The Odd Truth, May 28, 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.
Eyes, Mouth Sewn Shut
LONDON - A hunger-striking Iranian asylum seeker who had his eyelids and lips sewn up in protest at plans to deport him says he fears being tortured for dissident activities if returned to Iran, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Abas Amini, 33, went on hunger strike a week ago and has threatened to burn himself to death if anyone tries to force-feed him, The Guardian newspaper said. A photograph in the daily showed at least four stitches through his lips and at least one between each upper eyelid and skin beneath the eyes. It showed his folded right ear with one stitch holding it in place.
The Guardian reported that Amini, a communist and former member of an Iranian Kurd rebel movement, was protesting the Home Office's decision to appeal a ruling granting him asylum status in Britain.
"I don't know what I have to do any more for my situation to be resolved so I can live like a human being," Amini was quoted as saying by The Guardian, speaking through closed lips. "I spent many years in prison being tortured; I was forced to flee here.
"Shouldn't a human being have a square foot of earth to live on to live in peace?"
The Home Office refused to comment on the case.
Birth 'Well' Done
NEW DELHI, India - A woman in southern India who was suffering labor pains jumped into a 50-foot well but successfully gave birth minutes later to a son, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Villagers in Salem in Tamil Nadu state rescued Eswari, 28, and her newborn from the nearly dry well after hearing the child crying, the Economic Times quoted police as saying.
The news report — headlined "It's a delivery 'well' done" — said the mother and the baby were in good condition.
The report, which could not be independently verified, said the woman couldn't bear her labor pains but didn't elaborate on why she jumped into the well.
Smoking Ban Bums Dutch Puffers
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The latest news from the Mecca of marijuana users may sound like a bad joke, but it's not. A new ban on smoking in public places does not interfere with Dutch coffee shops selling joints, but customers will soon have to go outside for a puff.
Although the law, which goes into effect in January, targets tobacco and not marijuana, it seems to inadvertently strike at the heart of the liberal Dutch drugs policy.
The catering industry is arguing the prohibition in restaurants, bars and cafes, including those which sell marijuana, would result in the loss of 50,000 jobs and $1.5 billion in revenues annually because people may drive to Belgium or Germany for a meal with a smoke.
In addition to selling small quantities of what the Dutch call "soft-drugs," many coffee shops also offer patrons comfortable couches, fresh fruit juices and board games. Alcohol is generally forbidden.
Reactions in Dutch coffee shops ranged from utter amazement to concern about what will happen to the three-decade-old tradition in Amsterdam of social pot smoking.
"They've got to be out of their minds," laughed Annemiek van Royan, a regular at the "Kashmir Lounge" coffee shop in West Amsterdam. Lighting up a joint of Dutch "skunk weed," she said she comes every day to hang out and talk with other visitors who can lean back on colorful embroidered cushions while puffing.
"I bought a joint for now and a little more for later at home. The best part is coming here to relax. It makes my day," she said, asking the dealer jokingly if he was going to start selling hash cake.
Chiropractor Bent On Honor Code
MOUNT AIRY, N.C. - A small-town chiropractor bent on keeping fees low for the uninsured is relying on an honor system to get paid.
Dr. Samuel Jeffrey Ray, owner of Affordable Walk N Chiropractic clinic, doesn't bill his patients. He simply asks that they put a low fee — $30 for a first visit and $20 for follow-ups — in a milk can before they leave.
With a small office, no employees and no insurance to deal with, Ray is able to keep his prices low by avoiding administrative costs.
"I have a fee schedule that I ask for," he said this week. "But if you can't afford that, nobody watches you put the money in the milk can. If you are a little bit short, nobody is watching you but yourself. It's an honor system."
He said he's found that most patients are honest. He said he knows of only two incidents in the five years he's been at this location in which people took money from the jar.
"If you treat people like they are honest, they probably will be," he said. "I trust people to be honest and to pay whatever they think is fair."
Now he treats between 30 and 40 patients a day in the modest office space where everything is out in the open. Ray is his own receptionist.
Television For Cats Debuts Friday
NEW YORK - One new TV show isn't pussy-footing around. "Meow TV" debuts Friday and it's aimed at the feline viewer. Cat food company Meow Mix developed the program for the Oxygen cable network. Ira Cohen, marketing director for Meow Mix, says the company's research shows that about one third of cats like watching TV. He says the program is for cats and the people they tolerate. The first episode features a cat eating with chopsticks and another surfing. But humans won't become catatonic watching "Meow TV." The show also has comic Sandra Bernhard doing mock infomercials for 'The House Cat Shopping Network.'
'Paranoid Schizophrenic' Sneaks Onto Plane
PITTSBURGH - A man described as a paranoid schizophrenic sneaked through security at Pittsburgh's airport late at night and was found sleeping aboard a parked commuter airplane the next morning, authorities said.
The airport's security chief said he was "extremely upset" over the weekend incident.
Louis Esquivel remained at the Allegheny County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $25,000 bond, county Police Superintendent Ken Fulton said. He was charged with criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Flight attendants told police they found Esquivel, 23, of San Antonio, at 5:30 a.m. Saturday in a seventh-row seat of an American Eagle plane. He had neither proper passenger credentials nor an airport pass, according to an arrest warrant.
Allegheny County police said Esquivel told them he was able to dodge security by ducking behind a closed ticket counter in the all-but-deserted airport late Friday.
From there, he went through a tunnel, got on the tarmac, and jumped aboard a United Airlines van where he found the keys in the ashtray, according to an affidavit. He drove to a gate, got onto an enclosed ramp and boarded the unlocked plane, officials said.
"It raised tremendous alarms for me and, obviously, I'm extremely upset about it," said Robert Blose, head of security for the federal Transportation Security Administration at Pittsburgh's airport.
110-Year Old Cites Flush Toilet As Modern Marvel
SEQUIM, Washington - Eva Fridell has seen plenty of progress in her 110 years, everything from horseless carriages to space flight. But her favorite invention is a little closer to home -- the flush toilet. As a girl, one of Fridell's after-school chores was to empty the family chamber pots. Te Washington state woman turned 110 yesterday, making her one of the oldest people in the country. Her family held a low-key celebration at the home of grandson Greg Saunders. And what do you buy for a woman of 110? A bottle of her favorite whiskey, Crown Royal. Saunders says an occasional nip is one of the secrets to grandma's longevity.
Man Attacks Pit Bull With Machete
BINGHAMPTON - A Binghamton man has been arrested after a fatal machete attack on a dog.
Authorities say the incident occurred Sunday night on a city street.
Witnesses told police the dog — a pit bull — was stabbed as it was being walked by two boys.
The dog died shortly after being treated by a veterinarian.
Binghamton police say 19-year-old Joseph Irons has been charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals and misdemeanor criminal possession of a weapon.
Irons told investigators he'd had problems with the pit bull in the past. He claimed the dog lunged at him before he stabbed it.
Police say witnesses disputed the man's account of the incident.
Snakes Find Home In Jail Basement
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Snakes, reptiles and amphibians are making themselves at home in the old county jail — until their new home in the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium is ready.
"We have about 45 snakes," said Brian Lex, one of four full-time aquarists with the museum and aquarium.
The fish, reptiles and amphibians will be moved before the aquarium's opening on June 28. In the meantime, tanks and small aquariums line the halls of the jail's basement.
Lex and the other aquarists stroll from room to room, checking water, performing maintenance on tanks and checking snakes for signs of shedding.
Although shedding is a natural process for snakes, aquarists like to keep tabs on it because of its effect on diet and other factors, Lex said.
"I never thought I would be working with alligators in Dubuque," Lex said.