The Odd Truth, Oct. 11, 2004
The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum.
Museum Yanks Bush Nude
WASHINGTON - A nude painting of President Bush is a little too funky for the "Funky Furniture" exhibit. The City Museum of Washington had scheduled an exhibition called "Funky Furniture." A cartoonish painting showed a nude President Bush reclining on a couch. It's a take-off on Manet's Impressionist masterpiece, "Olympia." But museum officials have pulled the plug on the entire exhibition. They say theirs is a history not an art museum. One member of the museum board tells the Washington Post they thought the exhibit was going to be about furniture.
Yes, He Is The Burger King
SINGAPORE - Spurred on by shouts of "Shove it in, shove it in!" 19-year-old Don Ezra Nicholas stuffed more than three McDonald's hamburgers into his mouth - without swallowing - and claimed a new global record at the end of Singapore's contest to be the world's wackiest.
Nicholas jumped up, pumped his fists in the air and shouted, "Yes! I am the burger king!" as he spat out the last bits of the 3 1/5 burgers that he hopes put him in the Guinness World Records.
"I just thought to myself, I've got to do this, I've got to do this," Nicholas said after his feat Sunday. "I'm on top of the world right now, because everyone's going to know that I can shove more than three burgers in my mouth!"
The previous burger-stuffing record was set in 1998 by Johnny Reitz, an American who squeezed three into his mouth without spitting or swallowing.
Twenty Singaporeans tried to smash 10 unusual records over the weekend in a bid to make this tiny island nation stand out a bit more on the world map.
They broke two.
Jeffery Koh, 50, became the world's fastest eater of dry biscuits by swallowing three cream crackers in 14.45 seconds, smashing the previous mark of 49.15 seconds set in 2002.
But other attempts failed. They ranged from the fastest to drink a 14-ounce bottle of ketchup through a straw, to the longest paper airplane flight.
Animal Abuse Suspect Found In Dog House
JACKSON, Mo. - A man wanted for domestic and animal abuse has been found hiding - in a doghouse. Paul Oakley was in court Friday for a preliminary hearing on charges he roughed up his girlfriend and her pet kitten. The judge told Oakley to take a seat in the courtroom. But authorities in Jackson, Missouri, say Oakley made a dash from the courthouse. He didn't get far. A local resident saw Oakley hiding in a neighbor's doghouse and called police. He now faces a new charge, escape from custody.
Report: Brits More Afraid Of Spiders Than Terrorists
LONDON - Spiders are scarier than terrorists - at least according to a survey of 1,000 Britons released Monday.
Household creepy crawlies frighten Britons more than terrorist attacks, or even death, the survey found.
Terrorism only came second on the list of respondents' top ten fears, according to the survey conducted by RSGB Omnibus for Universal Pictures UK Ltd. The survey was based on telephone interviews of 1,000 aged 16 to 55 across Britain on Sept. 22-26.
Another crawling phobia - snakes - was ranked third, followed by a fear of heights. Death came in a surprising fifth place as the nation's greatest fear.
"It's not surprising that terrorist attacks came only second to creepy crawlies," said psychologist Donna Dawson, hired by Universal Pictures to comment the survey. "This is because fear of small creatures that scuttle about on four or more legs is a much more ancient, primordial fear, going straight back to caveman days."
A visit to the dentist came in sixth place, followed by needles and injections, and fear of public speaking - whether professionally or at family events. Fear of debt came in ninth position, beating concerns over flying.
Also listed, other fears such as criminality, failure, ghosts, or even the fear of the future, did not make the top ten list of things that frighten Britons most.
Aileen Coulson, a spokeswoman for Universal Pictures, which commissioned the survey to coincide with the DVD release of Van Helsing, a horror movie featuring Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, said the findings would provide "some great ammunition for Halloween," adding a prank spider was sure to "put the 'willies' up a friend, colleague or family member."
Mowed Down In Their Youth
PERRYSBURG, Ohio - It was a clear-cut error: A state worker mowed down 28,000 young trees that had been planted as part of a $33,000 highway beautification project.
The only thing left behind were signs that read "Do not mow or spray."
"Shame on us. We wasted all that effort," Joe Rutherford, a spokesman with the Ohio Transportation Department, said Friday.
The oaks, ash, birches, maples and sycamores were planted in 2002 and 2003 at the interchange of two highways near this Toledo suburb. The city, county and state paid for the seedlings, and volunteers put in more than 700 hours planting them.
Rutherford said the seedlings, which were no more than 2 feet tall, were cut down earlier this week. He said that many of the seedlings were dead and that someone got the idea it would be OK to mow them down.
"I'm sure at some point someone was directed to mow. I'm not sure at what level that was given," he said. "We've reviewing the matter."
60-Year-Old Woman Attacks Gator To Save Man
CAIRNS, Australia - A 60-year-old woman jumped onto the back of a 14-foot crocodile, tackling it to free a man trapped in its jaws, rescue authorities said Monday.
The huge crocodile grabbed the 34-year-old man as he slept in a tent with his wife at a remote Camp Melville beach campsite in northern Queensland state, said Ben Mitchell from the Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR) Coordination Center.
The saltwater crocodile entered the tent around 4 a.m. Monday and dragged the man outside, Mitchell said.
The woman "was also camping there, and she saw what was happening and she jumped on the croc," said Stephen Pemberthy of the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
The crocodile let the man go and turned on the woman, pulling her toward the water before a third person shot it dead.
The man and woman were flown to Queensland's Cairns Base Hospital where they were in serious but stable condition, Mitchell said. The woman was treated for a broken arm, cuts and bruises. The man's injuries included a broken arm and leg.
"They were pretty lucky," said Charles Ellis, from the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
Crocodile numbers have exploded in northern Australia since hunting them was banned in the early 1970s.
Wildlife authorities were investigating whether fishermen dumping bait in the area had attracted the crocodile to the area of Monday's attack.
11-Year-Old Takes Family Car On Statewide Odyssey
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - An 11-year-old boy who told authorities he was upset about being bullied at school took off in the family car on an odyssey that ended more than 200 miles away on the other side of the state.
Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, the boy left his suburban Kansas City home early Tuesday, making his way onto Interstate 35 and driving 92 miles to Bethany, a northwest Missouri community in an area where he used to hunt with his father.
He stopped there at a convenience store for some chips and a soft drink, then drove off aimlessly, following several other highways before ending up 135 miles away in Callao in northeast Missouri's Macon County.
Sgt. Michael Johnston of the Macon County Sheriff's Department said he got a call about 10:30 a.m. from the Callao postmaster, who reported that a boy was locked out of his car and wanted to talk.
"He just wanted some help," Johnston said. "He was a very polite guy. He spoke highly of his parents. He spoke highly of his school. But he knew he was in trouble."
The boy told Johnston he left home about 5:10 a.m. and had driven at speeds up to 85 mph.
"He was darn lucky," Johnston said.
The boy reported some problems during the trip, saying the 1995 Chevrolet ran out of gasoline at one point, but that he continued on his way after some construction workers helped him out.
After locking himself out of the car when he stopped to use a restroom in Callao, he went to the post office and asked for help.
Johnston said the boy told him his only driving experience was operating a tractor a few times and backing the car out of the driveway.
The relieved parents, who had filed a missing person report in Independence noting that their car and keys were also gone, picked their son up at mid-afternoon Tuesday. He was back in school the next day.
Officials said they had not seen any indications of bullying at the boy's school.
"But we're taking the concern very seriously," Associate Superintendent Patty Schumacher said. "We don't want a student to ever feel pushed into a corner or want to just take off."