The Odd Truth, April 19, 2005

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

Don't Lend Him A Hand

WOODLAND, Calif. - A morgue assistant accused of stealing body parts from a medical school so he could practice dissections at home was sentenced to more than two years in prison.

David Lawrence Beale, 47, was arrested in 2003 after more than 150 pounds of decomposing body parts, including two heads, were found near his Davis home. He pleaded no contest Monday to stealing human remains from the medical center at the University of California at Davis and possessing methamphetamine.

Police initially suspected homicide when a tip led them to human remains in the trash at a trailer park where Beale once lived. Lawyers for Scott Peterson traveled to the area to search for evidence that Peterson's wife, Laci, had been killed by a cult.

Beale allegedly told investigators he had been taking remains home for more than a decade. The parts were from cadavers donated to the medical center for research

SWAT Team To Monkey Around?

MESA, Ariz. - Police tactical units usually don't engage in a lot of monkey business, but one SWAT team wants to add a capuchin monkey to its staff.

"Everybody laughs about it until they really start thinking about it," said Sean Truelove, an officer with the Mesa Police Department who builds and operates tactical robots for the unit in suburban Phoenix.

Truelove said the department is trying to obtain a capuchin, considered the second smartest primate behind the chimpanzee, with about $100,000 in grant money.

Truelove says the monkey, which alone would cost $15,000, could become the ultimate SWAT reconnaissance tool. Capuchins are small, weighing between 3 and 8 pounds, have tiny humanlike hands and puzzle-solving skills. He said the monkey could be trained to unlock doors and search buildings.

Since 1979, capuchin monkeys have been trained as companions for quadriplegics, performing daily tasks such as serving food, opening and closing doors, turning lights on and off, and retrieving objects and brushing hair.

Move Over, Washington

NORWICH, Conn. - A local man believes the first president to serve under the Articles of Confederation, Samuel Huntington of Norwich, was technically the nation's first president.

Now, Bill Stanley is seeking $10 million to build a presidential library for Huntington here.

Stanley, president of the Norwich Historical Society, asked the City Council on Monday night to donate $1 million from funds it expects to receive from the Mohegan American Indian Tribe, owners of Mohegan Sun casino.

Stanley is also seeking funding from state and federal governments.

"Facts are on our side. History is on our side, and the first president came from Norwich, and we should have a presidential library," he said at a news conference.

Huntington signed the Declaration of Independence and served as the state's governor from 1786 until his death in 1796. The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the U.S. Constitution in 1789.

60-Hour Softball Game

ABILENE, Texas - It could be a record-long ball game.

Some Abilene Christian University students played 321 innings of nonstop softball for charity.

Thirty-six students played for 60 hours, starting Thursday night and Sunday morning. The final score was 729-568, with team Humanity beating team Insanity.

The fund-raiser brought in about $22,000 for Habitat for Humanity. It was short of the $68,000 goal, but the players say they're confident they'll be in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The previous record, set about a year ago, was 55 hours, 11 minutes.

Lots Of Jerks Headed To Iraq

ST. JOHN, Kan. - Soon, American GI's in Iraq won't have to ask, "Where's the beef?" The soldiers are getting $170,000 worth of beef jerky. "Operation: BEEF UP Our Troops" comes from an idea hatched by a cattlefeed supplement salesman, Don Taylor. During long hours on the road, Taylor says he was trying to come up with ideas to support the troops. He first thought of shipping steaks to the GI's for Christmas. But a veteran of the Iraq war told him it would be impractical. The vet suggested beef jerky instead. Taylor was able enlist the support of his company, Minnesota-based SarTec, and the USO. Money raised for "Operation: BEEF UP Our Troops" will be used to include the GI jerky in care packages shipped to soldiers overseas.

Flying Frozen Sausage

LONDON - Imagine driving home from work, rolling down your car window -- and getting smacked in the schnoz by a frozen sausage. British authorities say that's what happened to an unlucky commuter in Essex, east of London. An ambulance service official says the 46-year-old man suffered a broken nose and lost a lot of blood. The spokesman say it must have been an incredibly lucky, or unlucky, shot -- to get the sausage through a moving car window. Police are now investigating the case of the flying sausage.

Flying For Peanuts

ARLINGTON, Va. - Talk about a cheap flight. A computer glitch over the weekend resulted in US Airways tickets going for pocket change. The carrier was selling tickets to smaller cities for $1.86 plus fees. The prices lasted a few hours Saturday until airline officials found the problem and pulled the plug. Most of the fares involved flights into Lebanon, New Hampshire, or Watertown, New York. Divinity student Randy Besta bought 10 first-class, round-trip tickets from Watertown to Eugene, Oregon, for about $64 each. He doesn't know anyone in Oregon but says he's always wanted to go there. The airline says it will honor the cut-rate tickets.

Stuntman Shot 160 Times On Birthday

FAIRMONT, W.Va. - Mike Daugherty knows how to celebrate his birthday with a bang. The part-time movie stuntman turned 35 last week. He marked the occasion by strapping 160 squibs to his body and setting them off. Squibs are like blasting caps and are used to simulate gunshots in movies. He's claiming a new Guinness record for the most squibs to be set off on a human body. Daugherty says all but three exploded. The Marion County, West Virginia, man says he was scared to death. His stunt was filmed for a documentary called "Shooting the Record."