The Odd Truth, April 22, 2005

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Joey Arak.

Crook Caught In Chimney

RENO, Nev. - An alleged burglar was busted when he got stuck in a chimney and began yelling for help.

A neighbor on Lake Tahoe's north shore in Kings Beach, Calif., called authorities Wednesday night when he heard screams coming from the house next door. The home's residents were away on vacation.

Sheriff's deputies and a fire rescue team found Jose Francisco Martinez, 19, wedged halfway down the chimney. He apparently had been stuck for about two hours, said Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Whigam on Thursday.

Martinez suffered minor scrapes and did not require medical attention, Whigam said.

Authorities were forced to dismantle half the chimney brick by brick to free Martinez, doing about $20,000 damage in the process, Whigam said.

Martinez was charged with burglary and held on $25,000 bail.

A Private Matter

WINONA, Minn. - The off-Broadway hit "The Vagina Monologues" has gotten two high school students into trouble.

The students were admonished for wearing buttons inspired by the show that say "I (heart) My Vagina."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has offered to help students fight any consequences from their actions.

The trouble started last month after student Carrie Rethlefsen saw Eve Ensler's play about female sexuality and sexual violence against women. Rethlefsen and fellow student Emily Nixon soon began wearing the buttons.

"We can't really find out what is inappropriate about it," Rethlefsen, 18, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "I don't think banning things like that is appropriate."

As a show of support, more than 100 students have ordered T-shirts bearing "I (heart) My Vagina" for girls and "I Support Your Vagina" for boys.

Principal Nancy Wondrasch said some in school find the buttons offensive.

"We support free speech," she said. "But when it does infringe on other people's rights and our school policies, then we need to take a look at that."

Shake 'N Fake

LONDON - Authorities in the art world say one of the best-known portraits of William Shakespeare is a fraud.

The picture has been widely reproduced and is often printed on the covers of Shakespeare plays. The work shows the Bard gazing out at an angle and wearing a wide white collar.

Experts at Britain's National Portrait Gallery now say the likeness was painted about 200 years after Shakespeare's death. A museum curator said chrome yellow paint from about the year 1814 was found embedded deeply in the picture

Many art authorities had long suspected that the painting, known as the "Flower" portrait, was done much more recently than the 1609 date on the image. The work is similar to another Shakespeare image, which appeared with the very first folio publication of his works.

Bad Haircut Prompts Shooting

RICHLAND, Wash. - Police say a woman unhappy with her haircut held up a hair salon in Richland, Washington, and shot out the window of her stylist's car.

Police say the woman with no criminal history was a dissatisfied customer of the "Stage One" salon.

The owner says employees thought she wanted to make another appointment when she walked in, but instead, she pulled a gun and demanded 100 dollars.

As she left, she allegedly fired a shot through the rear window of her stylist's car and tossed the gun through the shattered glass.

Fifteen minutes later, police say she walked into another salon and asked for a trim, saying she had had a bad cut. Witnesses say she talked calmly about her grandkids before police arrived and arrested her.

Hookers Ruin Pilots' Naps

LOS ANGELES - Airline pilots will have to find a new place to snooze. For years, airline flight crews have been parking RV's at LAX for catnaps. But officials at Los Angeles International Airport say the RV parking lot has become a public nuisance. Outsiders have set up camp there, complete with barbecues and lawn gnomes. Airport police say some hookers are even operating out of the RV's. Officials have given the RV owners until July 1 to clear out. Bill Baxter, American Airlines' chief pilot at LAX, keeps a motor home in the lot. He says the airline people are being punished for problems they haven't caused. Airport officials say they're willing to look at alternatives for flight crews who need to catch some "Zs."

Stripper Art Goes Unappreciated

BOISE, Idaho - Chris Teague's attempt at art appreciation isn't being appreciated in Boise, Idaho. He's the owner of the Erotic City strip club. Authorities charge that Teague tried to skirt Boise's public nudity ban by holding art nights at his club. Patrons were given pens and paper and were encouraged to sketch the exotic dancers. Teague claimed on art nights, his club was an artist studio and not covered by the nudity ordinance. Teague has now been charged with three misdemeanor counts of aiding and abetting his dancers to break the city code.