The Odd Truth, July 3, 2003
The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Melissa Cheung. A new collection of stories is published each weekday. On weekends, you can read a week's worth of The Odd Truth.
World's Largest French Fry On Ebay
LA CROSSE, Wis. - A man has sold what he billed as the world's largest french fry for more than $200 on the Internet auction-house eBay.
Simon Holland found the 6 3/4-inch fry during a meal at a Wisconsin Rapids Culver's on June 24. Instead of eating the spud, he immediately froze it and put it up for auction on eBay.
The winning bid — $202.50 from a bidder known only as "Culver's Fan" — was announced Wednesday afternoon. Restaurant owners Greg Giese and Brad Prohl celebrated by giving patrons complimentary pieces of custard cake.
"I could probably write the book, 'How to Sell a French Fry on eBay,"' Holland said, laughing.
Stinky Feet On The Rise
SINGAPORE - Experts warn there's a growing stink in Singapore -- and they want to do something about it.
A leading doctor in the famously tidy city-state says the number of people with foul-smelling, fungus-covered feet is on the rise.
He blames the problem in part on more people walking barefoot around swimming pools, where the fungus can spread.
The doctor says the number of athlete's foot infections seen at the National Skin Center has nearly tripled over the past several years. Doctors say some people don't even want to take their shoes off in front of them.
The National Skin Center is launching a public education campaign. Such moves are common in tightly controlled Singapore, which in the past has held drives to make people more polite and cut down on spitting.
Town Bans Krispy Kreme From Using Trademark Sign
BOCA RATON, Fla. - A new kind of Krispy Kreme shop is coming this way, but it might not be as easy to be first in line for those tasty pastries.
It'll be the franchise's first without the trademark neon sign telling customers when fresh doughnuts emerge.
The 66-year-old company was forced to forgo its neon sign in deference to a long-standing city law that prohibits exposed neon signs.
Instead, Krispy Kreme, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is designing its first non-neon illuminated sign to light up when doughnuts are rolled out.
"This one will be different," Krispy Kreme spokeswoman Ann Urban said. "As far as we're aware, we can't discover any other 'hot' lights that are not neon."
The city's only McDonald's went up without its trademark golden arches because they were regarded as improper signs.
Burglars Just Weren't Having A Good Day
STOCKHOLM - If something can go wrong, it will, and for a pair of Swedish burglars, everything did.
Police said the two men started Thursday by robbing a neighborhood store and a horse stable in southern Sweden, making off with various items.
But the getaway car was easy to find because it had a broken taillight and a bicycle sticking out of the trunk, police spokesman Charley Nilsson told The Associated Press.
"And on top of that, they had put false license plates on it that were from another car that was wanted by police, which was not very smart," Nilsson added.
The pair was pulled over by police just outside of Marieholm, a small town about 375 miles southwest of the capital, Stockholm, after they saw the bike and called in the license plate.
Both men, who weren't identified, were arrested, but before they could be taken to jail, one had chest pains and the other suffered an epileptic fit. They were taken to a hospital, treated and released, Nilsson said, and then taken to the police station.
Rapping For Hygiene
SINGAPORE - A high-pitched voice calls out over the thumping bass line and hip hop melody, "SARS is the virus that I just want to minus."
Eminem, watch out. Singapore has enlisted its most famous television character, Phua Chu Kang, in the fight against SARS with "SAR-vivor Rap," a CD released this week by the state broadcaster and supported by the Health Ministry.
The perm-haired construction worker, with a massive mole and knee-high yellow rubber boots, is a parody of an average Singapore male engaged in a never-ending linguistic battle with the English language.
The rap urges Singaporeans to maintain good hygiene to prevent a resurgence of severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed 32 of 206 people infected with the disease in the city-state.
Globally, the virus has killed over 800 people and sickened more than 8,400.
Judge Uses Job For Jokes
BAY CITY, Mich. - Sylvia Linton finds plenty of fodder for her night job while serving as staff attorney for a local judge.
When she isn't researching and writing legal opinions for Bay County Circuit Judge Lawrence M. Bielawski, Linton is brainstorming and writing jokes.
She made her third local appearance Saturday at the Split-a-Gut Comedy Club, across from the county courthouse.
"People just connect with her," club manager Lee Reardon told The Bay City Times for a Wednesday story. "She's got the Polish humor, the local jokes, and people just love her."
On Saturday, she poked fun at the would-be robber who held up the business where he worked. While his face was masked, he wore his uniform — complete with nametag — during the heist.
Then there was the bank robber who targeted his local branch, and wrote the stickup note on his own deposit slip.
"It's all true," Linton shrugs.
A Little Courtroom Etiquette, Please
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. - Unless the judge asks you to speak up, it's best to keep quiet in Lincoln County District Court.
Judge John Murphy enforced the court's no-talking rule Tuesday by ordering three men back to jail after they were caught chatting in a jury box while waiting for their cases to be called up.
Murphy told the men they could wait in jail until they learned to behave themselves in a courtroom.
Two of the men will now have to wait until July 14 before their cases are heard in court. One is suspected of carrying drugs, while the other is charged in a local burglary.
The third man, who earlier pleaded no contest to possession of methamphetamine, will be sentenced later this month.