The Odd Truth, Jan. 26, 2004

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.

VATICAN CITY - In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break-dancers Sunday, who leapt, flipped and spun their bodies to a dance beat from a tinny boom box.

The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed their moves, then applauding for the entire group, from a cultural organization in John Paul's homeland of Poland.

"For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart," he said.

During the show, one dancer - part of a Polish group that helps poor and marginalized youths - planted his head on the inlaid marble floor of the Vatican hall and spun to loud applause from his group and from Vatican officials. Another performer flung his body around in a series of spins and handstands.

As a young man, John Paul himself performed in the arts, albeit as an actor. Watching from a raised throne Sunday, the pope appeared delighted, as he often is by his interactions with the young and with his fellow countrymen.

"Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it," John Paul said.

Mass Free Fall Record Set

BANGKOK, Thailand - A total of 672 skydivers from 42 countries leapt from six aircraft over the Thai capital on Saturday, setting a new world record for a mass free fall, organizers said. At least three of the jumpers were injured.

The previous record of 588 for a mass jump was set in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, in 2000, according to one of the group's organizers, Herman Landsman, and the Guinness World Records Web site.

An unpredictable wind blew several skydivers off the landing zone near Bangkok's Grand Palace, and reporters saw at least three taken to a hospital with injuries. None was believed life-threatening.

The group, collectively known as "World Team," leapt out of six C-130 military transport planes at 7,000 feet, then floated down to Sanam Luang, or Royal Field, located opposite the palace.

Some of the jumpers encountered problems as they neared the ground, with several landing on trees at the edge of the field, and at least one hitting the roof of a nearby university building. One skydiver suffered a suspected broken leg.

A spokeswoman for the group, Karina Willerup, said the skydivers came from 42 nations and included 250 parachutists from the Thai armed forces. Members were described as among the world's skydiving elite.

The event, apart from setting a new record, was staged to honor Thailand's Queen Sirikit, who this year celebrates her 72nd birthday - an auspicious milestone for Buddhists since it marks the sixth 12-year-cycle of life. The number of parachutists - 672 - was chosen to represent the milestone.

The jump has been recognized as a new world record by the Paris-based World Air Sports Federation, which tracks unprecedented skydiving feats, and organizers are planning to seek approval from Guinness in coming weeks, Willerup said.

Denmark Hopes To Quell Prison 'Monster Men'

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Pumping iron - at least heavy dumbbells - will be banned in Danish prisons following complaints by wardens who feel threatened by inmates turning themselves into "monster men," officials said Friday.

"Some inmates have grown to abnormal size," Carsten Pedersen, the chairman of the Union of Danish Prison Officers told The Associated Press. "They have become monster men."

Denmark's Prison and Probation Service decided Thursday evening to immediately remove all dumbbells and weightlifting discs of more than 66 pounds from fitness centers in the country's 80 state prisons and probation centers.

"We took the decision because our staff feel they are exposed to a risk," Annette Esdorf, the deputy manager of the state-run prison board, said Friday.

Pedersen called it "total madness" that inmates have been using dumbbells of 110 pounds in prison gyms.

The prison board's decision came after prison staff had reported "several cases of inmates with aggressive attitudes," Pedersen said, adding that such prisoners represent about 300 of Denmark's 3,500 inmates.

"The combination of heavy dumbbells and anabolic steroids has led to a very harsh and negative prison culture," Pedersen said.

Earlier this week, one of Denmark's most senior police officers, Chief Constable Joern Bro, said it was wrong that "some criminals can get incredible strength in prison."

Boozing On The Bus

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Two city bus drivers were fired Monday for being under the influence of alcohol on the job, including one caught by police speeding downtown in his bus while sipping a beer.

On Saturday evening, a passenger riding on the 6A line called police on his cell phone because he saw the driver was drinking beer while at the wheel, police said. The line runs through downtown Copenhagen.

A police patrol first stopped the wrong 6A bus, whose driver nonetheless admitted he had a beer shortly before going to work. That driver, who had a blood-alcohol level of 0.47, was not arrested but was replaced behind the wheel. In Denmark, the legal blood-alcohol limit is 0.5 percent.

Police said they then stopped another 6A bus whose driver had been speeding while sipping a beer. His blood-alcohol level was 1.03. He was driving 44 mph in a 31 mph zone.

Both were fired Monday, according to their employer Connex, a company that operates some of Copenhagen's city buses and has a no-alcohol policy.

There are about 285 bus routes in metropolitan Copenhagen, carrying about 2 million passengers every month, serving Copenhagen's 1.8 million residents.

Man Killed Hours After Winning Lottery

ELWOOD, Indiana - A man who won $57,000 in an Indiana lottery game taped for television died hours later when he was hit by a pickup truck.

The "Hoosier Millionaire" featuring Carl D. Atwood, 73, was broadcast Saturday night after his family said they wanted the show to go on, Hoosier Lottery director Jack Ross said.

The broadcast concluded with a photo of Atwood accompanied by text reading: "In memory of Carl Atwood."

Atwood won the money Thursday during a two-hour taping in Indianapolis.

"I am very thankful," he proclaimed. "I must admit that I never expected to be leaving the show with this amount of money. Now I can purchase a very nice car."

Hours later, Atwood was hit by a truck as he walked to the grocery store where he bought the winning ticket near his home in Elwood, about 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis. He died at a hospital.

The driver has not been charged.

Atwood would have been among those invited back to compete for a $1 million grand prize in three weeks.

"We will work with the family to make arrangements on how to handle the championship show," Ross said. "We will certainly have a place on that show for someone who the family chooses to take his place."

92-Year-Old Bank Robber Gets 12 Years

LUBBOCK, Texas - A 92-year-old man who pleaded guilty to robbing a bank was sentenced Friday to 12-and-a-half years in prison.

J.L. Hunter "Red" Rountree pleaded guilty in federal court in October to taking $1,999 from an Abilene bank in August, his third such robbery in less than five years. He could have received up to 20 years in prison.

He will be held at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth.

In August, Rountree handed a First American Bank teller an envelope with "Robbery" written on it in red marker, federal prosecutors said. He gave her a second envelope and told her to put money in it.

When the teller asked Rountree if he was kidding, Rountree said, "Hurry up or you will get hurt," authorities said.

Rountree was stopped by authorities 30 minutes later about 20 miles from Abilene.

Rountree's crime spree began in December 1998, a week before his 87th birthday. He was arrested in Biloxi, Miss., minutes after he robbed a bank. He eventually was given three years' probation, fined $260 and told to leave Mississippi.

Rountree's second conviction was for a 1999 bank robbery in Pensacola, Fla. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

A relative has said that Rountree once was a successful Houston businessman. About a year after his wife's death in 1986, Rountree, then 76, married a 31-year-old woman and spent $500,000 putting her through drug rehabilitation programs, he has said.

Sometime after they divorced, Rountree robbed his first bank.

Rountree told the Orlando Sentinel in 2001 that money and revenge were his motivation. He said he had not liked banks since one he had done business with forced him into bankruptcy.

Bronx Neighborhood Declares War On Rats

NEW YORK - A Bronx neighborhood group is using bacon, peanut butter and cheese to lure some 10,000 rats to their deaths within a month.

Hispanics Across America planted more than 20 boxes of fatty food around Joyce Kilmer Park - two blocks from Yankee Stadium - on Sunday. Once inside the boxes, the rats would be exterminated, said Fernando Mateo, the group's president.

"It's a very serious situation because people in that neighborhood cannot walk the sidewalks," he told Newsday for Monday editions. "If we waited for the mayor and city to do everything, the entire city would be a dump."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced several new rat-busting initiatives in August - including more aggressive inspections and rat-resistant garbage containers - but Mateo said those measures weren't sufficient.