The Odd Truth, July 17, 2003
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.
What's 'Moose' In Italian?
ANCHORAGE - An Italian tourist faced both a language barrier and an incredulous state trooper in explaining how his rental car was damaged this week.
On Monday, Ippolito Gallovich, 51, was parked on the shoulder of the Parks Highway near the turnoff to Talkeetna watching a moose when the animal decided to jump over his car.
The ungulate misjudged the distance. Instead of clearing the 2003 Lincoln Town Car, the moose landed on the windshield, breaking it. The animal then scrambled back to the pavement and disappeared into the woods.
Trooper John Ostoj responded to the report of the damaged car. Gallovich doesn't speak much English. As relayed by trooper clerk Jill Bybee, the roadside conversation went like this:
Gallovich to Ostoj: "A moose hit us."
Ostoj to Gallovich: "No. You mean you hit a moose."
Gallovich: "No. A moose hit us."
Troopers had trouble keeping serious about the incident. Ostoj's press release relieved the moose of responsibility for the damage.
"The moose failed to clear the vehicle. ... No citations were issued," Ostoj wrote.
Massive French Fry Fire!
OUTLOOK, Washington - The french fries were burnt, but don't blame the cook. A fire destroyed a tractor-trailer rig loaded with 50,000 pounds of french fries on I-82 near Outlook, Washington. State police say fireworks tossed from a freeway overpass may have started the blaze. Driver Tommie Hayes and his 14-year-old son Taylor where in the truck. Hayes says they heard an explosion and thought it might be a tire blow-out. He pulled over about a half-mile later and discovered the fries were burning. The french fries and truck were totaled — an estimated loss of $100,000.
Vietnam Bans Mealtime Condom Ads
HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam has prohibited commercials for condoms, sanitary napkins and toilet paper from being aired during evening mealtimes, saying they offend cultural sensitivities and traditions, state-controlled media reported Wednesday.
Starting immediately, local television and radio stations are barred from airing the advertisements from 6 pm to 8 pm, the Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper said.
The ads "are not suitable to the national psychology, manners and customs," said the newspaper, citing a decision by the Ministry of Culture and Information.
An official from the ministry confirmed that the decision was signed Wednesday, but declined to discuss details.
Commercials for skin disease medications are also banned. Over the past few years, many people have complained in the local press that advertising of these items during evening mealtimes made them lose their appetite.
The decision also bans the advertisements at concerts or entertainment events, the paper said.
Revenues of Vietnam's fledgling advertising industry jumped from just $8 million in 1992 to $147.6 million last year, according to the Vietnam Advertising Association. Last year, $92.4 million was spent on television commercials alone.
Advertising for female sanitary products, not among the top ten spenders on TV ads in 2001, jumped to fifth place last year. About $3.5 million was spent to air 7,314 ads, according to VAA.
One Ton Of Potato Flakes Misplaced
CLARK, South Dakota - These spuds aren't for you. The case of the missing mashed potatoes threatened to put a big dent in the Potato Day celebration in Clark, South Dakota. The event wouldn't be the same without the mashed potato wrestling. But organizers don't know what happened to their ton of dried potato flakes. About 500 pounds were used last year, left over when a french fry processing plant closed. Officials have no idea where the rest of their pile of potatoes went. But Potato Day will go on as scheduled Saturday. A potato processor is promising enough for this year and next year. Now, organizers just need a cement mixer to whip up their mess of mashed potatoes.
Family Sues Over Hellish Funeral Sermon
CHAMA, N.M. - The family of a former Chama councilman is suing a Catholic priest and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe over the priest's sermon at the man's funeral.
The lawsuit accuses the Rev. Scott Mansfield of using "graphic terms" to tell the congregation the deceased was going to hell because he wasn't totally devoted to the church.
The family of Ben Martinez filed the lawsuit in June accusing Mansfield of saying during Martinez's funeral "clearly, loudly and without hesitation that the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell."
The archdiocese and Mansfield "deny the allegations and are vigorously defending themselves in court," archdiocese spokeswoman Celine Radigan said.
Their answer to the lawsuit says Mansfield "recited scriptural passages from the gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ and scriptural passages from the Book of Revelations" at the funeral.
There is a passage in the Book of Revelations similar to what Mansfield is accused of saying. In Revelations 3:15-16, the Lord says, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth."
The dispute also cost Andy Rivas of Chama, who had trained to be a deacon for more than two years, his chance at ordination as a deacon this month, the lawsuit states.
Rivas said he was dismissed as a deacon candidate after the funeral, despite a written appeal to Archbishop Michael Sheehan, because he backed the family's account of Mansfield's sermon.
"I felt so bad for the family," Rivas said. "...To go to church and have somebody condemn your loved one to hell. In the middle of the service, they were thinking about taking him (Martinez's body) out. That's how bad it was."
Alabama Woman Wins Bad Fiction Contest
SAN JOSE, Ala. - An Alabama woman is the winner of San Jose State's annual contest celebrating bad writing with a ghastly simile comparing doomed romance to processed cheese.
Mariann Simms of Wetumpka won $250 Tuesday in the 22nd Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.
Here's Simms' entry: "They had but one last remaining night together, so they embraced each other as tightly as that two-flavor entwined string cheese that is orange and yellowish-white, the orange probably being a bland Cheddar and the white ... Mozzarella, although it could possibly be Provolone or just plain American, as it really doesn't taste distinctly dissimilar from the orange, yet they would have you believe it does by coloring it differently."
The contest is named after British novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel "Paul Clifford" began, "It was a dark and stormy night."
Many entries evoked processed foods — possibly reflecting America's widening girth.
Jurors Fall Ill During Bizarre 'Healer' Trial
NEW YORK - A self-described spiritual healer from the Caribbean island of Dominica was convicted Wednesday of making fellow airline passengers sick by checking a leaky container of concentrated ammonia onto a Florida flight.
After a weeklong trial marked by sudden illnesses among jurors and a bizarre run-in involving a peach pit, a jury found Bernard Williams guilty of recklessly transporting a hazardous material on a Spirit Airlines flight last year from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. to New York City.
The jurors in federal court in Brooklyn acquitted the defendant on a second charge alleging the incident was intentional.
Williams, 55, a naturalized U.S. citizen, could face up to five years in prison. No sentencing date was set.
Defense attorney Mel Sachs called Williams' acquittal on one charge a victory. He said his client would appeal the guilty verdict on the other charge.
Sachs had told jurors that Williams was a respected "spiritual healer" who uses ammonia to clean homes and businesses in a good-luck ritual. He also "gives cats as gifts because they're believed to give good fortune to his owners," the lawyer said.
Williams thought the container held kitty litter, not ammonia, when he checked it with his luggage, Sachs said.
During nearly four days of deliberations, two jurors were replaced by alternates after telling the judge they were too sick to continue. Williams, meanwhile, spooked prosecutor Michael Asaro by tossing a peach pit onto the government's courtroom table.
Asaro complained to U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon, saying the behavior was "odd, particularly in light of the testimony about Mr. Williams' spiritual practices."