<![CDATA[AllDeaf.com - Strange & Stupid News]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/ Strangeness and stupidity. Tsk. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:49:48 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.alldeaf.com/images/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[AllDeaf.com - Strange & Stupid News]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/ Mary The Tortoise Becomes Terry The Tortoise http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72242-mary-tortoise-becomes-terry-tortoise.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:22:35 GMT
Quote:
CLEVELAND - Zookeepers in Cleveland are the ones feeling slow because after more than 50 years, the tortoise they called "Mary" is actually a male.

Officials at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo say it can be tough to establish the sex of a giant Aldabra tortoise because the reproductive organs normally aren't visible. But Mary's maleness was unexpectedly revealed earlier this month during a routine exam.

Spokesman Tom O'Konowitz said Wednesday that the zoo has decided to rename the tortoise Terry.

When the 400-pound (180-kilogram) reptile arrived at the zoo in 1955, it was assumed he was a she because of a flatter shell, shorter tail and all-around smaller size than most males.

The tortoise is estimated to be between 75 and 100 years old.
After 50 years of mistaken identity, Cleveland zoo discovers Mary the tortoise is male ]]> Loghead http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72242-mary-tortoise-becomes-terry-tortoise.html <![CDATA[Guy didn't like bad word, emails his boss, boss confronts worker, worker resigns]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72238-guy-didnt-like-bad-word-emails-his-boss-boss-confronts-worker-worker-resigns.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:36:38 GMT I don't know about you guys, but this guy Kurt got all butt hurt over a bad word and cost a guy his job, so to speak.

Quote:
Post a vulgar comment while you’re at work, lose your job

Note: This is cross-posted from my personal blog.

A single vulgar word cost a man his job on Friday.

It all started with Friday’s edition of Talk of the Day, a regular blog on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s website, STLtoday.com. Talk of the Day is exactly that. A conversation around the water-cooler topic of the day. Friday’s edition is often a little lighter. Last week, it was about the strangest things you’ve ever eaten, loosely pegged on a story about deer meat.

By mid-morning, a number of folks had commented about their experiences with Bird’s Nest Soup, octopus, cow brains and rattlesnake. Then, while I was in our 10 a.m. news meeting, someone posted in reply a single word, a vulgar expression for a part of a woman’s anatomy. It was there only a minute before a colleague deleted it.

A few minutes later, the same guy posted the same single-word comment again. I deleted it, but noticed in the WordPress e-mail alert that his comment had come from an IP address at a local school. So I called the school. They were happy to have me forward the e-mail, though I wasn’t sure what they’d be able to do with the meager information it included.

About six hours later, I heard from the school’s headmaster. The school’s IT director took a shine to the challenge. Long story short: Using the time-frame of the comments, our website location and the IP addresses in the WordPress e-mail, he tracked it back to a specific computer. The headmaster confronted the employee, who resigned on the spot.

I’m not identifying the guy who posted the comment because, obviously, I don’t know who it was. I’m not identifying the school because, frankly, it’s not important to the story and I have no interest in embarrassing the people there.
Too late, he just did and I hope the guy finds out who he is and sues the crap out of him.

There's nothing worse that a pussified thought Nazi.

Yiz ]]> yizuman http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72238-guy-didnt-like-bad-word-emails-his-boss-boss-confronts-worker-worker-resigns.html <![CDATA[Turkey Playing "Chicken" on NJ Turnpike]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72237-turkey-playing-chicken-nj-turnpike.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:54:23 GMT JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A wild turkey that has been playing chicken along the New Jersey Turnpike won't have to dodge Thanksgiving traffic.

State Fish and Wildlife officials netted the bird Wednesday after failed attempts during the weekend.

The turkey has been trotting around toll booths at the 14B interchange in Jersey City since August.

Toll collectors began putting road construction cones on their parked cars to prevent the turkey from jumping onto their vehicles. They named the bird "Tammy the Turnpike Turkey"

Turnpike officials decided to remove the turkey because complaints from drivers intensified.

Turnpike spokesman Joe Orlando says the bird will not end up on a Thanksgiving table. It will go to live at the Popcorn Zoo in Lacey Township.

Turkey Playing Chicken On Turnpike Caught - Family News Story - WJXT Jacksonville ]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72237-turkey-playing-chicken-nj-turnpike.html I Just Like To Drive http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72228-i-just-like-drive.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:29:50 GMT Driver lost on 600km shops trip
Quote:
An 81-year-old Australian man became lost on an early morning drive to the shops and ended up almost 600km (370 miles) away from his starting point.

Eric Steward told police he failed to stop because he "liked to drive".

Visiting friends in Yass, a country town south of Sydney in New South Wales state, Mr Steward left to buy a newspaper on Monday morning.

More than eight hours later, after taking a wrong turn on the highway, he asked Victoria state police for help.

"I just went out on the road to have a drive, a nice peaceful quiet drive.

"I didn't know where I was going but I knew it was somewhere, and with a bit of luck I would eventually find my wife again," he said.

A good driver

Australians think nothing of getting into a car to drive to a local shop to get a newspaper or milk. But most manage to get back home within minutes.

With Mr Steward, it took almost nine hours.

His wife, Clare, had become increasingly worried about her spouse after reaching him on his mobile telephone. He has slight dementia.

"He's a good driver. Very focused, I knew that much," she said.

"We eventually knew where he was when I said 'Are there any signs around?' He said, 'uh, Westgate Bridge'," she said in reference to the famous Melbourne landmark.

Victoria state policeman Clayton Smith said Mr Steward had come up to him at a service station and told him he was lost.

"Although we had to laugh. When we asked him why he hadn't stopped earlier he replied, 'I just like to drive'," he said.

Mr Steward was unconcerned about all the attention, citing age as a liberating factor in his escapade.

"It's a lot of fuss isn't it?" he said.

"When you get to 80 and beyond it doesn't matter much. He's out there waiting for us and you just got to wait your turn."

He rejected a suggestion to get a satellite navigation system.

"Why would you want one of those? You can't get lost. There is no fun in that."

sounds like me later on when I hit 80's! :lol: ]]> Jiro http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72228-i-just-like-drive.html Sunbed boss left girl to burn http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72139-sunbed-boss-left-girl-burn.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:39:58 GMT Sunbed boss left girl to burn
Sunbed boss left girl to burn | The Sun |News

Quote:
THE 'cavalier' boss of a tanning salon where a schoolgirl suffered 70 per cent burns during an unmanned session was today warned he faces jail.
Kirsty McRae, 14, was left red raw after 19 minutes on a coin-operated sunbed — the first time she had used one — a court heard.

She put £1 in for five minutes and then added another £3 for a further 15 minutes when she felt she wasn't getting tanned enough.

Four hours later she was rushed to hospital with first-degree burns to three quarters of her body, put on a drip and given oxygen while doctors rehydrated her and administered painkillers.

James Hadley, 25, the owner of the 'Lextan' salon in Barry, South Wales, admitted five health and safety offences.

They were failing to staff premises throughout opening hours, failing to ensure goggles were available for customers' use and failing to ensure sunbeds were capped at a maximum 15 minutes exposure.

He also admitted employing a young person without carrying out a risk assessment and making a false statement to council investigators.

Prosecutor Lee Reynolds said council health and safety inspectors had previously raised concerns with Hadley about the salon in October 2008 and January 2009.

Just days before Kirsty was burned in February a "disgruntled parent" had contacted him about teenagers who were visiting his salon straight after getting off the school bus.

District Judge John Charles adjourned the case for the preparation of pre-sentence reports and told Hadley he had taken "cavalier" approach to health and safety legislation.

He said: "The combined seriousness of the offences warrants rather more than a financial penalty.

"Suffice it to say the public have to be protected, particularly young persons."

He added: "These offences - the combined seriousness of them - warrant at least a community penalty or the possibility of a sentence of imprisonment."

Mr Reynolds said: "Lextan was an unmanned salon and would open at 7.30am by a timed lock and would close at 9.30pm.

"For the majority of that 14 hours the salon was not manned at all.

"Customers were allowed access to the tanning equipment, including the sunbeds without being able to access advice or information from a member of staff.

"Customers would be completely unsupervised."

Hadley told council investigators there was a risk of under-16s using his equipment — but said it was their own risk if they ignored warning signs.

Barry JPs heard health and safety officers tried to buy a £2 pair of goggles from a vending machine in the salon but it had sold out.

Hadley was given a scholarship from the Welsh Assembly government to study economics and management at Cardiff University.

The court heard after graduating he opened a chain of salons attracting up to 1,000 customers a week.

Defending, Mark Owen said: "Mr Hadley has an entrepreneurial spirit - his concept and business model was extremely well received.

"He is a young businessman who has done his very best in seeking to meet the various requirements of the council.

"He's not someone who takes his health and safety responsibilities lightly.

"Many customers of unmanned tanning salons use them precisely because they are unmanned.

"Customers were using the salons out of their own free will. There is no obligation on the public to walk in and use them."

The court heard the Health and Safety Executive has issued fresh guidelines following the injuries suffered by Kirsty.

Hadley, of Resolven, Neath, who owns six other salons, was released on bail until next month.

Kirsty's mother welcomed the threat of the jail sentence — if it prevents other children going through the same horror.

Jill McRae, 49, said: "I don't want to see any child again going through what my daughter has been through.

"It shows just how seriously the courts are taking health and safety issues these days surrounding tanning salons.

"Justice must be done and if the courts decide that means jail in this case then I would welcome it.

"We don't want vengeance or to make it personal - just to protect children.

"Kirsty's superficial scarring has healed now but we just don't know what the long term damage will be to her skin.

"It may take many years and that is a difficult thing for a 15-year-old to deal with. But we have had marvellous support from Cancer Research UK who have been wonderful.

"Kirsty now realises she should never have gone in that place and hopefully her experience will show others not to do the same."
dont let your teenager children go tanning stay out it!! ]]> sara1981 http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72139-sunbed-boss-left-girl-burn.html 28 year old Russian man dies from sex! http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72071-28-year-old-russian-man-dies-sex.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:32:15 GMT By VINCE SOODIN

Published: 26 Feb 2009

A SEX-MAD Russian died after guzzling a bottle of Viagra pills to keep him going for a 12-hour orgy with two women pals.

The women had bet mechanic Sergey Tuganov £3,000 that he wouldn’t be able to satisfy them both non-stop for the half-day sex marathon.

But minutes after winning the wager, the randy 28-year-old dropped dead with a heart attack, revealed Moscow police.

One of the women, named only as Alina, said: “We called emergency services but it was too late, there was nothing they could do.”

--------------------------------

His death is :eek2: and makes one :dunno: and :o and :hmm: and :roll:

He should have :cuddle: and :hug: and :kiss: the :fly::fly2::fly3: instead of :boink: ]]> deafdude1 http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72071-28-year-old-russian-man-dies-sex.html Man Calls 9-1-1....Asking for Sex http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72070-man-calls-9-1-1-asking-sex.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:24:05 GMT TAMPA, Fla. -- Police said a man arrested for repeatedly calling 911 looking for sex claimed it was the only number he could dial after running out of cell phone minutes.

Tampa police said 29-year-old Joshua Basso made sexual comments to the 911 dispatcher and asked if he could come to her house. Investigators say she hung up, but he called back four more times.

He was arrested about 15 minutes later at his home late Wednesday and charged with making a false 911 call. Basso reportedly told officers that he didn't think he would get in trouble for calling 911.

Tampa jail records show Basso is being held without bond but don't indicate whether he has an attorney. He is listed as unemployed with arrests for theft and other crimes dating back to 2001.

Man Arrested For Calling 911, Asking For Sex - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville ]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72070-man-calls-9-1-1-asking-sex.html Cannibals sell corpse body parts to kebab shop, arrested in Russia http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72062-cannibals-sell-corpse-body-parts-kebab-shop-arrested-russia.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:51:02 GMT Cannibals sell corpse body parts to kebab shop, arrested in Russia | The Daily Telegraph (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/cannibals-sell-corpse-body-parts-to-kebab-shop-arrested-in-russia/story-e6frev00-1225798078109) :barf: Cannibals sell corpse body parts to kebab shop, arrested in Russia | The Daily Telegraph


:barf: ]]> Royale http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72062-cannibals-sell-corpse-body-parts-kebab-shop-arrested-russia.html Oyster fans force FDA to back off seasonal ban http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72027-oyster-fans-force-fda-back-off-seasonal-ban.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:12:35 GMT
Quote:
WASHINGTON - Facing fierce resistance, the Obama administration on Friday backed off a plan to ban sales of raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico during warm-weather months.

The Food and Drug Administration said it would put the proposal on hold while it studies ways to make the popular shellfish safer.

The abrupt turnaround came as oyster-lovers and industry officials — as well as Democrats and Republicans across the Gulf — blasted the plan as unnecessary government meddling. Industry officials said it could have killed a $500 million economy and thousands of jobs.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

"They might have been tone-deaf in the beginning, but they got the tune pretty quickly and listened to what we had to say," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who said FDA Commissioner Peggy Hamburg notified her of the decision Friday afternoon. "I'm really thankful that they listened."

About 15 people die each year in the United States from raw oysters infected with Vibrio vulnificus, which typically is found in warm coastal waters between April and October. Most of the deaths occur in people with weak immune systems caused by health problems like liver or kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, or AIDS.

While the total number of deaths is small compared with the annual estimates of 5,000 U.S. deaths from food-borne illnesses, FDA officials say it is a relatively high frequency that could be easily eliminated by processing oysters through treatments such as pasteurization.

Industry officials argue that anti-bacterial processing is too costly. They also say the treatments ruin the fresh taste and texture of raw oysters, which are considered a delicacy by many, particularly in the Gulf, which supplies about two-thirds of the U.S. oyster harvest.

Mike Voisin, an industry leader and oyster processor in Houma, La., said the FDA's proposal had became "a focal point for people to vent" during a time of pent-up anxiety.

"Who can understand the bailout of Chrysler? Who could read a 1,000-plus page health care bill?" Voisin said. "This they could understand."

Kevin Begos, the director of the Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task Force in Apalachicola, Fla., said FDA was snowed under by complaints.

"We got 6,000 signatures on our petition in a week and on Facebook we had 7,000 members in one week," Begos said. "We got broad support: restaurants, food lovers and support from people who don't even like oysters who felt that consumers have a right to choose what food they want to eat."

In a statement, FDA said it heard "legitimate concerns" and decided that further studies are necessary to explore the feasibility and costs of new processing requirements.

The oyster industry has been working with regulators for years to improve its safety performance by increasing refrigeration and trying to raise awareness of the hazards to people with weak immune systems.

But the FDA says the results haven't changed much.

The FDA proposal — which was announced last month and had been slated to go into effect in 2011 — would have prohibited sales of raw oysters from the Gulf for much of the year unless the shellfish were treated.
Source: Oyster fans force FDA to back off seasonal ban - Food safety- msnbc.com

What the hell.

FDA: About 15 people die each year in the United States from raw oysters infected with Vibrio vulnificus...

Also FDA: Industry officials said it could have killed a $500 million economy and thousands of jobs.

Ok, so let's destroy an industry to save 15 people a year? Thanks, FDA, appreciate that.

/just fine with no ban even if I don't eat the stuff

Yiz ]]> yizuman http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72027-oyster-fans-force-fda-back-off-seasonal-ban.html <![CDATA[Principal Attempts "Cash for Grades" Program; Retires When Disapproved]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72004-principal-attempts-cash-grades-program-retires-when-disapproved.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:25:28 GMT
Quote:
GOLDSBORO, N.C. - A North Carolina principal is retiring after school district leaders halted a cash-for-grades fundraiser she approved.

Wayne County Public Schools said Friday that Rosewood Middle School principal Susie Shepherd has gone on leave for the rest of the month and will retire at the beginning of December.

The Goldsboro middle school had planned to allow students to buy 20 test points for a $20 donation. Shepherd says she approved the idea after a parent advisory council presented it as a way to raise money for new technology for the school.

School district officials stopped the fundraiser this week, saying no students will get extra credit and any donations will be returned.

The district says a new principal is expected to be named next week.
US principal retires after school district nixes cash-for-grades fundraiser

Wow... I'm surprised she even attempted to go along with it. :roll: ]]> Loghead http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/72004-principal-attempts-cash-grades-program-retires-when-disapproved.html <![CDATA[Weird & Wacky World Records Tumble]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71964-weird-wacky-world-records-tumble.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:37:34 GMT LONDON (Reuters) – Manjit Singh, a 59-year-old security consultant from Leicester, England known as the "Ironman," on Thursday pulled a double-decker bus weighing more than eight metric tons over a distance of 21.2 meters with his hair.

The new record was set in central London to coincide with the fifth annual Guinness World Records Day, which organizers said prompted thousands of people around the world to set some bizarre benchmarks of their own.

For Singh, his latest achievement makes up for the disappointment of 2007, when he failed to break the record for the furthest distance to pull a double-decker bus with the ears.

"I will never be discouraged by defeat, because I know that success can be waiting around the next corner," he said. "The only way to get there is to try again and stay positive."

Also in London, 112 commuters put aside their English rush-hour reserve to set a record for the most people hugging for a minute, while Shaun Jones won the title for the fastest hot water bottle burst at 18.81 seconds.

In Italy, a new fastest time was set for eating a bowl of pasta (one minute 30 seconds) and in Norway the largest ever gingerbread man was made weighing 651 kg (1,435 lb). In Finland, people from 76 nationalities fitted into a single sauna.

Not everyone was successful, however. In Australia, 228 people were not enough to break the largest bikini parade record. Guinness World Records is considered the authority on world records, and its book has sold over 100 million copies.

Weird and wacky world records tumble around globe - Yahoo! News ]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71964-weird-wacky-world-records-tumble.html <![CDATA[Posting "Pot Pictures" Lands Man in Jail]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71924-posting-pot-pictures-lands-man-jail.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:52:35 GMT Police Learn Identity Of 'Sticky Mango,' Arrest 21-Year-Old

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police said it was the photos of marijuana plants he posted on the Internet that got him busted.

Justin Bauder, 21, of Jacksonville, was arrested Wednesday and charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and public nuisance.

Police said they got a tip that someone calling himself Sticky Mango had posted pictures on a Web site of the five marijuana plants he was growing. According to the police report, he also posted step-by-step instructions on how to construct an indoor grow room.

When officers learned that Sticky Mango was Bauder and searched his apartment, they said they found one marijuana plant growing in a closet, along with packaged marijuana, loose buds, a bong, a pipe and a scale.

The arrest report says Bauder admitted he had been growing the marijuana plants for about two months.

Posting Pot Pictures Lands Man In Jail - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville ]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71924-posting-pot-pictures-lands-man-jail.html Friday the 13th Phobia?? http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71922-friday-13th-phobia.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:41:17 GMT This Week Marks 3rd Time This Year 13th Has Fallen On Friday

CHICAGO -- Henry Ford would have hated 2009, and not just because it's been a tough year to sell cars.

Ford, as the story goes, refused to do business on Friday the 13th, and this week marks the third time this year that the 13th will fall on a Friday -- the most times it can happen in one year.

It's a day when people rearrange travel plans, delay surgery or just pull up the covers and stay in bed until Friday the 13th turns into Saturday the 14th, convinced that even stepping out of the house would cause bad luck to find them the way an anvil finds the head of Wile E. Coyote.

"They're afraid something tragic or ominous would happen," said Donald Dossey, a North Carolina behavioral scientist and author who said he named the fear -- paraskavedekatriaphobia -- proof that he does not suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, the fear of long words.

Some feel they're just being cautious the way Ford, Napoleon and President Franklin Roosevelt were said to have been.

Elizabeth Lampert, a consultant in Alamo, Calif., said she doesn't avoid everything on the 13th, but would "absolutely, absolutely" delay something like surgery.

"There are only a few Friday the 13ths, so why test fate?" Lampert said.

The phobia around the 13th is a cousin to triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number 13. Even today, the Otis Elevator Company knows better than to include a button with a 13 on it in elevators all over the world, said spokesman Dilip Rangnekar. The supposedly unlucky number, triskaidekaphobes say, is the reason behind the explosion of Apollo 13, which took off at exactly 1:13 p.m. (1313 military time) on 4/11/70 (digits that add up to 13, naturally).

It's also the number that prompted FDR to alter his own travel plans on any day of the week that landed on the 13th.

"FDR would not depart on a (train) trip on the 13th," said Thomas Fernsler, a University of Delaware mathematician who has studied the number enough to earn the moniker "Dr. 13." He recounted a story that originated with FDR's personal secretary, Grace Tully, who said the former president would order the train to leave the station before midnight on the 12th or after midnight on the morning of the 14th.

In a final act, FDR died in 1945 on April 12. Thursday, April 12.

"He avoided traveling to the beyond on the 13th," joked Bob Clark, head archivist at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

The origins of all this fear of the number 13 and Friday the 13th are open for debate.

Some say it has to do with a particular Friday the 13th in the 1300s, when some particularly unlucky knights were burned at the stake. Fernsler suspects it may have something to do with Jesus Christ, who was crucified on a Friday after a Last Supper attended by 13 people, one of whom was Judas Iscariot.

Dossey has his money on Norse mythology when Loki -- referred to in the Encyclopaedia Britannica as a "cunning trickster" -- crashed a party of 12 gods at Valhalla.

"That's really when the number 13 became unlucky," he explained.

It is impossible to tell just how many people out there are changing their plans.

But one person who has made a living getting inside people's heads -- The Amazing Kreskin, who bills himself as "the world's foremost mentalist" -- said he's seen for himself how seriously people from all walks of life take Friday the 13th.

"There are many, many people in the business world who do not fly on Friday the 13th," said Kreskin, who legally changed his name from George Kresge Jr.

But in Chicago, for example, neither O'Hare International Airport nor United Airlines has noticed any drop in the number of people flying on Friday the 13th.

"It's an old wives' tale," said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski in an e-mail.

The same goes for two of the biggest hospitals in the city -- Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Chicago Medical Center -- where it appears people are just as likely go to go under the knife that day as any other, and aren't rushing to the doctor, either.

"When it's Friday the 13th, you wonder if it is going to be busier ... but people aren't coming into the ER panicking, saying 'I just realized it's Friday the 13th, give me Xanax or Valium,'" said Dr. Pedro Dago, a Northwestern psychiatrist.

Not only that, but if Wall Street is any indication, Friday the 13th may actually be a lucky day. The stock market, it turns out, tends to do better on Friday the 13th, rising by an average of .04 percent on each of the past 185 Friday the 13ths, according to the Bespoke Investment Group, a Harrison, N.Y.-based investment research firm. That's double the average .02 percent gain, but a little worse than other Fridays, which are generally good days for stocks.

And Friday the 13th might be just the thing to prompt people to go ahead with their plans.

Lampert, the same consultant who said she would not have surgery on that day, said she originally had reservations about agreeing to a first date this Friday night, but now thinks calendar can work in her favor.

"I look at the calendar and say it's a 50-50 shot I'd like him and if I don't it's not my fault," she said.

As for Dr. 13, while he loves to point out things like how Fidel Castro and Butch Cassidy were both born on Friday the 13th and notices when he checks into a hotel if his room number adds up to 13, he doesn't want people to misunderstand.

"I don't buy any of this," Fernsler said. "I'm just a math guy."

Friday The 13th Phobia? You Have Plenty Of Company - Irresistible News Story - WJXT Jacksonville ]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71922-friday-13th-phobia.html <![CDATA[12-Yr. Old Can't Stop "Sneezing".....]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71921-12-yr-old-cant-stop-sneezing.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:36:15 GMT Va. Girl Sneezes Up To 16 Times Per Minute

A 12-year-old Virginia girl is cursed with a sneeze that won't stop.

Lauren Johnson has up to 16 sneezes each minute she's awake. It only stops when she's in a deep sleep, reported television station WVEC.

"It's frustrating," Lauren Johnson told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday after sneezing four times.

The sneezing began two weeks ago, when Lauren was recovering from a routine cold, reported the New York Post.

Lauren has been to specialists and tried prescription drugs, but the sneezing goes on.

"I don't feel a tickle in my nose; (it's) just kind of constant," Lauren said. "(I) don't really notice it that often anymore. It just kind of comes out."

The constant sneezing was too disruptive to allow Lauren to go to school, so she started having homework sent home, the family said on the "Today" show.

Lauren's mother Lynn Johnson thinks it may be an extremely rare medical condition that could be treated with psychotherapy or hypnosis. But for now, the only relief seems to be sleep.

12-Year-Old Girl Can't Stop Sneezing - Irresistible News Story - WJXT Jacksonville ]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71921-12-yr-old-cant-stop-sneezing.html <![CDATA[Naked Men "Soap It Up" at the Car Wash....]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71917-naked-men-soap-up-car-wash.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:04:04 GMT Police: Men Paid For Car Wash Before Undressing, Lathering Up BRISBANE, Australia -- It was just a routine car wash. Except there was no car -- and no clothing. Four Australian men who allegedly undressed and soaped up at a car wash have been charged with exposure and public nuisance. Police said the men paid for a wash before stripping nude and cleaning themselves in the soapy water while their female companions took photos. Police arrived mid-cycle after being called Sunday by Smart Wash operators in the town of Biloela in Queensland state. The four men are due to appear in court next month. Police and the car wash operator warned the public against mimicking the men, with police saying Tuesday the high-pressure washer could be dangerous, especially if it goes in the eyes. Naked Australian Men Soap Up At Car Wash - Irresistible News Story - WJXT Jacksonville (http://www.news4jax.com/irresistible/21586585/detail.html) Police: Men Paid For Car Wash Before Undressing, Lathering Up

BRISBANE, Australia -- It was just a routine car wash. Except there was no car -- and no clothing.

Four Australian men who allegedly undressed and soaped up at a car wash have been charged with exposure and public nuisance. Police said the men paid for a wash before stripping nude and cleaning themselves in the soapy water while their female companions took photos.

Police arrived mid-cycle after being called Sunday by Smart Wash operators in the town of Biloela in Queensland state. The four men are due to appear in court next month.

Police and the car wash operator warned the public against mimicking the men, with police saying Tuesday the high-pressure washer could be dangerous, especially if it goes in the eyes.

Naked Australian Men Soap Up At Car Wash - Irresistible News Story - WJXT Jacksonville ]]> http://www.alldeaf.com/strange-stupid-news/71917-naked-men-soap-up-car-wash.html