The Odd Truth

Horse's Ass On The Ballot; A Full Tank Of Grass; Undead Theme Park

(CBS)  The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum. A new collection of stories is published each weekday. On weekends, you can read a week's worth of The Odd Truth.

Sounding Off On A Horse's Ass

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington voters may get to sound off on whether initiative guru Tim Eyman is "a horse's ass."

David Goldstein, a Seattle computer programmer and technical writer, is pushing an initiative that says "The citizens of the state of Washington do hereby proclaim that Tim Eyman is a horse's ass."

Eyman said he thinks the idea is hilarious, and should garner publicity for his own latest initiative.

"It's stupid and there is no reason in the world why people should be able to put an initiative like this on the ballot," Goldstein said in a telephone interview Thursday night.

"Any schmoe can go to Olympia and pay $5 and file an initiative. I'm the schmoe who did it this week. Whoever claimed I had any credibility? I wrote an initiative about a guy being a horse's ass."

Goldstein told The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane his stunt is "a type of political theater." After the newspaper ran the story Thursday, talk radio picked it up and Goldstein's phone was swamped all day.

Tax rebel Eyman is the state's leading initiative sponsor. Voters have approved at least one of his initiatives each year for the past four years, starting with $30 car license tabs in 1999.

Full Tank Of Grass And Nowhere To Go

CARLSBAD, N.M. — A sheriff's deputy who assisted two women and five children in a van after it ran out of gas here found there wasn't enough room in the tank because it was full of marijuana.

Eddy County sheriff's deputy Kelly Calicoat was dispatched to a location near the New Mexico-Texas state line Wednesday to help a motorist who ran out of gas.

Calicoat arrived to find the women and children had been given some fuel. He decided to follow them to ensure they had enough to reach Carlsbad, Bobby Sullivan of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force said Thursday.

Calicoat stopped the van after the driver exceeded the posted speed limit.

Calicoat contacted the drug task force after speaking with the women and becoming suspicious.

The agents found a concealed compartment in the gas tank containing 72 pounds of marijuana. They also seized $700 in cash.

The compartment significantly reduced the van's fuel capacity, Sullivan said.

Gummi Bears Clog Septic System

HOBART, Ind. - Gummi Bears have lived up to their name and gummed up an Indiana candy maker's septic system.

Albanese Nut and Candy Factory in Hobart says every factory produces wastewater. But apparently some Gummi Bears wound up in theirs.

The company says it found out about the septic system failure from the county health department.

It has agreed to pump out the failed system until the factory can hook up to a sanitary sewer line that's supposed to be installed by year's end.

The company can make 35,000 pounds of Gummi Bears a day. It's the smallest of seven companies in North America making the rubbery candy.

Grab Your Toilet Lids And Hold On Tight

CONCONULY, Wash. - Grab your privy and start pushing -- it's time for the annual outhouse races. Folks in Conconully, Washington, will be getting out of the house tomorrow -- and into their outhouses for the 20th running of the rather strange event. The homemade outhouses are on skis, with one person inside -- sitting -- and two people outside, pushing. All competitors have to wear helmets for the dash down Main Street. There are a number of divisions: for men, women, kids and seniors. And if pushing an outhouse isn't bizarre enough, there's the bucket race. The pushers have to wear buckets on their heads, with the outhouse sitter shouting directions.

Dead Man Voting

BATON ROUGE, La. - In a state infamous for political chicanery it has become a well-worn joke: Even the dead can vote in Louisiana.

The new punchline: Soon, it may even be legal — at least in a few rare cases.

A Louisiana law in effect at least since 1921 says if a person casts an absentee ballot, then dies before election day, the vote doesn't count.

State Sen. Reggie Dupre says that isn't fair.

"If someone casts a ballot, whether at the polls or absentee, their vote should count," he said Thursday. After all, he added, if someone has a heart attack walking out of the voting booth on Election Day, that vote counts.

"Normally, election administrators would look at Election Day as the actual cutoff point," said Kay Albowicz, spokeswoman for the National Association of Secretaries of State. "It doesn't matter that you submitted your vote early. What matters is that you would meet the requirements for voting on Election Day."

What's unusual is a proposal to repeal such a law. "This is a first — the idea of somebody who's deceased getting to have their vote counted prior to Election Day," Albowicz said.

Malaysian Authorities Seize Condom Cards

KUALA LUMPUR - They're not exactly Hallmark Cards. Authorities in Malaysia have seized greeting cards that have condoms attached to the covers. Officials charged the condom cards are offensive and promote promiscuous sex. The cards carried greetings for the Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day and birthdays. The owner of the shop that sold the cards claimed he didn't know about the law banning so-called offensive material. Authorities say he was let off with a stern warning.

Traveling Light, Really Light

MIAMI - Here's a trip for those who truly believe in traveling light.

A Texas travel agency that specializes in clothing-optional vacations has chartered a Boeing 727 for a flight from Miami to Mexico in May.

Once the plane reaches its cruising altitude, passengers will be invited to disrobe.

Castaways Travel is touting the trip as the world's first flight for nude passengers. Co-owner Jim Bailey says the crew will be dressed and the temperature inside the plane's cabin will be regulated to accommodate the nudists.

No hot drinks or food will be served to nude passengers. All nude fliers will also asked to keep a towel between themselves and the plane seat.

The travelers will spend a week at a nudist resort in Cancun.

Purgatory For Undead Theme Park

BUCHAREST - The future of a Dracula theme park in Romania has become uncertain with disagreement among stockholders on where to locate the facility, officials said Friday.

Mayor Dorin Danesean of Sighisoara, the medieval town originally picked as the site for the park dedicated to Romania's most infamous son, said the location now was undergoing a feasibility study headed by the consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The mayor, whose city owns a majority stake in the fund, said local officials will decide next week whether the city, located some 170 miles northwest of Bucharest, would abandon its stake in the project if auditors recommend building the park elsewhere.



"We worked hard for two years to get this project started," he said by telephone, adding that the city's residents want the park.

The park, to be privately funded, will cost about $15.6 million, with an additional $19 million needed for infrastructure improvements, if it remains in Sighisoara, the birthplace of the medieval prince who gave rise to the Dracula legend.

Sighisoara was initially chosen because it gave birth to the 15th century prince Vlad the Impaler, or "Dracula," who according to legend impaled captured Turks and other enemies on stakes. That legend inspired Bram Stoker's novel of the bloodsucking count.

The park is to include amusement rides, a golf course, a Gothic castle wired with spooky effects, a zoo, horseback riding, restaurants and shops.

Sex Shop: 'Clergy Discount'

STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — An adult entertainment store's sign offering a "clergy discount" has drawn the wrath of its churchgoing neighbors.

A double-sided sign stands outside Pure Pleasure in view of people entering and leaving Midwest Baptist Church.

People driving toward the church, read: "And God said go out into the world and have great sex. God's gift to women. Amen and amen."

People leaving see: "No need to mail order. Gay videos in stock. Clergy discount. Have good sex. Hallelujah!"

"This sign shows me that he's not only thumbing his nose at the laws of the township, he's thumbing his nose at the laws of God," said the Rev. Joseph Grimaldi, who heads the church. "I just hope I'm not too close when the lightning strikes."

Malcolm Prinzing, who owns the land where the sign was placed and the building that houses Pure Pleasure, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

French End For An Englishman

LONDON — No one knows why builder Boyd Taylor chose to kill himself with what police described as a homemade guillotine.

Or why the 36-year-old man attached a timer to the device, then set it to kill him in the early hours of Monday morning.

"This is a very unusual case," Andrew Ward, spokesman for Northumbria police, said Thursday. "There is no indication yet of what made him do this." He said Taylor's father, also named Boyd, found the body on Monday.

Police said Taylor had rigged up a timer to the device and apparently set it to kill him early Monday. They would not comment on widespread news reports that Taylor had rigged up a bed under the guillotine, but confirmed the device had been found in a bedroom.

Drunk Birds Crash Into School

STOCKHOLM - Drinking and flying don't mix. Officials at Sweden's Karlstad University say drunk birds are crashing into windows at the school. Thousands of waxwings have been eating fermented berries and getting tipsy. Some 50 birds have died to due to drunken flying, after smashing into plate glass windows. But a university spokesman says the worst is over. The booze berries are beginning to run out.

90 Percent Of Office Thermostats May Be Fake

NEW YORK - If you're too cold, or too hot, at the office -- you can always adjust the thermostat, right?

Maybe. If you have access to it. But it turns out that even if it's within reach -- it may be just a fake.

The Wall Street Journal quotes air conditioning experts as saying a lot of office thermostats aren't connected to anything. They're just there to give employees a feeling of control -- and to shut them up about how hot or cold it is.

Sometimes the employer who's leasing office space doesn't even know the thermostat is a fake. Other times, it's the employer who arranges for it.

One specialist in Illinois estimates that 90 percent of office thermostats are dummies -- although others say it's less than two percent.

He says sooner or later, you just get tired of the complaints, and you just attach a phony thermostat -- and "they quit calling you."

Democarts And Republicans

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Spelling isn't a high priority for several candidates in city elections.

A handful of candidates misspelled their party affiliation on the official filing forms in the city clerk's office.

Four Democrats erroneously spelled their party name either as "Democart" or "Democrate."

Two GOP members transposed their party name to "Repbulican" and "Repucican."

"I was kind of rushed," said Al Carey, a Republican challenger in the 8th Ward, who spelled his party "Repbulican."

Democrat Dana Griffith attributed his misspelling to a tight time frame and a dash of carelessness.

"I was rushed," said Griffith, a City Council candidate in Ward 18. "I was trying to beat the deadline; I didn't even pay any attention to it. I was in a big hurry."

Misspelling hasn't yet proved to be a candidate's political undoing.

Four years ago, Fred Pettry spelled his party name "Democart," and went on to win a seat on City Council as a representative from Ward 7.

He repeated his gaffe this year.

Circling Penguins Boggle Zookeepers

SAN FRANCISCO - A few penguins swimming leisurely at the San Francisco Zoo is nothing new. But dozens of them doing laps in unison for hours has zookeepers perplexed.

"We've lost complete control," said Jane Tollini, the zoos penguin keeper. "It's a free-for-all in here. After 18 years of doing this job, these birds are making mincemeat of me."

It all started in November when six newcomer Magellannic penguins, formerly of Sea World in Aurora, Ohio, were brought in.

The penguins start swimming in circles early in the day and rarely stop until they stagger out of the pool at dusk.

"I can't figure out how the Aurora penguins communicated and changed the minds of the other 46," Tollini said.

Some penguin experts point to the highly social animals as being open to new ideas fostered by newcomers in to the zoo's so-called Penguin Island.

"And they're very, very inquisitive. If you combine those facts and put in a new stimulus, like the six new penguins, they have to check it out."

"Genetically, they're designed to swim," Aquatic biologist Pam Schaller said. "I'd be more amazed if the six had learned to do something not in penguin nature and showed the other 46 how to do it — like if the birds were trained to jump through a hoop."

The Guilty Thief Strikes Again

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Heritage Center has had a brush with the past.

A pair of 3-inch oiling brushes from a World War I German machine gun display disappeared in 1962. Forty years later, the center has received a box in the mail containing the brushes and an apology.

"I humbly apologize for my prior indiscretion, and hope these can be returned to their proper place," the man who stole the brushes wrote.

He said he was visiting his brother in Bismarck when he took the brushes, and recently found them in a shoe box in his garage. The brushes were mailed from Minnesota.

"The gentlemen happened to be visiting and decided to help himself to those brushes," said Jenny Yearous, curator of collections for the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Now, it is much harder to walk off with items from the Heritage Center. Yearous said security guards, cameras and other measures make it nearly impossible to steal anything.

Goofy Grenade Folly

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Winnipeg police have a favor to ask of anyone looking to get rid of a live hand grenade — don't drop it off at the front desk.

Part of police headquarters was evacuated Monday when Melvin McDonald, 79, showed up the front desk with a World War II grenade he had kept for years as a souvenir. The war veteran said he wanted to get rid of it.

"His opening line was, 'I got a grenade,'" Constable Gerry Bernas said. "I knew he wasn't kidding."

The bomb squad and fire department were called and most of the main floor of the Public Safety Building was evacuated.

McDonald apologized after the bomb squad took the grenade away.

Police asked people with grenades or other explosive to let police come and take the explosives away, rather than dropping them off.

"Please don't drop it off on our front counter," Police Constable Bob Johnson said.

Honor Thy Father's Tattoos

BRISBANE, Australia - When miner Carl Whittaker wants to remember his late father, he doesn't pull out a photo album — he admires a framed display of his dad's skin, complete with tattoos, hanging in the dining room.

Whittaker's father, Barry, asked for the four tattoos on his back and arms to be removed and preserved following his death from cancer in 1999.

The tattoos — including a large image of an eagle entangled with a snake that once adorned Barry's back — now hang in his son's home.

Whittaker, 31, admits reactions to the memento are mixed.

"You've got your fors and against, and a lot of people are quite horrified by it all — they look and say 'Oh my God,'" he said Wednesday, as news of the tattoo tribute emerged. "The people that know me just know it was out of respect for my old man, because he ... was my best mate."

A taxidermist was employed to remove them and a company agreed to tan the skin.

"I thought it was a bit on the wild side myself," Whittaker said. "But that's what he wanted, and I had a lot of respect for the man, so I did it."

Whittaker said his wife did not object, and he hoped to pass the memorial on to his daughter, who is now 15 months old.

Kissing Mary Jane

COLONIE, New York - Would you kiss your sister on the lips? That's what made guards suspicious at the Albany County Jail in upstate New York. A sister visiting her inmate brother gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. Deputies say it was more than love, it was an attempt to pass dope. Authorities say Sylvia Robinson had a tiny balloon stuffed with pot hidden in her mouth. Robinson's five brothers were convicted last year of running a marijuana ring in Albany. Brother Steven, whom she kissed in jail, was convicted in November of killing a man while shooting at a rival drug dealer. Now, Sylvia is charged with promoting prison contraband.

Crook Takes Crack Break During Stick-Up

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - It was a smoke break -- but it wasn't for a cigarette.

A suspected robber told police in Panama City, Florida, he wouldn't come out of a bathroom, until he finished smoking some crack. According to authorities, Stephen Ray Carson pulled a liquor store stick-up, then used some of the loot to buy crack cocaine. Police say he barricaded himself in a bathroom while he tried to smoke the dope. Officers used pepper spray to end the five-minute standoff. Carson's now charged with armed robbery and grand theft.

The Amazing, Exploding Frying Pan

WASHINGTON - Thousands of frying pans are being recalled because they can explode.

A company in Iowa is recalling 8,700 of the pans because of the risk that they'd separate or explode while they're being used.

The company -- Innova -- has received 16 reports of pans exploding, burning two people with hot oil. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there was property damage in eight of the episodes.

The pans were sold on the Home Shopping Network for about a year until last September.

People who bought the pans will be getting a letter with information on the recall. And they'll be receiving a free replacement pan.

Thief Caught Trying To Claim Warranty

MOSCOW - Police in a western Russian city had little hope of apprehending a thief who stole a television from a store until the man returned to claim the warranty and remote control from stunned clerks, a news agency reported Wednesday.

The alleged thief took the TV off a shelf in an electronics store in the city of Vladimir, about 100 miles east of Moscow, on Friday and walked out unimpeded, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

The clerks recognized the man when he returned Wednesday, posing as an angry customer and claiming that the store had failed to give him a technical warranty, remote control, antenna and instruction manual. The clerks called the police, who detained the man and later found the stolen TV set at his apartment, the agency said.

Apparently, Robbers Can Be Choosers

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. - Beggars can't be choosers -- but robbers can. Authorities in Southern California say a picky bandit turned up his nose at $600 in one-dollar bills. According to investigators in Orange County, a man walked into a Union Bank and demanded big bills. But the teller said she just had ones, and some tens and 20's. The crook took the loose 20's and walked out of the bank. Authorities say he got away with an undetermined amount of cash.

A Dog For The Ages

AMMAN, Jordan - A story of forbidden love in Jordan has a bittersweet ending.

A man and woman who were involved in a secret relationship used a three-year-old German shepherd dog named Big Joe to carry their love letters.

They would put their letters in a cloth pouch strapped to the dog's back.

But on Saturday, the woman's brother found one of the letters. During the shouting match that followed, the dog attacked him -- and he killed the dog by hitting him on the head with a rock.

The final letter delivered by Big Joe was a marriage proposal.

A friend of the couple says the woman's father has agreed to let them marry.

A neighbor tells The Associated Press the man and woman promise to "never forget" the pet who was killed keeping their love alive.

Smooth Move, Ex-Lax

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Florida officials say an accused armed robber flushed his file down the toilet.

It happened last week at the St. Lucie County Jail as Eric Brown, 38, was being booked on an outstanding armed robbery charge and his paperwork turned up missing.

Sheriff's deputies found him, minutes later, shoving documents down a holding cell toilet, officials said.

Deputies believe Brown took the folder from the jail intake room, his new arrest affidavit states.

Deputies who contacted the arresting officer to find out what was in the files then learned this wasn't the first time some of Brown's paperwork had disappeared.

Brown was arrested in December after being accused of robbing a daycare worker at gunpoint — but the robbery charge never showed up in the jail computer system. He later posted bond on a trespassing charge and walked out of jail.

Business Or Pleasure?

STOCKHOLM - You can't deflate your taxes by inflating your chest, a Swedish stripper learned after a three-year legal battle to deduct the cost of her breast implants from her income taxes.

An appeals court in Stockholm sided with the latter and ruled the 25-year-old woman's 26,000 kronor (US $3,000) breast enhancement surgery could not be deducted from her 1998 income taxes.

The woman, whose name was not released, claimed the "size and shape" of her breasts were crucial to her income as a stripper. She listed the cost of the surgery as a business expense and sued the tax authorities when they rejected her deduction.

In its Jan. 9 ruling, the administrative court of appeal in the Swedish capital upheld the decision of a lower court, saying the surgery wasn't commercial, but private.

The woman's defense lawyer, Christer Transby, said Tuesday that the courts had treated his client unfairly because of her profession. He said other performers, including opera singers and dancers, were permitted deductions for different types of cosmetic surgery, although the benefits were more private than commercial.

"She derives absolutely no pleasure from (the surgery) privately," he said. "It's of 100 percent commercial interest."

Rooster Fashion Fatality

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - A rooster about to be set loose for a bout in a crowded cockfighting arena attacked its handler with the razor-sharp steel spikes strapped to its legs, killing the stunned man, police said Tuesday.

The gaffs hit the man's thigh and groin as the bird made one rapid shuffle, causing him to bleed profusely Sunday before a large crowd of shocked spectators, police investigator Johnny Muhajil said.

The man died while being brought to a hospital in Zamboanga, a bustling port city about 530 miles south of Manila, he said.

Cockfighting is an extremely popular gambling sports in the Philippines, especially in rural areas.

I Feel Much Safer, Don't You?

TAMPA, Fla. - A section of the Tampa airport was evacuated Monday after baggage screeners spotted a "very, very suspicious" object on an X-ray monitor. It turned out to be a mousetrap inside a coffee can.

The ticketing area was evacuated for about 45 minutes and several flights were delayed briefly. A bomb squad used a robot to remove the object from the bag.

"When you looked at the monitor, it had all these wires and looked very, very suspicious," said Chris Rhatigan, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration.

Airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said airport police and TSA officials were talking with the bag's owner. No immediate charges were filed.

170-Year-Old Fornication Law Repealed

ATLANTA - The Georgia Supreme Court struck down a 170-year-old law that made it a crime for unmarried people to have sex.

The ruling Monday came in the case of a 16-year-old boy discovered having sex with his girlfriend in the bedroom of her home. The young woman's mother made the discovery.

Chief Justice Norman Fletcher wrote that nothing in the ruling should be read to address parents' rights "to regulate what occurs inside their home, including who enters their house and under what circumstances."

Fornication laws remain on the books in about 10 states and the District of Columbia. Courts have struck down such statutes in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey.

Following his conviction, Jesse McClure, now 17, was ordered to pay a fine and write an essay explaining why he should not have had sex. He wrote that it wasn't the court's business.

"Invading personal privacy just isn't right," McClure said Monday. "It now goes that way for everybody."

In 1998, the state Supreme Court overturned an anti-sodomy law, ruling it violated the Georgia Constitution's guarantee of a right to privacy.

School Pays Kids To Attend

STOCKHOLM - How do you get kids to stay in school? Pay 'em. At least that's the solution at one high school in southwestern Sweden. The principal of the Falkenberg High School of Design says kids who show up on time, every day will get about $60 a month. If a student is sick, or late for class, money will be deducted from the monthly amount. The principal says many of the kids had been missing class because of after-school jobs. He adds paying kids to go school is an investment in their future.

Never Kick A Police Horse In The Rear

LONDON - A 56-year-old Millwall fan became Britain's oldest convicted soccer hooligan Monday when he was jailed for five years for kicking a police horse.

Raymond Everest, a former match steward at the club, was caught laughing on closed circuit TV cameras after attacking a horse following Millwall's game against Birmingham City on May 2.

Hundreds of fans rioted outside the New Den Stadium after Millwall lost 2-1 in the division one semifinal playoffs. In all, 157 police officers and 26 police horses were hurt.

Prosecutor Tom Wilkins told a jury at Woolwich Crown Court that Everest took part in the rampage, running at police lines and encouraging other thugs to build a barricade to stop charging police horses.

Wilkins said the horse was retreating when Everest launched a kung-fu-style kick from behind, causing the animal to lurch forward in pain.

Defense lawyer Simon Stirling said Everest had supported Millwall since the age of 3 but this was his first offense relating to soccer hooliganism.

Judge Philip Statman told Everest: "Riot is the gravest of all public order offenses. ... You are the oldest of all those arrested. You have shown from start to finish no remorse."

"You have bought shame on your family and on the club you purport to support. It is difficult to imagine a worse example of behavior by a man in his mid-50s than that you displayed on that particular evening."

As well as jailing Everest for five years, the judge banned him from all soccer stadiums in England and Wales for the next eight years.

Stinky Passengers Banned From Buses

BEND, Ore. — You better hit the shower before you board the bus in Bend.

Proposed new city rules would ban spitting, defecating, smoking, skateboarding, and stinking on city buses.

The regulations ban anyone who "emanates a grossly repulsive odor that is unavoidable by other Bend Extended Area Transit customers" from being in the bus station or on a bus.

"It's an effort to keep the riding experience as pleasant and safe as possible," said city attorney Jim Forbes. He noted that the city already has an ordinance prohibiting people from releasing "highly objectionable odors" from their property.

The City Council will consider preliminary approval of the ordinance Wednesday.

The city's transit system is currently reservations-based. Last year, the city expanded the transit service for seniors and the disabled into a service for the general public, but no scheduled routes have been established.

Man Tries To Sell Family On eBay

LOS ANGELES — Writer Steve Young may be able to peddle his prose, but when it came to selling his family, the father of two couldn't cash in on the $5 million offer.

After reading about the online sale of a struggling town in Humboldt County, Young decided to put his wife and kids on the auction block.

"If a town could be sold online, then how much could you get for a family?" Young said.

After consulting with wife Diana, and their two children, Kelly, 9, and Casey, 8, Young said he posted the ad Thursday on eBay and received more than 10,000 hits within minutes.

But when eBay operators heard about the auction early Friday, they yanked the ad, saying it is against company policy to sell human beings.

"People have tried to sell themselves five or six times over the past four or five years," said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove. "There have been attempts to sell their nephew, uncle, wife, whoever is in the doghouse at the time. They've even tried to sell their soul."

Young said the auction winner would receive a lifetime of platonic companionship, including invitations to family outings and holiday gatherings as well as tips on writing, gardening and cooking. The minimum bid was $5 million.

The family was willing to relocate anywhere, and the elder Youngs would change their surname.

"You have patrons of the arts, museums and charities. I wanted a patron for my family," he said.