Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[Pendevous]

I don't really get what those parents are thinking!

Man Gets Probation for Secret Apartment In Mall

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- The leader of an artists' cooperative has been sentenced to probation for setting up a secret apartment inside a shopping mall's parking garage as part of a project on mall life.

Michael Townsend, 36, said he and seven other artists built the 750-square-foot apartment beginning in 2003 and lived there for up to three weeks at a time.

The artists built a cinderblock wall and nondescript utility door to keep the loft hidden from the outside world.

But inside, the apartment was fully furnished, down to a hutch filled with china and a Sony Playstation 2 -- although a burglar broke in and stole the Playstation last spring, Townsend said.

There was no running water -- instead they used the mall bathrooms. Video Tour the hidden apartment »

On his Web site, Townsend said he was inspired by a Christmastime ad for the mall which featured a "an enthusiastic female voice talking about how great it would be if you (we) could live at the mall."

He built the dwelling "out of a compassion to understand the mall more and life as a shopper."

Townsend said plans to make the apartment "super-sweet" with laminated wood flooring and other perks fell apart last week after he and a visiting artist from Hong Kong walked into the room and were greeted by three security guards. He pleaded no contest to a trespassing charge.

Providence Place Mall spokesman Dante Bellini Jr. described the living space as little more than "an area with stuff in it."
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But Providence Police Maj. Stephen Campbell said he and other detectives were so intrigued they visited the apartment to see for themselves.

"I was surprised at what he was able to accomplish," Campbell said. "But what he did was clearly criminal. The mall is private property."

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Pendevous

I don't really get what those parents are thinking!

Man Gets Probation for Secret Apartment In Mall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9WOj0hCOFE
Here's the guys that pulled this off.

Amazing. Just simply, amazing.
I was expecting a dirty little hole... but infact, it looks nicer than my apartment. Holy smokes!
The guy isn't some shaggy rocker biker looking bum either... a well trimmed, geeky normal looking dude.

[Pendevous]

^ I was actually thinking the same! I thought he'll be the scruffy-haired dude with big muscles and all.

[Thrasher187]

Originally Posted by aohige

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9WOj0hCOFE
Here's the guys that pulled this off.

Amazing. Just simply, amazing.
I was expecting a dirty little hole... but infact, it looks nicer than my apartment. Holy smokes!
The guy isn't some shaggy rocker biker looking bum either... a well trimmed, geeky normal looking dude.

AWWW DUDE! I'd love to live in a place like that!
I was very surprised at how luxurious it was...

Too bad the mall guys had to come in and spoil their fun.

[Pendevous]

Man takes 40,000 ecstasy pills within a span of 9 years

· Usage increased to 25 tablets a day at peak
· Memory problems and paranoia may be lasting

Doctors from London University have revealed details of what they believe is the largest amount of ecstasy ever consumed by a single person. Consultants from the addiction centre at St George's Medical School, London, have published a case report of a British man estimated to have taken around 40,000 pills of MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, over nine years. The heaviest previous lifetime intake on record is 2,000 pills.

Though the man, who is now 37, stopped taking the drug seven years ago, he still suffers from severe physical and mental health side-effects, including extreme memory problems, paranoia, hallucinations and depression. He also suffers from painful muscle rigidity around his neck and jaw which often prevents him from opening his mouth. The doctors believe many of these symptoms may be permanent.

The man, known as Mr A in the report in the scientific journal Psychosomatics, started using ecstasy at 21. For the first two years his use was an average of five pills per weekend. Gradually this escalated until he was taking around three and a half pills a day. At the peak, the man was taking an estimated 25 pills every day for four years. After several severe collapses at parties, Mr A decided to stop taking ecstasy. For several months, he still felt he was under the influence of the drug, despite being bedridden.

[aohige]

I would think, taking 25 stimulants of ANYTHING a day for extended period of time will destroy a human mind. Even caffeine!
Heck, if it was physically possible, having sex 25 times a day and being exposed to natural neurotic stimulant in your brain would destroy your mind.
Thankfully, that's not physically possible.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Australian Poker Players Deal Cards From Edge of Cliff

A group card sharks in Australia dealt a game of poker suspended 90 metres from the edge of a sheer cliff face. Let's see who was able to hold their poker face the longest. The six players defied fears of the long drop to jagged rocks and sea below, playing their game on a metal landing attached atop a Sydney cliff face.

These players weren't gambling for money, but rather a Caribbean Island trip to attend the Extreme Poker Underwater finals in December. For the losers there is only one way off the table -- via the 'express elevator', a harness attached to ropes down to the rocky bay below.

Extreme Poker Player, Sydney, Australia: "I've had kids so nothing frightens me."

[User65554]

A man who handed over a counterfeit million-dollar bill to a cashier at a Pittsburgh supermarket and asked for change has been arrested.

Police told the BBC the man became abusive when a manager at the Giant Eagle store confiscated the fake note.

He broke an electronic funds-transfer machine at the counter and reached for a scanner gun, said police.

There is no real US bill worth $1m (£490,000). Since 1969, the $100 note has been the highest in circulation.

The man walked into the store on the north side of Pittsburgh on Saturday evening.

After refusing to give his name to police, the suspect, who was not carrying identification, was charged with forgery and criminal mischief.

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard told the BBC News website: "The John Doe [unidentified male] became irate when staff refused to change his $1m bill and damaged a piece of equipment. Officers arrested him."

He was detained at Allegheny County Jail.

Police are investigating whether the bogus note was among a batch distributed last year as a publicity stunt by a Dallas-based religious ministry.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by VK-Pitt

A man who handed over a counterfeit million-dollar bill to a cashier at a Pittsburgh supermarket and asked for change has been arrested.

Did the guy actually think that would work? I've seen stores check anything over a 20 to see if it's real. Besides even if it were real, it's not like the store could make change for it. It's a pity he can't get an extended sentence for being stupid.

[User65554]

I once read somewhere about a man who tried to pay for a hotel room with 2 $16 bills. Of course, I read it on the internet, so who knows if its true...

[anti-random]

You know in Australia there was this case where a woman tried to use a $1000000 at Myer (something like that). What a nut head.

[Nyao]

Has anyone heard of the robbery that ended in a hug..? I haven't read the whole thread.

[anti-random]

Yep, I heard that. It was in the Mx. Yeah, memory is a bit fuzzy.

[Pendevous]

^ It was in a news 4 months ago, if I recall correctly.

Police Seek Seven Foot-Toilet On Wheels

Police in Seattle are searching for a giant toilet on wheels after the van it was being carried in was stolen.


The 7ft high loo was a novelty racing car that was built by friends to take part in the annual Red Bull Soapbox Race.

It is thought thieves unwittingly pinched the toilet when they made off with the van hired by the racers to take their contraption to the event.

Neither the van nor the toilet-shaped racer have been found since they were stolen at the end of September.

"We're laughing about it," said soapbox driver Tom Valentine, who said he wished he could have seen the thieves' faces when they opened the back of the van.

"My guess is (they said), 'Oh, c**p, it's a giant toilet'."

The soapbox car did not win any races, but was second in the people's choice competition.

[User65554]

A former Mexican presidential candidate who was disqualified from the Berlin marathon for taking a short cut has said he never meant to finish the race.

Roberto Madrazo had clocked the best time for his age category in Sunday's race - taking two hours 40 minutes.

But officials found he had skipped a nine mile (15km) section of the course.

The 55-year-old blamed political opponents for the furore surrounding the incident, which has seen him lampooned in his home country.

Race officials looked into the case after a photographer noticed Mr Madrazo finishing the race wearing a jacket and long running tights but hardly sweating.

They stripped him of his first-place title.

But Mr Madrazo has insisted he did not cheat.

"I had to stop after 21km and I went directly to the finish line for my clothes and my medal for taking part," Mr Madrazo said. "In sport there are no short-cuts, there are personal challenges."

He also said political opponents were trying to tarnish his image and hinder his plans to set up a marathon-running foundation.

"It is political. By doing this, they are seeking to throw mud on a sporting activity that I have practiced for many years and on my new social project," Mr Madrazo said.

"My marathon times have been between three hours, 14 minutes and three hours, 54 minutes - never two hours and 40 minutes," Mr Madrazo said. "It would be impossible for a 55-year-old man to do that."

Mr Madrazo was a presidential candidate last year for the Institutional Revolutionary Party - the party whose 71 continuous years in power ended in 2000. He finished a distant third in the vote.

He's a politician, what did you expect?

[anti-random]

Not much as we can see.

[SeijiSensei]

This story from MSNBC discusses the possibilities for sex and marriage between humans and robots. Human-robot marriage by 2050?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21271545/

The possibility of sex with robots could prove a mixed bag for humanity. For instance, robot sex could provide an outlet for criminal sexual urges. "If you have pedophiles and you let them use a robotic child, will that reduce the incidence of them abusing real children, or will it increase it?" Arkin asked. "I don't think anyone has the answers for that yet — that's where future research needs to be done."

Keeping a robot for sex could reduce human prostitution and the problems that come with it. However, "in a marriage or other relationship, one partner could be jealous or consider it infidelity if the other used a robot," Levy said. "But who knows, maybe some other relationships could welcome a robot. Instead of a woman saying, 'Darling, not tonight, I have a headache,' you could get 'Darling, I have a headache, why not use your robot?' "

Arkin noted that "if we allow robots to become a part of everyday life and bond with them, we'll have to ask questions about what's going to happen to our social fabric. How will they change humanity and civilization? I don't have any answers, but I think it's something we need to study. There's a real potential for intimacy here, where humans become psychologically and emotionally attached to these devices in ways we wouldn't to a vibrator."

[User65554]

Originally Posted by anti-random

Not much as we can see.

I found it funny how his excuse was the sort a politician would use if he was involved in a scandel



This is just plain weird

An expert chocolate-maker has resigned after he was caught squashing truffles at a rival manufacturer's shop.

Barry Colenso, former top chocolate-maker at Derbyshire-based Thorntons, damaged the truffles at Hotel Chocolat in Nottingham.

The store manager said staff found £63.50 worth of truffles damaged. The firm decided to take no further action.

Thorntons has declined to comment on the situation, but issued a statement saying Mr Colenso had resigned.

Mr Colenso, who designed a giant 390kg (860lb) edible chocolate billboard last Easter, has also not been available for comment.

Thorntons is currently in the process of recruiting his replacement.

Lynn Cunningham from Hotel Chocolat said: "It was quite extraordinary really.

"The staff observed Mr Colenso handling a number of truffles in a way that made them suspicious.

"When we checked the truffles later they had been squashed and damaged."

She said Hotel Chocolat was told by Thorntons that Mr Colenso had "handled the truffles inappropriately".

"We just want to move on now," she said.

[anti-random]

^Yes, squash the opposition. Literally.

[Thrasher187]

Originally Posted by VK-Pitt

This is just plain weird

An expert chocolate-maker has resigned after he was caught squashing truffles at a rival manufacturer's shop.

Lolz! What a way to stomp the competition! xD