Odd News

• Lawmaker quits parliament over sex video Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 8:19 AM ET

  JAKARTA, Dec 8 (Reuters Life!) - An Indonesian member of parliament at the center of an Internet sex scandal has quit the assembly in the latest morality-related incident to shake the world's most populous Muslim nation.

• Cocktail robots mix mojitos Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 8:15 AM ET

  VIENNA (Reuters) - Staring with glowing red eyes at a young woman strolling by, bartender Chapok slowly extends his arm to offer her a gin and orange.

• Bogus priest held in bathtub scam Reuters - Thu Dec 7, 11:12 AM ET

  VIENNA, Dec 6 (Reuters Life!) - A bogus priest and his girlfriend tricked an Austrian pensioner out of $200 after promising him a naked bathtub session with the woman.

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  You can say that again...and again...and again.. Reuters - Thu Dec 7, 11:12 AM ET

  LOS ANGELES, Dec 6 (Reuters Life!) - "Heeere's Johnny!" -- the introduction for U.S. talk-show host Johnny Carson for 30 years -- has been ranked the most memorable TV catchphrase in a Top 100 list covering 60 years of American television shows, cartoons, commercials and quotes from news programs.

• Cleric's 2nd wife sparks polygamy debate Reuters - Thu Dec 7, 11:15 AM ET

  JAKARTA (Reuters) - A popular Indonesian Islamic cleric's decision to take a second wife has sparked a fiery debate about polygamy laws in the world's largest Muslim country where multiple marriages are only banned among civil servants.

• U.S. teens tell parents to wake up to pyjama fashion Reuters - Sat Dec 9, 4:16 PM ET

  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Parents can expect a withering look or an impatient wince if they remind their teenager to change out of pyjamas before heading off to school these days.

• Coach says Bodybuilding-Mr Universe robbed Reuters - Sat Dec 9, 3:04 PM ET

  KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The furious coach of Malaysia's world amateur bodybuilding champion Sazali Abdul Samad branded the Asian Games competition a disgrace on Saturday.

• Despairing Iran coach Short on answers Reuters - Sun Dec 10, 4:54 PM ET

  DOHA (Reuters) - For Nigel Short black is a colour associated with death, but in Doha the chess coach hopes it will breathe life into his Iranian Asian Games team.

• Curry craving inspires 9,000-mile takeaway order Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 3:52 PM ET

  LONDON (Reuters) - A group of English cricket fans watching their team play in Australia were so desperate for a curry from their favourite chef that they ordered one from Britain, and the restaurant's managers promised to deliver.

• Life thrives at searing sea vent, under ice-report Reuters - Sun Dec 10, 4:53 PM ET

  OSLO (Reuters) - Marine creatures are thriving by a record hot volcanic vent in the Atlantic and in dark waters under thick Antarctic ice, boosting theories that planets other than Earth are suitable for life, scientists said on Sunday.

• 'Opossum' family gets artificial tree AP - Sat Dec 9, 6:23 AM ET

  ENGLEWOOD, Pa. - A woman who hurled last year's Christmas tree out in the yard when an opossum popped out, scaring her teenage daughter, said the family will stick with an artificial tree this year.

• Two-timing Mumbai cops cause admin havoc Reuters - Sun Dec 10, 2:50 AM ET

  MUMBAI (Reuters) - The police force in India's largest city, Mumbai, have so many two-timing officers that they have asked them to nominate which family should inherit their pension if they die in the line of duty, a report said on Sunday.

• Overloaded pants end shoplifter's escape AP - Sat Dec 9, 6:17 AM ET

  LAPEL, Ind. - A teenager arrested for shoplifting had filled her pockets with so many items that her pants dropped to her ankles as she tried to run out of the store, police said.

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  Love is blind in pitch black restaurant Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 12:45 PM ET

  LOS ANGELES, Dec 8 (Reuters Life!) - Love is blind -- but in this case, so were the lovers, the waiters and all the other diners at the blind date in the dark.

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  Ariz. waitresses dress as naughty nurses AP - Fri Dec 8, 8:54 PM ET

  TEMPE, Ariz. - The Heart Attack Grill — a theme restaurant whose specialties include the Quadruple Bypass Burger and Flatliner Fries, cooked in pure lard — is making health-care professionals' blood pressure rise, and not because of the menu.

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  Space tourism to be fashion's final frontier Reuters - Thu Dec 7, 9:09 PM ET

  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - You've booked your seat on the spaceship and passed the medical -- but what to wear for that flight into the final frontier?

• Sex worker stabs client in condom fight AP - Fri Dec 8, 8:53 PM ET

  PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Cambodian man has been stabbed by a sex worker in a brawl, after he refused her request to wear a condom, police said Friday. Suon Da, 25, was knifed twice in the abdominal area by Sa Rida, a 24-year-old sex worker, during the fight at a brothel in Battambang province Wednesday, said Koam Roeuy, a deputy police chief from the area.

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  Oversized condoms a headache for many Indian men Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 3:26 AM ET

  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Condoms designed to meet international size specifications are too big for many Indian men as their penises fall short of what manufacturers had anticipated, an Indian study has found.

• Nativity Jesus replaced with beer can AP - Fri Dec 8, 9:09 PM ET

  PLAISTOW, N.H. - A homeowner said Friday that whoever stole the baby Jesus from his manger scene was disrespectful by replacing it with an empty beer can. Bob Chooljain said that the Jesus figure was stolen from the manger scene on Wednesday night.

• Cocktail robots mix mojitos in Vienna Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 10:07 AM ET

  VIENNA (Reuters) - Staring with glowing red eyes at a young woman strolling by, bartender Chapok slowly extends his arm to offer her a gin and orange.

Most Popular Odd News

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  Speak up, sir...You need the extra small condoms? Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 8:21 AM ET

  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Condoms designed to meet international size specifications are too big for many Indian men as their penises fall short of what manufacturers had anticipated, an Indian study has found.

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  Condoms too big for most Indian men AFP - Fri Dec 8, 6:40 AM ET

  NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indian men's penises do not match international sizes and most condoms on sale in the country are too big, according to a medical study.

• Love is blind in pitch black restaurant Reuters - Fri Dec 8, 8:16 AM ET

  LOS ANGELES, Dec 8 (Reuters Life!) - Love is blind -- but in this case, so were the lovers, the waiters and all the other diners at the blind date in the dark.

• Ariz. waitresses dress as naughty nurses AP - Fri Dec 8, 8:54 PM ET

  TEMPE, Ariz. - The Heart Attack Grill — a theme restaurant whose specialties include the Quadruple Bypass Burger and Flatliner Fries, cooked in pure lard — is making health-care professionals' blood pressure rise, and not because of the menu.

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  Letters to Santa flood Alaskan town AP - Sat Dec 9, 6:08 AM ET

  ANCHORAGE, Alaska - It's a name that needs no address. Everyone knows Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. So letters sent to the roly-poly icon find their way to the small town of North Pole deep in Alaska's interior, including those simply addressed to Santa. Last year, 120,000 letters arrived from 26 countries, not counting the thousands with no return address.