This is topic Weird Things in forum Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-30-2001, 10:51 PM:
Rated G
WeirdRICHMOND, Virginia: Restaurant owner Ted Doll couldn't believe the damage after the lunch-time incident at his eatery. A stolen garbage truck smashed through a wall and into the restaurant.
City building inspectors closed the business because it appeared only one brick was holding up the entire front of the building.
The name of the restaurant? The Hole In The Wall.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-30-2001, 11:06 PM:
Rated G 
LONDON: Workers at a London auction house put a $158,000 painting by artist Lucian Freud into a crusher because they thought it was garbage. A spokesman for Sotheby's confirmed the painting had been accidentally destroyed. 'It is an extremely unfortunate situation and we have taken immediate steps to prevent it happening again'. he said. After the painting wa delivered, workers thought the protective case containing the picture was in fact an empty box. They placed it in a garbage crusher. The Sotheby's spokesman refused to comment on the fate of the employees.
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ROSWELL, New Mexico: It won't take a penny to get Ernest Spence's thoughts on the I-R-S. He was a penny short on his taxes and now the agency wants more than 286 dollars in penalties and interest. The businessman says he paid more than $28-thousand dollars in fourth quarter taxes. But the I-R-S says he should have forked over one cent more. Spence says his penny error was a math mistake--he didn't carry over fractions of acent. He figures I-R-S agents don't have enough to do if they're going through all that effort to get a penny.
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Wacky-But-True: A Pennsylvania man will spend 23 months in jail for making 5,000 phony 9-1-1 calls because he was bored.20-year-old Thomas Crawley was also ordered to spend 100-hours telling children what he did and "how stupid it was" and pay the city of Philadelphia $100 a month for the next seven years.Crawley used the name Tommy Pain to report his fake fires, gunfights, accidents and other emergencies. He eventually worked his way up to 500 calls a day. 
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OSLO, Norway: An 80-year-old motorist almost collided with a plane after he made a wrong turn and ended up on a airport runway. Scandinavian Airlines System said the pilot of a plane traveling at 125 miles per hour saw the car, accelerated and took off early to clear the vehicle by a few feet. Airport authorities cannot explain how the man was able to drive through a normally locked gate, and onto the runway.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-01-2001, 07:34 AM:
Rated G :0 WeirdThis is a true story of what a friend's son did on their way to the mall:
Of course, the 4 year old son was in the back of the corvette and the mother and mother's sister was in the front just chatting away.
Before they knew it, a teen couple had been driving like madman (typical teenagers for ya) and cut them off.
The driver/mother then rolls down her windows and screams "Jackass! Learn how to drive!"
Son in back: (looking around vigourously) "Where? I don't see my dad!"
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-01-2001, 09:23 AM:
Rated G
WeirdIt was reported, some while back, that there was a Japanese fishing trawller sunk in the Sea of Japan.
The circumstances,however, were some what unusual:
A Russian cargo plane was transporting cattle over a very long range, and their course meant that they would fly over the Sea Of Japan.
One of the cattle was acting up. They tried to calm it down, but it just got worse and worse.
The crew then decided to deal with it in a somewhat wierd way. They opened the cargo doors and simply pushed the cow out, and,you guessed it, it landed on the trawller and sank it.
This iS a true story, it's too wierd to be fiction.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-01-2001, 09:26 AM:
Rated G
WeirdOne day in Ontario, Canada. A couple of guys decided that it would be cool to steal a donut delivery truck.
So they climbed in when the delivery guy wasn't looking and sped away.
A few minutes later, they were seen speeding down a main road, followed by 6 or 7 police cruisers.
Dont mess with cops and thier donuts!
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-01-2001, 09:31 AM:
Rated XXX
WeirdOne day Tim was riding his car down the empty New York street.
Seeing the street being empty, Tim sped up. Little did he knowthat there was a car about to cross the street. Tim crashed and was killed...
Tim then awoke from his sleep only to find him self in the sky with clouds all around. Tim was scared and confused, he then called out, "Hello?!"
Tim waited a moment, then a deep GREAT voice said, "WHO ARE YOU?"
Tim said, "I'm Tim...who are YOU?"
The voice said, "I AM GOD!" "God?...that means I'm...""YES TIM...YOU ARE DEAD, BUT YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD YET TIM...NOT FOR FIVE MORE YEARS."
"Really?...so can I go back then?"
"OF COURSE YOU CAN TIM.""But God, look at me I'm all bloody...Hey! Where's my arm?!"
"TIM, CALM DOWN, I SHALL TURN YOU INTO A SPIDER."
"A spider?!"
"A SPIDER AND ONLY A SPIDER!!!!!""Ok. Ok. I agree, god.
"Poof! God turned him into a spider
"Now what god?"
God said, "Squeeze your ass. Do this...MMMMMMM!!""Push?"
"YES WHEN YOU DO THIS..MMMMMM! YOUR SPIDER WEB SHALL COME OUT."
"Ok God.........MMMMMMMMMMMM!" *POP!* and Tim was now spitting out spider wed from his ass
"NOW TIM GO DOWN TO EARTH USING YOUR SPIDER WEB."And so Tim pushed and pushed and he was going down to earth nice and calmly while doing this MMMMMMMMMMMM!
Then suddenly Tim heard his wife's voice,
"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! YOU'RE TAKING A SHIT ON OUR BED TIM!!"
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-02-2001, 08:31 AM:
Rated G
Weird StoriesSad But True
Randy Nestor, 28, was a considerate car thief.
When the stolen cars became hot, he didn't just abandon them, he torched them.Setting the cars on fire, he reasoned, helped the owners collect insurance on their vehicles.
This criminal habit became hisdown fall. After a 10-year career of theft, Randy burned to death in Pittsburgh, PA in a van which he had set fire to from the inside.
He hadn't realized that the door handle on the driver'sside was broken. Friends tried to release him, but the door was locked. His burned body was found inside the van on Sunday, 1 March 1998.
**********************************************
Did he win the argument? It happened in February 1998 in a working-class Boedo neighborhood in Buenos Aires. During a heated marital dispute, a 25-year-old man picked up his 20-year-old wife and threw her off their eighth-floor apartment balcony. To his dismay, she became tangled in the power lines below. He immediately leapt from the balcony and fell towards his wife. We can only speculate as to his reasons. Was he angrily trying to finish the job, or was he remorse fully hoping to rescue her? He did not accomplish either goal. He missed the power lines completely, and plunged to his death. The woman managed to swing over to a nearby balcony and was saved.
**************************************************
Hungry or just stupid? January 29, 1998, was a fateful day for Michael Gentner. He was shooting the breeze with a group of men, watching a friend clean his fish tank. Alcoholic beverages may have been present. The friend complained that one fish inparticular had become a menace. It had outgrown the tank and was eating other specimens. Michael volunteered to assist. He seized the 5-inch fish and attempted to swallow it. Unfortunately, it stuck in his throat. As Michael gasped futilely for breath,turned blue, and sank to his knees, his three friends realized that something was amiss. They contacted 911 and informed the dispatcher that Gentner had eaten some fish, and was having trouble breathing. Paramedics were quickly dispatched. They arrived to find the fish tail still protruding from the victim's mouth. Despite their best efforts, the 23-year-old could not be resuscitated. The killer fish had claimed one last victim.
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There are safe methods of lighting fireworks. There are dangerous methods of lighting fireworks. Two residents of villages in East Java were killed when they chose the latter method of ignition. Firecrackers are illegal in Indonesia. However, they can be purchased from the black market during celebrations such as Idul Fitri. And boys will be boys, the world over. In January, Isomudin, a 28-year-old resident of Kenongo, and Matkijo, a 20-year-old from Telasih, obtained a large quantity of firecrackers and connected their detonation fuses to a motorcycle battery. The two perpetrators proceeded tostart the engine. The resulting explosion could be heard from a distance of two kilometers. Onlookers attempted to rescue Isomudin and Matkijo, but their burns were too severe. Both men died at the scene. Eight onlookers were treated at a local hospital for their injuries.
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A Melbourne, Australia man was playing basketball with his brother and 16-year-old cousin, using a hoop affixed to his garage. After slam-dunking the ball, he hung on the rim for a triumphant moment. The bricks gave way and the wall collapsed on the 20-year-old man, fatally crushing him. His name was withheld by authorities, at the request of his family. Melbourne,Australia is not the safest place to play basketball. Ryan Maloney, 19, died in 1996 in a public basketball court when the ring collapsed on him after a dunk. The coroner recommended that dunking basketballs be banned. No heed was taken of his words.The tradition is still practiced throughout the world.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-03-2001, 02:44 PM:
Rated F (for F for Fun) 
In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed
throughstupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods:
On Sears hairdryer:
Do not use while sleeping.
(Gee, that's the only time I have to work on my hair!)
On a bag of Fritos:
You could be a winner!
No purchase necessary.
Details inside.
(The shoplifter special!)
On a bar of Dial soap:
Directions: Use like regular soap.
(and that would be how?)
On some Swann frozen dinners:
Serving suggestion: Defrost.
(But it's *just* a suggestion!)
On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert:
Do not turn upside down.
*printed on bottom of the box*
(Too late! You lose!)
(I love it: food to piss you off.)
On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding:
Product will be hot after heating.
(Are you sure??? Let's experiment.)
On packaging for a Rowenta iron:
Do not iron clothes on body.
(But wouldn't that save more time?)
(Whose body?)
On Boot's Children's cough medicine:
Do not drive car or operate machinery.
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents
if we just kept those 5 year olds off those fork lifts.)
On Nytol sleep aid:
Warning: may cause drowsiness.
(One would hope!)
On a Korean kitchen knife:
Warning keep out of children.
(Or pets! What's for dinner?)
On a string of Chinese-made
Christmas lights:for indoor or outdoor use only.
(As opposed to use in outer space? Or underground?)
On a Japanese food processor:
Not to be used for the other use.
(Now I'm curious.)
On Sainsbury's peanuts:Warning: contains nuts.
(Not to mention the nut who wrote the warning )
On an American Airlines packet of nuts:Instructions:
open packet, eat nuts.
(DDDUUUHHH)
On a Swedish chainsaw:
Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals.
(What is this, a home castration kit?)
On a childs superman costume:
Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.
(That's right, destroy a universal childhood fantasy!)
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-06-2001, 07:42 AM:
Rated PG
WeirdThink You're Having A Bad Day?
"In retrospect, I admit it was unwise to try to gain access to my house via the cat flap," Gunther Burpus admitted to reporters inBremen, Germany. "I suppose that the reason they're called cat laps, rather than human flaps, is because they're too small for people, and perhaps I should have realized that."
Burpus, a forty-one year old gardener from Bremen, was relating how he had become trapped in his own front door for two days, after losing his house keys. "I got my head and shoulders through the flap, but became trapped fast around the waist. At first, it all seemed rather amusing. I sang songs and told myself jokes. But then I wanted to go to the lavatory. I began shouting for help, but my head was in the hallway so my screams were muffled.
"After a few hours, a group of students approached me but, instead of helping, they removed my trousers and pants, painted my buttocks bright blue, and stuck a daffodil between my cheeks. Then they placed a sign next to me which said 'Germany resurgent, an essay in street art. Please give generously' and left me there.
"People were passing by and, when I asked for help, they just said 'very good! Very clever!' and threw coins into my trousers. No one tried to free me. In fact, I only got free after two days because a dog started licking my private parts and an old woman
complained to the police. They came and cut me out, but arrested me as soon as I was freed. Luckily they've now dropped the charges, and I collected over DM300 in my underpants, so the time wasn't entirely wasted
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-06-2001, 08:01 AM:
Rated PG Weird Strange Disease!
A man and his new girlfriend were "going at it" The next day, her unmentionables were sore and rashed.
She went to the docter and he had her tested. He told her to come back the next week to get the test results, and he gave her some cream to apply to the infection.
The next day as she was getting ready to go out, she got an urgent phone call from her docter. He told her to come to the office right away. When she got there he told her that she had a disease that only dead people could get!
She was shocked, and her doctor told her that he had no idea how she could get
that. She got some more pills and in a few days the infection cleared up, yet she had to go back for testing.
The doctors knew that the only way she could get that was sexual intercourse.
They had to document her sex life and check the files of all the people she had slept with. It turns out that her boyfriend worked at the mourgue.......
I'm sure you can figure out the rest yourself!
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-09-2001, 08:27 PM:
Rated G 
A deputy in Bolinas, California pulled over a guy who was speeding excessively.The deputy was told by the driver: "If you're looking for the dope it's in the back seat."
He explained that the large paper bag was full of marijuana, and that it belonged to his freind, and he stated that he was selling it for him.
The driver was arrested.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-10-2001, 09:22 AM:
Rated G
Stupid Criminal WeirdThere was a robbery at a bank somewhere and the criminal was caught that very same day...How?
The criminal stuck a piece of paper in the lock slot to keep it from locking.
This piece of evidence was found and it turns out that the pieceof paper was a parking ticket of his which had his name and address on it!
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-10-2001, 09:25 AM:
Rated G
WeirdDesk Job vs. Operating Bulldozer
Paris--In what just might be one of the most ridiculous studies ever commissioned, the French Labor Board found that working from a desk was more dangerous than operating a bulldozer--by afactor of 2 to 1.
Knee injuries from pushing chairs too close to desks proved to be the most dangerous hazard.[not only knees, but I always bump my head on the keyboard tray when coming up for air...]
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-10-2001, 09:34 AM:
Rated G
An elderly woman was shopping and when she went to the parking lot to her car, she saw four men in the car about to drive off.
The lady pulled out a handgun and screamed "I have a handgun and I know how to use it!"
The four petrified men got out of the car and ran. The lady put her groceries in the back seat and sat down. She was so nervous that she couldn't put the key in the ignition.
She soon realized why, as her car was parked about 4 cars down.
She got out of the car, took her groceries, put them in her own car, and drove to the police station. She reported the incident and saw the four men in an interrogation room.
When she reported the incident the officers couldn't help but laugh, and then told her the four men had come to report a crazy old lady with curly hair hijacking their car.
No charges were filed.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-10-2001, 10:07 AM:
Rated G

A nose walks into a bar and asks for a drink.
The bartender says, ''Sorry, I can't serve you, you're off your face!''
Get back on that face in Colorado, and get to wotk in your booth.
We will have no morphing, when I tend bar. 
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-15-2001, 10:32 AM:
Rated PG :0 
One day, a man is just about to go out for a jog. On his way out the door, his wife says
" Honey, can you pick up some milk on your way back?"
"Sure" the man replies.
As the man is jogging, another jogger is jogging on the same path and running toward him. They bump into each other and it seems like nothing has happened.
Then the man puts his hand in his pocket and he realizes that his wallet has just been jacked by that other jogger.
The man catches up with the other jogger and beats the hell out of him and takes his wallet back.
The man heads home to tell his wife what happened. He walks in the door and says" Honey, sorry I didn't get the milk but I had to come back to tell you something"
The wife says "Honey, I know why you came back, you forgot your wallet."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-16-2001, 12:50 PM:
Rated G
WeirdDumb laws in Texas
State laws:
When two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone. (No, I don't know how that is possible.)
It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.
Law prohibits driving without windshield wipers. You don't need the windshields, but you need the wipers.
It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.
You can't legally milk someone else's cow.
The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home.
City laws:
In a certain town, you must first get a $5 permit before going barefoot.
It is illegal to idle or loiter anyplace within the corporate limits of Abilene for the purpose of flirting or mashing.
In Beaumont, college football is banned at Lamar University.
Dallas bans the possession of "realistic dildos".
In Mesquite, it is illegal for children to have unusual haircuts.
In San Antonio, it is illegal to piss on the Alamo. (Law passed after Ozzy Osbourne did it.)
If you catch a cattle thief in Temple, you may legally hang him on the spot.
Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 07-16-2001, 02:46 PM:
Annother old law still on the law books in Dallas:Before driving a motor vehicle into city limits you must call city hall and notify them first.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-06-2001, 11:47 AM:
Rated G

Apparently its completely true. This bloke and his family were on holiday in the States and went to Mexico for a week. As he is an avid cactus fan he bought a rare and expensive cactus there, it was about a metre high and cost about $500 . He got it home and the customs people were none too impressed so they said it must stay in quarantine for 3 months, cost - $800 or so.
He finally got his cactus home and planted it in his backyard where over time it grew to about 2 metres or so in height. One evening after a beautiful warm spring day he was out watering his garden and thought he might give the cactus a light spray. This he did and was amazed to see the plant shiver all over, he gave it another light spray and it shivered and shook again. All its arms moved. He was puzzled so he rang the council who put him on to the state gardens. After a few transfers he got the states foremost cactus expert who asked him many pointed questions, how tall is it, how tall was it when you got it, has it grown well, has it flowered, what type of spines etc etc.
Finally he asked a most disturbing question, "Is your family in the house?".
The guy answered yes, the cactus expert said get them out of the house NOW, get on to the front nature strip and wait for me, I will be there in 15 minutes.
Ten minutes later, 2 fire trucks, two cop cars and an ambulance came screaming around the corner at the end of the street and stopped out the front of the house. A fireman got out and came up to him, " are you the guy with the cactus?". I am he said. The fireman turns to the truck and says 'come on Dave'. A guy jumps out of the fire truck wearing what looks like a space suit, a breathing cylinder and mask attached and what looks like a scuba backpack on with a large hose attached. Stay here, says the first fireman, and they both headed for the backyard.
This was too much for the bloke so he ran around after them and found the guy in the space suit was torching his prize cactus with a flame-thrower, he sprayed it up and down with this huge flame which fried everything within a ten metre radius of the cactus, caught fire to the back fence and set off the neighbors trees as well.
The guy of course was having kittens, what the $%^& is going on etc.etc., after about ten minutes the flame thrower man stopped, his cactus stood there smoking and spitting, half the fence was gone, his garden was entirely rooted.
Just then the cactus expert appears and laid a calming hand on the guys shoulder. "What the hell is going on?" says the bloke, 'let me show you says the cactus man. He went over to the cactus and picked away at a crusty bit of it, it was almost entirely hollow and filled with these tiger striped bird eating tarantula spiders, about the size of two hands spans.
The story was that this type of spider lays eggs in this type of cactus and they hatch and live in it as it and they grow to full size.
When they are all grown to full size they release themselves, the cactus just explodes and about 150 of these plate size tiger striped hairy spiders are flung from it, dispersing everywhere of course. They had been just ready to pop!
Can you imagine?
The aftermath was that his house and the two houses adjoining on each side had to be vacated and fumigated and sealed up for two weeks, yellow police tape was put up outside the whole area and no one was allowed in for two weeks, then they gave the all clear and they could move back in."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-06-2001, 11:55 AM:
Rated G
A young woman made the following report to the police.
She had met a blind man at a rally. She claims that they hit it off pretty well and the blind man asked her for a favor, could she possibly deliver the letter to the address on the envelope?'As it was on her way home, she agreed. She started out to deliver the letter, but then turned around to ask the man a question. To her dismay, she spotted him hurrying through the crowd in the opposite direction - without his dark glasses or white cane.
Sensing something seriously dodgy, she went straight to the police, who raided the address on the envelope, where they found heaps of human flesh for sale.
What was in the envelope? A note which said "this is the last one I am sending you today." Meaning the girl."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-06-2001, 12:03 PM:
Rated G

On a Sunday evening, a young woman was driving herself to a meeting she had up north the next day when she noticed that she was running low on gas and didn't know where the next gas station was. Just as she thought she would have to pull over and sleep the night of the side of the road, she came across a rather dodgy-looking petrol station.
When she pulled in, the attendant made his way around the car and seemed to be very distracted when she asked him to fill it up, She even thought that the man was making faces at her! He finally agreed to get the gas, but then asked her to pop open the hood of the car because there "seemed to be a problem."
Naturally, the woman became a little anxious - she was all alone in a remote gas station, out in the middle of nowhere and it was obvious that the attendant was trying to find reasons to keep her there. He asked her to come look at the engine, because he had to "show her something".'He grabbed her hand and she began to bite his fingers, but once they were inside he let her go. He explained to her that there was a man crouched down in the backseat of her car and the attendant didn't want him to know that he'd been seen.
They called the police who came to arrest the man who, it was later discovered, was a known serial killer."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-07-2001, 11:01 AM:
Rated XX Do Not Read if you get Nightmares.
Two friends moved to New York, and because rent was so high, they shared a studio apartment. One of the girls was a real party girl and the other apparently a stay-at-home type.'One Friday evening the party girl headed out for night on the town, and asked her roommate to come along.'The girl declined and said she was going to read and then go to bed early.The girl had been out at the local bar for a few hours when she remembered she had forgotton something.'By this time, pretty plastered, she stumbled back to the apartment and quietly let herself in. Not wanting to wake her roommate, she didn't turn the light on, picked up whatever it was she went back for and returned to the bar.
When she got home the next morning, she opened the door to this: Her roommate's head had been cut off and was lying on the floor. Scrawled in her blood on the walls were the words "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?"
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-07-2001, 11:05 AM:
Rated G 
A woman goes into a grocery store for some milk and peanut butter.
About an hour later she comes out to find a man trying to break into her car. She shoots him , gets into the car and to her absolute horror........ IT WASN'T HER CAR!
So she's walking around trying to find her car when a security guard stops her and asks her if he can assist her in anyway possible.
She says she's lost her car and he tells her to be careful because there's a woman walking around with a gun shooting people while they are getting into their cars.
Who was the woman? HER!!!!!
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 10-17-2001, 07:53 AM:
Rated G
When Reality Is Better then Fiction
1. When his .38-caliber revolver failed to fire at its intended victim during a holdup in Long Beach, California, robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder: He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. Happily for most concerned, this time it worked.
2. Laborer Alexander Robinson of Mobile, Alabama, redefined the limits of tactlessness when he opened his eyes after surgery to restore his sight and said agreeably to his wife: 'Boy, you sure have got fat in four years'.
3. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine and, after a little hopping around, submitted aclaim to his insurance company. The company, suspecting negligence, sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine out and lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.
4. Mourners at the funeral of Anna Bochinsky in Moinesti, Rumania, were naturally some what taken aback when she abruptly leapt from her coffin as it was being carried to the grave. Before they could react to this unexpected outburst, the woman bounded into the nearest road, where she was run over and killed by a passing car.
5. An American tourist in South America had the misfortune to be attacked by killer bees as he stood on the bank of the Amazon.Seeking refuge, he leapt into the river - and was devoured by piranha fish.
6. A Malaysian monkey that had been trained to gather coconuts from trees demonstrated a pressing need for a refresher course when it leapt onto the shoulders of a passerby in Kuala Lumpurand tried to twist his head off. The passerby was treated at a local hospital for a sprained neck.
7. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a sixteen-year-old youth was charged with beating up his fifteen-year-old wife after the latter hid the caps to his toy pistol
8. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her dead. (I am not saying this is right... but I understand...It'sa Chicago thang'...)
9. One of the criteria by which Miss Nude USA was chosen in 1979 was taste in clothing.
10. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his imcompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus-stop and offered everyone in the queue a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies.The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.
11. In Minneapolis, USA, 28 year old Derrick L Richardson has been charged with third-degree murder of his much loved cousin, Ken E Richardson. According to local police, Derrick had suggested to Ken that they play a game of Russian Roulette, but,having no revolver, instead put a semiautomatic pistol to his cousin's head. Apparently, he did not realize that one bullet always loads into the firing chamber of a semiautomatic.
12. Texan prisons have banned convicts on death row from havinga last cigarette, on the grounds that it is bad for theirhealth. However, to compensate for this, condemned men will instead be permitted to chew a stick of celery.
13. An American teenager was in the hospital yesterday recovering from serious head wounds received from an on coming train. When asked about how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
14. Thrash-happy judges in Saudi Arabia have sentenced a Filipino man to 75 lashes for possession of alcohol - after he was caught with two chocolate liqueurs at an airport.
15. Following the initiatives of the Afghan Taliban government, which has banned kite-flying, TV watching and wearing whitesocks, Iran is also cracking down on its more decadent citizens.Ayatollah Mohammed Yadzi has decreed that dog walking is to be made illegal, saying that taking dogs out onto the streets was 'a public insult,' as it was a blind imitation of Westerners.
16. A mother took her daughter to the doctor and asked him to give her an examination to determine the cause of her daughter'sswollen abdomen. It only took the doctor about 2 seconds to say"Gimmee a break lady! Your daughter is pregnant." The mother turned red with fury and she argued with the doctor that her daughter was a good girl and would never compromise her reputation by having sex with a boy. The doctor faced the window and silently watched the horizon. The mother became enraged an screamed, "Quit looking out the window! Aren't you paying attention to me?" "Yes, of course I am paying attention ma'am.I t's just that the last time this happened, a star appeared in the east, and three wise men came. I was hoping they would show up again and help me figure out who got your daughter pregnant."

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-19-2002, 08:13 PM:
Rated G 
More Weird Facts:
Did you know...
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
A crocodile can't stick its tongue out.
A shrimp's heart is in its head.
In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich buried its head in the sand.
It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.
Horses can't vomit.
The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.
If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib.
If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.
If you keep your eyes open by force, they can pop out.
Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts.
Most lipstick contains fish scales.
Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.
Over 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow. 
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-20-2002, 12:15 PM:
Rated G 
More moron madness clipped from newspapers: 
AT&T fired President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked "intellectual leadership." He received a $26 million severance package.
Perhaps it's not Walter who's lacking intelligence.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-21-2002, 12:30 PM:
Rated G 
Police in Oakland, California spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them, shouting to please come out and give himself up.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-21-2002, 12:45 PM:
Rated G 
An Illinois man pretending to have a gun kidnapped a motorist and forced
him to drive to two different automated teller machines.
The kidnapper then proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-21-2002, 12:48 PM:
A 9-year-old boy in Manassas, Virginia received a one-day suspension underhis elementary school's drug policy last week - for Certs!
Joey Hoeffer allegedly told a classmate that the mints would make him "jump higher."
And a student in Belle, West Virginia was suspended for three days for
giving a classmate a cough drop.
School principal Forest Mann reiterated the school's "zero-tolerance" policy, not to be confused with the "zero-intelligence" policy.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-21-2002, 12:58 PM:
Rated G 
Fire investigators on Maui have determined the cause of a blaze that
destroyed a $127,000 home last month - a short in the homeowner's newly installed fire prevention alarm system.
"This is even worse than last year," said the distraught homeowner, "when someone broke in and stole my new security system."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-21-2002, 01:00 PM:
Rated G 
A man walked in to a Topeka, Kansas Kwik Shop, and asked for all the moneyin the cash drawer.
Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him. 
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-05-2002, 08:50 AM:
Rated PG
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Gun-toting granny, Ava Estelle, 81, was so ticked-off when two thugs raped her 18-year-old granddaughter that she tracked the unsuspecting ex-cons down - - and shot off their testicles.
The old lady spent a week hunting those men down -- and when she found them, she took revenge on them in her own special way, said Melbourne police investigator Evan Delp. Then she took a taxi to the nearest police station, laid the gun on the sergeant's desk and told him as calm as could be, "Those bastards will never rape anybody again, by God".
Cops say convicted rapist and robber Davis Furth, 33, lost both his penis and his testicles when outraged Ava opened fire with a 9-mm pistol in the hotel room where he and former prison cellmate Stanley Thomas, 29, were holed up.
The wrinkled avenger also blew Thomas' testicles to kingdom come, but doctors managed to save his mangled penis, police said. The one guy, Thomas, didn't lose his manhood, but the doctor I talked to said he won't be using it the way he used to,
Detective Delp told reporters. Both men are still in pretty bad shape, but I think they're just happy to be alive after what they've been through.
The Rambo Granny swung into action August 21 after her granddaughter Debbie was carjacked and raped in broad daylight by two knife-wielding reeps in a section of town bordering on skid row.
"When I saw the look on my Debbie's face that night in the hospital, I decided I was going to go out and get those b........ myself 'cause I figured the Law would go easy on them," recalled the retired library worker. "And I wasn't scared of them, either -- because I've got me a gun and I've been shootin' all my life.And I wasn't dumb enough to turn it in when the law changed about owning one." So, using a police artist's sketch of the suspects and Debbie's description of the sickos', tough-as-nails Ava spent seven days prowling the wino-infested neighborhood where the crime took place till she spotted the ill fated rapists entering their flophouse hotel. "I know it was them the minute I saw 'em, but I shot a picture of 'em anyway and took it back to Debbie and she said sure as hell, it was them", the oldster recalled. "So I went back to that hotel and found their room and knocked on the door and the minute the big one, Furth, opened the door, I shot 'em right square between the legs, right where it would really hurt 'em most, you know. Then I went in and shot the other one as he backed up pleading to me to spare him. Then I went down to the police station and turned myself in."
Now, baffled lawmen are trying to figure out exactly how to deal with the vigilante granny. What she did was wrong, and she broke the law, but it is difficult to throw an 81-year-old woman in prison. Det. Delp said, especially when 3 million people in the city want to nominate her for sainthood and a medal.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 10-28-2002, 06:58 AM:
Rated R 
Today's New York Post reports:
Michael Bessigano is a pervert with a lot of pluck -prosecutors say the Indiana man stole a chicken from a farm in Valpariso, Ind.,and took it to a motel,was found guilty of animal cruelty and faces 10 years behind bars.
Blood, feathers and chicken feet were discovered in the room the next day. 
You guessed it - He was having sex with the chicken!
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 10-29-2002, 08:57 AM:
Rated G
Phil in Virginia
"In America, there are approx. 50 million children enrolled in elementary and high schools.
They are taught by just over 6 million teachers, who earn an average salary of about $42,000 a year.
About $5,000 less than what's earned during ONE 'At Bat' for Texas Ranger Shortstop Alex Rodriguez."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-14-2003, 04:04 PM:
Rated R
Carolyn California
Marketing for Dummies
People often ask for an explanation of Marketing. Perhaps the following analogies will help clear it up:
You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and say,
"I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Direct Marketing.
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and
see a handsome guy. One of your friends goes up
to him and pointing at you says,
"She's fantastic in bed."
That's Advertising.
You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and get his telephone number.
The next day you call and say,
"Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Telemarketing.
You're at a party and see a handsome guy.
You get up and, straighten your dress.
You walk up to him and pour him a drink.
You say, "May I," and reach up to straighten
his tie brushing your breast lightly against his arm,
and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a handsome guy.
He walks up to you and says,
"I hear you're fantastic in bed." -
That's Brand Recognition.
You're at a party and see a handsome guy.
You talk him into going home with your friend.
That's a Sales Rep.
Your friend can't satisfy him so he calls you.
That's Tech Support.
You're on your way to a party when you realize
that there could be handsome men in all
these houses you're passing. So you climb
onto the roof of one situated toward
the center and shout at the top of your lungs,
"I'm fantastic in bed!"
That's Spam
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-20-2003, 01:00 PM:
Rated G
..............Get Smart
John D. Smart of St. Louis Missouri,sustained two broken legs after smashing the window of a stereo shop using a manhole cover from the sidewalk in front of the store.
As he backed away from the window to admire his handiwork.Smart fell down the manhole.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-25-2003, 08:05 AM:
Rated G
Ultra dumb people
The incredibly dumb
A student in Belle, West Virginia was suspended for three days for giving a classmate a cough drop. School principal Forest Mann reiterated the school's "zero-tolerance" policy...not to be confused with the "zero-intelligence" policy.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-26-2003, 11:07 AM:
Rated PG
Author Unknown
One criminal broke into the basement of a bank through a street-level window. In the process, however, he suffered from several lacerations. After he realized that he could neither get the money nor climb back through the window from whence he came, the robber panicked. Realizing he was going to bleed to death if he did not get help, he located a phone and dialed 911.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-26-2003, 11:10 AM:
Rated PG
Bank Robbery
A man from the town of Grand Forks, North Dakota, decided to travel to Fargo so that he could rob the First Community Bank.
The criminal quickly scribbled a note demanding money and gave it to the teller.
Frightened, she gave the man what he asked for and watched him run out of the door.
Police were called and searches of the surrounding area turned up nothing. Upon reviewing the ransom note, it was noted that the message had been written on the perpetrator's bank deposit slip.
Police traveled to the man's house and arrested him on his front porch.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-26-2003, 11:12 AM:
Rated PG
Really Stupid People
ID Badges
Long Beach, CA
During their lunch hour,several employees of a large aerospace company decide to rob a bank.
The group figured the police would never look for them at the plant.
Of course,being dumb criminals,they forgot to removed their ID badges during the robbery.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-27-2003, 01:19 PM:
Rated G
.....Ed in Aurora, Ontario
IDIOTS IN SERVICE:
This week, our phones went dead and I had to contact the
telephone repair people.
They promised to be out between 8:00a.m. and 7:00 p.m. When I asked if they could give me a smallertime window,the pleasant gentleman asked,"Would you like us to call you before we come?"
I replied that I didn't see how he would be able to do that since our phones weren't working.He also requested that we report future outages by email.
(Does YOURe-mail work without a telephone line?).
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-27-2003, 03:39 PM:
Rated G
ED In Aurora, Ontario
IDIOTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD:
I live in a semi-rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call
the local township administrative office to request the removal
of the Deer Crossing sign on our road.
The reason: too many deer were being hit by cars and she didn't want them to cross there anymore.
I could swear I've recently been with some of these people...
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-28-2003, 02:02 PM:
Rated G
IDIOT SIGHTING
At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker who is leaving the company due to "downsizing," our manager commented cheerfully,"This is fun.We should do this more often."
Not a word was spoken.We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-30-2003, 01:12 PM:
Rated G
Good Acting
A woman was asked by the well-known and popular television program"America’s Most Wanted,"to act the part of a vicious arsonist.
She was an experienced actress,so she gladly accepted the part. The day after the program was aired,two New Jersey police officers walked passed the woman.One stopped,came back and said,"You’re the lady that was on 'America’s Most Wanted' last night!" She smiled at the thought of being recognized in public.
The officers arrested her.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-30-2003, 01:21 PM:
Rated G
On Their Way Out
A Munich school teacher once said that ten-year old Albert Einstein would "never amount to much."
In 1962,the Decca Recording Company said as they turned down the Beatles," We don’t like their sound.Groups with guitars are on their way out."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-31-2003, 10:54 AM:
Rated G
High-tech Criminals
Back in 1971, three thieves at Billericay in Essex England, gave many hours of thought to robbing the local post office in Mountnessing Road.
Among the details that they discovered, were the times at which there was the most cash and when there were the least security guards on the premises.
They also invested in masks, weapons and a getaway vehicle.
These genius’left no stone unturned. At a pre-arranged time, the gang sped through the town and screeched to a halt outside the post office. It was only when they jumped out of the car and ran toward the building that they discovered the one detail that they had omitted to check.
The post office had been closed for around twelve years.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-31-2003, 10:57 AM:
Rated G
Big Bang Theory
When a man’s vehicle broke down on a highway, a woman pulled alongside him and asked if she could push-start his car, with her car.
He said that his vehicle was an automatic and therefore needed to be pushed at 35 m.p.h. before it would start. T
he woman nodded,turned her car around and drove back down the street.
She then did a U turn and hit the man’s car . . . at 35 m.p.h!
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-31-2003, 10:59 AM:
Rated G
Blowing It
Man has a talent when it comes to blowing it. Take for example the experience of an Englishman named Mr. Peter Rolands.
When he found himself in conditions so freezing that he couldn’t get his key into the lock of his vehicle he decided to use some ingenuity by blowing warm air into the lock.
Unfortunately, his lips touched the freezing metal and locked to it.
He was trapped in that posture for twenty minutes, until continual hot breathing loosed his chilled lips.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-31-2003, 11:01 AM:
Rated G
The Tired Lady
A woman became tired at Venice Beach in California in the summer of 1994.
The police beach patrol vehicle ran over her as she lay face down in the sand, about 50 feet from the water’s edge.
The woman who was impressed with the vehicle they were driving, was treated at a local hospital and discharged the same day.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-31-2003, 11:03 AM:
Rated PG
Catastrophic
In 1978, during a firemen’s strike in Britain, the army was called in to carry out the normal duties of the firemen.
During this time they received a call from a very upset elderly woman, whose cat was stuck up a tree. The army immediately responded to the woman’s call and valiantly rescued the stranded animal.
The dear woman was so thrilled, that she invited the whole group of soldiers into her home to celebrate the event with tea and cookies.
After the celebration, fond farewells were given. Then off went the army, driving over the cat and killing it.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 02-05-2003, 12:27 PM:
Rated G
Lack of Evidence
In Duluth, Minnesota, a man named Jack Pettit was arrested on a charge that he stole a neighbor's pig.
His attorney maintained that he was innocent and filed that the case be dismissed through lack of evidence.
The judge agreed and the case was dismissed.
Jack Pettit then thanked the judge and asked, "But do I have to give back the pig?"
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 02-10-2003, 10:26 AM:
Rated G
Weird but True Rescues
Priscilla the pig of Houston, Texas rescued an 11-year-old boy from drowning. Priscilla spotted Anthony Melton swimming in Lake Somerville and noticed he was having trouble. She swam out to him, used her snout to keep his head above water until he could hold on to her collar, and then dragged him to shore.
Carletta the cow saved her owner, Bruno Cipriano of Tuscany in when she charged at a boar that was about to attack him and butted it with her horns.
Bracken the Collie saved his owner, Ian Elliot, when he was chopping down trees on his Canadian farm and a pine tree crashed on to him breaking his back. Bracken lay across him to maintain his body temperature. When Bracken heard voices in the distance, he ran to the men and led them back to his injured master.
A school of dolphins saved Adam Maguire when he was surfing near Sydney and was attacked by a shark. As the shark moved in for the kill it was distracted by a school of dolphins thrashing around in the water. To prevent the shark reaching Maguire, then dolphins then swam around him in circles until his friends had managed to rescue him.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-23-2003, 12:08 PM:
Rated G
Strange but true
There are more people alive today, than have EVER died.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-23-2003, 12:44 PM:
Rated G
THE DOG
Written by: Harry (Perth, Australia)
This a true story.....
My family were bombed out during the war in Coventry. We got another house in Foleshill, the road was Durbar Avenue.
The living room was often the location of weird happenings. A dog would lie by the fire, although we had no dog. It would come upstairs and pull the bedding off in the middle of the night!! No one had ever seen it, but we heard it and felt it's presence often enough.
To us, it was a happy feeling house, it always seemed bright and so on.
After we moved, about 1951 I think, the chap that bought the house committed suicide there. As did the 3 owners that followed him!!
After making a few enquiries it turned out that the owner before us had also committed suicide!!
As I have said, to us it was a happy house, and don't remember any serious disagreements in it at all, during the 7/8 years we lived there.
Harry
Ex-patriot of Coventry
Now living in Perth, Australia
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-23-2003, 01:09 PM:
Rated G
Ghost Riders in the Sky......
Written by: Ann Nugent
(Australia)
I saw them riding through the sky, soldiers in red uniforms, with rifles and swords. Indians on horseback too, with full headdresses. They were thundering along. I couldn't take my eyes away from them, even though I was terrified. What if they looked down and saw me what then? But they seemed not to notice anything but each other.
By the look of the uniforms the soldiers were wearing I would say it was from a long time past. How could I be witnessing this site? It was 1990, soldiers didn't wear that sort of garb. The Indians were dressed like they did in the old movies with feathers and long black plaits.
I stayed for the longest time just watching this amazing site. It sort of gave me a thrill to be witness to such a spectacular site. I decided to take some photographs because no one would ever believe me. I reached for my camera, pointed it skywards and the flash went of by mistake.
The soldiers and Indians spotted me and stared right at me. They were all very still, just staring down at me. I was even more terrified by now, but they all turned away from me and rode off into the sky. I saw them getting further and further away until they disappeared.
I was very tired now and decided to lie down on the grass and rest. I must have fallen asleep. I woke up and picked up my camera and went home. I had the film developed and there was one picture of the sky, but it was too blurry to see properly.
Maybe they were ghosts that I saw, who knows
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-23-2003, 02:16 PM:
Rated G
Written by: Ann Morris (Coventry)
My story is a true one. Although you may not believe it. I know it is true, so did my parents when they were alive.
It began in 1958 when my family moved to garage on the Binley Road. Next door lived an old lady who we were warned by everyone around there not to have anything to do with. As we had more compassion than that, we would chat to her when she ventured out to the garden gate. She was a crippled old woman. shabbily dressed and could easily be taken as witch dressed in black.
It was really only Dad and I got to know her well as the garage forecourt was in line with her front gate. We always passed the time of day on the occasions she stood sunning herself at her gate as we served petrol. Then we would stand a few minutes chatting.
We learned that she had a son living down the road and several grandchildren, but they had nothing to do with her. Learning this, we felt so sorry that a family could desert an old lady who could not even walk to the post office the other side of the garage! I ran many messages for her.
Then one day she had a fall in the overgrown front garden. We hastened to help and got her inside her house. She remained quite poorly for a few days, but we looked after her and took her hot dinners etc. all the things a family should have done for her, regardless of their disapproval of her life or ways. It is here that I start what her life was like and what their disapproval was.............
The old lady was a medium. Dad and I had never met one before and she constantly 'chatted' to her dead husband who she said stood at the back of her. We were fascinated! Not at all afraid either. She told us she had three sons living in the area and not one of their family ever visited because they said she was a witch. Her husband, George, died a few years before we met her, but she was so peaceful 'chatting' to him constantly.
As time went by, we never deserted her, but gave her the independence that she liked of making her own meals. Mum would send an apple pie round, or some goodies and always her Sunday dinner. Dad and I visited her a lot. The after a short while she began to 'see' things. She would say 'George, (my dad was George too) watch that man you have just employed, he is going to let you down badly.' Or, 'George, don't sign that contract, it is false.'
There was many occasions she would advise my Dad. Dad would also 'consult' her if he had a business decision he was not sure he should make, or she would 'see' something was going to happen and warn him. Everything she said came true by the way. In fact we learned that medical consultants contacted her regular for many years, sending a ring, or possession of a patient that they did not know what was wrong with them and she could tell them!
One day I visited her, she suddenly burst out 'Ann, you are going to meet a man called Brian. He is a draughtsman at Wickmans and you will marry him'. I was 21 at the time and had a steady boyfriend called Richard. I laughed and said 'Oh yes, we''ll see!'
It was on my 22nd birthday that I met Brian. My dad had a cancer operation and I was tied up with running the garage from 6.0am to 10.00pm for weeks. The foreman said that day 'Ann, it's your birthday, me and the wife will come and look after the garage until closing time, go and have a night out'.
So I went to my usual badminton club to meet up with my friends. After a short while, one friend Alan said 'let's go to my works badminton club, we'll get a better game there, they are more professional'.
So we tripped over to Wickman's. We had a good night, then went for the usual pub crawl and went home. I was introduced during the evening to a lad called Brian, who had just come back from finishing his two years National Service that day and had gone to his work's club. The next day Brian telephoned me asking me for a date. I explained that I could not leave the business to go out and he came and helped me with the garage that evening. That was our very first 'date'.
After a week I could see I liked Brian very much, so I told Richard I could not see him anymore, as I would not two time him. Brian and I began to see each other every evening after that. Then after a while, I took Brian round to meet the old lady. As I stepped in the door she said 'I told you! I told you!' I had not given it a thought for a year! She had said I would meet a 'Brian' and he WAS a draughtsman at Wickmans!
We fell in love and got engaged in the May, just 6 months after meeting. Again we visited her. She said 'Ann, you are going to get married next March.' 'No way, I said, I am going to be a June bride, we have it planned and the house is being built and will be ready in the May'. 'I am telling you Ann' she said ' you will be married in March!'
She died not many months after that. Oh yes, all her relations went to the funeral! They also cleared her dingy house out and found some really good antiques. They were all there visiting for that occasion!
New houses in those days (1963) had to be bought by plans to order. We had ordered a Monsell house in Mount Nod. It was due to be finished in the May, as stated, giving us enough time to get if ready to move in after the wedding in the June, which was all booked.
In the December we received a letter from Monsell saying the house would be ready in the following January! This was a bit early, so we chatted with the two families and decided to bring the wedding forward. We saw the Vicar of Binley church and he had a booking available on the 23rd March.
We were married about two years before we remembered the old lady saying 'I am telling you, you will be married in march!'
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-23-2003, 02:20 PM:
Rated G
George's Last Tram
Written by: Steve Brookes (Blackpool)
A Balloon Tram on the road.
'A low rumble of a tram engine, and then with the sudden squeal of brakes, it all ends'.
On many stormy and wet nights the Blackpool ghost tram has been heard, but no one ever admits to seeing it, and explanations abound as to its origins, ranging from the mundane - 'it is an electrical occurrence due to the salt air creating a short circuit on the aging overhead wires, which sounds like a tram in the wind' - to the more ethereal stories of evil spirits seeking revenge by driving noisy trams past homes of those who destroyed the seclusion of their haunts before Blackpool became famous.
However, one story is more often repeated than any other, and I have created a sequence of events from a couple of versions which seem closer to a ghostly origin than any others, and it concerns a man I will call George, who lived on Whitegate Drive.
It was 1962, and the outlying tram routes in Blackpool were becoming 'surplus' and expensive to maintain. The tramlines were worn and the tarmac hardly touched the rail edges in places and other than a very reduced service to the outer legs of the system, the main timetable only covered trams running from Starr Gate near St Annes and along the promenade and coast through Cleveleys to Fleetwood.
George had been a Blackpool tram fanatic since his childhood, and had, before his heart attack at the age of 55, been a driver on the system. Now, at the age of 62, he watched in sadness the cars and new front entrance buses moving the people along the roads, over the rails he had travelled over the years and finally his home on Whitegate Drive was to see the last of its tram service.
In three days time one of the Balloon double deck cars was to traverse the route as a closing ceremony.
The Balloons were new in 1933 and were the height of luxury and efficiency, and had given the crews a sense of importance when they arrived with their leather seats, speedy acceleration, quite running and the double staircases, which had made them a byword for the tourists who had previously been used to the wooden toastrack seats of the early trams.
George had, by dint of his being one of the first drivers to take control of a Balloon in 1933 been invited to take part in this last journey. He was proud to be asked, and being a widower for many years had only been able to share his pride with a few cronies at the Mitre pub in town.
'Oh well' said most (mainly under their breath) 'The things are outdated and a nuisance' which in the early 60's and increased car ownership they were.
There was little sympathy for George, as the lines in the middle of the road, and the tram stops which meant traffic having to avoid passengers alighting in front of them had become a real problem. But to George, and many like him it was the end of a great era, and a sad end as well, because many of the trams were to be disposed of as surplus to requirements, (an act later regretted by the Transport Department.).
The day arrived, and George was not going to let the side down. He dressed in his best suit, and his shoes shone as befitted his status as senior tram driver. He arrived at Rigby Road tram depot, and saw a crowd gathered around Balloon 712. It was 'his tram' from 1933. It was clean and the chrome gleamed. It stood defiant as though its sad journey was just a phase which would be put to rights.
The crowd boarded, and the bell rang, but 712 did not move. The driver tried but it resisted. And George smiled. He knew that the tram had been stopped at just the point where the wires were spliced and if it was a wet day, it would not move forward.
He moved to the front and whispered to the driver, who being a new hand listened to the old mans advice. He turned to the inspector, 'George knows how to get us going. Ill let him take it.'
The inspector nodded and George proudly moved to the cabin and took the handle and brake lever and let the tram roll back for a few feet. Sparks shot out from the pole, and moving the handle into the first notch up, the tram rolled out onto its final journey.
The whole community seemed to have come out to see 712 roll along its last trip, and the full tram, with George at the control seemed oozed pride. People on the journey felt that man and machine were as one. George drove without one jerk or grind of brakes, and 712 seemed as quiet and smooth as new. But it had to end, and one hour later, 712 and its civic party arrived back at Rigby Road depot, where George applied the brake at the very spot he had taken over. Just where the wires were spliced.
And so the customary champagne was drunk, and memories were shared, and 712 stood, its lights burning brightly. And George looked at 712, his eyes full of tears, and his hand shook with the recent feeling of the grip of 712's driving handle. The civic group slowly moved away, but George didn't. He stood by his tram, and he spoke to it, just like it was his small pet.
'It's ok. You'll be all right. You did all right. It up to you.'
He turned, and walked behind the rear cab of 712. Past the red rear lights, and started to walk toward the doors in the middle of the tram tracks. No one knows why, but the power surge cause the parking brake to come off, and 712 sparked into life, and quietly rolled forward. George should have heard the rumble of a tram engine and the squeal of brakes, but he seemed not to. He was found by the crew under the front of the tram. He had, they say died instantly. 712 was still, its brakes fully on. Its engine quiet.
The rain and wind from the Irish Sea ranged across the entrance of the depot, just like the nights when a rumble and brakes are heard around Rigby Road
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-23-2003, 02:24 PM:
Rated G
GRAYFRIARS BOBBY
Written by: Ann Morris (Coventry)
As a child I spent many school holidays at my grandparent's houses, both in Edinburgh and Uddingston, 9 miles from Glasgow. At my maternal grandmother's I was always fascinated by the warmth of the famous legend of a little dog called Grayfriars Bobby.
Bobby was a Skye Terrier owned by John Gray, an Edinburgh Constable.
When John Gray died in 1858 of TB., he was buried in Grayfriars churchyard. John Gray's family left Edinburgh after his death, but Bobby, so great was his loyalty to his master, refused to leave his master's side.
For over 14 years Bobby watched over his master's grave day and night. During this time Bobby became a much loved local figure, being fed and looked after by locals. A shelter was constructed there for him, and he was given his food regularly in the kitchens of dining rooms nearby. When the question of his licence arose, the Lord Provost of the day paid it personally.
Then when Greyfriar's Bobby died in 1872 he was buried in the churchyard close to his master.
The touching story of the little dog's fidelity spread throughout the land. Travellers went to the churchyard especially to observe the famous Bobby. One of these, the philanthropist Baroness Burdett Coutts, was so impressed that she was instrumental in having the statue sculpted. The monument was unveiled in 1873, not long after Bobby died. He is now buried within the churchyard.
A statue of the terrier is now situated on Candlemakers Row, and is one of the most photographed statues in Edinburgh, if not the whole of Scotland. The dog's collar is on display in the Huntly House Museum in the Canongate stretch of the Royal Mile.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-16-2003, 06:32 AM:
Rated G
Questionable Judgments
The school board that governs Lombardy, Ontario, acceded to the request of an offended parent in February and removed the word "gun" from a primary school spelling-test list. [Ottawa Citizen, 2-11-03]
Also in February, the head teacher at the Park Road nursery school in West Yorkshire,England, issued instructions that "The Three Little Pigs" and other stories featuring pigs not be used, in order not to offend Muslims.
(The Muslim Council of Britain immediately denounced the decision,and the instructions were rescinded.)
[The Guardian (London), 3-5-03]
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-16-2003, 06:35 AM:
Rated G
The CIA convened an open panel of scientists in January to discuss potential terrorist uses of life-science research,and the panel concluded that,despite the risks,openness in scientific study was absolutely crucial;in April,the CIA suppressed the panel's conclusions on openness as classified.
In March,U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia accepted an award by the Cleveland City Club for his contributions to freedom of speech,which Scalia said he would be glad to accept at the club's meeting provided no television or radio coverage was allowed.[Federation of American Scientists Secrecy News, 4-2-03] [CNN, 3-19-03]
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-16-2003, 11:20 AM:
Rated PG
Connecticut's Supreme Court heard arguments in April on a rather fine point in "Miranda warning" law: whether the police can use a drug suspect's vomit against him (or at least use the eight bags of heroin that came up with the vomit).
Arresting officers apparently asked suspect Vincent Betances if he had just swallowed heroin,and Betances (without a Miranda warning) said that he had,leading officers to summon medical help.
Betances now says the officers' question was unconstitutional
"interrogation," even though without immediate treatment,he could have died.
[Hartford Courant, 4-23-03]
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-25-2003, 06:08 AM:
Rated G
Becky
Erational Crime News:
A husband and wife team entered a service station, waving guns and threatened to rob the place. The man took the manager at gunpoint into the office where the safe was located, while the woman stayed out front with the assistant manager.
Making small talk during the robbery, the assistant manager told the woman about the great contest the store was sponsoring and said that if she filled out an entry form, she might win a slew of different prizes.
The excited woman quickly filled out the form, using her real name, address, and phone number. She then crossed her fingers for good luck and handed the form to the assistant manager.
The couple was quickly arrested.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 06-29-2003, 07:29 PM:
Rated G
Becky
Erational Crime News:
A man in Auburn, California, was arrested and charged with
burglary,forgery,and passing bad checks after purchasing $267
worth of supplies at an office supply store.
The man had done a great job printing the bogus checks,complete with false bank account numbers that could successfully be scanned through any store's "check identification" system.
Where did he go wrong you ask?
For some insane reason,the man had printed his full name and address on each check.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 08-22-2003, 07:18 AM:
Rated G
A daring thief who stuffed a pair of live lobsters in his pants
learned that crime doesn't pay when the frisky creatures gave him a vasectomy.
Police say the 24 year old shoplifter was leaving a Bristol, England supermarket when he removed the lobsters from their tank and shoved them into his trousers.The man sprinted past stunned checkout girls, but came to a screeching halt when he felt the lobsters clutching on his manhood.
The thorny creatures were finally removed when emergency medics pried them loose with pliers.
Doctors say the thief will fully recover from his frightening tangle with the lobsters, but he will never be a daddy.
The thief's painful prank landed him in the hospital, where he is expected to remain for three or four weeks.
But thanks to a kindhearted supermarket manager, he will not be charged with any crime. "The guy's gone through enough pain," said the store manager. "I think he has learned his lesson. I doubt if he'll ever steal again."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 08-22-2003, 07:21 AM:
Rated G
Lorraine
When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked
on a Seattle street,he got much more than he bargained for.
Police arrived at the scene to find an ill man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake.
The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying it was the best laugh he'd ever had.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 08-22-2003, 07:23 AM:
Rated G
Lorraine
A few years ago 'clever' drug traffickers used a propane tanker
truck entering El Paso from Mexico. They rigged it so propane gas would be released from all of its valves while the truck concealed 6,240 pounds of marijuana. They were clever, but not bright.
They misspelled the name of the gas company on the side of the truck.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-12-2003, 10:27 AM:
Rated G
Michele
A Little Rock woman was killed yesterday after leaping through her moving car's sunroof during an incident best described as "a
mistaken rapture" by dozens of eyewitnesses.
Thirteen other people were injured after a twenty-car pile up
resulted from people trying to avoid hitting the woman who was
apparently convinced that the rapture was occurring when she saw
twelve people floating up into the air,and then passed a man on
the side of the road who she claimed was Jesus.
"She started screaming,"He's back! He's back!" and climbed right
out of the sunroof and jumped off the roof of the car," said
Everet Williams,husband of 28-year-old Georgann Williams who was
pronounced dead at the scene.
"I was slowing down but she wouldn't wait till I stopped," Williams said.She thought the rapture was happening and was convinced that Jesus was gonna lift her up into the sky," he went on to say.
"This is the strangest thing I've seen since I've been on the
force," said Paul Madison, first officer on the scene.
Madison questioned the man who looked like Jesus and discovered
that he was dressed up as Jesus and was on his way to a toga
costume party when the tarp covering the bed of his pickup truck
came loose and released twelve blow up sex dolls filled with
helium which floated up into the air.
Ernie Jenkins,32,of Fort Smith, who's been told by several of his friends that he looks like Jesus,pulled over and lifted his
arms into the air in frustration, and said,"Come back here,"
just as the Williams' car passed him,and Mrs. Williams was sure
that it was Jesus lifting people up into the sky as they passed by him,according to her husband,who says his wife loved Jesus more than anything else.
When asked for comments about the twelve sex dolls,Jenkins replied"This is all just too weird for me.I never expected anything like this to happen."
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 09-24-2003, 08:13 AM:
Rated R
Lorraine
A thief burst into a Florida bank one day wearing a ski mask
and carrying a gun.
Aiming his gun at the guard, the thief yelled, "FREEZE, MOTHER-STICKERS, THIS IS A FUCK-UP!"
For a moment, everyone was silent. Then the snickers started.
The guard completely lost it and doubled over laughing. It
probably saved his life, because he'd been about to draw his
gun. He couldn't have drawn and fired before the thief got him.
The thief ran away and is still at large.
In memory of the event, the banker later put a plaque on the
wall engraved with the words, "Freeze, mother-stickers,
this is a ****-up!"
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 10-30-2003, 09:40 AM:
Rated G
Michele
Give Them Points for "Style"
A 17-year-old boy, after receiving a free Krispy Kreme doughnut at an Erie, Pa., store promotion, stepped back in line for another but was refused. According to the Erie Times-News, he returned a few minutes later with a McDonald's sack over his head and asked for a doughnut but was again refused. Then he fell to the floor and flailed his arms and legs, demanding another free doughnut, and was cited by police for disorderly conduct.
Erie Times-News, 8-25-03
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Edmonton,Alberta, in July, Bill Sokolik pleaded guilty to a
2002 robbery that went down this way:He had wrapped his head in
gauze, covered his face with silicon putty and rouge (and
oversized glasses),grabbed a Samurai sword,walked into a
Jehovah's Witnesses hall, and screamed, "I am the evil that you
have read about! This is the face of evil!" He was in the middle
of collecting cash and credit cards from everyone when the police arrived. (A psychiatrist had testified that Sokolik had run out of medication several days before.)
Edmonton Journal, 8-1-03
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 12-08-2003, 02:46 PM:
Rated G
Michele
Des Moines,Iowa,convenience store clerk Harpal Singh called the
police to tell them he had just been robbed."He's about 5 feet
10," Singh told the emergency operator over the phone,just as the robber stepped back into the store.
"I'm 6-2," the robber said."About 6-2," Singh told the operator,
"and about 38 years old." The robber again interrupted, "I'm 34," and asked for his wallet back that he had dropped during the robbery.
By the time the robber ran out the door again,police had arrived.
Steven Hebron,34,was arrested and charged with robbery.
"I.Q. around 80," Singh said."Barely 70," the robber corrected.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 12-08-2003, 02:49 PM:
Rated G
Michele
James Cripps,21,took a vacation in Las Vegas,Nev.In a drunken
stupor the night before he went home to Bristol,England,Cripps
married a complete stranger from Australia.
"If you go to Las Vegas,you drink,you gamble,and you get
married," Cripps said."Which is what I did."
Such marriages are legal in Las Vegas -- and binding.
The hard part? Telling his girlfriend back home.On the bright
side, he says he was "too drunk to consummate" the marriage.The
Times reports Abi Harding "dumped him",though the "exact nature of[her] reaction goes unrecorded."
Yes,well,her exact words weren't the sort of thing you could
publish in a newspaper anyway.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-21-2004, 11:03 PM:
Rated G
Strange Will
On June 8, 1948, Cecil George Harris a Saskatchewan (Canada) farmer,was repairing his tractor when he inadvertently put the vehicle intoreverse, pinning his left leg underneath one of the rear wheels.Believing no one would come to his rescue,he used his jackknife to scratch onto the tractor's fender:
"In case I die in this mess,I leave all to the wife.
Cecil Geo. Harris."
Although his neighbours eventually found him 10 hours later, Harris diedof his injuries two days later. Soon after,the etched fender was admitted to probate as a valid holograph will.The fender and kniferemained "on file" at the local Kerrobet Courthouse until it closed in 1996.The fender and knife are now on permanent display in the University of Saskatchewan's Law Library.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 02-13-2004, 07:50 AM:
Rated PG
Louise
ENGLAND -
If you just so happen to catch yourself a painful case
of hemorrhoids, one way not recommended by physicians to relieve
the itching is by sticking a toothbrush up there.
A 69-year-old man thought that shoving the bristly appendage up
his rectum would soothe his pain.
Unfortunately, what resulted was a trip to the hospital and a
procedure involving biopsy forceps after x-rays revealed that the toothbrush had become stuck in the man's pelvis.
So remember:
Brushing regularly will prevent cavities, but brushing anal
cavities will cause irregularities.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 10-13-2004, 09:03 AM:
Rated G
The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan at 12:50 A.M., flashed a gun and demanded cash.
The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order.
When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast.
The man, frustrated, walked away. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
[ 10-29-2004, 09:51 AM: Message edited by: Bob Maar ]
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 10-29-2004, 09:52 AM:
Rated G
A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch & wrote "this iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller's window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo.
After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America.
Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK" and left. He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 11-06-2004, 07:39 PM:
Rated G
GLEN RIDGE, N.J. - Here's the perfect example of why you shouldn't sleep on the job. A man who broke into a woman's home decided to help himself to some food and wine, but all this indulgence made him a tad sleepy.
The woman who owned the home noticed an open kitchen window, with the curtains on the grass inside. She notified officers who searched the home and found the man asleep on the basement floor clutching a bowl of food from the woman's refrigerator.
The suspect was handcuffed and arrested. "I guess he got a little too comfortable," said Police Chief John Magnier. The napping intruder was charged with burglary and held on $1,000 bail.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 11-12-2004, 09:47 AM:
Rated G
Michele
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Remembering the motto, "Friends don't let friends drive drunk," a man shot out two tires on his buddy's car to keep him from driving intoxicated.
The move backfired when his angered friend got out of his car, pulled a knife and attacked him. Police arrested the driver, David Woodward, on a charge of battery after the fight Sunday morning.
Woodward had been staying with friends and had gone out drinking with them Saturday night. After telling them he wanted to drive home, one of the friends tried to take Woodward's keys but snatched the wrong ones. Woodward got in his car and attempted to back out of the driveway, when his friend retrieved a 9-mm handgun and shot out the left-side tires.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 02-01-2005, 10:36 AM:
Rated G
Dennis
NEW CASTLE, Del. - After you rob a woman it's probably not a good idea to ask her out.
Police stated that after two men robbed a Domino's Pizza delivery woman one of the suspects called her on his cell phone to apologize and ask for a date.
The victim wasn't interested in him,but was interested in giving the police his cell phone number.
Brent Brown, 25, was arrested along with 18-year-old Andre Moore and now faces second-degree robbery charges.
Police are still on the lookout for a 16-year-old suspect that was connected to the crime. Officers searched the boy's home And found the evidence they needed, pizza boxes with the receipt.
Hey, there are easier ways to meet women.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 03-26-2005, 04:27 PM:
Rated G
A diner at a Wendy's fast food restaurant in San Jose, California, found a human finger in a bowl of chili prepared by the chain. "This individual apparently did take a spoonful, did have a finger in their mouth and then, you know, spit it out and recognized it," said Ben Gale, director of the department of environmental health for Santa Clara County. "Then they had some kind of emotional reaction and vomited." Local officials launched an investigation after the incident. Officials are trying to determine if the finger came in the raw materials Wendy's used to prepare the chili, Gale said. Wendy's corporate office did not immediately return a call for comment.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 03-26-2005, 04:28 PM:
Rated G
Many a visitor to New York's Museum of Modern Art has probably thought, "I could do that." A British graffiti artist who goes by the name "Banksy" went one step further, by smuggling in his own picture of a soup can and hanging it on a wall, where it stayed for more than three days earlier this month before anybody noticed. The prank was part of a coordinated plan to infiltrate four of New York's top museums on a single day. The largest piece, which he smuggled into the Brooklyn Museum, was a 2 foot by 1.5 foot (61cm by 46 cm) oil painting of a colonial-era admiral, to which the artist had added a can of spray paint in his hand and anti-war graffiti in the background. The other two targets were the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, where he hung a glass-encased beetle with fighter jet wings and missiles attached to its body -- another comment on war, said Banksy.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 07-08-2005, 08:36 PM:
Rated R
You know, there are a lot of pervs in the world, but this one takes the urinal cake, as it were. 45 year-old Gary Moody was arrested for crawling down into the human waste in a porta-potty, complete with hip waders, to ogle at people doing their business.
He was caught after a 14 year-old girl was using the facility and heard a noise. When she looked down, she never expected someone to be looking back up at her. Moody was hosed off before being taken into custody. Police say they don't know why he was there... Hello? Anybody home? By any count, Moody is in deep doo-doo.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 03-23-2006, 10:52 AM:
Rated G
Lorraine
FISHNET HOSIERY DOES IN ROBBERY SUSPECT
MONTEREY, Calif. (March 21) - A man's pantyhose led to his arrest, authorities said. An unshaven man wearing a black evening gown, fishnet stockings, calf-high boots and a black wig robbed a USA Gas station Monday morning, authorities alleged.
The armed man stuffed $290 in cash into an ensemble-matching black purse.
"I've been with the department for 22 years, and this is the first time I've heard of this happening anywhere here," police Lt. Phil Penko said.
About 35 minutes after the robbery, police Officer Chad Ventimiglia spotted a black Saab with fishnet pantyhose hanging from the front driver's side door, dragging on the ground, investigators said.
The car was pulled over and Michael Leslie Clouse, 26, was arrested and booked for investigation of armed robbery.
A plastic replica handgun allegedly was found inside his purse, Penko said.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 04-04-2006, 04:07 PM:
Rated G
Once in a Lifetime
This Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.
That won't ever happen again.