Slip sliding along…but just barely
A Springfield, Massachusetts, man who had shoplifted 75 bottles of body lotion, was caught by security guards because he had stuffed all 75 bottles in his pants and was so weighted down and awkward that he couldn’t even run. Police had to remove some of the bottles from his trousers before he could bend his knees enough to get in the police car
via CBS News.
ATTN Parkland Library Staff: World’s smallest library?
As both books and classic red phone booths are becoming a thing of the past, a village in Somerset, England has merged the two rare commodities.
The bright red old phone booth was purchased for just 1 pound and remodeled as the smallest library in the world. Residents line up to swap their already read books for new ones left by other patrons. Over 100 books and a variety of movies and music CDs are available at this tiny library.
Ghost monk walks on water…wait! What?
Ghost hunters (in Lincolshire, UK) say they have found evidence of spooks at Boston’s Swimming Pool.
Lincolnshire Paranormal Investigators spent a night at the Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex – and reckon they have discovered a monk-like male figure and a young girl haunting the halls.
The group – which included mediums and paranormal investigators – threw themselves in at the deep end, setting up cameras and sound equipment at the pool.
And they are so confident that what they found were ghosts that they are sending their evidence to TV program specializing in spectres.
More via Our Strange World.
Four buffaloes and a pig
A Malaysian court has fined a man and a woman four buffaloes and a pig after they were found guilty of an extra-marital affair, a local report says.
via BBC News
Maybe he should retake that course in Pastoral Counseling
The son of a well-known Alcoa (Tenn.)pastor has taken out an order of protection against his father, claiming he was threatened with a gun during an argument at a church over his lack of church attendance…
The younger man told police his father pulled out a handgun when they met at the church to discuss church attendance. He told officers his father pointed the gun at him and threatened to kill him, his wife and family.
Never too late for a new career
The FBI says the so-called “Geezer Bandit” has struck again in San Diego.
The FBI says a frail, elderly man gave a clerk a note demanding money and pulled a handgun Wednesday at San Diego National Bank. He left with an unspecified amount of cash.
PS: He has apparently stuck up at least five other banks.
At least he didn’t use a spork
A Pennsylvania man walked into a service station, pulled out a fork, and demanded money. It didn’t work and the cops arrested him a short time later.
Attention: We have your prosthetic ear and leg
Are you missing an artificial ear and prosthetic leg? Contact Russell Barnes at Alton Towers amusement park in the UK. They found them under an old rollercoaster destined to be dismantled shortly.
Whatever floats your goldfish…upside down
There is a goldfish, Horatio by name, that habitually swims on its’ back. According to its’ owner, the only time it turns right side up is to eat after which it turns over and swims on its’ back again.
Did I mention that the fish came from Australia?
Apparently rabbits like cherries…
A rabbit has become an unlikely regular at a Worcestershire pub where he enjoys nothing better than a sip of cider while playing the fruit machine.
Daisy, who is a male despite his name, was brought inside the Prince of Wales in Malvern by landlord Ian Randall to escape the cold weather.
Mr Randall, 29, said: “He’s quite an inquisitive rabbit, and he keeps on looking at the flashing lights and reaching up to have a go.
“The locals have to keep a careful watch where they stand when they’re having a flutter, because Daisy’s usually right behind them waiting to have a go himself.”
“Boy, 7, raises £80,000 for Haiti” Small boy, big results.
A seven-year-old boy from London who hoped to raise £500 for Haiti by a sponsored bike ride ended up raising more than £80,000.
Charlie Simpson, from Fulham, cycled five miles around South Park near his home to raise funds for Unicef’s earthquake appeal.
His call for support touched the hearts of people around the world after he put a message on the JustGiving website, reports the BBC.
And you thought clothes designers didn’t like women
Fashion designers recently went all out and put together a weird mix of creations for the China Fashion Week which was held in November 2009. A bi-annual event, the Fashion Week showcases the latest creations of prominent brand names as well as the works of the upcoming folk.
Canned Beer Turns 75 today
Be sure to crack open a cold one on Jan. 24, the day canned beer celebrates its 75th birthday.
New Jersey’s Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company churned out the world’s first beer can in 1935, stocking select shelves in Richmond, Va., as a market test. The experiment took off and American drinkers haven’t looked back since, nowadays choosing cans over bottles for the majority of the 22 gallons of beer they each drink per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
All is right in the world.
All is right in the world…tea sales are up in the UK after four decades of decline according to the Scotsman News.
“Tea experts believe young women are driving sales – up 3 per cent in 2009 – as they reject purse-emptying lattes, smoothies and bottled waters in favour of the brews their grannies enjoyed.”
via Scotsman.com News.
Amazing garden shed astronomical images
This post will depart somewhat from my usual content but I recently have come across some truly astonishing “amateur” astronomical images by Peter Shah of the UK. As you can see from the images, Mr. Shah is anything but an amateur.
The images were made through “…an ORION OPTICS UK AG8 Astrograph. A fully corrected 8 inch f3.8 Newtonian, mounted on a Losmandy G11 with Gemini computer.” Full details, plus an additional 26 images, can be found at the link below the picture which is of IC1318 in Cygnus.
Special thanks to Mr. Shah for his permission to display the picture here.















items. No blood or gore or fatal car accidents or fires or cameras stuck in the face of grieving parents or any of the other “news” that your TV proudly presents. There will be some occasional tech stuff but mostly just general interest items. Links back to my source can be found at the bottom left of each post. Go to those links. It will make the bloggers happy and encourage them to do more. Enjoy.
