The Odd Truth, Dec. 2, 2004

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

Buttery Blaze

NEW ULM, Minn. - Too bad firefighters didn't have a pile of popcorn handy - or better yet, loads of lobster tails.

An intense fire consumed half of the roof of the Associated Milk Producers Inc. butter packaging plant, sending melted butter flowing out of the facility.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but officials worried that the melted butter would interfere with the railroad tracks bordering the plant's east end.

The plant was holding an estimated 3 million pounds of butter at the time of the fire Wednesday.

A plant employee discovered the fire in a utility area, and the 30 workers in the butter packaging plant were evacuated and sent home.

Officials were investigating the cause of the buttery blaze.

Hey, It's For Charity

FREDERICK, Md. - A Frederick garden club took a page from the "Calendar Girls" to produce a cookbook containing nearly nude photos of eight members, ages 55 to 70.

"This is a tribute to the mature woman," said Kathy Brekhus, who wears only a hat, sandals and a bouquet of strategically placed flowers on the book's cover.

The women, members of the Green-walled Garden Club, said they got the idea from the 2003 film, "Calendar Girls," the true story of a British women's club that put out a nude calendar to raise money for charity.

The garden club will use proceeds from sales of the 400-page cookbook to fund city beautification projects, member Linda Robinson said.

Members told The Frederick News-Post they have sold 550 copies at $15 each, and they recently placed an order with the publisher, Cookbook Publishers Inc., of Lenexa, Kan., for 400 more.

"People just love it," said Johnson, who is barely covered in the "Hors d'oeuvres and Beverages" section. A different photograph introduces each section of the book, which is titled "Garden Girls Go Gourmet."

The photos were shot by the women's husbands and friends at Brekhus' home. Discreetly placed flowers and vegetables help keep the saucy images clean.

"I don't think it's distasteful," Ms. Brekhus said.

Several of the women said it was their most enjoyable fund-raiser.

Despite Poisoned Tacos, Man Still Loves Wife

PORTLAND, Ore. - His wife was sentenced to three years in prison for putting rat poison in his tacos but Steve Wheeler says he still loves her.

"To put it simply, I think this is overdone," Wheeler, 57, told Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jean Kerr Maurer on Tuesday.

But the judge told the victim, "You are a very compassionate man. This is a very serious crime."

Carrie Lynn Wheeler, 31, admitted she mixed rat poison into tacos and served them to her husband. She also admitted grinding up prescription medications and putting them in a drink.

The case was settled with a plea bargain that took into account the victim's desire for leniency. Carrie Wheeler pleaded guilty to attempted assault in exchange for dismissing attempted murder charges.

"Knowing Carrie, my wife, this doesn't quite fit," Wheeler said. "I feel the sentence is too heavy."

As part of her sentence, Carrie Wheeler must undergo domestic violence counseling. She declined to say anything on her own behalf. But her lawyer, Ulanda Watkins, said Wheeler regretted what she'd done and had no excuse for it.

"My client and her husband plan to stay married," Watkins said. "She's looking forward to working on her mental health issues and depression."

But the judge told Carrie Wheeler she cannot have any contact with her husband unless a probation officer gives written approval.

"If you had been more successful, Mr. Wheeler wouldn't be here to speak on your behalf," Maurer told her.

Cops Search For Mystery 'Strip-O-Gram'

RAPID CITY, S.D. - Police in South Dakota are looking for the mystery male stripper. Officers in Rapid City say the guy is posing as a performer for "Strip-O-Gram." He's been targeting businesses with only female employees. Police say technically, he hasn't done anything illegal. Women at the three businesses were the mystery stripper has struck say he didn't take off his clothes, but did say and do some disgusting things. Police say they want to talk to the guy before it escalates into something a little more serious.

Hallucinogenic Tea Banned In Church

SUPREME COURT - It's not the Bush administration's cup of tea.

The Supreme Court has granted a temporary stay that bars a New Mexico church from using a hallucinogenic tea, called hoasca, that the government contends is illegal and potentially dangerous.

The Brazil-based church - O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal - insists it has a religious right to brew the tea made from plants found in the Amazon River Basin. An appeals court has agreed the church probably does have that right.

The church's leader had sued after federal agents raided his office in Santa Fe in 1999 and seized 30 gallons of tea. It contains contains DMT, a controlled substance.

That's One Tough Grandpa

OREGON CITY, Ore. - A 90-year-old Oregon man has no more than cuts and bruises after toppling down a 150-foot cliff.

Lloyd Rauw fell after losing his balance while raking leaves.

His daughter called 911 after she returned home, looked for him and heard his screams for help.

Emergency officials had to rappel down the cliff and rig a rope rescue system to haul him to safety.

He told his daughter he was relieved that he didn't hit any rocks on the way down.

Viva la Vacca!

BUCH, Switzerland - Shortly before his death last month, a Swiss farmer made an unusual last request - save his two cows from the slaughterhouse and put them in a retirement home.

The family of the now-deceased farmer even organized a church collection to save eight-year-old Maya and her four-month-old calf Toni, the organizers of the retirement scheme said Thursday.

"His son begged the priest to call for a collection so that the animals would not have to be slaughtered and our project could take over," said Reinhold Zepf, founder of the "Viva la Vacca" organization, adding that the family wished to remain anonymous.

In return for a fee of $175, Viva la Vacca - Italian for "Long Live the Cow" - keeps cows from the abattoir and places them on farms where they no longer have to work producing milk.

Cows are iconic in Switzerland - they appear on everything from T-shirts to regional flags - and donations poured in from local farmers to save their two bovine friends from an unpleasant end.

"I was very moved by the story of Maya and Toni," Zepf said. "The cow is an important cultural commodity."

When the retired cows finally get too old or sick, doctors prescribe a painless injection, which puts them to sleep.

That means Maya and Toni can now live the life of leisure in the green pastures of northeast Switzerland, safe from the slaughterer's hand.

'Proletarian' Dining

ROME - Anti-war activists in northern Italy have been indulging in a rather comfortable kind of protest, treating themselves to extravagant meals in top restaurants and leaving the bill unpaid.

Pretending that they were celebrating a baptism, almost 50 activists dined Tuesday at the Da Celeste restaurant near Treviso in northeastern Italy, ordering several courses each and washing them down with five bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne, the owner told private TV channel Sky on Wednesday.

Celeste Tonon said the unpaid bill came to around $3,992. But the protesters left the waiters a $106 tip, news agency ANSA reported.

It follows a similar stunt by the activists at Venice's renowned Harry's Bar, during a summit of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held there last month.

Tonon said the group told him he was targeted for serving a lunch to guests at the NATO summit. The incident follows cases of "proletarian shopping" in Rome last month, when activists helped themselves to supermarket and bookshop goods, again without paying.

Tonon said he reported the incident to the police.