Weird News

[Zaaphod]

Thirsty in Rome? I hope you get your loan application approved....

Rome tourist parched after $1,200 beer

Wed May 3, 11:27 AM ET

ROME (Reuters) - He had heard Rome was expensive but nothing prepared the Hong Kong tourist for a 990 euro ($1,251) beer.

The unwary visitor received the bumper bar bill for a drink sipped near Rome's most famous street, Via Veneto, where beers usually cost as much as 10 euros, Rome mayor's office said.

The tourist, who was traveling alone, was invited to the bar by a tout who served him a beer and then said it would cost him 990 euros. He bartered it down to 490 euros, but the bar owner ended up taking 990 euros off his credit card anyway.

"When the bill arrived I thought it was safer to pay it. I was scared something could happen to me if I didn't," the man, whose name was withdrawn, told Rome mayor's office that is investigating the crime.

The tourist, who is from Hong Kong but lives in Germany and has a British passport, tried to report the fraud to the police but said he could not make himself understood because no one spoke English.

Tourists to Rome have surged in the past five years -- visitors were up 60 percent in April compared with a year ago

-- but the unwary can find the Eternal City's charms obscured by the fight to get a fair price.

Most visitors have tales of rip offs by bar, restaurant and hotel owners but they often pale beside stories of taxi drivers who can charge hundreds of euros for trips from the airport and then dump those who refuse to pay by the side of the motorway.

[DesertFoxCat]

Giant rock growing in Mount St. Helens' crater

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- If the skies are clear as forecast, volcano watchers who turn out for the reopening of the Johnston Ridge Observatory on Friday will get a spectacular view of a hulking slab of rock that's rapidly growing in Mount St. Helens' crater.

It's jutting up from one of seven lobes of fresh volcanic rock that have been pushing their way through the surface of the crater since October 2004.

The fin-shaped mass is about 300 feet tall and growing 4 feet to 5 feet a day, said Dan Dzurisin, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

The rock in the crater began growing last November, steadily moving west and pushing rock and other debris out of its way as it goes.

Mount St. Helens, located in the Cascades of Washington, has been quietly erupting since a flurry of tiny earthquakes began in late September 2004. Scientists initially mistook the quakes as rainwater seeping into the hot interior of the older lava dome.

But it soon became clear that magma was on the move, confirmed by the emergence of fire-red lava between the old lava dome and the south crater rim a few weeks after the seismic activity began.

The volcano has continued pumping out lava ever since. Eventually, scientists expect the volcano will rebuild its conical peak that was obliterated in the May 18, 1980 eruption that left 57 people dead.

The current growth of the new lava dome has been accompanied by low seismicity rates, low emissions of steam and volcanic gases and minor production of ash, the USGS said.

"Given the way things are going now, there's no hint of any sort of catastrophic eruptions," USGS geologist Tom Pierson said. "At any time, however, things can change."

Scientists flew a helicopter into the crater late last week to adjust equipment and take photographs that will likely be used to determine just how much the new lava dome has grown the last several months.

The Johnston Ridge Observatory, which closes down every winter, is the closest observatory to the 8,364-foot peak. It is named after David A. Johnston, a volcanologist killed in the 1980 eruption. It sits about five miles north of the mountain and offers the closest views of the volcano's horseshoe-shaped crater.

I think I know where I'm going over the summer.

[Zaaphod]

Not sure what to get Mom for Mother's Day? How about some Botox....

A new wrinkle in gifts for Mom and Dad

Mon May 8, 8:51 AM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans traditionally used to say it with flowers or money, but now more are showing love and respect to their parents by giving mom and dad coupons for cosmetic surgery.

Local media has reported a boom in orders this year for botox treatments, face lifts and hair transplants to mark Parents' Day Monday.

Cosmetic surgery clinics in Seoul said they have been booked solid for weeks with appointments made by children for their parents.

Using surgery to ehance looks is common in
South Korea, with few stigmas attached to having procedures done to make eyes rounder, noses more shapely and even calves slimmer.

Many parents pay for cosmetic surgery for their children as a graduation gift and it has become more common in recent years for children to return the favor.

"Appointments for procedures for Parents' Day have increased by over 50 percent from five years ago," said Lim Ee-seok, the president of the Theme Dermatology Clinic, a large cosmetic surgery facility in Seoul.

The most sought-after procedures at the clinic are botox injections, which range from 300,000 won to 600,000 won ($322 -$645) and surgery to remove wrinkles.

"Parents who have always sacrificed for their children are now more bold in asking for what they want," the Herald Business newspaper said in a story it carried on the subject.

Lee Shin-ja's children gave her a coupon for laser surgery to remove liver spots from her face.

"I never thought my children would do this," Lee, 62, said by telephone. "I am really happy they did because I look much younger now."

[Niko123000]

My mom would be horrified! come to think of it... just about any mom would...

[Zaaphod]

Soccer isn't merely a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that.

Insurer offers policy for World Cup "sick days"

Wed May 10, 8:52 AM ET

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch insurer is offering employers in the country the chance to insure themselves against the sudden rise in staff sick days expected during next month's soccer World Cup.

Tens of thousands of Dutch workers phoned in ill during the European Championships in Portugal in 2004, with sickness levels rising 20 percent on days when the Dutch national side played.

"We are expecting a lot of claims," said Dennis Massaar of insurer SEZ.

Under Dutch law, companies must pay employees who are too ill to report to work. They can insure themselves against this, but most policies apply only to absences longer than two weeks.

SEZ said it would waive the usual two-week time limit and pay out for any employees absent on the day of a Netherlands match or the day after, regardless of the excuse given.

"Obviously nobody will phone in and say they're ill because they want to watch the match or because they drank too much."

[VisibilityMissing]

The Amish are missing some manure . . . the fiendish Green Thumb is suspected

May 11, 9:28 PM EDT

Missing Manure Mystifies Middlefield

MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio (AP) -- A case of missing manure in this Amish community has a village street cleaner so upset that she reported the messy poop pilferer to police.

It seems that someone, perhaps a home gardener, is taking manure droppings from hitching rail posts outside stores in Middlefield, located about 30 miles east of Cleveland.

The hitching posts are a common site in the Amish country of Geauga County and are used by Amish to secure their buggy horses while they shop.

Lisza Wright, who gets paid $25,000 a year by Middlefield to clean the three dozen hitching rail areas daily, told police last month that someone has been taking manure, with the manure left behind getting spread out and packed down, making her job harder.

Police Chief Joe Stehlik suspects a gardener looking for fertilizer.

[Tum0spoo]

*Must find Weird Al~Amish Paradise video...

Still searching for download, but here:
bad link:
http://www.whoomp.com/articles/162/1/We ... h-Paradise
better link:
http://www.yikers.com/video_amish_paradise_video.html
Best Link w/ downlaod:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... q=weird+al

[Spray]

New Zealand is not for sale!

Online auction site eBay rules that New Zealand not for sale

SYDNEY, Australia -- New Zealand is not for sale, despite somebody in neighboring Australia trying to offload the nation of 4 million to the highest online bidder.

With a starting offer of just one cent, brisk bidding for the prime chunk of South Pacific real estate quickly boosted the price to 3,000 Australian dollars (US$2,330) before eBay pulled the plug on the auction this week.

"Clearly New Zealand is not for sale," eBay Australia spokesman Daniel Feiler told the New Zealand Press Association, adding that 22 bids had been made before the company acted.

"It is mostly household items we have for sale, but there are the occasional quirky items put up," he added. "We have a look at them and if they are OK we leave them, but if it is something that can't be sold, we take them off."

The trader has not been named, but apparently was unimpressed with the country he was trying to sell.

The rivalry between the two countries is intense and in his advertisement the man said New Zealand had "very ordinary weather." (AP)

[Zaaphod]

Hello, Moto! *KA-BOOM!*

Worry over mobile phone explosions

Sun May 14, 1:14 PM ET

SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - At least five mobile phones have exploded over the last two months in Brazil, causing anxiety among phone users and making news headlines.

The incidents, representing only a fraction of the 89 million phones in circulation in Brazil, all involved Motorola phones. The company said it was investigating and Brazil's telecommunication agency is pursuing the case as well.

In the most recent incident on April 30, the 34-year-old victim in Formosa, Goias state, had surgery for burns on her thighs and arms. She was driving with the phone in her lap when it exploded.

Other accidents since the beginning of April were reported in Rio de Janeiro and three cities in Sao Paulo state.

Motorola said the probable cause of the explosion was that the owners used non-original or low-quality batteries.

"We are having a strong campaign to alert users not to buy accessories which are not original. It's very common for people to do this in markets or non-authorized stores," Motorola spokeswoman Samantha Simon said last week.

[Niko123000]

You guys hear about the time A cell phone blew up a gas station? I swear its a true story! [/urban myth]

[VisibilityMissing]

What's wrong with that assignment?

Teacher Regrets Murderous Essay Assignment

By Associated Press
Published May 15, 2006, 5:49 AM CDT

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A high school teacher has apologized for asking students to write about who they would kill and how they would do it, and officials said he will likely keep his job.

Michael Maxwell, who teaches industrial technology at Central High School, said his request that students in his beginning drafting class describe how they would carry out a murder was merely a writing prompt. It was not clear why he asked the drafting class to write fiction.

"I made a horrible mistake that I regret," Maxwell said. "I want to apologize to my students, my colleagues and to the community."

The April 21 writing request, which Maxwell said was not a formal assignment, came to the attention of administrators when a parent of one of the students filed a complaint with Principal Barton Albright.

Albright expressed regret and apologized for Maxwell's "lapse of judgment."

"He's an exemplary person ... this is very out of character," the principal said.

St. Joseph School District spokesman Steve Huff declined to discuss possible disciplinary measures because the matter is considered a personnel issue. But he said the incident probably isn't serious enough to cost Maxwell his job.

About 25 to 30 students from ninth through 12th grades were in the class, Albright said.

[Llewthepoet]

Try telling that to your parents!

[Niko123000]

hmm... who I would kill and how i would do it...

Me + = No More

[Llewthepoet]

You shouldn't make it so obvious that you are attacking the president. Satire is a witty way to make it less obvious and is a little bit funnier.

[Tum0spoo]

In all seriousness, Planning a murder could be an excellent way to test one's drafting ability. Knowing how to strike, when, and how to leave no evidence. That takes serious skill.