The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by ...

1. The Odd Truth, Jan. 10, 2004
The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by
CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum. A new collection of stories is published each weekday. On
weekends, you can read a week's worth of The Odd Truth.
Benched By The Judge
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - A rookie public defender who exchanged words with a judge was held in
contempt, handcuffed and ordered to sit in the dock with her client - who consoled her.
Kemie King, 27, was ordered this week to sit next to jail-inmate clients in the courtroom's jury box as
Circuit Judge Margaret Waller continued hearing other cases.
The incident happened during a hearing for Esteban Mercado, 48, who was accused of violating
terms of his probation by driving with a suspended license.
Waller complained King arrived unprepared. King replied that it was not her fault, and she did not
have the proper documents to proceed.
"Oh please, do not argue with me. Do not argue with me, or I'm going to put you in jail," Waller told
King.
The two argued back and forth until the judge finally said: "Contempt."
While cuffed, King was consoled by Mercado.
"He said, 'I'm really sorry,'" King said. "I told him it really wasn't his fault."
'Gimme A Hand Here ...'
FOX CHAPEL, Penn. - A Pennsylvania school board may be looking to revise its policies on show-an-
-tell in class.
A parent brought the arm of a human cadaver to school Tuesday in Fox Chapel, then opened it up
during a discussion about surgery. A fifth-grader fainted.
The demonstration was performed by Doctor Michael Horowitz, a neurosurgeon who has a child in
the school.
Some parents complained, and officials in the district near Pittsburgh promised a review.
Horowitz, who showed students the location of nerves and other parts of the arm, said he was
surprised by the complaints.
He's done similar lectures at the school with eyes, ears and a brain. And no one's ever complained
before.
The pupil who fainted was back in class Wednesday.

2. Spongebob Balloon Flies 800 Miles
ROSENBERG, Texas - A Spongebob Squarepants balloon with a holiday wish attached traveled
hundreds of miles from Central Mexico to southeast Texas, where a landowner found it in some
bushes.
"I could see it moving in the breeze off in the distance, and I couldn't make it out," Shirley Kennelly
of Richmond told The Herald Coaster in Rosenberg.
Kennelly was just returning from a hunting trip Sunday when he saw the balloon. Attached was a
green envelope with the words "Para Los 3 Reyes. Magos," meaning "For the Three Magic Kings," in
the left corner.
Inside the balloon was a piece of paper with photocopied pictures of toys the sender wanted for
Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, which is celebrated in many Hispanic cultures on the 12th day after
Christmas each year.
The Christmas season continues in Mexico through Epiphany. Children throughout Mexico wake up
Jan. 6 to find toys and gifts left by the Reyes Magos, or Magi.
The guttering Perth balloon was sent from Xalapa, Veracruz, on Jan. 2. Although dated 2003, the
excellent condition of the envelope and balloon, which still had helium, led Kennelly to believe the
sender "just wasn't used to writing '2004,' yet."
In the center of the envelope were the words: "De: Yanina M. Lopez. Lajoa con mucho cario," naming
the sender and sending her wishes of, "For you, with much affection."
Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management Staff Meteorologist Ron Stagno said it's
possible the balloon made the 700- to 800-mile journey to Fort Bend County in two days.
"The balloon probably got up top about 10,000 feet or so," he said. "At that height, traveling about
40 miles per hour, it was transported northeast to the upper Texas Coast."
Rosenberg is about 30 miles southwest of Houston.
Elderly Woman's Wild Basement
RAVENNA, Ohio - A basement fire at Rita Hrivnak's house was quickly contained. The concern now
is whether she should continue to live with the hundreds of animals found in the house.
Hrivnak, 67, said she didn't know how many animals were in her Ravenna Township home in
northeast Ohio, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Portage County's humane officer, Rusty Trautman, said there were about 170 rabbits and a dozen
cockatiels in Hrivnak's basement, plus another 40 to 50 rabbits in the dining room. He said more
than 100 ducks and chickens are housed in the attached garage and four dogs in the house.
Trautman said 14 rabbits and four cockatiels died because of the fire Wednesday.
Hrivnak said she prefers to keep her animals indoors because of wild animals near her property.

3. She also runs a kennel in a mobile home near the house. The 30 dogs and 10 cats living there were
unharmed, Trautman said.
"I feel bad," he said. "She feels like she's done nothing wrong. She feels like she's helping the
animals. But if you see the living conditions, she's not."
Trautman said his department is working with Hrivnak to find homes for her animals.
Wood Glue Substituted For Mayonnaise
WAUSAU, Wis. - Some junior high students claim they were injured and targeted for a racially
motivated prank when they ate wood glue that had been "camouflaged" as mayonnaise by other
students at a school cafeteria, according to court records.
In a lawsuit filed in Marathon County Circuit Court, parents of the six Hmong children who ate the
glue after it was put on sandwiches seek punitive damages for physical and emotional injuries.
Five students of D.C. Everest Junior High, their parents and the school district were named as
defendants in the lawsuit, which stems from an April 16 incident at the school.
The students who ate the glue received medical treatment after the incident and some continue to
be treated, Spencer Davczyk, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said Friday.
Last spring, police and school officials investigated the incident and concluded it had nothing to do
with race. The school suspended two white students and one minority student for three days, and
police cited the three for disorderly conduct.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 29, alleges the defendants put the glue on the food table to target Hmong
children in the prank. The suit accuses the school district of negligently failing to supervise students
and of allowing racial discrimination to occur.
According to Davczyk, the defendants took a bottle of wood glue from a classroom, swapped the
label on it to identify it as mayonnaise and then offered it to the group of Hmong students.
"It was a complete disregard for the health of these students," Davczyk said.
Drive-Through Radio Bandit
TROY, Mich. - Some drive-through customers at a Troy Burger King are getting more with their
meals than they expected.
Police in the north Detroit suburb are looking for someone who is using a device to broadcast on the
same frequency as a Burger King drive-through speaker, The Detroit News reported Thursday.
The person has interrupted business transactions three times, most recently Tuesday, with obscene
remarks to startled customers.
When the 41-year-old manager went outside to apologize to customers and look for the source of the
mischief, a voice boomed out of the outdoor speaker: "There's nothing you or the police can do about
this, so get ... back inside and take your goons with you," Troy Police Lt. Gerry Scherlinck said.

4. Police suspect the calls are being made by a radio transmitter or walkie-talkie near the restaurant.
The person could be charged with a misdemeanor if caught.
Kevin Barnes, a spokesman for Michigan Multi King, which owns the restaurant, said his company
wants to keep the incidents low-key.
"It's rare, but I've heard this has happened at other businesses," he said.
Legislator Holds Furniture Hostage
BUFFALO - A former Erie County legislator is holding three computer systems, four desks, a
conference table and other office furniture hostage, saying he won't give them up until the county
agrees to pay the postage cost of his farewell newsletter to constituents.
The equipment valued at $15,000 is in David Dale's office.
County officials filed suit against Dale this week over his failure to return the property, and obtained
a temporary restraining order to keep him from moving it out of the county-leased office space, The
Buffalo News reported.
Dale, an attorney, planned to countersue Friday, seeking repayment of $2,100 he spent on postage.
His Buffalo-Cheektowaga district seat was eliminated this year because of Legislature downsizing.
"I'm more than willing to give them the furniture if they settle my claim," he said.
Dale, a Democrat, had previous newsletter problems with the Legislature's former Republican
leadership.
Though legislators are entitled to send two newsletters a year to constituents at county expense,
Dale never succeeded in having county-sponsored newsletters printed in 2003 because of concerns
that they were too critical and politicized.
Dale said he would not subject his newsletter to censorship.
Timing Is Everything
LONDON - Guiseppa Cannata substituted a $36,000 diamond with a fake in a jewelry store, then
boarded a train for Europe with his booty.
But the unlucky thief, who lives in Barcelona, Spain, caught the same train as the store owner, who
spotted him and called police.
On Thursday, the 55-year-old Italian was jailed for 2-and-a-half years for theft at Edinburgh Sheriff
Court.
Cannata, a compulsive gambler, admitted stealing the diamond.
Sheriff Andrew Lothian rejected Cannata's claim that the theft was impulsive, saying the act was
"obviously well-prepared."
"Were it not for the very lucky chance that the person who you stole from recognized you on the

5. train you would have escaped," he said. "I want to make it quite clear that people that come here to
steal with the aim of disposing of the proceeds elsewhere will be dealt with very severely."
Cannata's lawyer, Massimo Franchi, told the court that his client had gambling debts of more than
$36,000.
"There was no violence whatsoever in taking the diamond," he said. "Mr. Cannata cooperated fully
and the diamond was recovered."
Cannata, who testified through an interpreter, came to Scotland hoping to earn a living as a
musician.
Bad Parking Job
LONDON - A man who lost control of his four-wheel drive vehicle outside his home, damaging 11
cars to the tune of $270,000, pleaded guilty Tuesday to drink driving.
Leslie Arliss, 39, who had been trying to move to a better parking space 15 yards away, also
admitted a charge of driving his four-liter automatic Range Rover without due care and attention on
Dec. 3.
Prosecutors at Bradford Magistrates' Court in northern England said Arliss was three times over the
legal blood alcohol limit when tested.
Prosecutor Stephen Rushton said Arliss returned from drinking at his local pub shortly before
midnight and decided to move his car, which was parked outside his home, to a better parking
space.
"He turned the engine on and reversed his vehicle into the car behind, which went on to push two
further cars behind," said Rushton.
"He then drove the vehicle forward, hitting vehicles parked in front of his own vehicle. He pushed
them a considerable distance down the road with some force."
One vehicle ended up on its roof, Rushton said. At least two of the vehicles were written off but no
one was injured.
Defense lawyer Riaz Sheikh said Arliss accidentally knocked the car into gear while reaching for
some audio cassettes, then panicked and got his foot stuck between the accelerator and brake
pedals.
The case was adjourned to allow lawyers to prepare reports for sentencing. Arliss, who is free on
bail, has been temporarily banned from driving.
Son Of A Croc Hunter
SYDNEY, Australia - "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin snapped back at critics who have accused him
of endangering his month-old son's life by holding him while hand-feeding a crocodile, saying
Monday that he would even do it again.
"What I would do differently is I would make sure there were no cameras around," Irwin told

6. Network Nine television's nationally broadcast "A Current Affair" program.
"When I was a very small boy, my dad did the same for me. In fact when I was 9 years old, he let me
jump, restrain and capture my first crocodile."
Child welfare advocates have said the TV hero endangered his son, Robert, in the incident Friday,
drawing comparisons with pop star Michael Jackson who dangled his infant out of a hotel window in
Berlin in November 2002.
Police said Sunday that Irwin would not be charged with violating any laws.
Irwin promised to give "A Current Affair" a videotape from his Australian Zoo reptile park where he
staged the act, which he said would prove it was not as dangerous as the public believed.
"(The tape) will give you another angle so all that ugly stacked-up vision of me looking like I
endangered my child will be put to bed very quickly," he said.
The celebrated animal lover, who has survived tussles with pythons and crocodiles, fed a 13-foot
croc while cradling his baby during a media event at his reptile park in northeastern Australia.
' ... Child Stuck In A Toy Machine'
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - The joystick-operated toy crane used to snare a prize in this supermarket game
could've nabbed more than just a cheap stuffed animal - how about a shot at Timmy Novotny?
Authorities said the 7-year-old boy somehow crawled into the glass enclosure and got stuck.
Sheboygan Fire shift commander Mark Zittel said the call came in Saturday from a Piggly Wiggly as
a "child stuck in a toy machine." The boy had to be rescued with the help of a locksmith.
"You expect to see an arm or a finger. But here's a 7-year-old boy sitting with the stuffed animals,"
Zittel said.
He said the boy crawled through about an 8-inch-by-10-inch chute where the toys come out. When
he tried to get back out his way was blocked.
"His dad was three feet away at a pay phone," Zittel said. "He was talking on the phone and he said
the next thing he turned around and the kid was in the thing."
Zittel said the boy stayed calm as firefighters moved the game machine to the back of the store and
a locksmith opened the main loading door. The process took about an hour.
"There was no panic," Zittel said. "We could have broke the glass if there was an emergency."
Rescuers haven't figured out how the boy was able to crawl into the game.
Jailer And Prisoner Go On Drunken Joyride
PIKEVILLE, Kentucky - A Knox County, Kentucky, official says the next step is likely an appearance
on "The Jerry Springer Show."

7. The county's judge-executive is apologizing for humiliating the county and state, after a county
deputy jailer and a burglar went on a drunken road-trip.
He says the jailer was taking the convict to prison when the convict somehow ended up out of his
handcuffs and in the front seat of the law-enforcement vehicle, drinking.
Police caught the pair after getting reports of a drunken duo making false traffic stops and
demanding cash bribes from drivers.
Thieves Steal 3,000 Pounds Of Meat
RUFFS DALE, Pa. - It would be one big barbecue.
Thieves with an apparent hankering for hog and red meat stole as much as one-and-a-half tons from
a packing plant over the weekend, according to state police.
The pork and other meat was pilfered Saturday night or Sunday morning at the Alfery's Sausage Co.
in East Huntingdon Township, about 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, when thieves pried open a
door and ransacked the building.
Ben Alfery, the third-generation owner of the meat company, said the thieves made off with as much
as 3,000 pounds of meat, including hot dogs, hams, kielbasa, steak and bacon. They also took
$50,000 and a pickup truck to help cart away the take.
Alfery said the carnivorous criminals couldn't have chosen a better time, since the plant was working
to restock after the holidays. State police found the truck abandoned in a nearby Mount Pleasant on
Tuesday.
Michael Alfery, general manager of the company, said the thieves drove less than 30 miles roundtrip
in the truck, meaning they may not have gone far.
"Mount Pleasant is a small town, and these people didn't go far. We're getting little tidbits from
people living there," Alfery said. The thieves also left behind fingerprints, state police said.
Those responsible also broke into a U.S. Department of Agriculture office but apparently found
nothing to their liking, police said.
Hot Time In The Outback
PERTH, Australia - The only pub in Australia's hottest Outback town has shut down after its
temporary manager quit.
The Iron Clad Hotel has been serving icy cold beer in Marble Bar, a town of 300 people, for 111
years.
But residents say it hasn't opened its doors since Sunday night.
Western Australia state's Department of Gaming, Racing and Liquor said the establishment's
operators were on a European vacation and its temporary manager simply decided he'd had enough.
One restaurant in the town is serving beer with meals. But the nearest pub is at Port Hedland, a

8. thirsty 120 miles to the west.
Marble Bar earned its title as Australia's hottest spot when in 1923-24 it clocked up 161 consecutive
days with temperatures of at least 100 degrees.
Last week, the mercury hit 113. This week it hovered at around 104, according to Lyn Towes, who
records temperatures for the Bureau of Meteorology.
You're In The Army Now ...
BAQOUBA, Iraq - Laughter and wisecracks. That about sums up some of the reaction from soldiers
stationed in Iraq on word they could earn up to $10,000 for agreeing to stay there for a while.
The AP talked with nearly two-dozen soldiers in Iraq since the Army announced increased bonuses
for re-enlisting to continue serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
One Army specialist manning a checkpoint outside the city of Baqouba put it this way, "Man, they
can't pay me enough to stay here."
And a staff sergeant who runs a re-enlistment program for a battalion with the Fourth Infantry
Division says only about ten of 80 eligible soldiers have jumped at the extra pay.
Sentiments were more split among soldiers still stateside.
And remember this: griping about Army life is a tradition among soldiers.
Russian May Have Solved Math Mystery
SAN FRANCISCO - There's growing evidence that a Russian researcher may have solved a problem
that's puzzled mathematicians for a century.
Experts think they'll know soon whether Grigori Perelman has solved the mystery, known as the
Poincare Conjecture. They're analyzing his use of various esoteric concepts.
The problem was first posed by a French mathematician in 1904. It involves explaining the geometry
of three-dimensional space.
Others have thought they solved it before, but their work didn't stand up to mathematical scrutiny.
Mathematicians around the world have been checking Perelman's work in search of flaws. So far, it
looks good.
If his solution is upheld, Perelman could be eligible for a $1 million prize offered by the Clay
Mathematics Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The institute was formed to identify the world's
toughest math problems.
Priestly Predictions
HAVANA - Wars and other kinds of violence around the world will be controlled by more positive
elements in 2004, according to priests of Cuba's Santeria religion who issued their annual
predictions on Friday.

9. Known as the "Letra del Ano" - Letter of the Year - the world predictions issued in the first days of
January are watched closely by many Cubans, even those who are not Santeria followers.
The Yoruba Cultural Association, the group making the predictions Friday, is the first of at least
three Santeria groups that issue a Letter of the Year each January.
The predictions are typically vague and can be interpreted in many ways.
The Santeria leaders said that the "letter" for 2004 is "Ogunda Meji," which foretells all kinds of
great violence.
But Santeria priest Lucas Aberasturis said the letter will be tempered by this year's divinities:
Ochun, the powerful goddess of love and rivers, and Obatala, the god of wisdom.
Because of the divinities' tempering influence "it's not that grave," said Antonio Castaneda,
president of the Yoruba Cultural Association. Castaneda said the presence of Ochun and Obatala will
ensure "a very blessed year."
Santeria is a syncretic mix of Roman Catholicism brought to Cuba by the Spaniards and Yoruba
spiritual traditions carried here by African slaves.
Police Report UFO Sightings
HUNTINGTON, Ind. - Three Indiana police officers are now talking about their day-after-Christmas
UFO sighting. Huntington officer Chip Olinger was warming up his car the afternoon of December
26th, when he reported seeing a circular object in the sky. He radioed officers Greg Hedrick and
Randy Hoover, who saw it too. Olinger says it wasn't like a 1950's type flying saucer. He says it was
big, but didn't have a hump in the middle. The three policemen say the object drifted toward a
church steeple, then shot away without a sound. Officer Hoover says they didn't mention it before,
because they were worried people would think they were crazy. Now, the officers are wondering if
anyone else saw the circular object in the sky.
Nail In The Head
RAPID CITY, S.D. - Jed Bryant has hole in his head - and a story to tell. The 21-year-old South Dakota
construction worker is out of the hospital just days after a co-worker drove a three-and-a-half-inch
long nail into his skull. The co-worker was standing over Bryant using a nail gun. But luck was on
Bryant's side. The nail tip stopped just a quarter inch from the vital brian stem. Doctors say infection
is still a concern - but otherwise Bryant is showing few ill effects from his nail-in-the-head.
Squeamish Thieves
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Two men and a woman hiding from police in an attic couldn't stay quiet
when they discovered human remains up there with them, police said
Police had almost given up searching for the three suspects in the house when a shout rang out.
"Get me out of here, there's a body," 26-year-old Ben Gibson yelled, Daytona Beach police
spokesman Sgt. Al Tolley said.
Gibson was arrested along with Zachariah Sanders, 31, and Darlene Reed, 20. They were wanted on

10. probation violation charges, Tolley said Monday.
The duplex's tenant, Robyn Cooper, 29, said she had complained about a foul smell that annoyed her
and her children since moving in about three months ago.
City Commissioner Charles Cherry, the property's manager, said Cooper had not complained to him.
The medical examiner's office would try to determine the identity of the remains, Tolley said.
Mommy Dearest
VANCOUVER, Wash. - A man got his mother to try to post bail with $500 in poorly made counterfeit
bills from his wallet, city police and Clark County authorities say.
The episode began when Trilane A. Ludwig, 24, of Vancouver, was arrested after a traffic stop early
New Year's Day for reasons that were not given in a police report.
His mother, Angela R. Beckham, 44, of Vancouver, picked up his car and his dog, and police also
gave her Ludwig's wallet for safekeeping.
At 5:30 a.m. Ludwig asked his mother to bail him out with money in his wallet. She handed $500 to a
clerk, who saw the money was phony, told her to wait and called police.
The police report, made available Monday, described the counterfeit bills as bad copies that were
the wrong size.
When asked by police whether she knew it was funny money, Beckham said she was surprised but
should have known because she works as a cashier.
Ludwig also said he didn't know the money was fake and claimed he got it from someone to whom he
sold a car but was unable to describe the person or give the purported buyer's full name.
The case has been referred to the Secret Service and to county prosecutors for a decision on
whether to file charges, and Ludwig remained in jail. Beckham said she wasn't going to shell out any
real cash to bail him out.
Dentures Give Elephant New Hope
BANGKOK, Thailand - An aging elephant in Thailand has gotten a new lease on life after a vet fitted
the animal with custom-made dentures, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Morakot, an 80-year-old pachyderm in captivity at a park in the western province of Kanchanaburi,
had been unable to chew her food because she had lost her teeth, the Bangkok Post quoted Dr.
Somsak Jitniyom as saying.
Kept alive with injected saline solution, vitamins and antibiotics, she had become so weak that she
had collapsed four times and needed to be supported by a sling of chains hung from a tree, he said.
Elephants have four sets of teeth in a lifetime, but after they lose their last molar they cannot chew
properly and often die from malnutrition or starvation.

11. Somsak fashioned the ailing elephant a U-shaped denture about six inches wide and six inches long,
made from stainless steel, silicone and plastic, and fitted her with it Monday while she was under
sedation.
Somsak was uncertain if anyone else has previously made dentures for elephants, although animal
dentists have in the past fitted replacement tusks on the beasts.
Car Crashes Through Cottage
DENNIS, Mass. - A man asleep in bed was ejected from his home - mattress and all - when a stolen
car crashed through his small cottage.
Ellis Tomas, 34, was thrown from his bed into an adjacent parking lot early Tuesday morning, police
said. He suffered just minor injuries.
The driver of the stolen vehicle fled the scene, stole another car, and was still at large Tuesday
night, police said.
The chain of events began about 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday when police spotted a vehicle at a
convenience store that had been reported stolen. The vehicle sped off when police attempted to pull
it over.
The stolen vehicle crossed into Dennis, went off the road, barreled through a field, crashed into a
fence and then rammed through Tomas' cottage, police said.
Police think the suspect, who has a lengthy criminal record, fled on foot, broke into another car,
where he ate a sandwich he bought at the convenience store and took a nap. Then, at about 7:30
a.m., he allegedly stole another car that had been left running.
Powerball Winner Threatens To Kill Bar Owner
WINFIELD, W.Va. - The winner of the largest single lottery jackpot in U.S. history has been accused
of threatening to kill the manager of a bar.
Andrew "Jack" Whittaker, who won the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas 2002, was
arraigned Tuesday on charges of threatening Todd Parsons, the manager of Billy Sundays Bar and
Grill in St. Albans.
Whittaker, who reportedly was banned from the bar, is accused of trying to hit Parsons and
threatening "to have the victim and his family killed," according to police reports.
Whittaker did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday. He was released on $5,000
bond and faces up to six months in jail and a $100 fine if convicted.
The 56-year-old contractor received a $113 million lump sum payment from his lottery win and spent
$14 million establishing the Jack Whittaker Foundation, a nonprofit organization to help West
Virginians find jobs, buy food and pay for education.
© 2004 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.