The Odd Truth, Sept. 12, 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.
Rock 'n' Roll's Biggest Fan-atic
LOS ANGELES - Mark David Chapman, the deranged fan who shot John Lennon to death, has topped a list of rock 'n' roll's most dastardly villains.
The roster of rock's 25 worst nemeses, published in the upcoming issue of music publication Blender, also includes Tipper Gore, the motorcycle club Hell's Angels and several record executives.
Chapman is serving 20 years to life after pleading guilty to gunning down Lennon outside the former Beatle's Manhattan apartment on Dec. 8, 1980.
The other killer on the list is the Rev. Marvin Gay, who fatally shot his son, soul legend Marvin Gaye, in 1984. Gay, who was sentenced to five years on probation for involuntary manslaughter and died in 1998, ranked No. 4.
R&B icon Ike Turner, the "husband from hell" who beat Tina Turner, ranked No. 2, followed by the Hell's Angels, who stabbed to death one fan and beat countless others with pool cues at the Rolling Stones' infamous 1969 Altamont concert. Gore, wife of former vice-president Al Gore, ranked No. 7 for her efforts to censor music. (Reuters)
Spicing Up Tasteful Music
VIENNA - They call it "music with taste."
Forget the cello, just listen to that cucumberophone. The land of Mozart will be exporting its latest cultural product next week when the First Viennese Vegetable Orchestra goes on its nine-date debut European tour.
The orchestra, which consists of eight musicians, one sound technician and one cook, plays vegetable-based instruments they make themselves.
"We believe that we can produce sound that cannot be easily produced by other instruments. You can hear the difference, it sometimes sounds like animals, sometimes just abstract sounds," the band says in its homepage, www.gemueseorchester.org.
It takes the band about half an hour to make a carrot flute, and under 15 minutes to make a cucumberophone, which has a pepper bell and cucumber tubing. Other instruments include celeriac bongos, eggplant cymbals and pumpkin drums.
The sounds are amplified using a variety of microphones.
At the end of a performance, which can include free jazz, experimental music, or the Radetzky March by Austrian Johann Strauss, the stage is cleared and a cook uses the instruments to prepare a soup for both audience and musicians.
"The audience has the possibility of once again enjoying what they just heard," the band adds. "We employ a real chef for the preparation of the soup so it is indeed tasty and very special."
Their mothers obviously never told them not to play with their food. (Reuters)
Perfecting The Pickle Jar Penis
LONDON - Scientists in the United States have come up with news that may help millions of men -- they have succeeded in growing major parts of penises in the laboratory.
The test tube penile parts were successfully used to rebuild the members of rabbits who -- after rest and recuperation -- put them to the use that rabbits are famous for.
"They were able to copulate, penetrate and produce sperm," Anthony Atala, whose team at Harvard Medical School carried out the experiments, told New Scientist magazine.
He said the researchers were now trying to grow entire penises in the test tube. But he also said the technique was at an early stage and that it would be a while before the technique was tried with human tissue.
The scientists had only been successful in growing the erectile tissues of rabbit penises -- not the entire organ -- and in all cases the erect member had the reduced firmness of a 60-year-old against that of a more virile 30-year-old. (Reuters)
Dog Really In The Doghouse Now
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Fire Department investigator trying to find out what sparked a $5,000 kitchen fire has come up with a beastly suspicion: the doggie did it.
Pablo Martinez believes a trash-loving chocolate Labrador retriever named Brooke started the fire by turning on the stove while jumping to get at a garbage can.
Martinez talked with tenant Tracy Jonas and asked her to retrace some of her actions before the fire.
Jonas and a friend had cooked hamburgers Monday night. They put the fat in a re-sealable plastic bag and placed the bag in the trash can, where they also discarded the meat wrapper.
"I knew Brooke's reputation. But I thought I was being wise putting the trash can on top of a counter next to the stove," Jonas said. "I guess Brooke was a little wiser this time."
After Jonas and her friend left the apartment Tuesday, "the dog apparently knocked the switch on the old stove, turning on the burner while trying to jump up and get the trash can," Martinez said.
The dog is fine but somewhat traumatized, Jonas said.
"I could see that she was guilty," the woman said. "Her tail was wagging and her head was down." (AP)
Argentina To Screen For Insane Politicians
BUENOS AIRES - Argentine politicians, blamed by voters for leading the country to its worst economic crisis, would have to undergo psychiatric tests to ensure they are mentally fit to hold office if a bill before Congress is approved.
Sen. Jorge Capitanich, a former Cabinet chief, has submitted a bill that would require all congressional and presidential candidates to take mental as well as physical exams, a spokesman for the legislator said Wednesday.
The bill, possibly due for debate this week, would also require future leaders to present any criminal records and proof they have paid taxes in a country where half of potential revenues are lost to evasion.
Politicians are increasingly the target of public anger among voters fed up with a recession now in its fifth year. Few lawmakers can venture out in public without being insulted or spat on in the streets.
As March presidential elections approach, the most common popular street slogan is "Get Rid of Them All!" Soaring poverty and unemployment have sparked food riots over the last year and forced four presidents since December 2001 to leave their posts. (Reuters)
Astronomer Predicts Lawless Anarchy On Mars
LEICESTER, England - Mars could resemble the lawless Wild West if privately funded adventurers seeking to exploit the planet get there before government-backed expeditions, a leading British astronomer said.
Before humans make it to Mars, the entire solar system will probably have been explored by flotillas of tiny robotic craft, but within a century there could be a permanent presence on the planet, Sir Martin Rees of the Institute of Astronomy told a science conference.
Once an infrastructure is established the costs of getting to Mars will go down, which could open up the possibility for different types of expeditions.
"If they were governmental or international (expeditions), Antarctic-style restraint might be feasible. On the other hand, if the explorers were privately funded adventurers of free-enterprise, even anarchic disposition, the Wild West model would be more likely to prevail," he said.
Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, was first photographed from space in 1965. More recent missions landed on the surface of the rocky, cold Red Planet and discovered the possible presence of liquid water. (Reuters)
City Hall To Dispense Medical Marijuana, Man
SANTA CRUZ, California - Wanna score some weed? Go to City Hall next week in Santa Cruz. City leaders say they'll hand out pot Tuesday to people who use marijuana for medical reasons. Santa Cruz Vice Mayor Emily Reilly says she's outraged that federal drug agents busted the high-profile owners of a local pot farm and confiscated 130 plants. She terms the action a "loathsome" waste of tax dollars. Reilly will be joined by several members of the City Council at the City Hall pot party. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Richard Meyer says what city leaders plan is illegal. He also says it's shocking. (AP)