rajec down piece by piece.

They were caught after a scrapyard dealer got suspicious when 20 trucks loaded with 200 tonnes of steel turned up at his yard.

He called police who traced the parts of the bridge and arrested the two men.

Biker's YouTube gaffe

A biker is facing a driving ban after he filmed himself speeding at 100mph and posted the clip on YouTube.

The 37-year-old, from Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, was easily identified because he filmed himself leaving his front door.

A camera mounted behind the windshield of his 180mph Yamaha R1 shows him doing wheelies and roaring past a school and housing estate.

After the video was posted, one of the drivers he overtook left a message on the website, reports the Mirror.

The jeep driver said: "Unfortunately I am one of the cars he passed that day doing a phenomenal speed and pulling a wheelie.

"I didn't see him until he was by my side, he was very close as well and the slightest drift to the right on my part and it could have been a bit rough."

The footage was spotted by police who - in the first case of its kind - are using the video as evidence and have sent a file to the CPS. Detectives expect dangerous driving charges to be brought within the next few weeks.

Avon and Somerset police said: "He is risking a long ban. What is humorous to some could be fatal to others."

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Swearing lessons

An Austrian primary school teacher is facing the sack after giving a class of nine-year-olds a lesson in swear words.

Teacher Michael Brechter, 57, who teaches at the Kematen Primary School in the province of Upper Austria, asked the kids to write homework about words like 'arse', 'sh*t', 'moron' and 'tart'.

He said: "I was not teaching them anything they did not already know.

"It was an attempt to make school lively and fun. My ultimate aim was to show what words should not be used."

£2,150 pizza

A chef has flown more than 1,000 miles to create the world's most expensive pizza for a St Valentine's Day meal.  The £2,150 treat by Glasgow restaurateur Domenico Crolla will be topped with edible gold, champagne-soaked caviar and lobster marinated in the finest cognac.

Italian lawyer Maurizio Morelli, from Rome, paid up for the pizza after winning a charity auction on eBay in November.

Mr Crolla has flown to the Italian capital to prepare the 12in pizza as a Valentine's surprise for Mr Morelli's wife, Sabrina, at the couple's local restaurant.

Mr Crolla said: "This is the perfect romantic Valentine's gift. "We Italians are experts at 'amore' and I think this pizza will show that the way to a woman's heart is definitely through her stomach."

His luxury treat has been named the Pizza Royale 007 after the expensive tastes of suave super spy James Bond. Other toppings on the organic base, spread with a sunblush tomato sauce, include Scottish smoked salmon and medallions of venison.

The pizza was created to raise funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation, which aims to prevent curable blindness in developing countries.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Teacher 'snorted coke in class'

A US schoolteacher has been arrested on suspicion of snorting cocaine in front of the class she was teaching.

Two girls, aged nine and ten, said they saw Joan Donatelli, 59, dipping a pen cap into a plastic bag filled with white powder, then putting it to her nose.

Police confronted the substitute teacher at her home in Lewiston, New York, after finding traces of white powder in the classroom, reports Metro.

She handed over a small bag of powder and two pen caps and admitting to using cocaine in front of the children.

"She stated that she had a problem, that she had an addiction, something she's been struggling with," said Sergeant Frank Previte. The school confirmed that Donatelli used to teach at the school full time, but is now retired, and acts as a substitute.

Trouser-dropping tourist arrested

A German man has been arrested after he took off his trousers in the Philippines because he was annoyed by airport security.

Hans Jurgen Oskar von Naguschewski, 66, was arrested for lasciviousness, reports the BBC.

Von Naguschewski performed the impromptu strip after being asked to go through the X-ray machine twice at Manila airport.

Instead of boarding his flight to Frankfurt, he was detained by police and is due in court where he could face a sentence of between six months and six years in jail.

"He must have been annoyed that he was asked to walk through the X-ray twice so he took off his pants," airport security chief Angel Atutubo told local reporters.

Police Superintendent Atilano Morada said: "He actually didn't say much, unlike Filipino passengers who would talk a lot. "He was clearly irked and he showed it by disrobing."

Town scraps traffic signs

A German town has scrapped all its traffic signs as part of an EU backed project to encourage responsible driving.

Dutchman Hans Monderman, who is managing the "shared space" project in the German town of Bohmte, said: "A rural town should look like a rural town and not like the Nuerburgring racing track."

The town, which has 13,000 inhabitants - also now has no traffic signs.

Monderman added: "We divide traffic into cars, bikes and pedestrians, and believe that by removing the signs we raise awareness among road users for each other. The less rules there are, the higher the risk of accidents, but also it means drivers take more care."

The only two rules are to drive on the right, and the right-before-left priority at junctions.

"The only thing that I need to know when I drive to a city, is that I am in a city," Monderman said.

Ultimate Valentine's gift

A Hollywood film photographer has bought his girlfriend the ultimate Valentine's Day gift - a gift-wrapped house.

Jasin Boland used 5,000sq ft of wrapping and a 75ft-long ribbon to cover the £500,000 house for fiancée, Maria Moral Pena. Then he flew Miss Pena, 29, in by helicopter to see the four-bedroom waterfront home, reports the Daily Telegraph.

It took five workmen using two cherry-pickers three hours to wrap the house in monoperm, a synthetic fibre usually used for covering scaffolding.

The couple met three years ago on a film set in Berlin, where Miss Pena lives. Mr Boland proposed to her on the same spot last December.

The is on the eco-friendly Lower Mill Estate development at Cotswolds Water Park near Cirencester. Mr Boland set up the surprise by telling his fiancée they were going house hunting.

She said: "At first, in the helicopter, I didn't realise what was going on. When I saw the wrapped house, I thought it was a construction area. "Then when I saw the hearts, I was completely overwhelmed. He's just so cute."

The couple plan to marry and live permanently in Britain.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Hunters shoots washing machine

A German hunter hit a washing machine, electric drier and the wall before finally killing a wild pig that was on the rampage in a house.

The pig had run into the communal wash room of a house in Ketzerbachtal in Saxony, and started shredding sheets and clothing.

Attempts to drive it out of the house failed and hunter Walter Kopinger, 57 was called to kill the animal.

Because of the confined space he used a Magnum 357 rather than his rifle but still only managed to hit the animal after several shots.

Back garden burials

A Serbian man wants to turn his home into a church because so many of his neighbours and friends are buried in his back garden

Dragan Djordjevic, 53, from the southern village of Grbavce, applied for permission to register his garden as a cemetery so his mother could be buried there when she died ten years ago.

He said: "The nearest cemetery was too far away. I thought if I buried her in the back garden I could visit her grave more often, and save time.

"Then a neighbour asked if they could bury a relative there as I had permission, and now I have 70 neighbours and friends in my back garden."

He said he has now applied for permission to turn the house into a church, daily newspaper Glas Javnosti reported.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Divorce over pumpkin pie

A Russian man divorced his wife of 18 years after finding she had been feeding him cheap pumpkins instead of courgettes.

Ivan Dimitrov, 47, was devastated to find the pies he had been eating for six months were made of pumpkins and not courgettes. Mr Dimitrov, from Voronezh, said when he realised the truth, after finding pumpkin rinds in the bin, he immediately hired a lawyer to organise a quick divorce from wife Irena, 38.

He said: "She knows I absolutely hate pumpkins and she lied to me for months about it just because the pumpkins were cheap.

"What else has she been lying about? What man could trust a woman who fed him pumpkins for half a year?"

Philosopher to live in barrel

A Dutch philosopher is planning to live for a week in a barrel.

Eric Hoekstra wants to follow the example of the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes, reports GVA. Mr Hoekstra says he wants to prove that man doesn't need very much in order to be happy.

"Above all I want to bring the philosophy of the old Greeks back into the light," he said.

He will live in a 6ft wine barrel during a Philosophy Week of at Leeuwarden University from March 30 to April 7, apart from the occasional toilet break.

Pilot mistook road for runway

A pensioner attempting to land a plane on a road after mistaking it for the runway.

An accident report says he only noticed his mistake when he hit a speed bump, reports Sky News. The pilot believed he'd found the landing strip despite noticing "a kerb to the side and lamp posts to his left".

The 68-year-old, who has not been named, was an experienced private pilot who had clocked up more than 1,000 hours in the air.

However, he had flown for just four hours in the three months before the accident on August 24 2006 and only landed at the Shobdon Aerodrome three times before.

The accident happened during a solo flight from Coventry, the monthly bulletin from the Air Accidents Investigations Branch reports. "When close to touchdown, the pilot noticed that the airfield was different from what he remembered," it states.

"Shortly after touching down, the aircraft ran over a speed bump which caused it to veer left and leave the road." The plane's left wing hit a tree and its right was almost entirely sheared off after colliding with a lamppost.

The pilot managed to escape from wreck unscathed. The road, near Leominster, Herefordshire, was free of traffic as it had only just been built.

Personal subs launched

The world's first personal submarines have been launched with a price tag of £65,000.

Dutch designers claim the subs will make owners feel like they are "flying through the water".

The one-seater version is 9ft long, and the 11ft model seats two. Owners who really want to impress can get go-faster stripes and custom paint jobs. The tiny C-Quester can dive to 50 metres and cruise beneath the waves at up to four knots using electric-propelled thrusters.

It can stay underwater for two-and-ahalf hours straight or 36 hours in the event of an emergency.

The vessel's high-strength pressure hull allows the pilot to submerge in a totally dry cockpit and surface straight from the maximum depth without risk of decompression problems.

Makers U-Boat Worx, which took three years to perfect the subs, said: "Never before has it been possible for the public to explore the underwater world with a one-atmosphere submarine." But budding Jacques Cousteaus will need to get an underwater pilot's license before they get behind the wheel.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Hospital holds baby hostage

A Serbian hospital has refused to hand a newborn baby back to its mother until she pays her hospital fees.

Macedonian Senija Roganovic gave birth in the Neonatology Hospital in Belgrade two months ago. But her baby has been kept in the hospital ever since because she has not paid a £4,250 bill for a ten day stay.

She said she had no health insurance in Serbia, and had no way of raising the money to pay the hospital fees. Roganovic has reportedly fallen ill with worry over the fate of her child and has lost two stones in weight.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Man crossed river to avoid 'bank charges'

A Canadian rescued from a rubber raft in near-zero conditions told rescuers he was paddling to the US to avoid bank charges.

Wayne Kingwell, 40, ended up spending five hours on the Niagara River before he was rescued, reports Buffalo News. US Attorney Terrance P Flynn said investigators were trying to determine the validity of the bizarre explanation he gave.

He claimed he regularly crosses from his home in Fort Erie, Ontario, to Buffalo - using a small aluminum boat or the raft - to do his banking. "He said he was coming across the river to pay off the balance of his credit card," Flynn said.

Kingwell claimed he was charged an $85 fee if he mails the payment, so he crosses the river each month instead. There is a bridge - but Mr Kingwell claimed he was not allowed to use it because of a legal dispute with the Canadian government.

When he was rescued, authorities said, Kingwell was carrying more than $3,000 cash - enough to pay off a credit card bill that he really does owe.

Border Patrol spokesman Michael Przybyl said: "I was surprised that he'd try this on one of the coldest days of the year. "It's not the first time that this has happened. We've had attempted entries in the middle of winter. But this is the coldest that I can remember someone trying to cross on the water."

Serbian village to erect Rocky statue

A Serbian village is planning to erect a huge statue of Rocky Balboa because locals are fed up with only making the news when their village gets flooded.

The village of Zitiste has suffered regular heavy flooding and landslides in recent years, and has gained a disaster-prone reputation.

But authorities now want to unveil the statue using Rocky as a symbol of the "abilty to bounce back every time you are knocked down".

They have also asked for help from officials in the US city of Philadelphia, where a monument to Sylvester Stallone's film character already exists, local daily Kurir reported. A spokesman for the newly created Association of Rocky Balboa in the village said: "We want to create a new image of our village because up to now Zitiste has only ever been talked about when we have floods or disasters here.

"We thought long and hard about what would represent our new image, and we came up with Rocky Balboa. He is a character who never gives up and even when he looks to be beaten he picks himself up and wins through."

DJ dupes Asda

A radio joker tricked an Asda worker into announcing 'Tesco is cheaper' over the tannoy of a packed store.

A recording of the announcement is now sweeping the internet, reports the Sun.

The unknown DJ called the store asking for help finding his missing daughter 'Tess Cosis-Cheaper', who he said was inside. The customer service worker didn't spot the joke and immediately put out a call for the bogus girl - repeating her name twice.

Bosses at the store in Charlton, London, last night confessed they had no idea they had been duped.

Computer calamities

BT's Home IT Advisor service has revealed its quirkiest conversations with tech-hassled customers. Anthony Vollmer, head of home IT propositions at BT, told us: "Some of the calls we get from customers have certainly raised a smile."

They include:

Customer: "I keep getting inappropriate pop-ups on my computer and don't want my wife to think that it's me."
Advisor: "I will remove them for you."
Customer: "How do I get them back when she is not in?"

Advisor: "Press any key to continue."
Customer: "I can't find the 'Any' key."

Customer: "My mouse mat isn't wired up."
Advisor: "I'm not sure I understand, your mouse mat shouldn't have any wires."
Customer: "Well how does it know where my mouse is? Is it wireless?"

Customer: "I met a man on the internet, can you give me his phone number?"

Advisor: "You have spyware on your machine which is causing the problem."
Customer: "Spyware? Can they see me getting dressed through the monitor?"

Customer: "How do I change channel on my monitor?"
Advisor: "Your monitor won't have channels like a TV."
Customer: "But I was watching the internet channel the other day and now I just get the word processing channel."

Advisor: "Can you click on 'My Computer'?"
Customer: "I don't have your computer, just mine."

Customer: "My 14 year-old son has put a password on my computer and I can't get in."
Advisor: "Has he forgotten it?"
Customer: "No he just won't tell me it because I've grounded him."

Customer: "My iPod will only play one song."
Advisor: "Which other tracks have you downloaded from iTunes?"
Customer: "Do I need to download tracks?"

Customer: "My family in Australia use BT Softphone, I can see them but they can't see me."
Advisor: "What brand is your webcam?"
Customer: "What's a webcam?"

Monday, February 05, 2007

Soft porn for bus passengers

Bus passengers in Sofia are being shown soft porn films on giant video screens at night.

During the day the plasma screens in the Bulgarian capital show bus times, but the night shift now has the porn films on view.

A spokesman for the station management said: "We wanted to give the passengers something to take their minds off the cold and to pass the time while waiting for a bus, and there are unlikely to be children around that time of night."

The move however has angered many, including mothers with young children, who say the movies are a disgrace. They also claim the security guards have stopped patrolling for troublemakers, and spend their time watching the giant screens instead.

Prison turns away escaped convict

An escaped convict tried to give himself up - but was turned away from prison because he had no identity card.

Hakim Ghazouani, 24, had escaped from prison in Ghent, after a visit to the doctor last month.Police issued national warnings about Ghazouani who was in jail for robbery and drug dealing.

His solicitor, Nathalie Buisseret, persuaded him to turn himself in and accompanied him to a prison at Verviers.

But she said: "There we found he was denied access because he couldn't show his identity card. The warden told the man to come back later with his papers, which he did."

Verviers Prison director Pierre Detilloux said: "We never had seen the man before and we couldn't identify him. It would have been a scandal if we locked up the wrong person."

Postman caught with 10 tonnes of letters

A Mexican postman has been arrested after the police found 10 tonnes of undelivered letters in his house.

The postman, who cannot be named, had been keeping mail posted from Ciudad Juarez to the US hoping to find money.

Police officers found 1,100 bags filled with letters dating back to 1999 in his house.

A police spokesperson said: "We were tipped and folowing an investigation we searched his house and found all the unsent mail

"All the bags put together amount to over 10 tonnes but they will now be sent to their destination."

Police probe underwear

Police in a Wiltshire village have been trying to get to the bottom of an underwear mystery.

Around 30 pairs of knickers have been found draped over road signs and gravestones in Purton, near Swindon. No-one has reported the items as stolen and they all appear to be new and of quite good quality, reports the BBC.

Phil Elliott from Purton Police said: "If it's a practical joke and someone could just let us in on it, then that would be great." He said police had been recovering various pieces of women's underwear since November.

He added: "We don't know if it's a criminal offence or a prank. If it's a prank, please tell us."

Woman addicted to anti-smoking aid

A Plymouth woman says she's become addicted to the nicotine inhaler she used to help her give up smoking.

Gail Fedrick, 46, quit her 30-a-day habit a year ago thanks to the inhaler, reports the Daily Mirror.

But now she is spending more on cartridges for the Nicorette Inhalator than she did on cigarettes. And the mum-of-four has panic attacks unless she takes it with her at all times.

She said: "If the inhaler is not in my pocket I shake and panic. I am addicted to it now."

The instructions are to start with 12 nicotine cartridges a day then gradually reduce them. funnBut shop worker Gail, from Plymouth, is hooked on three cartridges a day, spending £40 a month - £8 more than she was spending on rolling tobacco.

Manufacturers Pfizer said: "When used as directed, there is a low dependence potential."

Mariah Carey fan banned from pub

A Southampton man has been banned from his local pub for playing Mariah Carey songs on the jukebox.

Landlord Roy Dann finally snapped and banned Jeff Donovan for playing his idol's songs 20 times a day - for six years.

Regulars at the Gordon Arms were particularly fed up with All I Want for Christmas which he played all year round, reports the Daily Mirror. Jeff, 35, who is single, said: "I love Mariah and listen to her over and over again, but other people obviously didn't share my musical taste.

"At the start when the landlord threatened to bar me I thought he was joking. All my mates drink there. I'm gutted. I don't want to find another local, I like this one."

Roy, 32, said: "To start with we found it amusing. I actually used to like Mariah before. But the other customers just had enough of listening to the same songs over and over again.

"I gave him plenty of warnings but he just laughed and told me the customer is always right. I don't care what he says now, he's not coming back into my pub."

Friday, February 02, 2007

Bull sperm hair treatment

A hairdresser is offering clients a new conditioning treatment made out of bull's semen.

The 45-minute treatment costs £55 and uses semen from Aberdeen Angus bulls on a farm in Cheshire. Hari's, in Knightsbridge, London, combines the sperm with the root of protein-rich plant katera, reports Metro.

The mixture is massaged into the client's hair after it has been shampooed. Then the customer is put under a steamer so the treatment penetrates the hair. Finally, it is blow-dried.

Salon owner Hari Salem said: "I have been searching for an organic product with a lot of protein because that is what hair is made of and lacks when it is dry.

"The semen is refrigerated before use and doesn't smell. It leaves your hair looking wonderfully soft and thick."

First hair wash for 26 years

An 80-year-old Chinese man has washed his hair for the first time in 26 years.

It took 12 people five hours to wash Luo Shiyuan's 6ft long hair and 5ft beard /Lu Feng

Shampoo had little effect on Luo Shiyuan's matted 6ft long hair and 5ft beard so the whole family pitched in with washing powder, reports Chongqing Morning Papers.

In all, it took 12 people - including his son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and neighbours - five hours and three family bags of washing powder.

When his hair was finally clean, locals in the remote mountain village of Red Flag, near Chongqing city, said they would try to get his name in the record books.

Jesus kits on sale

Vatican officals are said to be disgusted after Jesus fancy dress kits went on sale in Italy.

The £8.40 party pack also contains a plastic crown of thorns and a false beard. Vatican priest Father Vittorino Gorss said: "This is an insult and blasphemous to millions of believers."

One shopkeeper selling the kit in the build up to Lent said: "I can't see what the problem is. It's only a wig and beard."

Jag runs on apples

A Somerset farmer has converted his Jag so it runs on rotting apple fumes.

Henry Hobhouse, 52, who lives near Castle Cary, packs two underground tanks full of apples and collects the methane gas producted as they rot.

The 3-litre XJ6 saloon now runs on methane and costs around 40p a litre. Henry says the 145mph car gains 10% in power by running on compressed methane and still returns around 28mpg.

Mr Hobhouse said: "I'm an anorak on green issues. We've got to be taking responsibility for our own actions on a local level. "We are miles behind the rest of Europe as you can buy this sort of fuel around France, Germany and Italy."

He plans to install two small methane-making plants below ground at his farm at Hadspen.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Thief caught by false teeth

A suspected car thief was tracked down by police after he left his false teeth at the crime scene.

Police say Wojtek Lekowsky, 54, broke into a car in Czarna Dabrowka in northwest Poland and stole a stereo, but lost his teeth when he tried to make a quick getaway after the car alarm went off.

He was tracked down using dental records. Police charged him with robbery.

Police spokesman Roman Krakowiak said: "He tried to tell us that while the false teeth were his and they had been stolen from him, and he had not been anywhere near the car at the time of the theft. But we knew he is lying through his dentures."

Mozart bounces back after losing penis

An Iguana called Mozart is enjoying a healthy sex life again - despite losing his penis at the weekend.

Vets amputated Mozart's penis so he could walk again after suffering from a permanent erection that had put his health at risk.

A spokesman for the Aquatopia zoo in Belgium said: "It was bad for his heart. But as male iguana's have a second penis the operation has not affected Mozart's performance.

"He was returned to his mates, and it was clear from the first day his sex life has not been affected."

TV cartoon sparks terror alert

A promotion for a new TV cartoon show sparked a major security alert in the US city of Boston.

Major roads and bridges were closed off and bomb squads sent in as mystery objects with wires hanging from them were found.

The first device was found at a subway and bus station underneath Interstate 93, forcing police to shut down the station and road. Another was blown up by a bomb disposal squad.

Eventually Turner Broadcasting, the Cartoon Network's parent company, confessed that it was behind the confusion. The packages of harmless magnetic, blinking lights were part of a promotion for the TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Turner said they had been in place for two to three weeks in 10 US cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

"The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger," the company said. "We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger."