The Odd Truth, May 24, 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.

Bridesmaid Needled!

NEW YORK - A Manhattan bridesmaid has filed a lawsuit against gown maker Vera Wang, claiming she was severely injured when she stepped on a needle at the designer's Upper East Side boutique.

Melissa Brennan, 27, filed the lawsuit, which seeks $2 million in damages, in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday.

She claims in court documents that it was unsafe to walk around in the store because of "pins, needles and other sewing supplies" on the floor when she was being fitted for a dress in November.

Brennan's lawyer, Max Leifer, said a needle was lodged in his client's foot for about a week until she underwent surgery to have it removed.

"They had to go into the foot and pull it out," he told the Daily News for its Friday editions.

Wang's dresses, which sell for thousands of dollars, have been worn by celebrities including Uma Thurman and Sharon Stone. Her spokeswoman, Lynn Tesoro, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Our Pale Blue Dot

LOS ANGELES - NASA on Thursday released what it billed as the first portrait of Earth as seen from Mars.

The colorized photograph shows Earth from 86 million miles away as a small blue dot orbited by its even smaller moon.

The keen-eyed can make out clouds over the central and eastern United States and northern South America, as well as portions of Central America and the Gulf of Mexico, in a specially processed blowup of the image.

NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft took the picture while orbiting the Red Planet on May 8.

"This image gives us a new perspective ... one in which we can see our own planet as one among many," said Michael Malin, whose San Diego company built and operates the camera. Jupiter also is visible in the picture.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the portrait was unprecedented — despite numerous tries to produce one.

The agency's Pathfinder spacecraft tried several times to photograph Earth after reaching Mars in 1997 but was thwarted by cloudy skies.

In 1990, as NASA's unmanned Voyager 1 spacecraft reached the fringes of the solar system, it turned back to take a final look at Earth at the suggestion of astronomer Carl Sagan. The image, taken from 4 billion miles away, inspired the title of Sagan's 1994 book "A Pale Blue Dot."

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives," Sagan wrote.

Jackass Star Busted After Swallowing Dope-Filled Condom
STOCKHOLM - One of the stars of MTV's "Jackass" was arrested in Sweden after admitting he swallowed a condom filled with marijuana, police said Friday.

Stephen Glover — known as Steve-O on the now defunct series — was arrested Thursday after police raided his hotel room in Stockholm. Glover and other "Jackass" regulars had performed their "Don't Try This at Home" show in the Swedish capital Wednesday night.

Prosecutor Gunnar Fjaestad said the raid happened after Glover said he swallowed the condom as a stunt.

A call seeking comment from Glover's public relations company wasn't immediately returned.

On his Web site, the performer wrote that he swallowed the condom and was "stoned as can be and overjoyed with the success" of the stunt. The entry was dated May 22.

Fjaestad said an X-ray of Glover's body showed a "foreign object" in his stomach. Police also reported finding an Ecstasy pill and more marijuana in his hotel room.

Glover, 28, could face charges of narcotics smuggling and possession of illegal drugs. A detention hearing is scheduled for the weekend and a judge will decide whether he should be kept in jail while prosecutors prepare any charges.

Billy-Bob Versus Bubba

CHICAGO - In the case of Billy-Bob versus Bubba, it's Billy-Bob who has the bite. Both companies make disgusting dentures for the novelty market. Billy-Bob sued Bubba for copyright infringement. This week, a federal appeals panel in Chicago sided with Billy-Bob. The judge writing the decision cites that international man of mystery and law, Austin Powers. The ruling notes that Billy-Bob Teeth Incorporated has a licensing agreement with the producer of the Austin Powers movies. The message to Bubba — "Oh behave!" The ruling backs a lower court jury decision for the owners of Bubba to pay Billy-Bob more than $140,000.

Milk, One Sugar, Hold The Metal

MARLBORO, Mass. - Jillian Roberts was left cold by what she found in her ice coffee-to-go. Roberts says there was a big chunk of metal in the bottom of the cup she ordered from a Dunkin' Donuts in Marlboro, Massachusetts. After drinking the coffee, Roberts says she was shocked to find a rubber knob and a five-inch-long piece of metal. Roberts thinks it was part of the ice coffee machine. She returned to the Dunkin' Donuts, where the store manager apologized and offered her a free meal. Roberts refused and says she'll be talking to a lawyer. A statement from corporate headquarters says the matter is under investigation and appears to be isolated.

Pizza Hut's Special Herbs And Spices

FREMONT, Michigan - According to authorities, there was more than pepperoni and extra cheese being offered at a Pizza Hut in Michigan. Three workers at the Fremont Pizza Hut, including the assistant manager, have been busted on pot-selling charges. Investigators say they were selling marijuana out of the restaurant. Pizza Hut corporate attorney Katie Kirk says the company's absolutely shocked by the alleged illegal activity. She adds she doesn't want police to think that's how Pizza Hut does business.

Neon Jesus

BEDFORD, Pa. - A large neon sign that reads "Jesus is Lord" is catching heat from the managers of this historic borough.

Officials are threatening businessman Bob Foor with 30 days in jail if he refuses to remove the 3½-feet-tall and nearly 100-feet-wide flashing red sign from a massive old building he owns in the heart of the borough's historic district.

Foor, who spent $10,000 on the sign, says it's his constitutional right.

"I feel they're violating my freedom of speech and my freedom to express my religion," Foor said.

The row began a year ago when Foor sought permission from the borough's historical review board to put up the sign. The board denied the request because of the size of the sign and the use of neon, both of which failed to comply with the district's historic appearance.

Earlier this year, Foor found out no permit was necessary to put a sign on windows, so he had the sign installed on the building windows.

"There's nothing wrong with putting beer signs on the windows, so what's wrong with this?" Foor said.

Officials, who gave Foor 10 days' notice to remove the sign, say it violates the historic district's regulations, the sign ordinance and the zoning law. Borough Manager John Montgomery added signs must be inside the window.

Letters Foor received from borough Solicitor Dean Crabtree said failure to comply could bring fines of $1,000 per day and up to 30 days in jail.

'Homeless' Cops Draw Fire

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Homeless advocates are outraged by a Kissimmee police operation, in which undercover officers dress as vagrants to search for drivers running red lights or committing other traffic violations.

The officers radio ahead to others, who stop the cars and write tickets. "Operation Vagrant" is a sting operation involving the Florida Highway Patrol, Kissimmee police and the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.

So far, the operation has nabbed 171 drivers, mostly for running red lights. Osceola sheriff's bureau Chief Jerry Geier say the sting is designed to raise awareness about dangerous intersections.

Virtual Funeral

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A new company is broadcasting funerals on the Internet, giving friends and relatives who can't make the service a chance to pay their respects.

"Those who can't get to the funeral also will be able to sign the electronic guest book and e-mail condolences to the family," said Ross Johnson, promotional director for Chapelview Online, based in Rapid City.

The company captures funerals with a digital camera and broadcasts them live for seven funeral homes in South Dakota.

Its clients include funeral director Daryl Isburg, of Hot Springs, who heard about Chapelview during a conference and decided to give it a try.

Isburg said families often ask for a tape of the service to send to loved ones who couldn't be there. Relatives and friends who want to watch it online will be given a password.

Not everyone is sold on the idea.

"So will it come to: 'Hey, Mom's funeral got 40,000 hits?"' asked Tim Wingen, managing partner of Miller Funeral Home in Sioux Falls. "We should be there to support each other. And families really appreciate seeing someone that perhaps they haven't seen for years."

A Likely Story

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas - An Arkansas farmer says it's not his fault pot was growing in his pasture. Benton County Deputy Tom Brewster says the farmer called the sheriff's department to report the illegal weed. The pot plants were up to three-feet tall. Brewster says the farmer had bought bales of hale that apparently contained pots seeds. Cows ate the hay over the winter and spread the seeds, which eventually sprouted. Brewster says no charges will be filed — and he's not revealing exactly where that pot was growing.

Colombian Soldiers Stumble On $9M, Then Disappear

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian soldiers who stumbled on a $9 million cache of rebel money in a remote jungle went on a spending and partying frenzy, buying cars, televisions and visiting prostitutes before disappearing, authorities said Wednesday.

Colombians were riveted by the tale of the two companies of soldiers who stumbled across the rebel money last month — and were divided over whether the troops should be punished. The soldiers came across the cache of U.S. dollars and Colombian pesos in Colombia's cocaine-producing region.

Authorities have arrested 45 of the soldiers, including the three officers, and are carrying out a nationwide manhunt for 102 others. The men face charges of misappropriation of funds and could face up to 22 years in prison each if convicted.

Soldiers divvied up the money according to rank, and many of the soldiers emptied their field packs to make room for the cash. They never reported the discovery, and were found out only after they bought new cars, televisions and refrigerators with cash and partied for days.

Authorities said the money was drug profits belonging to the nation's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which protects and "taxes" cocaine production.

Merchants, bars and bordellos in Popayan, where the soldiers were deployed after discovering the money, reported a surge in business.

One Popayan prostitute told RCN Television that some soldiers spent four straight days in a bordello.

Salaries for soldiers average about $175 per month, according to the army, setting off a debate on whether they should be punished.

"These guys don't receive a good salary, they don't have homes for their families," said Romel Auli, a construction worker in Bogota. "If they find a little money, well, I think it's their right to take it."

Every Kid's Dream

ALBANY, New York - Two heads may be better than one — except if you're a turtle. Nine-year-old Gabrielle Pascarell found a two-headed turtle at a pond on her family's property near Albany, New York. At first, Gabrielle says she thought it was a cool-looking rock. Then the heads started to move. The mutant terrapin is now living in a fish tank in Gabrielle's home. Dad, Rob Pascarell, says it's pretty weird. He adds the two-headed turtle appears to be thriving. But experts say such mutations usually don't fare well. For one thing, the turtle's likely to be indecisive.

Busted Selling Pot To Sheriff

NAY-TAH-WAUSH, Minn. - If you're going to sell marijuana, you probably shouldn't try to sell it to the sheriff.

Mahnomen County Sheriff Brad Athman said Tuesday he was motorcycling while off-duty over the weekend when a youth tried to sell him marijuana — not once, but twice — on the main street of Nay-Tah-Waush in northwestern Minnesota.

Athman said the youth tried to wave him over twice, and signaled that he had marijuana for sale by placing his thumb and fingers to his mouth in a smoking gesture.

Athman said he had a full-face helmet on, so he was unrecognizable.

The sheriff said he called a deputy who arrested the 17-year-old, and that the teen had 11 marijuana cigarettes in his pocket.

Athman said the teen became "very upset" when he discovered he had tried to sell drugs to the sheriff.

The youth appeared in court Tuesday on a felony charge of attempted sale of a controlled substance. He remained in custody in the juvenile detention center in Moorhead pending his next court appearance. Prosecutors plan to seek to charge him as an adult.

Shh! Don't Tell The Ghosts About This

LONDON - Goodbye, Catherine Howard. Farewell, Mr. Boots.

Two of Britain's most famous "ghosts" are apparently just the effects of drafts or poor lighting, British psychologists said Wednesday.

Hundreds of volunteers were asked to describe their experiences at Hampton Court Palace in southwest London — where Catherine, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII is said to wander — and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, reportedly home to a cheeky boy specter known as Mr. Boots.

In a report published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Psychology, psychologists concluded that the "spooky" feelings reported in some locations were the result of drafts, poor or variable lighting and differences in electromagnetic fields, rather than denizens of the spirit world.

"Results revealed significantly more reports of unusual experiences in areas that had a reputation for being haunted," said the group, led by Richard Wiseman, a psychology professor from the University of Hertfordshire in southern England.

"Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that these alleged hauntings do not represent evidence for 'ghostly' activity, but are instead the result of people responding — perhaps unwittingly — to 'normal' factors in their surroundings," the report said.

The researchers measured air movement, light, space and local magnetic fields in the areas said to be haunted.

In both tests, some 45 percent of participants reported at least one "unusual experience" such as an "eerie presence," dizziness, headaches, nausea or shortness of breath.

What's It Take To Get A Pardon Around Here?

NEW YORK - More than 35 years after Lenny Bruce's death, the comedian's supporters are still trying to clear his name.

Ron Collins and David Skover, authors of a Bruce biography that came out last year, are asking New York's governor to issue a posthumous pardon.

Bruce was convicted of using obscene language in a 1964 show. He died two years later, while his appeal was still pending.

Robert Corn-Revere, the First Amendment lawyer who wrote the petition, says this is a good time to reverse what he sees as an injustice.

As he puts it, "The United States is seeking to instruct the rest of the world what it means to live in a free society." And he adds, "It would behoove us to live up to our own standards."

Woman Fined For Petting Killer Whale

GOLD RIVER, British Columbia - A woman has pleaded guilty to petting a killer whale in the first case of its kind in Canada. Sandra Bohn was fined $74 during a court appearance yesterday in Gold River, British Columbia. Under Canadian law, she could have been fined one thousand times that much. Marine mammal experts say touching or petting a whale may change its behavior and lessen its chances of reuniting with its pod, or clan. Judge Peter Doherty says the next sentence for that offense could be much heavier.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Jacquie Olsen says the size of the fine was not the point. She says bringing the case to court was important to let whale watchers know there are limits. Olsen says there have been reports of people swimming with the whale, a three-year-old male known as Luna, and even giving him beer.

Rare 'Corpse Flower' Blooms

FULLERTON, Calif. - It smells like road kill, stands 6 feet tall, and last bloomed three years ago.

Tiffy, one of the world's biggest, stinkiest flowers, is expected to unfurl its petals Tuesday at the California State University, Fullerton Arboretum.

A similar plant bloomed in July 2002 at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, where crowds gathered to smell the odor that gives the plant, also known as Titan Arum, its unappetizing nickname, the "corpse flower."

Native to Indonesia, Titan Arum blooms only a few times in its 40-year life span and rarely blooms in cultivation. For eight hours, it emits a nauseating odor to attract pollinating, cadaver-eating beetles.

The plant has been seen in bloom only about 15 times since its first U.S. display in New York in 1937. About 63,000 people flocked to the Huntington Library in San Marino when a Titan bloomed in 1999 and hundreds went to the arboretum in Fullerton in 2000 to inspect Tiffy.

In June 2002, thousands lined up to see and smell the corpse flower at the University of Wisconsin.

20 Ton Cookie Baked

FLAT ROCK, N.C. - A humongous cookie broke a world record over the weekend before a crowd of 1,500 hungry onlookers.

It took eight hours and a cookie sheet the size of a basketball court to bake the 100-foot, 20-ton chocolate chip colossus. The cookie was baked in an oven bag that released the smells of chocolate and warm, sugary dough when opened.

"It looks like a giant mud pie," said 18-year-old Sarah Fantle.

The curious crowd that braved a steady drizzle for a glimpse of the cookie Saturday soon began nibbling it down to size for $10 a slice. Ten percent of the proceeds will go toward building a craft museum.

Immaculate Baking Co. owner Scott Blackwell and a team of 70 volunteers built the cookie from 6,500 pounds of butter, 30,000 whole eggs and 5,000 pounds of sugar.

Jonathan Collins, a representative of the former record holder, Cookie Time of New Zealand, witnessed the event. Cookie Time set the previous record in 1996 by baking an 82-foot wide cookie.

Blackwell said the record belongs in American hands because the chocolate chip cookie is an American invention.

Man Forces Eyes Out Of Sockets In Protest

ATHENS, Greece - A 30-year-old man forced his eyes out their sockets to protest his arrest at Athens International Airport, authorities said Tuesday.

Remi Tsolakis was taken to a hospital and received surgery to try and restore his eyesight, doctors said.

Tsolakis was arrested late Monday after flying to Athens from the island of Rhodes. Airport authorities discovered he had an outstanding three-month jail sentence for a minor offence.

He told police he did not have enough money to pay a fine in lieu of the sentence and would have to go to jail.

Police gave no details of the offense.

Health Scare After Man Falls Into Water Supply

MANILA, Philippines - A frantic search was under way Monday for the body of a man who accidentally fell into Manila's underground drinking-water pipe system over the weekend, sparking a scare over possible contamination, officials said.

The 19-year-old man was trying to pick mangoes from a tree Saturday when the concrete box he was jumping on collapsed, causing him to fall and disappear in the gushing waters of a large underground pipe, officials said.

After learning about the accident, engineers of the privately run Manila Water Co. Inc., which supplies drinking water to half of the capital's 12 million residents, isolated a portion of the main pipeline where the body is believed to have been stuck, said company spokesman Joel Lacsamana.

Many concerned residents who swamped the water company with calls over possible contamination were assured that their drinking water remains safe, Lacsamana said.

The dosage of germ-killing chlorine in the water has been increased and the Department of Health was testing the water randomly, he said.

Some residents, however, told local radio stations that they would quench their thirst with more expensive bottled mineral water or soft drinks until the body is found.

The water company is hoping the body will turn up in a reservoir in Manila's San Juan district. If that doesn't happen, Lacsamana said they would have to start digging and punching holes in selected pipelines so divers could start searching.

French Fries Fly In McDonald's Assault

GERMANTOWN, Md. - An 18-year-old woman was held Monday on assault charges after she allegedly rubbed hot french fries in the face of a 4-year-old who accidentally spilled ice cream on her shirt.

Malika L. Hayes, 18, of Gaithersburg, had bond set at $20,000 Monday on assault and disorderly conduct charges and was jailed at the Montgomery County Detention Center, according to Lucille Baur, spokeswoman for the county police.

Hayes was in a McDonald's inside a Wal-Mart Saturday when the 4-year-old spilled ice cream on her. Police said she shouted obscenities at the boy and his grandmother, chased him and put him in a headlock. She then allegedly rubbed french fries in the boy's face for 10 to 15 seconds before pushing him away.

The boy and Hayes did not know each other, Baur said.

Hayes was arrested as she demanded a new shirt from Wal-Mart employees, Baur said. The boy suffered a swollen cheek and was treated on the scene for his injuries.

"Obviously, this was an overreaction on the part of the 18-year-old," Baur said.

Van Gogh May Be Fake, But Who Cares?

OSLO, Norway - A prized self-portrait by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh may be fake, but Norway's National Gallery couldn't be happier.

Visitors to the Oslo art museum have increased since April, thanks to curious Norwegians eager to see the painting, which has become the center of controversy about its authenticity, gallery curator Frode Haverkamp said Tuesday.

The untitled painting, done mostly in green and blue hues, shows the anguished face of van Gogh, who lived from 1853-1890, shortly after he cut off his right ear. It is believed to be one of the few self-portraits he did after mutilating himself.

But earlier this year, Norwegian art historian Johannes Roed concluded that the untitled artwork was likely a fake, painted by someone else.

"For a long time, we have had doubters," Haverkamp said of the painting acquired by the National Gallery in 1910. He said the gallery is conducting its own investigation into whether it is a phony or not.

But doubts have turned the painting into the museum's biggest attraction, drawing more attention than Norwegian Edvard Munch's classic, "The Scream."

When the self-portrait (or portrait, depending on who's asked) returned to Oslo last month after an exhibition in Italy, visits to the state-owned gallery rose from 1,200 the first weekend to 3,200.

"Everyone wants to see it," said Haverkamp. "But if they happen to notice other great works on the walls, that's fine too."

Fish + Blender = Art

COPENHAGEN - A Danish art museum director was acquitted of animal cruelty charges Monday after a court ruled that a display featuring goldfish inside working blenders was not cruel.

The display at the Trapholt Art Museum in Kolding featured 10 blenders and invited visitors to blend the fish if they wanted to. Somebody did in early 2000 — and two goldfish were ground up.

Animals right activists complained that the exhibit was cruel. Museum director Peter Meyer was fined $315 by police, but he refused to pay and went on trial in Kolding, 125 miles west of the capital, Copenhagen.

Judge Preben Bagger ruled Monday that Meyer did not have to pay the fine because the fish were killed "instantly" and "humanely."

During the two-day trial, a zoologist and a representative of blender manufacturer Moulinex said the fish likely died within a second after the blender started.

The installation was the work of Chilean-born Danish artist Marco Evaristti.

Lost Beagle Found 800 Miles Away

AUBURN, Ala. - Stray dogs show up all the time around Auburn University in Alabama. They don't usually belong 800 miles away in Kansas.

But that was the case with Norman, a beagle who wandered away from his home in Solomon, Kansas, in March. He showed up on the Auburn campus Friday. If he walked all the way, he'd have had to average about 20 miles a day.

Staffers checked the dog's collar and found a tag with the name of his Kansas hometown on it. They called City Hall in Solomon, and the astounded city clerk recognized their description of the chubby beagle.

Norman's owner, Jennifer Cross, says she was crying too hard to keep on teaching her class after she got the news that her dog had been found.

The Crosses hadn't planned to take a vacation this year, but now it looks like they'll be driving to Alabama to fetch Norman.

Bad Day For Bank Robber

FLORENCE, Ore. - A man suspected of robbing a bank was arrested after he told the son of the bank manager he had to get out of town quickly and asked him for directions to the bus station, police said.

Police arrested 48-year-old Sandine LaGrand Friday after the bank was held up earlier in the day. It was not immediately clear how much money was taken.

The robber entered Klamath First bank in this coastal town and passed a teller a note demanding money. After the teller handed over the cash, the man left the bank and fled on foot.

A short time later Jared Torgison — whose mother is the manager at the bank — was on the street across from the bank, when a man approached him and asked for directions to the bus station, explaining that he had to get out of town quickly, police said.

Torgison, whose mother had told him about the robbery, thought LaGrande looked like the suspect: a white man with short blond hair, wearing a gray sweat shirt and blue jeans.

Torgison called the bank on his cell phone and told employees to look outside and verify that the man was the one who robbed the bank, police said.

They did.

Officers arrested LaGrande a few blocks from the bank and charged him with second-degree robbery.

Elephant Attacks Drunk Tourist

HANOI, Vietnam - A drunk Vietnamese tourist who ran into an elephant he didn't see standing in the street was injured when the animal picked him up and tossed him aside, an official said Monday.

Vu Quang Phuc, 39, was rushed to a hospital after Saturday's attack, said the official of Buon Don tourist site in Daklak province, some 220 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

He suffered three broken ribs and bruises on his face and body, a doctor at the hospital in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Phuc was among a group of tourists from Ho Chi Minh City. He stumbled out of a restaurant when he heard an 8-year-old boy wailing on the ground after tripping, said the official who identified himself only as Du.

Phuc didn't see the full-grown elephant — one of several dozen owned by villagers in the area — and he ran into it. The animal lifted him up with its trunk and pitched him several meters.

Du said it was the first incident in the area of a tourist attacked by an elephant.

Buon Don is a popular site among foreign and local tourists, where they can ride elephants and visit ethnic minority groups living in the area.

3,669 Push-Ups In One Hour

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - What began as a quest to beat his dad doing push-ups as a 12-year-old ended 28 years later with a likely world record for Tim Sikes.

Sikes on Saturday managed 3,669 push-ups in an hour — well above the current record of 3,416 recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records and set by Canadian Roy Berger in 1998.

Sikes said he trained three hours a day, six days a week since last July. While the number of pushups works out to more than one per second, "if you hang in there, you can break through the pain," he said.

Sikes did 75 push-ups at a time and took 15-second breaks to set the record at a Murfreesboro karate studio. Several times he had trouble getting off the floor, his arms red from stress and covered in perspiration.

His feat was part of a fund-raiser for the Boy Scouts of America and a United Way program. Witnesses signed a document after the event that will be sent to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Sikes said a push-up competition with his father as a child inspired his dedication to physical fitness.

"I came home from working out with some athletes and was telling my dad how much I could lift," Sikes said. "My father asked me how many push-ups I could do, and then he beat me. I guess that's how it all started."