Odd News... February 09

[Bungleau]

Lost thief holes up in French bank lavatory

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) – A hapless thief drilled his way into a French bank at the weekend, but missed the safe and instead found himself in a lavatory where he was promptly arrested, a French newspaper reported Sunday.

The 21-year-old broke into a building adjoining a branch of Banque Populaire in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille in the early hours of Saturday morning, La Provence newspaper said.

The paper said the man, who came from Belgium and was not named, thought that he was going to end up in a room housing safe deposit boxes but instead drilled into the lavatories.

Alarms were triggered when he broke through the wall and police caught the man when they arrived on the scene.

(Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet, Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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So... you think the first thing he said when he broke through the wall was "Oh, crap!"? (or to be language-appropriate, "merde!"?)

[Larry_OHF]

After all that work and digging...did he at least hit the ladies' room or was this a complete loss?

[Arvon]

Political Correctness Update: In November, the student association at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, voted to eliminate a cystic fibrosis organization from the list of charities it supports, explaining that since the condition almost exclusively afflicts white people, it was not "inclusive" enough to merit student funding. [Vancouver Sun, 11-25-08]

[Bungleau]

Sewage yields more gold than top mines

TOKYO (Reuters) – Resource-poor Japan just discovered a new source of mineral wealth -- sewage.

A sewage treatment facility in central Japan has recorded a higher gold yield from sludge than can be found at some of the world's best mines. An official in Nagano prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, said the high percentage of gold found at the Suwa facility was probably due to the large number of precision equipment manufacturers in the vicinity that use the yellow metal. The facility recently recorded finding 1,890 grammes of gold per tonne of ash from incinerated sludge.

That is a far higher gold content than Japan's Hishikari Mine, one of the world's top gold mines, owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd, which contains 20-40 grammes of the precious metal per tonne of ore.

The prefecture is so far due to receive 5 million yen ($55,810) for the gold, minus expenses.

It expects to earn about 15 million yen for the fiscal year to the end of March from the gold it has retrieved from the ashes of incinerated sludge.

"How much we actually receive will depend on gold prices at the time," the official said.

Some gold industry officials expect prices this year to top the all-time high above $1,030 per ounce set in 2008, on buying by investors worried about the deepening economic downturn. (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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Hmmm... I guess for $165k/year after expenses, I'd be willing to sort through some poop...although will people be able to talk about that crappy Japanese gold now?

[Bungleau]

Man in wheelchair allegedly steals purse, spits

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus police arrested a man in a wheelchair after he allegedly stole a woman's purse early Saturday and then spit in an officer's face. Police said a 51-year-old man approached a 49-year-old woman who was reclining on a couch in the lobby of their apartment building with her brown purse beside her.

Police said the man took the purse and tried to get away but the woman yelled at him to return the purse and it was recovered. The man got into an elevator and went to his room but was arrested for robbery a short time later.

Two officers took the man to a medical center for treatment. Police said the man then insulted the weight of one officer and then cursed and spit in his face.

The man was charged with obstruction of an officer and was released from the Muscogee County Jail later that day.
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Information from: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, http://www.ledger-enquirer.com

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Insulted the weight of one officer? You don't think he called him a fat pig, do you?

On the other hand, he didn't do much planning for his getaway, did he? I mean, an elevator ride to your room isn't much...

[VulcanRider]

Originally Posted by Bungleau On the other hand, he didn't do much planning for his getaway, did he? I mean, an elevator ride to your room isn't much...

It's almost like he wants to be caught. Maybe he's looking for free room/board in a tough economy...

[Arvon]

Ms. Courtney Mann, the head of the Philadelphia chapter of the white-supremacist National Association for the Advancement of White People, and who is a single mother who works as a tax preparer, was rebuffed in an attempt to join a Ku Klux Klan-sponsored march in Pittsburgh in April, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Though she has been in the NAAWP for at least four years, the Pennsylvania KKK Grand Dragon turned her down for the Klan march because Mann is black. "She wanted me to send transportation (to bring her to the rally)," said the Grand Dragon. "She wanted to stay at my house (during rally weekend). She's all confused, man. I don't think she knows she's black." [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4-13-97]

[Bungleau]

Pythons found after brief escape from Calif. home

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – A 23-foot, 130-pound orange reticulated python, the world's longest snake species, and a second python escaped from a terrarium inside their owner's home in San Luis Obispo on Sunday night.

Police quickly warned residents that the snakes, though domesticated, were large enough to make meals of young children or pets.

But both were captured in the neighborhood by Monday afternoon. The smaller python, a 12-footer, was spotted under the owner's porch.

The 23-footer was found basking in the sun in a backyard several blocks away.

No injuries were reported. Police says the snakes' owner will not be cited.

Says police Sgt. Kurt Hixenbaugh: "There is no leash law for snakes."

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Ermmm... no leash law? How about keeping exotic animals? Gotta be a busted regulation here somewhere...

[Bungleau]

Students fail to engineer car-dangling prank

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – A botched university prank to suspend a car from a Vancouver bridge on Monday has left five engineering students facing criminal charges.

The University of British Columbia students were caught as they tried to lower the shell of a Volkswagen Beetle from the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge during the night.

However, the cables eventually failed, sending the car plunging into the waters of Vancouver harbour.

There were no injuries, but the students were arrested, with police recommending they be charged with criminal mischief causing more than C$5,000 in damages.

The dangling-car prank has become an annual tradition to publicize the university's engineering week. In one incident in 2001, a car was secretly suspended from San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, causing a massive traffic jam.

(Reporting Allan Dowd; editing by Rob Wilson)

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Apparently their planning process miscalculated the time spent at the donut shop...

[Bungleau]

Man celebrates birthday with 24-hour treadmill run

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. – A Twin Cities man was looking for a challenge, so he decided to celebrate his 30th birthday by running on a treadmill for 24 hours straight. B.J. Van Beusekom covered about 80 miles before he stopped running at noon Tuesday. He promptly went to the nearest chair and rested his obviously stiff legs.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Van Beusekom took breaks only to use the restroom and change clothes.

He accomplished his feat at Athletic Performance Inc., a training center in Brooklyn Center. To keep him motivated, API provided a dance with a disc jockey, a slumber party and a big screen television.

For the rest of his birthday, Van Beusekom says he just wants a nap and a massage.

Van Beusekom's effort also raised just over $3,000 for the American Lung Association.
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I'm impressed... although I'm wondering about food breaks. I don't think I could go 24 hours like that.