The Odd Truth, Sept. 20, 2003

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.

SALT LAKE CITY - It's soup you can sink your teeth into - at least according Tina Keeney. She claims she found a human tooth in a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup. Now, she's suing the New Jersey-based company. Keeney says she heated the soup for her 13-month-old son. Then, she says, she noticed a hard, white object in his hand. According to Keeney, Campbell offered to cover the cost of the soup, plus a little extra. They also wanted the tooth. She called a lawyer instead. The lawyer says lab tests show the object is indeed a human tooth, from a 13-year-old mouth. A spokesman for Campbell says they won't comment on pending litigation.

The Talented Mr. Maggot

LONDON - Four members of a gang led by a businessman nicknamed "Maggot Pete" were sentenced to prison Friday for selling condemned poultry to supermarkets, schools and hospitals across Britain.

Prosecutors said David Lawton, 55; Robert Mattock, 59; George Allen, 47; and Gary Drewett, 33, were part of a group that bought poultry carcasses that had been declared unfit for human consumption, stored them at the rat-infested premises of Denby Poultry in Denby, central England and then sold the meat on.

The men had pleaded guilty to fraud charges for recycling 450 tons of chicken and turkey - which in most cases had been deemed unfit even for pet food - into the human food chain. Some of it ended up in products such as spreads and pates sold by major supermarket chains.

A judge at Nottingham Crown Court gave the men sentences of between 15 months and 4 years and 3 months. A fifth man received a suspended sentence.

Judge Richard Benson told the defendants they had committed "a wicked fraud."

"If you had been dealing in Class A drugs rather than in chicken, then the sentences you would be receiving would be in double figures," he said. "The people who consume drugs know the risks involved. Your victims didn't."

The owner of Denby Poultry, Peter "Maggot Pete" Roberts, was convicted in his absence at an earlier trial. Police say they believe he has fled to continental Europe.

Crash Blamed On Singing And Driving

DAYS CREEK, Ore. - A Winston man told police he crashed his car after a bee flew into his mouth while he was singing along with the song "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake on the radio.

Douglas County Sheriff's spokeswoman Pam Frank said John L. Nunes, 19, was trying to get rid of the bee or yellowjacket when his car hit a tree.

"I kind of panicked and went off the road," Nunes said Wednesday.

His car went down a 15-foot embankment.

He was taken by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg.

"I had to get a stitch in my tongue, and I got a gash on my left ankle," Nunes said. The tongue injury was from his teeth, not the bee, he said.

'Marathon Monk' Completes Ritual Run

TOKYO - A Buddhist priest dubbed the "marathon monk" has completed an ancient running ritual in the remote Japanese mountains that took seven years and covered a distance equivalent to a trip round the globe, wearing only a flowing white robe and flimsy straw sandals.

The 44-year-old monk, Genshin Fujinami, returned Thursday from his 24,800-mile spiritual journey in the Hiei mountains, a range of five peaks that rise above the ancient capital of Kyoto.

Fujinami was greeted at the end of his journey by a crowd of worshippers, who knelt to receive his blessings, said an official at Enryakuji Hoshuin, the temple that is guardian of the grueling tradition.

"I entrusted everything to God. I am satisfied," Fujinami was quoted as saying.

Since 1885, only 46 other so-called "marathon monks" of the Tendai sect have survived the ritual, which dates to the 8th century and is believed to be a path to enlightenment, according to temple officials. The last monk to complete it returned in 1994.

A few have done it twice; many more have not lived to finish. Traditionally, any monk, or gyoja, who can't continue to the end must take his own live, either by hanging or disembowelment.

A rigorous regimen dictates that in each of the journey's first three years, the pilgrim must rise at midnight for 100 consecutive days to pray, run along an 18-mile trail around Mount Hiei - stopping 250 times to pray along the way. He can carry only candles, a prayer book and a sack of vegetarian food.

In the next two years, he has to extend his runs to 200 days.

His most difficult trial, however, comes during the fifth year when he must sit and chant mantras for nine days without food, water or sleep, in a trial called "doiri," or "entering the temple."

It's Fashion Week, After All

NEW YORK - Two Bronx girls reportedly had to wear skirts made of trash bags to class as a punishment for coming to school in jeans rather than their uniforms.

The sixth-graders at the Bronx Preparatory Charter School were made to wear the bags by principal Marina Bernard Damiba.

The Daily News reports that Damiba called the garbage-bag skirts "Damiba fashions" and said they weren't meant to be humiliating.

Joy Vasquez, whose 12-year-old daughter, was one of the girls who wore the skirts, at first said the punishment was "really wrong." But after meeting with Damiba, she told the News that her daughter "got a lesson out of it."

Students at the school are required to wear a polo shirt with the school's logo and khaki, black, gray or navy blue pants or skirts that are at least knee-length.

Really, Really Bad Hair Day

ATHENS, Ga. - It was far worse than just a bad hair day.

A jury awarded $150,000 to a woman who was left mostly bald after a visit to a salon.

Mary Lynn Reddish, 43, went to a Regis Salon in October of 2000 to have a mild hair relaxer applied to her wavy blonde tresses, but after the treatment, clumps of her hair came out in the wash and even more were pulled out when combed.

Reddish said she was left nearly bald as the result of a chemical reaction from the hair-relaxing product and the dye used to bleach her hair blonde.

The damage to Reddish's hair follicles not only caused the temporary hair loss, but also will probably cause her to suffer from premature hair loss as she ages, said her attorney Danny Love.

On Friday, a Clarke County Superior Court jury awarded Reddish $150,000 in compensation for mental anguish, as well as wigs and other expenses she incurred.

"I believe it was a fair verdict," Love said. "The jury did not discount her pain and psychological suffering. They didn't discount this as just a bad haircut - it was much worse than that."

Ed Mangiafico Jr., the attorney who defended Regis Corp. in the lawsuit, declined comment Monday.

Minnesota-based Regis Corp. is the world's largest company in the salon industry, with over 9,000 salons in North America.

'Crazy Sons Of Guns'

SNELLVILLE, Ga. - Someone stole a construction vehicle, drove it three miles down the highway, crashed into a gas station, ripped an ATM from the wall and escaped, police said.

The 20-foot-long yellow backhoe was used to lift the ATM and steal the $2,500 from inside, said Nurruddin Punja, owner of the Chevron station.

"We do not have any suspects in the case," said Gwinnett police Cpl. Dan Huggins of the early Wednesday morning robbery. "We received a call from the people who own the (backhoe), and they said they did not authorize the use of the machine for the burglary."

The backhoe also tore a 25-foot hole through the convenience store's front window, causing about $15,000 in damages, Punja said.

"Those are some crazy sons of guns," said Steve Smith, a Snellville resident who decided not to go inside the Chevron after he saw the hole. "But they are not that crazy because they got away."

Woman Fails Driving Test, With Flying Colors

THUNDER BAY, Ontario - An 81-year-old Canadian woman failed her latest driver's test - with a bang. Officials in Thunder Bay, Ontario, say the woman was backing out of a parking place - and went about 25 yards too far. Her car plunged over a steep embankment and into a shallow river. The woman and the examiner managed to climb out of the car shaken but apparently not hurt. It wasn't the first time this senior citizen had taken a driver's test. Officials say she had failed five times before. Police are investigating, but no decision has been made on whether to file charges.

Freedom, In Small Doses

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Vothy Chhay was a free man - for 42 minutes.

Released from the Clark County Jail at 7:25 a.m. Wednesday, he was booked back in by 8:07 a.m. for investigation of car prowling - the same charge on which he was previously jailed.

Sheriff's deputy Tim Gosch was called outside the county courthouse about 8 a.m. after a Juvenile Court worker saw a man try to open the door of her white 2003 Lexus and asked what he was doing.

"Chhay responded by telling her she had a nice car and he would give her 30 large" ($30,000) "along with something on the side," Gosch wrote in his arrest report.

The woman replied that her car wasn't for sale.

Gosch found Chhay, 19, nearby and arrested him. He had just been released pending trial in another car-prowling case.

Chhay has been convicted of possessing stolen property, forgery, violating a protection order, second-degree theft, permitting a minor to consume liquor, unlawful possession of a firearm and a drug offense, Superior Court records show.

Moose Go Head To Head With Hammocks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Itchy to rub antlers and aroused for fall mating season, bull moose have been tangling with hammocks this week.

The hammocks are winning.

At least three moose have been caught since Sunday and another four have been reported snarled in hammocks or swing set chains over the past two weeks, said Jessy Coltrane, assistant area biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

"I get a call every day almost," she said Tuesday on her way back from rescuing the latest victim in a mountainside area on the city's east side.

"I took a hammock off a moose on Sunday. I had a call on Monday that I couldn't find. And now today."

Coltrane suggested that residents take down their hammocks or tie up swings so that bulls aren't tempted to joust.

"We're just asking people to help the moose out," she said.

It happens every fall when adult males bang and rub their antlers against objects to remove summer velvet. With hormones starting to rage, the bulls also become more rambunctious as they start following cows and confronting other males.

The Whole Kitten Caboodle

LONDON - A British animal protection group said Thursday it had rescued 244 dogs, 16 parrots, seven cats, a rabbit and a chinchilla from a three-bedroom house in what it described as the biggest seizure in its 181-year history.

The animals were removed from the house in Carnforth, Lancashire, in northern England on Sept. 10, said Sari Eldridge, a spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She refused to go into further details on Thursday, saying the rescue was subject to an investigation that could result in legal action.

British media quoted locals as saying the house was owned by a middle-aged couple and was filthy.

The rescued dogs included Shih Tzus, Dachshunds, Lhasa Apsos, Bearded Collies, Corgis, Chihuahuas, Poodles, Pekinese and Yorkshire Terriers. The birds included Macaws, Amazonian parrots and African Grays.

Risky Business

SALT LAKE CITY - Salt Lake City's One World Cafe breaks two of the most fundamental rules of the restaurant business: It has no menus and no prices.

Diners eat whatever sparks the culinary imagination of owner and chef Denise Cerreta. Most days she offers soup, one or two salads, quiche, a main entree and a dessert, all of which are inspired by the fresh, organic produce and meats she buys that day.

Customers can fill their plates with as much, or as little, as they want and pay what they feel their meal is worth. In place of a cash register, Cerreta has a brown basket where patrons place their money.

"I'm a for-profit business, but I operate in a sort of nonprofit mode," says the 41-year-old Cerreta, who opened the cafe in April with the mission of serving not just quality, unprocessed foods, but her community as well.

She encourages her customers, many of whom are vegetarians and vegans, to share plates. And she doesn't mind if you want just a "sliver" of her double espresso brownie. With diners deciding how much food to eat, Cerreta says there's little waste and no need for her customers to overeat just to get a good deal.

Cerreta admits it's a strange business model in today's capitalistic society.

"The essence is that everyone can eat," she says. "And I can make a difference."

Hello Kitty, The Meter's Running

TOKYO - It might be the perrrfect cab to some: A pink and baby blue sedan with two Hello Kitty characters painted on the side, a Hello Kitty blanket inside and Hello Kitty music piped in through the sound system.

This mobile paradise for fans of the popular kitten character is the latest service offered by a Japanese taxi company, Kanachu.

The 10 Hello Kitty cabs - equipped with Hello Kitty umbrellas, ponchos, and tissue for customers - have been operating since April.

Kanachu integrated the new taxis into their fleet of 500 cabs serving suburban Tokyo after deciding they needed a special service targeting children. They also figured there was also no danger of alienating anyone with the cute cat, said Katsuo Habu, a manager at Kanachu.

Kanachu has licensed Hello Kitty from Sanrio, the character's creator, for three years. Fares - about 660 yen for the first 1.2 miles - are the same as regular taxis.

The cars are driven only by women drivers, in part to satisfy Sanrio, Habu said.

"The Sanrio people told us they associated taxis with bearded, smoking male drivers. That is why they were not really sure if they wanted us to use their character," Habu said. "But we told them that we would have female drivers and the cars would be nonsmoking."

Big, Big ... Savings

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Guys may have thought the bikini was a gas. But authorities say the gas station thong was all wrong. Flagstaff, Arizona police Sergeant Gerry Blair says they had plenty of complaints about the thong-wearing model outside the Varsity Gasser service station. Owner George Nackard says he was hoping to get some extra sales with last Friday's gimmick. But he may end up before a judge. Authorities say a local ordinance requires a person's butt be covered while performing in public. Blair says officials are still considering whether to press charges against Nackard and model Ashlee Dawn. The thong stunt could cost each four months in jail and a $750 fine.

'Kindness Movement' Pushes Wedding Punctuality

SINGAPORE - In Singapore, being fashionably late for a wedding is now officially frowned upon.

The city-state on Wednesday began a wedding "punctuality drive" to encourage guests to turn up on time for couples' big day.

The government-backed Singapore Kindness Movement said it would provide 400,000 cards for couples to insert into their invitations as "gentle reminders."

Previously the group has led efforts to encourage citizens to smile more, wave at fellow motorists and switch off mobile phones in cinemas.

"Wedding couples are held back from starting their wedding dinners when the majority of their guests turn up late," the Singapore Kindness Movement said in a statement.

The reminder cards will be distributed by leading hotels to "prompt guests to be more socially responsible," the statement said.

"It's a small act of courtesy, but can mean so much to everyone, especially the wedding couple on their big day," the movement's chairman Noel Hon said in the statement.

Magician Blaine's Life Line Nearly Cut

LONDON - Police arrested a man Tuesday who allegedly tried to cut the water line sustaining an American magician trying to live without food for 44 days in a box dangling near Tower Bridge.

The magician, New Yorker David Blaine, reportedly was awakened by the suspect but was not injured. Police said they received a report at 4:45 a.m. that a man had climbed on to the water tower near Blaine's box and tried to cut through water and cable lines connected to the tower, but without success.

Stephen Charles Field, 38, was charged with using threatening behavior and causing criminal damage. He was released on bail and will appear in court Sept. 30.

Since he entered the box Sept. 5, Blaine has been jeered, pelted with eggs, taunted with food and awakened by drummers - though other Londoners have expressed support for his stunt.

Sqeamish Aussie Men Wary Of 'Fairy'

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand outdoor clothing company said Wednesday it had to change a brand name for the Australian market because men there were uncomfortable with the effeminate associations of the label - Fairydown.

In Australia, the clothing line has been renamed Zone, the managing director of Arthur Ellis clothing company, Hugo Venter, told The Dominion Post newspaper.

He was "taken aback" by market research findings that Australian men didn't like the less than macho connotations associated with the word "fairy." He said the brand name had never been an issue in New Zealand.

New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, who conquered Everest in 1953 wearing Fairydown clothes and using a sleeping bag by the same company, said Australian males were being ridiculous.

"Reading that connotation into the name is just absolutely stupid. It's a good brand. I have a Fairydown jacket and I am very proud to wear it," he told the newspaper.

He said his sleeping bag performed well until the expedition got close to the summit of Mt. Everest.

"At our highest camp at 28,000 feet it was a bit on the chilly side. We survived and pushed on to the summit," he said.

Automotive Suicide

SYDNEY, Australia - The Australian arm of Japanese car company Honda has withdrawn a television commercial that showed a car plunging off a cliff amid criticism it was insensitive and traded on suicide.

The ad shows the owner of an old Honda Accord model admiring the car's latest version. In response, the old car locks its doors, revs its engine and speeds off the cliff.

National depression body "beyondblue" said Wednesday the company had demonstrated gross insensitivity to depression and suicide.

"Depression and suicide are major health issues for all Australians and it is not unreasonable to expect large companies that operate in this country to respect our attempts to reduce their impact here," said beyondblue clinical adviser Ian Hickie.

Honda Australia director Lindsay Smalley said the ad was a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun.

"At no time was there any intention to cause anyone in the community distress," Smalley said in a statement.

"If the advertisement has caused this we apologize. We have withdrawn the Accord advertisement from broadcast and will work with our advertising agency to create a revised television commercial," he added.

Apparently, Size Does Matter

LOS ANGELES - One size doesn't fit all - at least according to Condomania. The Internet retailer is offering a new line of condoms in 55 sizes. Condomania's Adam Glickman says the "They-Fit" brand condoms are more comfortable and less likely to tear than other styles. But just what size would a customer need? They-Fit offers a special measuring tool on the Internet. But potential customers don't have to worry about being labeled petite or extra small. The measurements are defined by random number and letter combinations, like "J33" or "G22." "They-Fit' condoms cost about $12 for a dozen.

Everyone's A Wiener!

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - In this race, everyone was a wiener.

About 130 dachshunds participated in the annual Running of the Wieners on Sunday.

The dogs, which are known for the ballpark snack they resemble, competed in three divisions: Little Smokies for those under 1-year-old, Frankfurters for the 1- to 5-year-olds and Senior Sausage for the older dogs.

Three of Brenda Alberts' four dachshunds entered the race, which is in its third year. The Alberts' other dog, Flash, didn't get to run because he was neutered last week.

The best showing for the Alberts, who came to the race from Axtell, went to second-place finisher Tito in the Little Smokies division.

John and Jonan Barkalow traveled 250 miles from Creston, Iowa, to attend the race. They entered their dog Barnaby Barkamore in the Frankfurter race.

The dog didn't do too well.

He had to be pushed across the finish line.

Oldest Person Turns 116

TOKYO - A Japanese woman believed to be the oldest person in the world turned 116 on Tuesday.

Born in 1887, when Japan was still in the throes of its conversion from samurai rule to modern democracy, Kamato Hongo was recognized as the world's oldest living person by the Guinness Book of Records after an American woman - Maude Farris-Luse - died last March at the age of 115.

Hongo, whose husband died when she was 77, is famous throughout Japan for her habit of sleeping for two days and then staying awake for two days.

She has seven children - three of whom have died - 27 grandchildren, 57 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren.

An Internet homepage devoted to her lists her favorite snack as unrefined brown sugar and also reveals her secret to long life.

"Not moping around," it says.

Hongo is now bedridden and shares a hospital room with her 77-year-old daughter.

She was raised on a small, rural island on Japan's southern fringe, and grew up tending to cows and farming potatoes. The same island also produced the Japanese record-holder for longevity, a woman who died at the age of 120.

Hongo symbolizes the graying of Japan's society - a trend that elicits both pride and concern.

The world's oldest documented man, 114-year-old Yukichi Chuganji, is Japanese. Japan's life expectancy - 85.23 years for women and 78.32 for men in 2002 - is the longest in the world.

Canadian Govt.-Grown Weed 'Disgusting'

OTTAWA - Some of the first patients to smoke Canada's government-approved marijuana say it is "disgusting" and they want their money back.

Health Canada, the federal health department, started selling marijuana in July to bring relief to patients suffering from AIDS, cancer and other diseases. The move followed a court order that patients should not be forced to get their marijuana from drug dealers on the streets.

But some of the first to buy the government's marijuana say it is no good.

"It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, 58, an AIDS patient in Gibsons, British Columbia.

Wakeford and Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat the nausea associated with AIDS, are returning their 1-ounce bags, and Dalley is demanding his money back - about $110 plus taxes. Wakeford is returning his unpaid bill for two bags with a written complaint.

The marijuana is being grown for Health Canada deep underground in a vacant mine section in Flin Flon, Manitoba, by Prairie Plant Systems on a contract worth about $4.2 million.

Ten patients have registered with Health Canada to buy marijuana directly from the government to alleviate their medical symptoms. Another 39 applications are pending.

'Money Man' Showers Mall In Cash, Causes Stampede

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Twelve people were injured at a shopping mall as hundreds jostled and fought over almost $10,000 thrown into the air by a real estate investor known as the "Money Man."

Kevin Shelton says he began doling out cash two years ago as a way of brightening people's day and sparking generosity. He insists it's not a gimmick.

But his latest attempt ended in a stampede when he fired his cash cannon, a small silver tube, and $2 bills rained down on a crowd of 500 people in the courtyard of Florida's Bay Walk shopping and entertainment center Saturday evening.

Six people were taken to hospitals and six more were treated for cuts and bruises at the scene, police spokesman Bill Proffitt said. The most serious injury appeared to be a broken arm, he said.

The crowd had come prepared: people lifted their umbrellas, turned inside out, ready to catch the bank notes. A few people waved ball caps and small nets.

Lashawnda Martin, a thin 14-old student at St. Petersburg High School, fell to the ground in the crush. She lay there crying as people stepped all over her, until a man scooped her up and lifted her to safety.

"They were trampling all over me," said Martin. Her neck and back were sore, and she had lost her favorite gold rope necklace.

Shelton seemed oblivious to what had occurred. "People got hurt?" he asked afterward. He said that was not his intent.

Fear Inspires Good Personal Hygiene

CHICAGO - It seems there's nothing like fear of catching a dangerous infectious illness to make people do the right thing after using the bathroom.

A survey of hand-washing in airport restrooms found people were especially fastidious this summer in Toronto. That city had just endured a SARS outbreak. Elsewhere in North America, people were as slovenly as ever.

The survey is the third by the American Society of Microbiology. The group has long campaigned for people to follow common-sense habits of cleanliness to prevent the spread of disease.

Toronto officials had harangued about the importance of handwashing to help stop the spread of SARS.

Overall, the survey found that people washed 78 percent of the time. But the society says that if Toronto were taken out, this year's figure would be about the same as in 2000 and 1996. Those surveys found about two-thirds of people washing.

At Least She Didn't Send A Fruitcake

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A three-judge panel upheld the conviction of a woman who sent a holiday-wrapped package filled with rotten oranges, banana peels and hairballs to the owner of a neighboring apartment building.

Robin Troy "recklessly created a risk of public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm" by exposing Postal Service workers to the trash, the Superior Court panel ruled Thursday.

According to the decision, Troy mailed the package to Connie and Brian Striegel's home after complaining several times to Striegel about a tenant who kept putting trash at the curb days before it was due to be picked up, giving stray animals extra time to scatter it.

In December 2001, the Pittsburgh woman collected some of the garbage, packed it up and mailed it to the Striegels. A note placed inside said her children deserved a clean, safe place to live and warned that she would "take any and all legal means to stop you."

Troy was convicted of disorderly conduct in 2002 and fined $300 by a district justice. She appealed to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, where Judge John H. Brydon upheld her conviction but lowered the fine to $25.

Connie Striegel, who said she owns the apartment building, said she was glad that Troy's conviction had been upheld.

"We're not the tenants' mothers, and we are not slumlords, either - we've put about $20,000 into the property since we purchased it," Striegel said.

Troy, 41, a hotel housekeeping supervisor, said Friday she now believes she was wrong to send trash through the mail. These days, when she has a problem with trash from a neighborhood property, she said she delivers it to the landlord in person.

Grocer's Wall Of Shame

EASTON, Pa. - Those who pay their tabs with bad checks get top billing on the marquee in front the Park Avenue Market.

It's Vic Ricci's way of getting back at customers who bounce checks.

The 52-year-old grocer said he started doing it in January when an infrequent shopper bounced a check for almost $200. He said he tried phoning the man, but the number was no longer in service. Then he went to the man's home and the man said he desperately needed food for his family.

"I said, 'Give me a call every few weeks so I know you didn't forget about me,"' Ricci said. "He never did."

So Ricci cleared a spot on his marquee that normally displays specials and exposed the man publicly. A few days later, the man showed up at the store with about $100, Ricci said. He said he wouldn't remove the name until he recovered all the money.

Ricci said he wouldn't publicly humiliate someone who makes an honest mistake, or who makes payment arrangements.

"Your name only goes up there if you ignore me," he said.

Boogers, Vomit The Stars In New Kids' Game

BELLEVUE, Wash. - Boogers and vomit and snot, oh my.

A gross-out game called "Creepy Freaks" for children ages 5 to 11 will hit the national market Wednesday, with miniature figures for trading, a plastic game board and a DVD with stories about the characters.

Frosty the Snotman attacks with sneezes, Headley flings brains, Spitty Cat throws the contents of cat litter boxes and Swirly looks like a toilet. Silent But Deadly attacks with stealthy odorous emissions.

"Bodily fluids became our creative direction. They kind of set the tone," said Jordan Weisman, chief executive officer of Bellevue-based WizKids game development company.

Weisman, 43, created the concept based on bedtime stories told to his youngest son.

But 7-year-old Lucas's "Banana Man" and his other characters didn't make the final cut. Designers developed almost too many grossly creative ideas and had to trim back, Weisman said.

"It was a lot of fun," said game designer Jon Leitheusser, 34. "The most fun was thinking like an 8-year-old boy again and coming up with gross stuff."

Parents may not be quite as delighted.

"It's just kind of stupid really, isn't it?" said Alison Estep, 39, who examined the toys outside a Seattle elementary school while her 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter studied inside.

Forceps Left In Woman For 6 Years

BANGKOK, Thailand - Lamphan Yinsuth had stomach pains that went unexplained for six years. Recently, doctors discovered the cause: Forceps left inside her after a hysterectomy in 1997.

Surgeons in central Thailand will operate on Yinsuth, 46, to remove the 2.4-by 11.4-inch medical instrument lodged in her abdomen, hospital officials said Monday.

It wasn't until April that an X-ray revealed the tool in her tummy.

After the patient filed a complaint to the Medical Council, a national association of doctors, the hospital agreed to compensate her $9,520 and perform a second operation to remove the instrument.