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Ironhorse
Jan 29, 2008, 09:36 AM
I get these in e-mails and find them on the internet. Some are just dumb, others are hilarious, and others are along the lines of "Duh, Here's you're sign"

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Toilet treasures to be moved in March
WORCESTER, Mass. (UPI) -- Old toilets have been Russell Manoog's life for long enough and now the Massachusetts man says he's giving up his museum of plumbing treasures.

Manoog, 73, who owns the American Sanitary Plumbing Museum in Worcester with his wife Bettejane, 72, has announced the plumbing artifacts will move to Watertown in March. The Manoogs said their desires to travel and partake in less toilet talk prompted them to close the museum's Worcester location, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

Manoog reportedly dedicated the past two decades of his life to the appreciation and collection of historic porcelain, cast-iron and brass toilets.

The museum, which opened in 1988, had only 400 visitors in 2007. But the announced closing caused a boom in attendance when locals rushed in for their final visits.

"It's really something that's kind of a conversation starter when you say you're the home of the plumbing museum," Tourism and Marketing Director Jeannie Hebert said.

The toilet treasures will be open for public viewing in the spring at the J.C. Cannistraro LCC offices in Watertown.

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Snow day query heats up the Internet

BURKE, Va. (UPI) -- A student's call to a Virginia school administrator's home asking why a snow day wasn't declared is racing across the Internet faster than an Alberta clipper.

Lake Braddock High School senior Devraj Kori, wondered why Fairfax County, Va., school officials didn't call a snow day Thursday following a 3-inch snow fall. He called Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for the county school system, to ask why, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, leaving his name and phone number.

Kori got a message on his cell phone from Tistadt's wife, Candy.

"How dare you call us at home! If you have a problem with going to school, you do not call somebody's house and complain about it," Mrs. Tistadt began.

Her husband had been up since 4 a.m. working on the situation, she said. In closing, Tistadt said, "Get over it, kid, and go to school! Get an education; that's what you're there for."

After school, Kori posted Tistadt's message -- but not his -- on an audio link on a Facebook page he had created. The message also was posted on YouTube, where, as of Tuesday, more than 9,000 people clicked on the link.



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Man bitten by crocodile, then shot

DARWIN , Australia (UPI) -- An Australian man was in stable condition after he was bitten by a crocodile and subsequently shot by a friend who was attempting to help him.

Officials at Royal Darwin Hospital said Jason Green was stable after being bitten on the arm and shot while collecting crocodile eggs Tuesday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday.

Zac Fitzgerald attempted to help Green by firing a pistol, but one of the bullets accidentally struck Green in the elbow.

However, Dr. Len Notaras of Royal Darwin Hospital said the poorly-aimed gunshot was probably what allowed Green to free himself from the crocodile's grip.

"There is no doubt in my mind the gun shot actually saved his life," he said.

Notaras said it is not yet clear whether Green's arm will heal fully.



--------------------- This is one of the "Here's Your Sign" ones, LOL

Suspects nabbed during Denny's breakfast

SPRINGFIELD, Conn. (UPI) -- Police in Springfield, Conn., have arrested two men after stolen stereo equipment was spotted inside their car while they ate breakfast at Denny's.

Police Chief Carl Sferrazza said Joseph Jimenez and Felix Rodriguez, both 18, were arrested after officers saw the stolen equipment, which still had wires attached, in their car, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported Wednesday.

The vehicle matched the description of a white car spotted in the area of three reported car burglaries Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.

Sferrazza said each suspect was charged with three counts of third-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit third-degree burglary and tampering with a motor vehicle. He said they also were charged with two counts of sixth degree larceny and one count of fifth-degree larceny and possession of burglary tools.

Jimenez and Rodriguez were held in police custody Wednesday in lieu of $30,000 bail.

Ironhorse
Jan 31, 2008, 02:17 PM
Cash register a strong burglary clue
SLIDELL, La. (UPI) -- Police in Louisiana said finding a cash register in the back of three suspects' car was a strong indicator the men were behind several burglaries.

Slidell Police spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz said that when officers from a nearby jurisdiction stopped a car carrying Bryce Williams, Simon Licciardi and Oscar A. Garcia, the trio allegedly were carrying a cash register with them, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Saturday.

Foltz said that with several burglaries having been committed in the area last year, the register was a clear clue.

"That's kind of a dead giveaway," the police spokesman said.

While the men were stopped by authorities in Livingston Parish, La., deputies there immediately contacted Slidell police and the suspects were charged with attempted burglary last Thursday.

Foltz told the newspaper that the 11 burglaries and attempted burglaries in question all occurred last July and August, with most of the incidents ending when the thieves could not carry off the sites' safes or cash registers.

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Hot tub not so hot hiding spot
HILLSBORO, Ore. (UPI) -- Police in Aloha, Ore., say a man accused of mail theft made the mistake of attempting to hide from officers in a hot tub.

Washington County deputies allege that when they approached Mathew Keuscher as he sat in his car last week, he ran off after they noticed other people's mail inside the vehicle, KPTV in Portland reported Saturday.

Police said that while Keuscher managed to lose the officers by hiding around houses Friday, a K-9 unit allegedly cornered him inside a local hot tub.

Local resident Jeff Elliot told KPTV he heard the police dog breaking through fences in the area and someone closing the lid on his outdoor hot tub.

"I heard banging and then a loud thump as our hot tub lid was closed," he said.

Police quickly tracked their suspect to the hot tub and arrested him on charges ranging from mail theft to criminal trespassing.

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Kids learn hard lesson about cold flagpole
VALPARAISO, Ind. (UPI) -- Two elementary school children in Indiana have learned the hard way not to place their tongues on a cold flagpole.

Chesteron resident Billie Dempsey said her 10-year-old son, Gavin, and another student apparently decided to stick their tongues on the flagpole during single-digit temperatures and quickly learned why such actions are never a good idea, the Munster (Ind.) Times reported Saturday.

"The nurse called us and said the boys' tongues were bleeding," the concerned mother said.

"The nurse asked them, 'OK, who double-dog dared who?' But they weren't admitting to what they did and said they just bit their tongues."

Karen Alexander, whose son James joined young Gavin in the ill-advised activity, said the film comedy "A Christmas Story" was the boys' inspiration.

"I thought it was pretty silly of him. I asked him where he got the idea, and he said 'A Christmas Story.' I can't believe he did it, but they learned their lesson," she told the Times.


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Empire State Building not a fan of cars
NEW YORK (UPI) -- Some transportation workers in New York wonder if the Empire State Building is some how responsible for the sudden stalling of countless cars.

Workers such as Citywide Towing manager Isaac Leviev say the area around the popular tourist attraction has become a dead zone for cars, which roar back to life once out of the building's towering presence, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.

"We get about 10 to 15 cars stuck near there every day," Leviev said of the five-block radius around the landmark. "You pull the car four or five blocks to the west or east and the car starts right up."

"The lights work, the horn works, everything. But it won't start," Golden Touch Transportation driver Russell Valeev said of his personal experiences in the building's shadow.

While the building is equipped with various radio antennas, the Empire State Building Co. told the newspaper they did not adversely affect automobiles in any way.