The Odd Truth, March 18, 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.
'JEWBAN,' And Proud Of It
MIAMI - State officials say a Florida man's personalized license plate that reads "JEWBAN" is OK after all.
That's because the term is commonly used by Cuban Jews in South Florida to describe themselves.
"It became apparent that the prevailing interpretation of Jewban is not derogatory to a group," said Bob Sanchez, spokesman for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Tabares Gomer, 63, said he got the plate last year because he is proud of his Cuban Jewish heritage. But the Highway Safety department wrote him asking that he remove the plate, which could be construed as anti-Semitic.
Gomer appealed.
"I am a Cuban Jew and people call me Jewban. That's not offensive to anyone," Tabares Gomer said. "If they take my plate away, they take away my identity."
The department told him Friday that the plate was his for keeps.
82-Year-Old Nude Man Used As Company Symbol
CLEVELAND - The Progressive insurance company is taking full disclosure to the extreme. Progressive features a naked man in its annual report. The Cleveland-area company has spiced up the usually straight-laced financial document with photos of a nude 82-year-old man. But the old guy doesn't reveal all of his hidden assets. Strategically placed hands and knees protect his modesty. Progressive President Glenn Renwick says the bare report is in keeping with the company's theme of transparency in its financial transactions.
Tenn. Bans Porno Movies In Cars
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Porno and driving don't mix — at least not in Tennessee. The state Senate has voted unanimously to ban X-rated videos from cars and other vehicles if the TV screens can be seen from the street. Senator Mark Norris filed the legislation after getting a complaint from a constituent. The man said his daughters could see a sex tape being played in a van stopped at a red light. But the measure wouldn't outlaw all mobile red light districts. Porno fans could still watch sex tapes if their car windows are tinted or covered by shades.
'Rock, Paper, Scissors' Goes Pro
HEALDSBURG, Calif. - The game "Rock, Scissors, Paper" has settled countless childhood disputes. Now the game is determining who gets some serious cash.
About 120 enthusiasts of the game vied for the $1,000 prize at a contest Saturday in this town north of San Francisco.
"It's really about the mind games," said Doug Walker, co-president of the Toronto-based World Rock Scissors Paper Society, which sponsored the annual contest. "There's a lot of trash talking and mental intimidation."
It's all about subtle strategy, contestants said.
"Whenever you see a tense muscle, they're going rock," said Jeff Johnson, a salesman from nearby Santa Rosa. "If they looked relaxed, it's going to be paper."
The contest was billed as the second world championship, organizers said. The first one last year was in Toronto. A similar contest also was held at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.
The $1,000 prize went to Ana Martinez, a 20-year-old student from Oakland whose rock smashed her opponent's scissors.
Coffee Machine Obscures Crucial U.N. Announcement
UNITED NATIONS - As the world waited for word on a crucial U.N. resolution authorizing war against Iraq, the Security Council was trying to deal with other troubles: First, members had to battle for elbow room. Then, Britain's envoy almost got trumped by a cappuccino machine.
The council was relegated to meeting Monday in a cramped basement conference room, adjacent to the noisy Vienna Cafe.
That's because the council agreed weeks ago to move out of their private consultation room on the second floor, starting Monday, so the chairs could be reupholstered.
Several hundred journalists, U.N. officials and diplomats jammed the area outside the basement conference room to await the announcement from British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock and U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte on whether they would call for a vote on the resolution or abandon it.
Just as Greenstock got to the crucial sentence announcing that the United States, Britain and Spain would not call for a vote on the resolution, the cappuccino machine in the cafe went into action, almost drowning him out.
U.S. officials were outraged and exasperated, and demanded that the closed meeting be moved to the formal Security Council chamber, where votes are taken.
Minutes after the door on the conference room closed, it suddenly opened and the entire council trooped upstairs to the council chamber. Security guards tried to hold back the throng of TV cameramen, photographers and reporters but didn't succeed and there was a mad chase to catch the diplomats and get reaction to the announcement.
Horse Falls Into Swimming Pool
LINCOLNTON, N.C. - It's bad enough when the neighborhood kids show up in your pool unannounced. When it's the neighbor's horse, that's a matter for the fire department, a veterinarian and a host of helpers, Paul and Virginia Rhyne discovered.
The Rhynes were setting out for a leisurely Sunday breakfast with their grandson and his friends when the boys found Hickory, a 10-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse.
"The boys ran around and said `You've got a horse in the pool!'," Virginia Rhyne said.
Hickory, who belongs to neighbors Scott and Marni Carpenter, apparently had gotten out of her pasture overnight and strayed into the pool. Two of the Carpenters' other horses were watching Hickory from the pool's edge.
The Rhynes said they think the horse mistook their pool's canvas cover for solid ground.
Within minutes, a volunteer firefighter was on the scene, Scott Carpenter said. Soon, the crowd of rescuers had swelled to about 50, Virginia Rhyne said.
Firefighters used hoses to create a makeshift harness for Hickory, who was sedated. They then pulled her out on a count of three.
She was awake and wobbling around within 15 minutes and soon was back to normal. By Sunday afternoon, she was resting in her stable.
"She's great, she's perfect, everything is fine," said Scott Carpenter, who thinks Hickory got out when someone left the gate to her pasture open.
He said he plans to replace the Rhynes' pool cover.
Justice Is Blind, Careless
ST. LOUIS - A judge signed the wrong paperwork and sent a burglary suspect to jail three months ago, but the man was never tried and never convicted.
While rules bar lawyers from publicly discussing the case, court documents reported Sunday by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provided some details.
Circuit Judge Julian Bush said the suspect's lawyer evidently prepared a judgment document in anticipation of a guilty plea, but Michael Cook instead pleaded innocent.
"I carelessly did not look at the papers carefully enough and signed the sentence and judgment," Bush said Wednesday in a hearing transcript. "And off went Mr. Cook. It's my fault."
Bush rescinded his five-year sentence for Cook, 46, of Belleville, Ill., who has been in custody since he was charged nearly a year ago with second-degree burglary in two break-ins in 2001. He is unable to raise his $5,000 bail.
If Cook is found guilty, he will simply get credit on his sentence for time spent waiting for a trial. However, if he's found innocent, the error could have cost him extra months behind bars.