The Odd Truth, Oct. 13, 2004
The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum.
Revenge Of The Impersonators!
CRYSTAL, Minn. - Police responding to a call of a convulsing Elvis Presley impersonator soon found themselves in a high-speed chase of another faux celebrity - a man dressed as one of the Blues Brothers.
Crystal Police Capt. Dave Oyaas said the bizarre string of events began when officers were called to a veterans hall Monday morning to find a man dressed as Elvis Presley apparently in convulsions.
When the officers approached, Oyaas said the man suddenly jumped up and yelled, "Viva Las Vegas!" before singing show tunes.
At about the same time, two women said another man at the veterans hall dressed as John Belushi's character in "The Blues Brothers" had stolen their car and driven to a nearby airport.
The man led police on a high-speed chase around the airport before officers forced him to stop and arrested him.
"It's one of those things that you stop and scratch your head, and you think that 'Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?'" Oyaas said.
Oyaas said charges pending against the men could include disorderly conduct, fleeing police and drunken driving.
The men had been drinking together before police arrived. Blood tests will show how much, but Oyaas said, "I would venture to say quite a bit."
Sherlock Holmes, Philanthropist
PERTH, Australia - A former British soccer player raising money for a leukemia charity set off Wednesday on a coast-to-coast ride across Australia on a Victorian-era bicycle that is older than the country.
Leukemia survivor Lloyd Scott dressed up as fictional British supersleuth Sherlock Holmes, complete with tweed coat, deerstalker hat and a fake mustache for the 2,700-mile trip from Perth to Sydney.
He donned the costume to blend in with his 1885 "penny-farthing" bicycle with a giant front wheel and tiny back wheel, as he crosses a desert region known as the Nullarbor Plain where daytime temperatures are likely to soar to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
He said he hoped to wear the costume throughout his ride, but told Perth radio station 6PR, "I must confess if there's a couple of days across the Nullarbor when its perhaps a little bit warm and nobody's looking, I might take the jacket off."
Scott, a former firefighter and professional soccer player from Essex, southeast England, is no stranger to covering long distances in wildly inappropriate apparel - in 2002 he completed the New York marathon in a vintage diving suit - complete with boots and helmet - that weighed in at a hulking 130 pounds. He took five days to finish.
The father of three, who survived leukemia, is making what he hopes will be a six-week trek through mountain ranges and desert plains in a bid to raise $2.7 million for the charity Children With Leukemia.
"Everyone I've sort of met over here has warned me of what to look out for - road trains, cattle grids, kangaroos, emus, bulls, camels - and I've got a list now that's nearly as long my arm," Scott told 6PR. Road trains are the giant trucks that thunder along Australia's Outback highways.
Pig Guts Muck Up Highway
LITTLE ROCK - A load of pig entrails sloshed out of a truck hauling the guts to a dog food plant, leaving the slop across a busy Little Rock intersection.
The Monday accident occurred when a tractor-trailer driven by 55-year-old Billy Day of Russellville made a quick stop. About 1,000 pounds of the innards gushed past a tarp that covered the trailer.
Fire officials say the slaughterhouse helped with the cleanup, and fire crews used hoses and bleach to wash away the remainder.
The 11:20 a.m. accident tied up the intersection of University Avenue and Colonel Glenn Road in the south-central part of the city.
Police said Day was ticketed for having an unsecured load. Officials said they didn't know the name of the slaughterhouse.
Aww Rats!
MORROW, Ga. - The Piccadilly restaurant chain has recalled a brand of turnip greens sold at some of its 132 restaurants after a customer at a Georgia outlet bit into greens containing rat body parts.
The parts came into the restaurant in Morrow frozen with the greens, which were supplied by a vendor, the chain's regional manager, Clint Celestin, said Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the local health department, Sheryl Taylor, said her agency's investigation was inconclusive as to the source of the contamination.
Celestin did not know exactly how many of the restaurants, located mainly in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic region, were affected by the recall.
"We had all that product removed from all of our stores that day," he said of the Sept. 1 incident. "Anything that was opened was thrown away. Anything that was unopened in the freezer was picked up by our supplier and sent back to the vendor."
The customer, Collis L. Warren, said he was halfway through his meal when he said to himself: "That looks like hair or fur." The 40-year-old truck driver added that he may have inadvertently eaten some of the rat.
His lawyer said Warren plans to sue. Mike Misuraca, risk manager for Baton Rouge, La.-based Piccadilly Cafeterias Inc., said he could not comment on the pending lawsuit.
Teen Faces Jail For Cursing At Teacher
WILMINGTON, N.C. - A 17-year-old high school student faced a possible 30 days in jail after school resource officers arrested him for using foul language with a teacher.
Ashley High School student Glenn Gattis said he used bad language after he got in trouble with the teacher for being late to class Aug. 25. School resource officers intervened and charged him with disorderly conduct, saying his language was meant to provoke violence.
Gattis and his parents do not deny he cursed and acknowledged he has had other disciplinary problems at school. But they said the misdemeanor criminal charge was an overreaction and have hired a lawyer to fight the charge.
Lt. J.L. Simmons, who oversees resource officers for the sheriff's office, said it is not uncommon for deputies to cite students for disorderly conduct and fighting.
"When things get reckless, we have to do something," he said. "It happens all the time."
School officials declined to comment.
Gattis has an Oct. 20 court date and was also suspended from school for three days.