Weird News

Softpaw · Postby **Softpaw** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 7:28 am

I find it rather hard to believe that WV of all places would make that illegal...

Ruedii-X · Postby **Ruedii-X** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 1:54 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (GhostWay @ Nov 22 2004, 11:02 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> <a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... ion_meteor' target='_blank'>"A meteor is coming and we're all going to die!"</a>  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> A meteor is coming and we're all going to die: teacher tells pupils LONDON (AFP) - A schoolteacher, attempting to motivate her pupils into making the most of each day, told them a meteorite was about to smash into the Earth and that they should all return home to say goodbye to their families. The teacher at the high school in Manchester, only realised her lecture was misjudged when many of the assembled teenagers started crying, The Sun newspaper said Friday. The unnamed female teacher made the announcement to around 250 pupils at St Matthew's Roman Catholic High School during their regular morning assembly. Saying she had bad news, the teacher announced that a meteor would strike the Earth in 10 days' time, and that they should return home and say their "final farewells" to their parents. After the crowd of 13- and 14-year-olds looked on in horror, and many burst into tears, the teacher swiftly explained that she was only trying to encourage them to "seize the day". "Some of the children were 100 percent convinced they were going to die," the father of one child told the paper. "God only knows what this teacher thought she was doing." </td></tr></table>  Some people these days...  </td></tr></table>  I would have questioned the size of the meteor. Needless to say, there have been at least 3 false alarms of ACTUAL metiors in the past decade, and meteors of significant size normally hit the earth on a regular basis, and burn up in the atmosphere. It has to do with angle of impact, speed, and size. Often when they first find a large object, they initially miscalculate it's trajectory due to not having enough data for the calculations, and having to use approximate numbers.

Ruedii-X · Postby **Ruedii-X** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 1:59 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (VisibilityMissing @ Dec 1 2004, 07:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> It's just so hard to release domestic dirt back into the wild these days.  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Dec 1, 9:35 AM EST Men Arrested for Dumping Dirt in a Forest COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) -- Two men have been arrested for dumping dirt in a national forest. The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department said the men, who have not been publicly identified, were arrested at a garage in Coeur d'Alene where the dirt had been removed and the base apparently prepared for paving. Deputy Robert Gomez said the U.S. Forest Service confirmed that it was illegal to dump anything, including dirt, on the federal land. Gomez said he asked the two men about dumping dirt in the national forest "and they went off on a tirade about Mother Earth." The deputy quoted the pair as saying they had taken "perfectly good dirt" from the garage area and dumped it under a big fir tree where they used rakes to spread the soil to make it look nice. "They both said it was a good job having given back the dirt to Mother Earth," Gomez said. </td></tr></table>  "I don't think those boys thought this through," Yup . . .  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Dec 1, 5:16 PM EST Five Charged With Stealing Mechanical Deer KINGWOOD, W.Va. (AP) -- Five young men were charged with stealing a Division of Natural Resources' mechanical deer after one left identifying information at the scene, leading police to a pickup truck where the robot deer's head was in plain sight. Officers found the deer's body hidden in a building at the Fellowsville baseball field. "I don't think those boys thought this through," Conservation Officer Cpl. Rich McCrobie said. Patrick Bolyard, 20; Terry J. Goff III, 19; Joe Thomas Haskiell, 21; Andrew T. Knotts, 16; and Thomas J. Shahan, 19, were charged Nov. 25 with stealing the mechanical deer on Nov. 21. All live in Tunnelton. DNR officers erected the deer about 75 yards from the road in the Fellowsville area where they'd had complaints of poaching the weekend before deer gun season began. "One vehicle came up and spotlighted. We pursued it, and another came by and took the deer," Conservation Officer 1st Class Gary Johnson said. Goff pleaded no contest to petit larceny, destruction of property, spotlighting and failure to stop and check game. Magistrate Diane Thomas sentenced him to 14 days in jail plus fines and costs totaling $1,244. Of that, $600 is restitution for the mechanical deer. Thomas levied 10 days jail time and a total of $744 in fines and costs against Bolyard for his no contest plea to conspiracy to violate game laws, hunting from a motor vehicle, spotlighting and failure to stop and check game. Chief Magistrate Janice Snider sentenced Shahan to 14 days in jail and a total of $1,244, including $600 restitution, for his no contest plea to spotlighting, petit larceny, conspiracy to violate game laws and destruction of property. Snider ordered Knotts to pay $577 for tickets charging him with hunting without a license, hunting from a motor vehicle, spotlighting and conspiracy to violate game laws. A conviction for spotlighting also results in automatic revocation of hunting licenses for two years. Haskiell had not entered a plea in Magistrate Court by Tuesday. He is charged with destruction of property, petit larceny, spotlighting and conspiracy to violate game laws. --- Information from: The Dominion Post, <a href='http://www.dominionpost.com' target='_blank'>http://www.dominionpost.com</a> </td></tr></table>   </td></tr></table>  Actually covering those pine neddles on the ground is horendess to the ballance of that forest. The people were just too lazy to find a buyer for solid fill. Or worse, the ground was actually contaminated with motor oil or gasoline, and they would have to pay for disposal of the soil.

Muninn · Postby **Muninn** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:38 pm

Ruedii-X, concerning the meteor; in general when you tell someone a meteor is going to crash they don't take is as a small one because like a flood or volcano it conjures images of great destruction. No matter how much common knowledge the abundance of meteor's becomes (like the thousands of earthquakes that happen everyday) people will understand it as one of great destructive potential unless previously stated.

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 5:00 am

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (Ruedii-X @ Dec 2 2004, 07:59 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'>  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (VisibilityMissing @ Dec 1 2004, 07:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> It's just so hard to release domestic dirt back into the wild these days. </td></tr></table>  Actually covering those pine neddles on the ground is horendess to the ballance of that forest. The people were just too lazy to find a buyer for solid fill. Or worse, the ground was actually contaminated with motor oil or gasoline, and they would have to pay for disposal of the soil. </td></tr></table>  Thanks for the info Ruedii-X. Sorry if my deadpan humor went over your head, but I was being facetious. My guess was that the dirt was contaminated with something. Recommendation: Don't try that at home. Oil and gasoline can make lots of stuff dead. Goodnight all.

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 5:08 am

"It's not funny at all." No comments on this one. It speaks for itself . . . outhouse tipping anyone?  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Serial Toilet Tipper Still on the Loose DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) -- A portable bathroom prankster has plagued building sites in Dothan, tipping over about 50 of the unsecured toilets, police said. The tipper has struck at construction sites in upscale subdivisions around Dothan, leaving portable toilet vendors to clean up the mess. "It's not funny at all," said Kelly Powell, co-owner of Portable Toilet Services in Dothan, which has 400 rental toilets and three people to service them. "It's pretty cut and dried: They turn them over and we have to go clean it up. It's very time-consuming." Dothan Police Capt. John Givens admitted that he chuckled at the first few tippings, until the pranks became a more disgusting problem. "There are additional problems if it lands door-down," Given said. "If it leaks out, there is no ventilation. It gets really nasty in there." Police have stepped up patrols around the building sites, which seems to be helping; only two tippings were reported since last weekend, when the bulk of them occurred. Authorities suspect a teenager or group of kids may be responsible, since a portable toilet can weigh between 220 and 400 pounds. Powell and Givens estimated each damaged toilet costs $150 in time, energy and repairs, plus the drain on police resources. --- Information from: The Birmingham News</td></tr></table>

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 11:48 pm

Don't mess with Union Pacific . . .  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Trespassers on rail tracks face sticky thicket By Virginia Groark Tribune staff reporter Published December 5, 2004 Using a relatively simple method to fight a potentially deadly problem, Union Pacific will plant hundreds of prickly rose bushes and barberries along its North Line this week to prevent trespassers from crossing its tracks. Racing against Mother Nature's wintry wrath and a year-end deadline to spend federal funds, Union Pacific crews will dig holes in Highland Park and Lake Forest for 300 bushes that will be put along stretches of track near the municipalities' high schools. The $6,500 in plantings are thanks to a federally funded pilot program that the Illinois Commerce Commission hopes will create an effective and aesthetically pleasing solution to a deadly problem: trains hitting pedestrians crossing the tracks. While it appears to be a simple task, implementing it was no easy matter. Officials spent months consulting with botanists and railroad officials to pick the right shrub and the best places to plant them. Ultimately, officials chose barberries and the white, pink and purple flowering rugosa rose bushes for their hardiness, height and most importantly, dense thorny branches that should be a menace to trespassers. "You can feel it even through the pants," said Chip Pew, rail safety specialist for the ICC, who experienced the shrub's prickly wrath while counting them. "Not only do they scratch you, but some of the needles come off and get in your clothes. "These things almost look like a hairy branch, there are so many little spines," he said. The plantings will cap a year of several high-profile incidents of trains striking and killing pedestrians, including several children. While one of those incidents was a suicide and another happened at a train station, they were enough to prompt Metra to launch an educational campaign last spring and spend tens of thousands more this fall to try to keep children from crossing tracks in illegal places. They also sparked discussions between ICC, Metra, Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe to determine what else could be done about trespassing, a common occurrence when people try to save time. In the past, agencies have tried to deter behavior by working with law enforcement to ticket trespassers. In some cases, Metra has erected fences. But installing MEHTUL fencing along 11,000 miles of track in the state is not only cost prohibitive, it's not effective because people will quickly cut holes through it, said Pew, who also is state coordinator for Illinois Operation Lifesaver, a rail safety program. So officials came up with another idea: thorn bushes. It's not the first time shrubs have been planted along tracks to stop crossings. Union Pacific did a similar program in the Milwaukee area in the late 1970s, according to railroad spokesman Gene Hinkle. But it appears to be a first in the Chicago region, which has a high concentration of grade crossings. Pew consulted with plant experts at the Chicago Botanic Garden to choose the right shrubs, which needed to grow in wind-blown, dirt-poor, rocky areas around train tracks that receive only natural water. The shrubs also needed to look nice. Because the federal funds won't be available after Dec. 31, Pew needed to find the shrubs quickly, no easy matter in November when most retailers are ordering more holiday wreaths than rose bushes. Tony Fulmer, retail manager of Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, said he was a "little surprised" by Pew's call. "I assumed it was not a standard homeowner request," he added, noting "these were barrier plants that were definitely not things that are going to be people-friendly." But Fulmer was able to order the shrubs, which have been sitting in Pew's Highland Park driveway and raising a few eyebrows. "My neighbor did come out and say, `My God. What are you undertaking here?'" Pew said. Union Pacific expects to pick them up this week. Fulmer said the mild temperatures will help planting because the ground is not yet frozen. About 180 shrubs will be planted along 500 feet of track in Lake Forest, Pew said. Another 120 will go in Highland Park near its high school. If there are any left over, Union Pacific would like to plant them along its West Line tracks in Villa Park, Hinkle said. The initiative also will include erecting signs warning trespassers and educational outreach at the two high schools. Pew said the railroads and the ICC should know within the next 12 to 24 months whether it makes sense to expand the program. "We're as curious as anyone to see if it's effective," he said. Copyright 2004, Chicago Tribune </td></tr></table>

Steve the Pocket · Postby **Steve the Pocket** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:14 am

<a href='http://www.world-cnn.com/2004/WORLD/ame ... index.html' target='_blank'>Well, it's happened.</a> I, for one, have only one thing to say about this: GOTCHA!!! Look closely at the address bar. That's a hyphen, not a period. When I first saw this I wasn't sure either until I saw the Dick Cheney quote. Then I knew it was a phony. I admire the guy's web authoring skills though!

Richard K Niner · Postby **Richard K Niner** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:20 am

Even if the hyphen was a dot, www.world.cnn.com isn't an actual site either. Also, wouldn't www.world.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas... be a bit redundant?

Henohenomoheji · Postby **Henohenomoheji** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 2:23 am

That's a mean trick... giving false hope to the people... OTOH, it's sure to screw up the minds of the majority of Americans until they find out it's a hoax... ...If they do...

Gizensha · Postby **Gizensha** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 2:51 am

..if only it wasn't <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... ns/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' />

Richard K Niner · Postby **Richard K Niner** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 1:54 am

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Calif. Man Has 1,497 Valid Credit Cards PISMO BEACH, Calif. - The man known as "Mr. Plastic Fantastic" has great credit. So great, in fact, that it takes a wallet nearly as long as a football field to carry his credit cards. Walter Cavanagh owns 1,497 valid credit cards (he assumes a card is valid until he hears otherwise) with a potential credit line of about $1.7 million. The retired real estate broker, who lives in the small San Luis Obispo County community of Shell Beach, said his collecting began with a bet more than three decades ago. He and a friend were sitting in his apartment in 1969 and bet who could collect the most credit cards. The loser would buy dinner. Cavanagh managed to obtain 143 cards in a year and got a rib-eye steak dinner. He also caught the plastic bug. He has become so good at collecting the cards that he has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, which gave him his nickname. He also holds the title for the world's longest wallet a 38-pound monster that is 250 feet long and can hold 800 cards. Most of his collection is kept in bank safe deposit boxes, however. His cards include antiques in paper and aluminum. A number are from long-defunct department stores, gas stations and bars. They come from as far away as Germany and Spain. "Most cards are from such obscure places, you've never heard of them," Cavanagh said Tuesday. One treasure is a sterling silver credit card offering "unlimited credit privileges" from the Mapes Hotel, the first hotel-casino in Reno, Nev. It closed in 1982. "Maybe they gave out too many," Cavanagh joked. He said the only company that ever denied him a card was the JJ Newberry department store chain in the early 1970s. "They said I had too much credit," he said. "And to this day I don't have a Newberry's card in my collection."</td></tr></table>  <a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... _fantastic' target='_blank'>Now that's a lot of plastic</a>!  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> ATM gives customers Canadian Tire money MONCTON - A CIBC cash machine started dispensing Canadian Tire money at a mall outside of Moncton, N.B. Kayla Peters, 16, said she was shocked when she withdrew $60 on Nov. 29. She received two $20 bills and two $2 bills in Canadian Tire money. The ATM spat out Canadian Tire bills ranging from 10 cents to $2. "I just stood there for a second wondering what I should do, but then I heard some other people talking about it and it turned out I wasn't the only one." Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce officials say four people have been reimbursed for the mistake. "It clearly must have come in from maybe some of our business customers who package up their own cash," said Rob McLeod, spokesperson for the bank. "We're still tracking down exactly what the source was." McLeod says CIBC has confiscated the fake money as part of its investigation. The ATM spat out 11 Canadian Tire bills in denominations ranging from 10 cents to $2. "It appears to be a very isolated incident," said McLeod. It's the second recent embarrassment to involve CIBC. Last week, a junkyard owner in West Virginia revealed he was suing CIBC because it failed to stop faxing him private financial information about its clients. The bank said it knew about the problem and thought it had been fixed in 2002. CIBC has ordered its employees to stop using the bank's internal fax system to send customer information between offices.</td></tr></table>  <a href='http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national ... 41201.html' target='_blank'>And that's a lot of paper</a>! That bank is having a really bad week, I guess... <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... /laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' />

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 2:05 am

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Dec 6, 10:13 AM EST Ohio Church Collapses After Sun. Service CINCINNATI (AP) -- The walls of a church fell about 90 minutes after the last of Sunday's worshippers left, causing the roof to drop onto the pews and pulpit, officials said. Pastor Carl McMullen and his family were the last to leave the Zion Hill Baptist Church at 1:40 p.m. Sunday and got the call about the collapse an hour and a half later. About 50 people had attended Sunday's service. "Lord, have mercy - can you believe it?" said the pastor's wife, Debra McMullen. "It's just a blessing that no one was inside." The church sometimes has afternoon services and lunch, but not on Sunday. Fire District Chief Anson Turley said he did not see steel reinforcements within the building's cinder blocks. Members who noticed some ceiling tiles had fallen said they talked about calling the city's buildings and inspections department Monday. "God must be telling us it's time to move," said Jerry Givens, a member for 30 years. "And that's what we'll do." 2004 The Associated Press</td></tr></table>

Richard K Niner · Postby **Richard K Niner** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:27 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> 'Go Canadian' for stress-free vacation, company advises Last Updated Tue, 07 Dec 2004 13:42:18 EST ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - An American T-shirt company says its "Go Canadian" package is the perfect solution for U.S. travellers weary of dealing with questions on politics while on vacation. Billed as "the perfect gag gift for that friend that wants to move to Canada," T-shirtKing.com's package will provide a "complete disguise" for $24.95 US. It includes a T-shirt showing the flag and the words "O Canada," a flag lapel pin and sticker, and a maple leaf patch for luggage or backpacks. It also comes with a quick reference guide called "How to Speak Canadian, Eh?!" to help people answer any questions about Canada while travelling. According to the guide, "Wayne Gretzky" is an appropriate answer to any sports question, hockey is the only real sport in Canada, and Hogtown means Toronto, while Cowtown means Calgary. Bill Broadbent, the president of the New Mexico-based company, said the idea grew out of a joke, after one of his colleagues heard someone complaining about being grilled over American politics while overseas. Broadbent says the packages have found a niche market. "This is purchased primarily by Republicans giving them to their Democratic friends," said Broadbent. He says Republican buyers account for about 70 per cent of the couple hundred 'Go Canadian' package sales. Written by CBC News Online staff</td></tr></table>  <a href='http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/ ... 41207.html' target='_blank'>Anybody want one?</a>

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:46 am

Ahh think Ih'll hafe suhm mohr jhello, pleashe . . . It's the evil music and television, I tell you.  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Girl, 8, in jam for suspected Jell-O shots Associated Press Published December 8, 2004 NEW ORLEANS -- An 8-year-old girl was suspended for nine days for bringing to school what appeared to be about 30 "Jell-O shots"--though it was unclear whether they contained alcohol. The incident occurred Nov. 29, as the girl stood outside Geraldine Boudreaux Elementary School in Terrytown, a New Orleans suburb. A teacher spotted liquid dripping out of the student's book bag and found what looked like the small cups of alcohol-laced gelatin sold in bars, school spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said. The girl told the principal that her mother, who works in a bar, makes alcoholic shots at home and sells them at work. The fourth-grader said her mother had instructed her to take the shots to school and sell them, three for $1, to make some money for Christmas, Nowakowski said. The gelatin was turned over to the sheriff's department for testing to see if it contained alcohol. The girl was suspended for violating school rules against possessing or trying to distribute a "lookalike," or something that appears to contain drugs or alcohol. The names of the girl and her mother were not released. Copyright 2004, Chicago Tribune </td></tr></table>

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