WEIRD NEWS

Berlin brothel cuts rates for 'green' customers

By Mary Macpherson Lane, Associated Press Writer
BERLIN — Part of Berlin's red-light scene is going green.
One bordello, hoping to stave off falling demand in the economic crisis, has begun offering discounts to customers who pedal bicycles to the door.

Thurman Thomas in Canada

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — A missing half-ton chain saw carving of former Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas is apparently in Canada.The 8 1/2-foot statue disappeared from a parking lot across from Ralph Wilson stadium sometime after Sunday's Bills game against the Browns.Orchard Park police say an Ontario man called the organization that owns the carving on Tuesday, saying he and some friends rescued it after seeing people trying to burn it

Calif. to cows: Keep the tails

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — California cows are the first in the nation with the legal right to swat flies as nature intended now that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill banning the painful practice of tail docking that he once mocked as being a waste of legislators' time.
The governor also signed other farm bills he famously ridiculed this summer as he tried to pressure legislators to focus on balancing the state's beleaguered budget.
In a signing frenzy that lasted until his midnight Sunday deadline, Schwarzenegger also approved a state blueberry commission and new label requirements for honey.

Perform or Else

FEMALE redback spiders eat male mates who do not spend enough time on foreplay.
To keep cranky females happy, their partners have to spend about 100 minutes on courtship, doing things such as vibrating their webs and rubbing their tummies.
But once the fickle babes are brought to a peak of amorous and receptive behaviour, they will let a stray male mate with them even if he hasn't done any courting at all.
If he's quick, he can do the business and then run off before she gets a chance to eat him

Nasty

SAN DIEGO - A man who sneaked a bag of his feces into a San Diego courtroom during his home-invasion robbery trial, smeared it on his lawyer and threw it at jurors has been sentenced to 31 years in prison.

STOP HUGGING

ADELAIDE, Australia - An Australian elementary school has banned hugging and other displays of affection between preteen boys and girls to set a good example for younger students, the principal said Tuesday.Students at Largs Bay Primary School in the southern city of Adelaide were spoken to about "inappropriate behavior" between boyfriends and girlfriends when the new school term opened last week, said Principal Julie Gale."We set strong standards of behavior for our Year 6 and 7 students, who are seen as role models by our younger students," Gale said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press, referring to the school's oldest students, ages 11 to 13.

A TOUGH JOB PARENTING

WOODLAND HILLS -- A man attempting to demonstrate the dangers of gunpowder to his son blew off one of his fingers in a blast that also injured the boy, authorities said.
At first, the explosion in the 22900 block of Calvert Street in Woodland Hills was thought to be a shooting, said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Tom Sammartano.
But, it was a father-son lesson gone wrong.
The father somehow ignited the gunpowder while trying to demonstrate its dangers just before 10:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Arriving police and firefighters found a window in the home blown out, and a bomb squad was called in to check for any further dangers.
Investigators say the son suffered minor face injuries and possible loss of hearing. The father lost a finger in the blast.
Both were taken to a hospital for treatment.