Weird
Page 4
Air traffic controller nodded off
An aeroplane was forced to circle for more than half an hour after an
air traffic controller dozed off.
The pilot of the cargo plane said he attempted a number of times to
contact the controller for permission to land - but got no answer.
He was forced to circle around Nice Airport in France until the sleepy
controller was woken up by security officials more than 30 minutes
later.
French air traffic control service DGAC described the case as "extremely
rare" and said the cargo plane "had never been in difficulty".
An internal investigation has now been set up to find out why the
controller fell asleep on the job.
Burglar gets stuck in chimney
Firefighters had to knock down a chimney to rescue a burglar who got
himself stuck fast.
The intruder had tried to enter a house in Buenos Aires by climbing down
the chimney.
Homeowner Gabriela B was surprised in the early hours to hear a voice
behind her fireplace, Terra Noticias Populares reports.
A police spokesperson said: "Mrs B said that she got home a bit tipsy
and when she heard the voice coming from the chimney she thought for a
moment that it was Santa Claus."
The burglar was arrested after being freed from the chimney.
Drivers made to hop like frogs
Truck drivers who are caught speeding in an Indian state are being made
to hop like frogs.
Police in Bihar dish out the humiliating punishments instead of taking
offenders to court, reports Newindpress.com.
For the most popular punishment, leapfrog, speeding truck drivers have
to sit on their haunches, hold their ears and hop for almost half a
kilometre.
And the drivers are made to chant the name of the political leader they
like most while they are being punished.
One policeman was quoted as saying: "If they remember their leader when
they are being punished, it's like they are insulting them. If they have
any sense, they won't do the offence again."
Doll mistaken for alien
A burnt rubber doll was mistaken for a badly injured alien and taken to
a hospital in Brazil.
It happened after people in Aracruz found a burnt 'body' on the ground
after seeing a fireball fall from the sky.
A police spokesman told Terra Noticias Populares: "Many people were
terrified thinking that an alien invasion was taking place.
"They thought the doll was a burnt ET and more than 50 people called the
station."
The 'alien' was taken to the local hospital where doctors soon confirmed
it was a burnt rubber doll.
A hospital spokesman said: "It was obviously a practical joke but we
wonder who would do that in such a small and quiet town."
Can't get out of bed in the morning?
Scientists at MIT's Media Lab in the United States have invented an alarm clock called Clocky to make even the doziest sleepers, who repeatedly hit the snooze button, leap out of bed.
After the snooze button is pressed, the clock, which is equipped with a set of wheels, rolls off the table to another part of the room.
"When the alarm sounds again, simply finding Clocky ought to be strenuous enough to prevent even the doziest owner from going back to sleep," New Scientist magazine said Tuesday.
Source: Reuters
One for LB.. I bet this never happens in Oldham.
German Postal Workers Startled By Vibrations
Workers in a German post office in the eastern city of
Chemnitz were startled when a package awaiting shipment began to vibrate
and make a strange noise. The postal workers were worried that the
package might contain a bomb and notified police.
Police brought the sender of the package to the post office. Further
investigation found the package contained a life-size female sex doll
with an electrical vibrating device deep inside an undisclosed location.
The man told police he was returning the doll because it kept turning
itself on at the wrong moment.
The package was finally neutralized, to the relief of the postal
workers, when the embarrassed owner of the package removed the batteries
from the defective doll.
At this time the name and race of the doll is unknown. Why the owner was
worried about the doll turning itself on at the wrong moment was not
determined.
An un-named source said, "Most would agree that the doll turning itself
off at the wrong moment would be a far greater defect."
This one's for us at TFFE....
An Austrian holiday resort is offering guests the chance
to swim in a pool containing 42,000 pints of beer.
The beer-filled swimming pool /Europics
The Starkenber Beer Myth resort located in and around the medieval
castle of Starkenberger in Austria's Tyrol region has filled seven 13ft
long pools with the beer.
The management claims that beer baths heal various skin diseases.
However, some guests are said to have enjoyed drinking their favourite
brew while swimming in the pools.
Manager Markus Amann, 23, said: "I would rather swim than swallow, as we
serve enough of a cold, fresh tapped beer on the bars next to the
pools."
So, when do you want to go?
Source: Ananova
A new slant on an old joke...
A chicken fined for crossing the road has walked free from court in the
US after a judge threw out the charge.
Ophelia, a black Polish hen, earned her owners a £30 fine for illegally
walking across the street in California.
California state law bans livestock from highways but not domestic pets.
But lawyers for Ophelia's owners Linc and Helena Moore successfully
argued that Ophelia was domesticated and could not be charged as
livestock - and the case was dismissed.
The Moores had been fined after their chicken wandered onto a road in
the small rural mining town of Johannesburg in Kern county.
Source: Ananova
Man blows flat up with insect spray
A German man used so much insect killer that he blew himself up when
a spark from his computer ignited the aerosol spray.
Walter Mueller, 36, from Schleswig-Holstein, caused more than £100,000
of damage and debris flew up to 100 metres away.
But, amazingly, he was not badly hurt and was released from hospital
after treatment for minor injuries.
Mueller had closed all the windows and emptied several cans of extra
strong insect-spray before sitting at his computer to surf the internet.
A spark of electricity ignited the powerful fumes, causing an explosion
that demolished the flat and blew out all the windows.
Several neighbouring apartments were also damaged but none of the other
residents were injured. The street outside had to be closed for several
hours.
Source: Ananova
This gives a new meaning to a loaded weapon...
An off-duty policeman's gun went off twice as he pulled down his
pants to use the toilet, injuring a man.
Officer Craig Clancy was attending a car auction in San Antonio when
nature called.
As he undid his trousers, the gun fell from its holster.
Officer Clancy tried to catch it, but accidentally fired two bullets
when his finger grabbed the trigger by mistake.
Police spokesman Gabe Trevino told KSAT news: "As Clancy tried to stop
the gun from hitting the ground, his finger entered the trigger guard,
which cause the weapon to go off twice.
"The first bullet went through the wall of the cubicle and through the
pants of a man, grazing his leg."
The injured man, who was washing his hands at the time, was taken to
hospital.
The Texan police department for internal affairs is investigating the
incident.
Source: Ananova
Don't make me laugh!
Police are on the lookout for the naked tickler. Investigators said they
believe one man could be responsible for a series of bizarre break-ins
in which a naked man enters victims' rooms while they are sleeping and
tries to tickle their feet.
The naked tickler sttikes in New Smyrna Beach,Florida.
Investigators have been working on five similar, unsolved cases since
2001. Most of the victims are women over age 60, said police Cmdr. Wade
Kirby.
Kirby said no arrests have yet been made because they don't have a lot
to go on.
New Smyrna Beach is 44 miles northeast of Orlando.
What's that smell?
Cows are being kept inside 'bio-bubbles' so scientists can measure gas emissions.
The University of California project will be used to help write the state's first air quality regulations for dairies.
Cows are placed inside the bio-bubbles where monitors measure the gases that they emit.
It's been estimated that an average herd of cows causes more pollution than a car.
But researcher Frank Mitloehner believes the problem may have been over-estimated.
This is our kind of bird!
A parrot, in the UK, has been put in isolation and
made to listen to Radio 4 after swearing repeatedly at distinguished
visitors.
Barney, a five-year-old Macaw, turned the air blue when a civic party
toured the Warwickshire Animal Sanctuary, Nuneaton.
He told the mayor to: "F*** off," before turning to a woman vicar and
saying: "You can f*** off too", reports the Guardian.
Sanctuary owner, Geoff Grewcock, said: "To their credit they didn't take
offence and laughed it off - and luckily so did two policemen who were
told: "And you can f*** off, you w***ers."
The parrot is thought to have learnt its repertoire from its former
owner - a retired truck driver - who emigrated to Spain three years ago,
and by watching late night TV.
Mr Grewcock is now attempting a cultural reversal by keeping Barney
alone in a special cage listening to Radio 4.
"It isn't really working yet but he is a very funny parrot, with a lot
of character, and he does say thank you whenever you give him a treat."
Just what we're looking for...
Yodelling courses are being offered online after
scientists claimed it was healthier than yoga or jogging.
The study, carried out by scientists at Graz University, found that
yodelling eased tension and stress by releasing endorphins, as well as
giving lungs a healthy workout.
Austrian tourism officials started offering yodelling courses and were
astounded by the massive demand with places booked up weeks in advance.
The biggest course in Graz is oversubscribed with almost four
applications for every place, so an online yodelling course has now
opened up for those who cannot get a place.
Hermann Haertel, a professional yodeller who runs a course in Graz,
believes that the time is long overdue for a revival.
He said: "Yodelling is alive again in the Alps - it is the music of the
mountains. To yodel one needs to use all one's energy.
"It is a powerful cry that comes from the soul, and once you start it
becomes addictive."
Website
www.yodelcourse.com offers ten
yodelling lessons in six languages that end with a diploma (Certificate
of Yodelology) for those who complete the course.
Source: Ananova
Mine's a pint...
A brewery in the States has launched the world's strongest beer.... at
25% alcohol - is six times more powerful than a normal beer and twice
the strength of a bottle of wine.
And at £56 a bottle, Samuel Adams Utopias is also among the world's most
expensive.
Just 8,000 of the limited edition 24 oz tipple, sold in a copper kettle,
have been brewed by the Boston Beer Company.
Brewery founder Jim Koch said the beer was designed to be enjoyed slowly
as an after dinner tipple.
He said: "We are passionate about brewing quality, one-of-a-kind beer
that amazes beer lovers and aficionados alike."
Looks like we've found where the next TFFE meeting is going to be!!
Source: Ananova
No, we don't...
The mayor of the Austrian town of F**king has appealed
to British tourists to stop stealing the road signs. Siegfried Hauppl
said the small town always attracted a lot of attention from tourists
driving up from nearby Salzburg to pose for pictures in front of the
signs.
But he said that, while the money they spent in the area was welcome,
locals were fed up with having to replace the signs because people had
been stealing them as souvenirs.
He said: "We had a vote last year on whether to rename the town, but
decided to keep it as it is.
"After all, F**king has existed for 800 years, probably when a Mr F**k
or the F**k family moved into the area. The 'ing' was added as a word
for settlement."
Apparently the villagers didn't find out about the English meaning of
the word until British and American soldiers stationed in the area in
1945 started arriving in large numbers.
Hauppl said: "We all know what it means now, but for us F**king is
F**king - we don't give it a second thought."
Franz Duernsteiner, an expert on bizarre Austrian village names, said
the residents of F**king were actually very "conservative" people.
He said: "Most of them can speak English, and when someone asks them
where they come from they are a little ashamed to say it."
Residents of two other Austrian communities, Windpassing and W**k on the
Lake, suffered a similar reluctance.
Source: Ananova
Admit it guys, you've always wanted to do this.
A Macedonian drove six hours across Italy and into
Germany before noticing he had left his wife at a petrol station.
Ljubomir Ivanov , 35, only realised he had forgotten wife Iskra, 37,
when he got a call on his mobile from police to say she was still
waiting for him at the petrol station near Pesaro, in central Italy.
He said: "I filled up the tank with petrol, paid and then just drove
off. I was very tired and not thinking straight.
"She usually sits in the back seat so I didn't really see she wasn't
there, until I got a call when I was already in Germany."
My Ivanov immediately drove back to Pesaro to pick up his wife so they
could resume their holiday.
"I had a lot of apologising to do." Mr Ivanov was quoted as saying.
Source: Ananova
No comment
An old news
item but... George Bush said it was time he grew up after cycling
into a policeman - on his 59th birthday.
The US president's mishap came on his mountain bike outside the G8 venue
at Gleneagles, Scotland.
Mr Bush, left with cuts to an arm and hand, showed off grazed fingers to
reporters and grinned: "It goes to show I should act my age."
The officer had a check-up and returned to duty at the Gleneagles Hotel
after Wednesday's accident.
The president blamed a rigorous work-out and the damp conditions as he
appeared at an early press call with Tony Blair.
He said: "When you ride a mountain bike, sometimes you fall, otherwise
you are not riding hard. The pavement was slick and the bike came off
underneath me."
His concern, he said, was for the Strathclyde officer adding: "I talked
to him. He is doing fine."
In May 2004 Mr Bush crashed his bike on his ranch. In 2002, he famously
fainted and toppled off his sofa in the White House when he choked on a
pretzel and in June 2003, he fell off a Segway scooter at his estate in
Maine.
Source: Ananova
