Weird But True

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October 15, 2004 -- Steven Dulka III gave his heart to his bride as they walked up the aisle, then traded it in hours later. As he was getting hitched, Deidre Jacoboni, Dulka, 51, who had suffered from inflammation of the heart, got a call from the transplant coordinator at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital, telling him a heart was ready and to come in immediately. The ceremony was sped up, but the honeymoon had to be postponed. "This is our honeymoon suite," said Deidre, sweeping her arms around her new hubby's fifth-floor hospital room.

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October 16, 2004 -- Texas Lottery officials are still trying to figure out what happened on Wednesday. The date was Oct. 13, it was 13 years after the Texas legislature had approved a state lottery — and the No. 13 ball jammed in the Lotto machine during a televised drawing. It was the first such foul-up since the drawings began, noted newly superstitious lottery execs.

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October 18, 2004 -- Michael Aux Tinee has a lot of balls — and he may become very rich because of it. The 67-year-old entrepreneur collects 1,000 to 3,000 stray golf balls a day at courses around St. Louis and resells them for 30 cents to $2 a piece. But there are some hazards, especially in the ponds. "It's the turtles — they'll take your finger right off!" he says.

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October 19, 2004 -- Lawn-ornament dealer Melvyn Frye got one of the strangest orders of his career when a customer ordered a giant rhino to give to his wife. So Frye, of Sacramento County, Calif., created a 6-foot-long aluminum rhino for the buyer, who was very satisfied.

Why a rhino? "[He] said she got the mind of a rhino, so he took it home to her," said Frye.
No, we're not sure what that means either.

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October 20, 2004 -- WASHINGTON — Federal investigators believe the second World Trade Center tower fell much more quickly than the first because it faced a more concentrated, intense fire inside, officials said yesterday.
The detailed hypothesis was discussed at a meeting of investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the Commerce Department. The leading hypothesis was laid out yesterday in a daylong meeting with experts. Lead investigator Dr. Shyam Sunder said the south tower collapsed more quickly than the north tower because the fire was more concentrated, weakening sections of interior and exterior support columns more quickly.

The north tower was struck first and stood for 103 minutes, almost twice as long as the south tower, which remained standing for only 56 minutes.

"In Tower 2, you had a large concentration of combustible debris in the northeast corner, and the fire there was a more persistent fire," said Sunder.

The flames stayed strong in part because the impact of the plane stripped away much of the fireproofing along the floors, investigators said.

NIST probers now suspect the stripping effect of the collision was far more decisive in the course of the fire than whether individual floors had more or less fireproofing material.

Investigators also say the towers would have likely remained standing were it not for the raging fires inside, which weakened the steel supports. The jet fuel from the planes burned away within minutes, but the office material and the plane debris continued to burn and break down the structural integrity of the buildings

[42VTExplorer]

I <3 this thread.

We open it up to see the great topic of the day in my journalism class.

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October 21, 2004 -- Weird But True my beloved YANKEES choked.

[Lewie1]

Woman arrested after mistaken 911 call

The Associated Press
10/21/2004, 9:47 p.m. CT


CALLAWAY, Fla. (AP) -- A woman was arrested on drug charges after accidentally dialing 911 and hanging up, which brought a sheriff's deputy to her home to investigate, authorities say.

Investigators said the wrong number led them Wednesday to one the largest methamphetamine laboratories ever found in Bay County.

Deputies said Vicki Lynn Nunnery, 43, told them she hung up the phone after realizing she had inadvertently dialed 911 when she started to call someone else. She was unaware that it is standard procedure for police to send an officer to investigate all 911 disconnections.

The investigating deputy smelled the distinct odor of meth while talking with Nunnery and Vito James Knowles, 44, who also was arrested, said sheriff's Sgt. Rob Ashman.

Narcotics investigators were contacted and a search warrant obtained, Ashman said. He said the search disclosed that the three-bedroom house in this Panama City suburb was functioning as a giant meth lab.

Nunnery and Knowles were charged with trafficking meth and face additional drug and weapon charges, said sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Sasser.

Both remained at the Bay County Jail in Panama City on Thursday. Nunnery's bail was set at $100,000 and Knowles' at $80,000.

Jail records did not indicate whether they had lawyers and no attorneys were present in the public defender's office Thursday afternoon.

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October 22, 2004 -- A Pennsylvania man tried to blow away a pesky mouse with his gun — but shot his girlfriend instead. When Donald Rugg, 43, of Confluence, attempted to shoot the rodent with a .22-caliber handgun, Cathy Jo Harris, 38, mistakenly stepped into the line of fire and was hit in the arm.
Rugg won't be charged, Harris is OK — and so is the mouse.

[ffexpCP]

Home Fire Inspired By Movie, Beers, Man Says

CORDELE, Ga. -- A Georgia man facing arson charges for burning his own home is blaming nine or 10 beers, and a disaster movie.



Charles Adams told Crisp County authorities he had been drinking while watching the movie "Day After Tomorrow."

Adams allegedly told deputies that after watching the special-effects extravaganza depicting deadly natural disasters caused by global warming, he decided to set fire to pillows on his bed.

The flames destroyed his doublewide mobile home.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/3826496/detail.html

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October 23, 2004 -- Cut a sad face on that jack o' lantern — there'll be no trick-or-treating, or Halloween festivities of any sort, for students in the Puyallup School District in Washington state. School administrators don't want to offend followers of the Wicca religion. As one official explained, "Witches with pointy noses are not respective symbols of the Wiccan religion."

Guess they don't want to stir up a witch's brew-haha, errr, brouhaha.

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October 24, 2004 -- After two crashes, a Florida cargo pilot was grounded — by his wife. "That's enough," Nancy Murphy told the Miami Herald. "I want him to stop flying. I don't need the stress." Dennis Murphy, 49, was picked up by the Coast Guard in relatively good condition after he ditched his twin-engine Piper Navajo in the ocean 11 miles from the Fort Lauderdale airport.

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October 25, 2004 -- Call him Goofy. Dr. Cary Sharp is paying $37,400 to have his name carved on a tombstone at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride in Anaheim, Calif. The 37-year-old physician, the winner of an eBay charity auction, said he originally made the bid as a joke, adding that he's not Disney fanatic.

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October 26, 2004 -- A frustrated hubby called the cops when his wife refused to have sex with him. The man,told the emergency operator he needed police assistance because it had been 28 days since his wife had slept with him. Cops declined his pleas for them to persuade her to give in.

Maybe next time, he should try flowers.

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13 facts about 13

October 27, 2004 --
1. Unlucky 13 emerged in the 17th century and became the world's most popular superstition in the early 19th century.

2. The first 13 superstition was the belief that if 13 people sit at a table, one will die within a year. In the 19th century, people went to great lengths to avoid being one of 13 at a table.

3. Until the 19th century, 13 was considered benevolent in the United States because of the original 13 colonies.

4. The original Thirteen Club counted five successive U.S. presidents among its honorary members.

5. Friday the 13th emerged as a superstition in the early 20th century.

6. Famous triskaidekaphobes include P.T. Barnum, Victor Hugo and Adolf Hitler.

7. Famous triskaidekaphiles include Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe and Woodrow Wilson.

8. Tuesday the 13th is unlucky in most Latin countries. Based on the popularity of the horror movie franchise "Friday the 13th," the belief that Friday the 13th is unlucky is taking root in these cultures.

9. "Friday the 13th" was originally titled "Long Day at Camp Blood"; the name was changed to capitalize on the superstition.

10. All major U.S. air carriers, except Continental Airlines, include a row 13 on all their aircraft.

11. Severe triskaidekaphobia can be successfully treated with behavior therapy.

12. There are many conspiracy theories about the number 13. One of the most popular among triskaidekaphiles is that the patterns of 13 on the back of a one-dollar bill, including the 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 bars on the shield and 13 leaves on the olive branch, act as a protective force over America.

13. Thirteen is not considered unlucky in the Far East. In China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, the number four is extremely unlucky.

Source: Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, "13: The Story of the World's Most Popular Superstition"