The Odd Truth, Oct. 7, 2002
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.
Buzz Kill For Pot Grower
KIRKVILLE, N.Y. -- Authorities say a beekeeper figured out an ingenious way to protect a 15-pound marijuana harvest in his barn: his bees.
Eric Rasmussen, of Kirkville, was charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlawfully growing cannabis, state police said.
Troopers received a number of tips about suspicious activity near Rasmussen's residence, 15 miles northeast of Syracuse. When police arrived last week, they found a locked barn surrounded by several beehives of honeybees.
After entering the barn by a small rear window police said they found a marijuana operation on the barn's second floor.
Authorities seized 56 harvested and drying marijuana plants, marijuana seedlings started for next year's crop, growing lights and other drug paraphernalia. They also found 19 rifles and shotguns, police said.
Rasmussen, who listed his occupation as a beekeeper, was sent to Madison County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. (AP)
The Quintessential Sexy Date Movie
INDIO, Calif. -- It may be the perfect date movie.
Each day, in a small movie theater here, curious patrons watch a short flick called "The Romance and Sex Life of the Date."
Don't get any funny ideas: It's about dates, as in the sweet fruit.
The Coachella Valley date harvest is in full swing and production is expected to hit 30 million pounds, said John Beck of the California Date Commission.
And one date producer, Shields Date Garden in Indio, isn't above using sex to help sell its share. Deceased founder Floyd Shields was a master marketer who came up with the saucy sounding movie in the 1950s. It runs continuously at Shields' 108-seat theater from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily and is free.
"We still have people that ask us if they can take the children in," said 80-year-old Juanita Ottman, who works the counter at Shields.
The movie is the true story about how dates reproduce.
Date trees come in male and female versions. Bees are drawn to the male's elaborate flowers, but avoid the female's. So workers cut off the male flowers, dry them and extract the pollen. The pollen is then applied to the female flowers. (AP)
E-mail Worm Wrecks Havoc
NEW YORK -- Another worm alert.
Experts say an e-mail computer virus that lets hackers have remote control over infected machines is the most severe attack this year. And it's continuing to spread.
The worm is known as W-32-dot-Bugbear, or I-Worm-Tanatos. It infects computers that use Microsoft's Windows operating systems.
The virus has spread to dozens of countries since being discovered last week.
The worm replicates itself through a Windows machine's E-mail address book. It can attach itself to previously sent e-mail messages and can spread through network systems -- allowing hackers to intercept passwords and gain access to computers over the Internet.
Once a machine is infected, a hacker could steal and delete information from it.
Some subject lines for the e-mail are "bad news," "Membership Confirmation," "Market Update Report," and "Your Gift." (AP)
Decadent Doggie Daycare
FARGO, N.D. --Pampered pups have a new option.
When their owners head to work, Rover and Fido can now go to doggy day care. Kris Altenbernd owns The Paws Place in Fargo, North Dakota. He offers his four-legged charges big pillows to lie on, "Animal Planet" on the TV and plenty of friends to sniff.
Altenbernd says leaving dogs alone for hours on end can lead to behavior problems. He says being in doggy day care gives the animals a chance to socialize and keeps them active. Worried owners can even watch their pups from afar.
The Paws Place has Web cams that beam pictures of the dogs to the Internet. (AP)
Dubious Dash For Cash
SHARON, Pa. -- Some people will do almost anything for a buck -- or two.
What started as a department store promotion ended in a wild dash for cash in Sharon, Pa., over the weekend. Coupons and $1,000 in $2 bills were dropped from the top of the four-story Winner department store.
Three people were hurt in the frenzied scramble for the dough. A 16-year-old girl broke her foot after falling from the roof of a diner where some cash had fallen. Other people jumped into the Shenango River to try to swim for the money.
Store owner James Winner says he had no idea things would get so wild. He says he's scrapping plans for future money drops. (AP)