The Odd Truth, Oct. 25, 2004

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum.

Pumpkin Carving, With A Twist

KEY LARGO, Fla. - Divers submerged in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary over the weekend for an unusual knife-based activity - a pumpkin-carving contest.

The wacky brainchild of personnel at the Amoray Dive Resort in Key Largo, the Saturday event attracted more than 30 people, some who worked individually and others in teams to carve pumpkins creating a variety of designs amid some yellowtail snapper and even a curious grouper.

Richard Patino, of Miami, won for his detailed carving that produced a traditional jack o' lantern. The team of Marvin Mayo, Jeremy Crumbley and Ray McCormick, from Atlanta, were second; John Calle, of Jacksonville, was third.

Judges looked for design originality, steadiness of hand while carving and scuba skills. The event occurred about 25 feet below the water's surface at Elbow Reef, about eight miles off Key Largo.

Knockin' The Boots

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - There's nothing like a cowboy boot to turn-on some people. Police in Bakersfield, California, report they caught a young couple making love amid the boots in the window of a western wear store. Police say Pauline Rainwater and Brandon Clark told them they were caught in a rain shower and broke into the store to stay dry. One thing led to another and an officer found the naked couple in the store window. The officer told them to get dressed. Court records show they did - and then they took off running. But they didn't get far. They now face a number of charges, including assaulting an officer and indecent exposure.

Buddhist Monks Fall For Teenage Girls

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Two Buddhist monks abandoned their vows after they fell in love with a pair of teenage girls who sold beer across from their temple in central Cambodia, a newspaper reported Monday.

The two monks - Nang Pong and Vom Vong, both 19 - gave up their monastic lives Thursday after the chief monk at their temple accused them of secretly courting the girls in violation of Buddhist precepts, The Cambodia Daily reported.

The teenage girls earlier had been told to leave the monks alone, Deputy District Police Chief Yung Sam was quoted as saying.

Ninety percent of Cambodia's 13 million people are Buddhist. About 60,000 monks live in more than 4,000 pagodas across the country.

Severed Foot Caught In Bumper

LONDON - A hit-and-run driver struck a motorcyclist and drove off with the man's severed foot stuck in his front bumper, police said Saturday.

Lancashire Police said the victim, 36-year-old Richard Sholl, was riding a Honda motorcycle through Blackburn, northwest England, on Friday when he collided with a gray Volvo that pulled out in front of him.

Sholl's left foot was severed in the collision, and remained wedged in the Volvo's bumper when the driver left the scene.

The 23-year-old car driver, who has not been identified, later called police after he noticed the foot in his bumper. He was being questioned Saturday at Blackburn police station.

Sholl's leg was amputated below the knee at Wynthenshaw Hospital in Greater Manchester.

Playing House

DOUGLASVILLE, Georgia - A woman came home from a vacation in Greece to find a stranger playing house, changing utilities into her name and even repainting a room she didn't like.

Douglas County authorities say they can't explain why Beverly Valentine, 54, broke into an empty home in suburban Atlanta and started acting like it was her own.

During the two-and-a-half weeks the owner was on vacation, Valentine allegedly redecorated the ranch home, ripping up carpet and taking down the owner's pictures and replacing them with her own.

Valentine didn't know the owner, said Chief Sheriff's Deputy Stan Copeland. He said he had no idea how Valentine knew the owner was gone and how she thought she'd get away with moving into a stranger's home and acting as if it were her own.

"In 28 years, I've never seen something this strange," Copeland said.

The odd case came to light when Beverly Mitchell, who lived alone, returned home Oct. 4 to find the lights on and a strange Nissan parked in the driveway. Mitchell called police, who went in and found Valentine, who at first pretended she was renting the home. Later, Copeland said, she admitted she broke into the house with a shovel and was squatting there. She is charged with burglary.

Valentine appeared to think she could stay in the ranch permanently. She had the electricity switched over to her name and also moved in a washer and dryer and her small dog.

Copeland said she was even wearing some of Mitchell's clothes.

"There's a lot of people saying, 'What?"' Copeland said.

Authorities found a gun and $23,000 worth of Mitchell's jewelry in Valentine's car.

Valentine is still being held in Douglas County Jail on a $25,000 bond, Copeland said. If convicted, she could face between one to 20 years in prison.

British Navy Recognizes Satanist Officer

LONDON - Britain's navy has officially recognized a noncommissioned officer as a Satanist, the Ministry of Defense said Sunday, adding that it believed this was the first case of its kind in the British armed forces.

Naval technician Chris Cranmer, 24, registered his belief in Satanism with the captain of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed that "an individual on HMS Cumberland approached his commanding officer to register his belief as Satanism.

"A decision was taken that he may indeed register his belief as such," a spokesman for the ministry said, without naming the individual.

"The criteria on which the decision was based was whether the individual's beliefs would impinge on the operational effectiveness of the ship or the general well being of the ship's company."

The spokesman said he believed this was the first time someone had registered as a Satanist in the British military, although there was no central register listing religious beliefs.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Cranmer, from Edinburgh in Scotland, has served in the Royal Navy for four years. It said he was promoted to leading hand - the naval equivalent of corporal - in July last year.

Cranmer told the paper he realized he was a Satanist nine years ago when he "stumbled across" a copy of "The Satanic Bible," written by Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey.

"I then read more and more and came to realize I'd always been a Satanist, just simply never knew," he said.

LaVey, who died in San Francisco in 1997, promoted a brand of Satanism that was not about evil or animal and child sacrifice, family members said after his death. It was more about rational freethinking and a disdain for the hypocrisy he believed corrupted Christianity, they said.