Weird stuff

Bubble man

2009-08-07T03:02:00.000-07:00

75 Very creative business cards

2008-10-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

15 Most Bizarre X-Rays

2008-10-24T08:06:00.001-07:00

1.Nail
2.Lightbulb

3.Magnetic pieces of a block

4. 13-inch serrated knife

5.PVC plumbing pipes

6.Key

7.Jubs

8.Alien

9.Nails

10.Surgical scissors

11.Fork

12.Bed springs and batteries

13.Python Gulps Down Queen-Size Electric Blanket

14.A safety pin

15.A row of button batteries

20 great bus ads

2008-10-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Funny banned commercials

2008-10-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite

Great Xbox commercial

Levis and blind man

Underwater camera

Superbowl bud commercial

7up interesting commercial

Hyundai - Who is in your car

10 weirdest sports

2008-10-19T03:44:00.000-07:00

1. Wife Carrying World Championship

First introduced in Finland, wife carrying is an actual sport where male competitors race while carrying a female teammate. The objective is for the male to carry the female through a special obstacle course in the fastest time. Major competitions are held in Sonkajarvi, Finland, Monona, Wisconsin and in Marquette, Michigan.

Talk about tough love.

2. Man versus Horse
In Wales there's a famous race called the Man Versus Horse Marathon. A cross country course is laid out, and human competitors pit their stamina against that of a posse of chosen horses. The course is 22 miles long with many natural obstacles to overcome. The steep slopes are a great test of the endurance of both man and beast, and the tricky forestry, which a man may dart through but which a horse can only travel around, is equally difficult terrain. The ultimate aim is to run the course and beat the first horse. This was recently done for the first time by a marine who had been training especially for the event. He won a large cash prize - a prize that's been getting bigger every year.

3. The World Beard And Moustache Championships

Facial hair can certainly make a man more masculine, but a competition? The World Beard And Moustache Championships is a biennial competition where men show off their extraordinary beards and moustaches. Categories include Dali moustache, goatee and full beard freestyle.

If only the competitors played in rock bands.

4. Underwater Rugby

The game of underwater rugby is played in a swimming pool of approximately 4m depth. Two teams of 11 players aim to make a goal by getting the weighted ball in the opposing team's basket. Each basket is at the bottom of the pool. This is quite an exciting game as normal gravitational rules do not apply to any of the manoeuvres or tactics you might instinctively seek to employ.

5. Putting Your Toe To Good Use

A popular activity for children, toe wrestling is now a competitive sport. The World Toe Wrestling Competition first started at a pub in Derbyshire, UK in 1976. Locals thought it would be a great idea to hold a competition where individuals lock toes together and force their opponent’s foot to the ground. The organizers applied in 1997 to get the sport included in the Olympics, but unfortunately, it was not accepted.

6. Rock Paper Scissors League

This is a sport started on a dare... right? The U. S. Association of Rock Paper Scissors. That's right, U.S. Association... damn proud. The USARPS League is the official Rock Paper Scissors League of the United States. It is sponsored by Bud Light. Matti Leshem is the co-commissioner of the USA Rock Paper Scissors League In April 2006, the inaugural USA Rock Paper Scissors League Championship was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following months of regional qualifying tournaments held across the US, 257 players were flown to Las Vegas for a single-elimination tournament at the House of Blues where the winner received $50,000. The tournament was shown on the A&E Network on June 12, 2006.

7. Unusual swimming

Even though it does seem kind of gross, bog snorkelling is a sporting event where competitors swim in a water-filled trench cut through a peat bog. Competitors must wear snorkels and flippers and can only complete the course by swimming with their flippers and not using traditional swimming techniques.

The World Bog Snorkelling Championships take place every August Bank Holiday in a dense peat bog near Llanwrtyd Wells, in Wales.

8. Chess Boxing

If you’re looking for a sport that combines using your strength as well as intelligence, then chess boxing is for you. The sport is a combination of boxing and chess with the different games alternating after each round. A match between two individuals lasts up to eleven rounds, starting with a four minute chess round and followed by two minutes of boxing.

The sport is governed by the World Chess Boxing Organization whose motto is:

“Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board”

9. Cheese Rolling

Cheese rolling is probably one of the simplest sports out there. From the top of hill, a round of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled and competitors chase after it. The first individual across the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins (the cheese of course).

Competitors aim to catch the rolling cheese but this rarely happens as it has a one second head start and can reach speeds up to 112 km/hr. In 1997, the cheese took a wrong turn down the hill and accidentally injured a spectator.

10. Unicycle Hockey

Sometimes, games involving large, toothless Canadians armed with wooden sticks can seem a bit too easy. So how do you make ice hockey more difficult? Play it on unicycles! Following the same basic rules as ice hockey, "uni-hockey" enjoyed scattered success for nearly 25 years in America, Europe, and Asia. Leagues even formed in Germany and Great Britain. Then the new millennium arrived, complete with plenty of flashing lights and pretty zeroes. Distracted by all the excitement, the few remaining enthusiasts climbed aboard their one wheel chariots and rode off into the sunset/

Police! They are always funny!

2008-10-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Cop that! Couple's sex breaks law

2008-10-14T06:14:00.001-07:00

AN AMOROUS couple have been arrested after having sex in their car - in a disabled space outside a police station.

The US couple told officers they were unaware where they had parked, reports the Morning Call newspaper.

They hadn't noticed several marked police cars in the other parking spaces nearby.

They were outside the main police station in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, with the engine running in the early hours of the morning when a police officer tapped on the windscreen.

Dennis Cullen, 23, and his female companion, who has not been named, told police they had been drinking at a university function earlier in the evening.

Cullen was charged with drink driving. Neither he nor his companion were charged in connection with having sex in the car.

Beer, beer and beer

2008-10-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

Computer Addict

2008-10-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

Don’t be scared! Any true addict can be a little weird sometimes…

It’s All About Bush

2008-10-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Visit chooseURfun

Sexy Advertising

2008-10-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Strangest Museums Ever

2008-10-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Across the world, there are museums of history, of art and of science. Some of the most famous include the Louvre, the Smithsonian and San Francisco’s Exploratorium. But for as many famous museums as there are around the world, there are just as many strange museums. To make it on this list, the wackier museum is the better.

10. Leeds Castle Dog Collar Museum

Everyone loves their pets. A pet museum might be interesting, but a museum dedicated to dog collars, not so much. However, that’s what London offers with more than 100 specimens that range from Medieval times to the Victorian Age. It looks like the Leeds Castle Dog Collar Museum has a collar on the competition! Visit the Dog Collar Museum

9. British Lawnmower Museum

Year after year, people go out to purchase lawnmowers so that they may keep their lawns crisp and presentable. But a good portion of those people don’t know the history behind the lawnmower and possibly don’t care. If you do care, then there’s a museum for you in Southport, Lancashire, Great Britain. The British Lawnmower Museum holds more than 200 specimens of this ever-important machine for the lawn junkie. Visit the Lawnmower Museum

8. International Friendship Exhibition Hall

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. That’s what has happened with the gifts received by Kim IL Sung and the Kim Jong IL in Kim IL’s International Friendship Exhibition Hall. Displaying more then 90,000 gifts, these were the items given by foreign dignitaries to the two leaders during their respective reigns as heads of state for North Korea. Who can resist green train rail cars as gifts of gratitude for your leadership? See the Friendship Exhibition Hall

7. The Museum of Bad Art

Founded in 1993, the Museum of Bad Art is “the world’s only museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms.” Their mission: to bring the worst of art to the widest of audiences. With a collection of more than 400 pieces between two museums in Dedham Square and Somerville, Mass., these museums give new meaning to “can’t color between the lines.” See the Museum of Bad Art

6. Marikina City Shoe Museum

It only seems appropriate that former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos’ shoe collection would be a part of the Marikina City Shoe Museum. Only a fraction of the more than 3,000 shoes she collected, the display still helps with the vast amount of shoe knowledge and lore presented in Marikina City. Their mission: to inform the world about how shoes were and are now made, especially in this city supposedly known for its shoemaking abilities. More from the Shoe Museum

5. The Mütter Museum

One of the few science museums on our list, the Mütter Museum is located in Philadelphia, Penn. The medical museum features medical oddities, wax models and antique equipment. Among the more famous displays are a preserved nine-foot long colon full of fecal matter, a growth taken from Lincoln’s assassin and a woman whose remains turned to soap – essentially making her the cleanest mummy in the world. More of the Mütter Museum

4. Burlesque Hall of Fame

Located between Los Angeles and Las Vegas on Route 66, the Burlesque Hall of Fame features burlesque displays and holds annual fundraising events for a wide audience. Their mission: to inspire, educate and entertain the public, fostering an understanding of the history and heritage of classic burlesque - including but not limited to the art, artifacts and personal histories of its brightest stars. I guess they keep abreast of all situations related to classic burlesque. See more of the Burlesque Hall of Fame

3. Sulabh Museum of Toilets

Several thousand years ago it was almost unheard of to have running water, sewers and bathroom facilities that were actually sanitary. That makes it seem all that more fascinating at the Sulabh Museum of Toilets in New Delhi, India. There are displays of toilets from centuries past as well as documentation of how toilets have helped the world. Perhaps that would be good reading on the throne? Visit the Museum of Toilets

2. Vibrator Museum and Masturbation Hall of Fame

Perhaps the most erotic museum on this list, this San Francisco “museum” displays ancient products originally designed to help women fight hysteria. As one of the first five products to use AC power, the vibrator has a long history and the museum would like to shed some light on the practices of women’s darkened bedrooms. In addition to vibrators from decades ago, there are also plenty of modern toys to help anyone and everyone with their hysterical frustrations.

1. Icelandic Phallological Museum

An ode to the phallus: Where oh where have you gone? Where will I find you? Perhaps at the Icelandic Phallacological Museum. This Reykjavík museum boasts a penis or penis parts from just about every mammal and sea creature indigenous to Iceland. Perhaps the Vibrator Museum and the Phallacological Museum should hook up? Visit the Phallological Museum

10 Creepiest Old Ads

2008-10-04T03:23:00.000-07:00

The pig with the face of a monkey

2008-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

While all the other little piggies will be going to market, this little piggy from China will stay at home – for fear that nobody will buy a walking bacon sandwich with the face of a monkey.

Locals from Fengzhang village in Xiping have been amazed by the sight of this freak piglet with two thin lips, a small nose and two large eyes.

And with forelegs shorter than its rear legs, the poor little swine hops rather than trots.

Farmer Feng Changlin told Oriental Today: "It's hideous. No one will be willing to buy it, and it scares the family to even look at it!"

Forget Homer Simpson’s Spider Pig - this snoutless, porky face is truly one only Mother Nature could love.

Doctor gives dad £40,000 bionic leg.. for free

2008-10-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

A one-legged dad who needed a £40,000 bionic limb so he could walk again was given one for FREE... when he popped into his local for a pint.

David Huckvale, 42, was sipping a beer when he was tapped on the shoulder by Alistair Gibson, one of only 10 doctors in the world who can fit the computer-controlled limb.

The surgeon could see David was struggling to stand and told him he had a spare leg lying under the desk in his surgery in America - and he could have it for nothing.

Sports-mad David was fitted with a false knee in his teens after a benign tumour was removed. But the knee joint kept breaking and eventually, when David was 29, doctors had to amputate his leg above the knee. David was devastated and had the op just weeks before he married Alison, now 37. He said: "I had to hobble down the aisle in a cast. I was heartbroken."

David, of Earlshilton, Leics, had to quit his job as a painter and decorator. The NHS fitted a false leg, but it didn't work properly, so he spent most of his time in pain on crutches or in a wheelchair. But then in 1998 he read about a bionic leg only available in America. The trouble was the limb would cost £40,000 - and after almost 10 years of saving David had just £3,000.

He said: "The NHS did what they could for me but I knew deep down the only way I would walk properly again would be to go to America.

"I saved like mad and bought a lottery ticket each week and prayed."

Then last September David's luck changed when he went down to his local The Sycamore for a drink.

David said: "I have been blessed by a miracle. I can now play in the garden with my two girls. Alistair has given me my life back."

Scots-born Alistair, who was on holiday visiting relatives, said: "I could see he was really struggling when I saw him in the pub. I thought he was such a nice guy... and I wanted to give something back to society."

10 Most Unfortunate Car Names

2008-09-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Marketers do a great job of convincing us to buy stuff (often stuff we don't need) - but through the annals of history they have occasionally gotten things wrong. This is a list of the ten most unfortunately named cars.

Mazda LaPuta (in spanish: "the whore")

The car's name actually derivates from the book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, but go explain this to spanish speakers. For them, it means "the whore".

Mitsubishi Pajero (in spanish: "wanker")

The Spanish version ended up as "Montero", but still many spanish-speaking customer do have a wanker.

Nissan Moco (in spanish: "booger")

It was only marketed in Japan as such; otherwise it would have been a bad (nose) pick for spanish speakers.

Buick LaCrosse (in French: "masturbating teenagers")

When Buick launched the "LaCrosse" in Canada why couldn't it have come across as "the fancy pen on wheels," or something to do with archery? Nope, in French-speaking Quebec, the meaning is, of course, masturbating teenagers.

Chevrolet Nova (in spanish: "It Doesn't Go")

General Motors had a very famous fiasco in trying to market the Nova car in Central and South America. "No va" in Spanish means, "It Doesn't Go".

Opel Ascona (in Spain and Portugal: "female genitalia")

Why couldn't the "Opel Ascona" mean "little flower" or "cute worm," which would have been cause for just mild embarrassment? Instead, it means female genitalia in Northern Spain and parts of Portugal.

Honda Fitta (in swedish and norwegian: "cunt")

So why can only spanish speakers have genitalic cars? Here's one for up there: the Honda "cunt"

Daihatsu Charade

It's not really a car, it's just pretending! This was one of those econo-boxes that was not merely humiliating to drive, it embarrassed its owner each time its name was uttered. "I drive a Charade." Good-bye, prom date!

Dodge Swinger

You'll also find ads for these on the back pages of adult magazines. Okay, it was the '70s, but still - why not just call it the STD?

AMC Gremlin

Do you really want to own a car named after annoying small problems that are next-to-impossible to fix? Courtesy of the same folks who brought you the Pacer.

Crazy Marketing

2008-09-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

World's Worthless Money

2008-09-26T06:09:00.001-07:00

10 million Zimbabwean Dollars = US$4

If you think the American economy is bad, take heart that it’s nowhere near the ultra-super-hyperinflation in Zimbabwe, once one of the richest countries in Africa. The country’s central bank has recently issued a Z$100 billion note (yes, Z$100,000,000,000). So, what would a Z$100 billion note buy you? About two loaves of bread (it won’t even get you lunch - you’d need at least Z$250 billion for lunch).

So far this year, the country ravaged by hyperinflation has been forced to print 100-million, 250-million and 500-million notes in rapid succession. All of them are now almost worthless. has become common now for Zimbabweans to talk of their daily expenses in trillions (one trillion is 12 zeros).

500,000 vietnamese Dongs = US$30

An early-1980s U.S. embargo hobbled exports, leading to price controls and the printing of excess currency.

100,000 Indonesian rupiah = US$11

During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the rupiah lost 80 percent of its value within months, sparking riots in Jakarta (and soon ending President Suharto's 32-year rule).

50,000 Iranian Rial = US$5

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran's inflation rate has hovered around 15 percent, thanks in part to ever-rising oil prices.

50,000 São Tomé Dobra = US$3.47

This African island nation's economy is tied to the volatile price of its chief export, cocoa, and is measured against its trading partners' robust euro.

10,000 Guinean Francs = US$2.33

In 2002, the mineral-rich African country refused to implement reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund; foreign cash dried up, and the central bank printed too much money.

World Trade Center Old Ads

2008-09-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

Athletes donate their brains

2008-09-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

SIXTEEN American athletes, including six former NFL players, have agreed to donate their brains to a program that will study the long-term effects of concussions, a founder of an organization running it said today.

"Our goal is for people to start taking concussions seriously,'' said Chris Nowinski, a former pro wrestler and an American football player at Harvard. "That means getting off the field when they receive them and finding ways to prevent them.''

The study is a joint effort by Nowinski's Sports Legacy Institute and the Boston University School of Medicine. They are collaborating in the new Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Among former NFL players who have agreed to donate their brains after their deaths are Ted Johnson, Frank Wycheck, Isaiah Kacyvenski and Ben Lynch. Also participating are Noah Welch, who played in the NHL for the Florida Panthers last season, and Cindy Parlow, a former US women's football international.

"I shouldn't have to prove to anybody that there's something wrong with me,'' Johnson, a former New England Patriots linebacker, told The New York Times.

The 35-year-old's neurologist has pointed to Johnson's multiple concussions from 2002-05 as a cause of his permanent and degenerative problems with memory and depression.

"I'm not being vindictive. I'm not trying to reach up from the grave and get the NFL,'' Johnson added. "But any doctor who doesn't connect concussions with long-term effects should be ashamed of themselves.''

Nowinski has seen greater awareness to dangers from concussions. "Whereas three years ago I tried to speak on this issue and coaches were able to keep me out of their schools because they didn't want their kids to be scared,'' he said, "now, for example, we just ran all New Hampshire Pop Warner (kids football) head coaches through an educational program. They're now holding kids out much more often because they can recognize the concussions better.''

Nowinski said SLI is setting up a registry with the names of the people who have agreed to donate their brains and that Boston University will oversee the scientific aspects.

The center is expected to announce on Thursday that former Houston Oilers linebacker John Grimsley was the fifth deceased NFL player found to have brain damage commonly associated with boxers, according to the Times. Andre Waters, Mike Webster, Terry Long and Justin Strzelczyk were the first four.

"We support all research that would further the scientific and medical understanding of this injury, which affects thousands of people, athletes and nonathletes alike, every year,'' NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

"Hundreds of thousands of people have played football and other sports without experiencing any problem of this type, and there continues to be considerable debate in the medical community on the precise long-term effects of concussions and how they relate to other risk factors.''

Grimsley died in February of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in February that police ruled an accident. The NFL is conducting its own study on concussions, and Aiello expected the results to be published in 2010.

Swamp Soccer World Cup

2008-09-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

Disney's secrets and sumbliminal messages

2008-09-23T06:31:00.000-07:00

It's very interesting that dwarfs in Snow White represent 7 stages of addiction recovery an her name is White just like Cocaine.

White lion cubs

2008-09-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Three white lion cubs are fed in a wildlife zoo in Schloss-Holte Stukenbrock July 14, 2008. Both of the park's two rare white lionesses gave birth simultaneously to seven cubs on June 30.Three of the cubs are being hand-fed after their mother rejected them. REUTERS

Upside Down House

2008-09-21T01:01:00.000-07:00

Dog Saves Owner By Dialling 911

2008-09-20T00:21:00.000-07:00

A dog whose owner was having a seizure saved his life by calling the emergency services and barking down the line to raise the alarm.

Joe Stalnaker adopted German shepherd Buddy as an eight-week-puppy and trained him to use the phone if he began to have an attack.

Mr Stalnaker, of Scottsdale, Arizona, has suffered seizures for ten years after suffering a head injury during a military training exercise.

So when he got into difficulties, Buddy knew exactly what to do - hit the speed-dial button on the phone for 911.

On the tape of his call, he can be heard whimpering and barking after the operator answers and repeatedly asks if the caller needs help.

Police were sent to Mr Stalnaker's home, and after about three minutes Buddy can be heard barking loudly when the officers arrived.

Sergeant Mark Clark, of Scottsdale police, said Mr Stalnaker spent two days in a hospital and recovered from the seizure.

"It's pretty incredible," Sgt Clark said.

"Even the veteran dispatchers - they haven't heard of anything like this."

Mr Stalnaker's address is flagged in the force's computer system with a notification that a trained dog might call 911 when the owner was incapacitated.

Sgt Clark said Buddy has made two other 911 calls when Mr Stalnaker was having seizures.

Woman dialled 999 because rabbit didn't have floppy ears

2008-09-19T10:29:00.003-07:00

Police have appealed to the public to stop making "frivolous" 999 calls after a woman phoned to complain that the rabbit she had bought did not have floppy ears.

She dialled the emergency number when she discovered that her pet's ears did not match their description in a newspaper advert.

In another abuse of the emergency services number, a man demanded police action because there were too many onions in his Chinese takeaway.

Operators also received calls from people who objected to being splashed by cars in wet weather, and one misguided 999 caller phoned to ask for the postcode of her local police station.

Central Scotland Police, which revealed details of some of the stranger calls it had received in the past year, said they could put lives at risk by delaying the response of the emergency services to life-or-death situations.

In one call, a man reported being soaked by a car driving through a puddle as he walked along a pavement.

Just moments before, a woman caller had made a similar complaint. When she was told that it was not appropriate to call 999 about being splashed by water she verbally abused the call handler.

Chief Insp Alan Stewart said: "It is unbelievable that anyone should phone 999 to report being soaked by a passing car, ask for a postcode or report that the item bought from a newspaper advert was not as described.

"These are examples of how people clearly do not think when they pick up the phone and dial this number. While officers and staff are dealing with these frivolous matters they are not dealing with genuine emergency calls."

N.J. callers dialing Democrats get sex line

2008-09-19T10:29:00.002-07:00

NEWTON, N.J. - A misprint in a telephone book has led to some callers dialing a phone sex service while trying to reach a New Jersey political organization.

A listing for the Sussex County Democratic Committee in Embarq's white pages sent people to a sultry female voice inviting them to pay for sex chat. Embarq spokesman Glenn Lewis told The New Jersey Herald of Newton that a transposition error caused the last three digits of the Democrats' phone number to be misprinted.

He said the listing has been corrected in Embarq's directory assistance database.

The organization's 800 number listed in the book's yellow pages was correct. Source - CNEWS

Human breast milk on the menu

2008-09-18T22:20:00.001-07:00

A Swiss gastronomist has stirred a controversy in the tranquil Alpine republic after announcing that he will serve meals cooked with human breast milk.

The owner of the Storchen restaurant in the exclusive Winterthur resort will improve his menu with local specialities such as meat stew and various soups and sauces containing at least 75 per cent of mother's milk.

"We have all been raised on it. Why should we not include it into our diet?" Hans Locher, who has become Switzerland most controversial restaurant owner, said.

Mr Locher attracted the attention of the leading media of the German-speaking world this week after he posted ads looking for women donors, who will receive just over three pounds for 14 ounces of their milk.

He said: "I first experimented with breast milk when my daughter was born.

"One can cook really delicious things with it. However, it always needs to be mixed with a bit of whipped cream, in order to keep the consistency."

The food control authority in Switzerland was initially confused by the apparent loophole in local legislation regulating the use of human milk and it was not clear whether Mr Locher could actually be banned from serving his specialities.

"Humans as producers of milk are simply not envisaged in the legislation.

"They are not on the list of approved species such as cows and sheep, but they are also not on the list of the banned species such as apes and primates," Rolf Etter of the Zurich food control laboratory said. - Source telegraph.co.uk

Man catches catfish with Barbie

2008-09-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

A man in the US has managed to catch and land a record-breaking catfish on a Barbie fishing rod just 2-and-a-half feet long.

David Hayes and his 3-year-old granddaughter Alyssa were angling in the pond behind his Wilkes County home when she asked him to hold her rod while she nipped to the loo.

"They hadn't no more than closed the door than the cat hit the cricket and took off," Mr Hayes told the Hickory Daily Record.

"He turned the water over and I saw his tail was about as wide as my two hands."

Alyssa returned to find her grandad battling with the monster fish.

"She said, 'Papa, you're going to break my rod,' because it was bent double," said Mr Hayes.

After 25 minutes, the pink plastic toy prevailed and Mr Hayes landed the 21 lbs,1oz catfish on the 6 lbs test line.

At 32 inches long, it was 2 inches longer than the rod.

A state fisheries biologist from North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has certified the record, which was nearly three pounds over the previous mark.

Swearing parrot ruffles feathers at zoo

2008-09-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

A PARROT is worrying staff and scaring children at a zoo by telling visitors to "f*** off".

Max the five-year-old African grey parrot was donated by a previous owner who got fed up with his expletive-laden chatter.

Keeper Peter Hansom at South Park birdhouse in Darlington, in the north of England, blamed schoolchildren for teaching Max, a five-year-old African grey parrot, the obscenity.

He told London's The Sun: “He’s a bright chap and easily picked it up. There’s no knowing when he’ll blurt it out. I hold my breath when parents stand with small children at his cage.

“Sometimes he will just say ‘hello’ or ‘bye’ but as often as not it’s ‘f*** off’.

“His favourite trick is to stick his head in a tin cup in his cage and then swear. He seems to know it makes a louder sound.”

Priest smokes weed

2008-09-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

A CATHOLIC priest is being watched by police around the clock after they uncovered a field of cannabis he claims is a gift from God.

Father Cyril Papudov, of Petrich, Bulgaria, has been arrested seven times but police have never caught him actually cultivating the crop.

He claims the cannabis seeded by itself and is part of God's gift of nature and nothing to do with him.

A police insider said: "There has been a great deal of suspicion over the years about what is going on with these plants.

"He is a man of the cloth and so a lot of people don't want to think badly of him but frankly if someone has a huge crop of cannabis in their back garden it's highly unlikely they are just sitting there admiring its horticultural properties."

Police are now planning a 24-hour surveillance operation.

The police insider added: "Although the man involved is a member of the clergy we feel this surveillance is necessary.

"By keeping a watch on the plants we can make sure this is the case and put an end to any suspicions over the purpose of these plants once and for all."

Elephant Beats Heroin Addiction

2008-09-14T03:04:00.000-07:00

An elephant that was successfully weaned off its heroin addiction has been allowed to go home after three years in rehab.

The four-year-old Asian elephant named Xiguang - or Big Brother - by state media in China took part in a detox programme on the tropical island province of Hainan.

The pachyderm was captured by animal smugglers in 2005 and fed heroin-laced bananas so he could be controlled, according to Xinhua news agency.

Authorities caught up with the illegal traders and officials soon noticed there was something wrong with Xiguang.

The Beijing News website reported that his eyes kept streaming and he made continuous trumpeting noises.

Xiguang was eventually diagnosed as having heroin withdrawal symptoms and he was sent for treatment.

In rehab, the elephant was given methadone injections at five times the human dosage to cure his dependency.

The frequency of his shots was reduced after the first year as the elephant slowly bounced back.

After his three-year stint on the island, Xiguang was sent to a wildlife reserve in Kunming in south west China, the capital of the elephant's home province of Yunnan.

The Asian elephant is an endangered species, with fewer than 32,800 left in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Murder Trial Calls Dog As Witness

2008-09-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

A courtroom observing a French murder trial could be excused for thinking the presiding judge has gone barking mad.

In what is believed to be a world first, the investigating magistrate has invited a dog to take the stand as a witness.

Scooby will give evidence as he is believed to have been with his 59-year-old owner when she was found hanging from the ceiling of her Paris flat.

Police believe the death was suicide, but her family cry murder - and the only witness to see the alleged crime is on four legs.

It is hoped Scooby can collar the potential perpetrator, having already played a leading role during a preliminary court hearing in Nanteree, a Paris suburb.

He is said to have hounded a suspect, "barking furiously" after being taken out of the kennel and into the witness box by a vet.

French judge Thomas Cassuto praised the mongrel for his "exemplary behaviour and invaluable assistance".

But lawyers barked back - insisting the bizarre spectacle "proved nothing".

One said: "Human evidence is unreliable enough, let alone canine evidence.

"Besides, the victim died two and half years ago, which is seventeen dog years! How is the animal supposed to remember that far back?"

A spokesman for the Palais de Justice in Paris confirmed that the appearance was the first time a dog had appeared as a witness in criminal proceedings in France.

He said: "It was a preliminary hearing. The judge will now decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial."

Firefighter gives cat mouth-to-mouth

2008-09-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

A lucky cat owes one of its nine lives to a firefighter who revived it with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Al Machado rescued the cat from a burning apartment in Massachusetts on Tuesday, and told The Standard Times of New Bedford that he saw immediately that it needed air. Machado began performing mouth-to-mouth on the animal as he carried it outside.

Video shot at the scene shows Machado bent over, breathing into the cat's mouth several times. The cat, a tiger angora, was revived and resting comfortably soon after.

No humans were injured in the fire. A man and woman whose last known address was the building that burned were arrested and charged with arson, authorities said.

Two other cats died in the second-floor apartment, but two dogs there were saved with the help of oxygen from paramedics and animal rescue personnel. Pets on the other two floors - including a ferret and even some frogs on the first floor - were all saved.

Asked what it tasted like to give mouth-to-mouth to a cat, Machado laughed, grimaced and said: 'Like fur.'