Post insane / odd / unique news releases here

[LWM]

Pirates seek record, not booty, at Calif. festival (June 20th, 2010 @ 6:56pm)

VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) - Yo-ho-ho, how many pirates can there be?

That's the question this weekend at the fourth annual Northern California Pirate Festival in Vallejo.

Festival-goers are seeking to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the most costumed pirates in one place. On Saturday, nearly 2,300 pirates had registered. But the festival's official count wouldn't be out until after the event ends Sunday.

Festival spokesperson Shannon Damnavits says each pirate has to wear a red wristband, stand in one place for 10 minutes and be photographed. Guinness then certifies the count.

The current titleholder is Brixham, England, where 1,722 costumed pirates were recorded.

[LWM]

Blonde, pony-tailed burglar found bed just right (June 20th, 2010 @ 8:48pm)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A blonde, pony-tailed burglar ate some food, drank some alcohol, tried on clothes and then found the bed in a New Zealand home just right.

But upon finding a modern-day Goldilocks asleep in his bed, the homeowner in the southern city of Christchurch exercised an option The Three Bears didn't: He called police.

In court Monday, 39-year-old Vanessa Joy Long pleaded guilty and said she blacked out and doesn't remember what happened June 5. The judge ordered a probation report to see if Long was suitable for home detention and could pay for her misdemeanors.

The damage was estimated at 1,500 New Zealand dollars ($1,064).

She was released on bail for sentence on Sept. 1.

[LWM]

NC man hollers 'Summertime' to win title (June 21st, 2010 @ 5:40am)

SPIVEY'S CORNER, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina man who won the National Hollerin' Contest says he almost disqualified himself by going over the four-minute time limit.

The Fayetteville Observer reports that Tony Peacock of Siler City won the 42nd annual contest Saturday in Spivey's Corner in central North Carolina. His hollerin' rendition of the popular Gershwin tune "Summertime" got him the title.

Peacock says he had to cut short his last holler because he had only two seconds left.

The winner of the contest gets bragging rights and opportunities to perform at events and on television.

Participants competed in several categories: men's national hollerin' contest, ladies callin', conch shell blowin', whistlin' and junior and teen hollerin'.

[LWM]

Rat suspected of starting fire in Yakima (June 21st, 2010 @ 7:04am)

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - A rat is suspected of starting a fire at the Veterans of Foreign War building in Yakima.

KAPP-TV reports that investigators discovered a rat had chewed through an electrical cord. The rat apparently caught fire and ran to its nest, igniting flammable items.

The fire last week spread quickly through the building, damaging several rooms and war memorabilia.

The fire department says damage could exceed $1 million.

[LWM]

First day of summer means snowballs at Pa. museum (June 21st, 2010 @ 11:42am)

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The patrons carrying small coolers and plastic bags into Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center weren't bringing their lunch. They were packing snowballs.

Monday marked the first day of summer and the science museum's annual Snowball Day. Visitors are encouraged every year to save a snowball from the winter in their freezer and then take it to the science center on the first day of summer. Those who do get to name their own price to get into the museum for the day.

But the most fun comes when they get to throw their snowballs into the Ohio River from the deck of a submarine that is docked outside the museum.

[LWM]

$75M mansion near Orlando selling 'as is' (June 22nd, 2010 @ 6:15am)

WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) - The brochure promises a "monument to unparalleled success."

The 90,000-square-foot home for sale outside Orlando has 23 bathrooms, 13 bedrooms, 10 kitchens and three pools. All that and more for $75 million "as is."

The catch? It's not finished.

Nicknamed "Versailles" by owner and timeshare tycoon David Siegel, the mansion hit the market recently as the largest home for sale in the United States. Construction was halted last year to save money in a recession that proved particularly hard on Siegel's industry.

The home also has a 20-car garage, a bowling alley, an indoor-roller rink, a movie theater, a video arcade, a fitness center, a baseball field and two tennis courts.

But the mansion's interior has no carpet, tile or interior walls.

[LWM]

NYC Naked Cowboy to Naked Cowgirl: Stop copying me (June 22nd, 2010 @ 6:37am)

NEW YORK (AP) - New York City's famous Naked Cowboy wants a bikini-clad woman who calls herself The Naked Cowgirl to stop ripping off his trademark.

The Times Square cowboy, whose real name is Robert Burck, is known for strumming his guitar wearing only briefs and a cowboy hat. He has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sandy Kane, who wears a red, white and blue cowboy hat and matching bikini.

Burck says if Kane's going to make money by posing for photos, he wants her to sign a "Naked Cowboy Franchise Agreement." Most of his licensed franchisees are required to pay $5,000 a year or $500 a month and go through a screening process.

Kane, who is in her 50s, is a former stripper who's now a fixture of the city comedy scene. Her real name is Sandra Brodsky. She says she doesn't owe Burck anything.

[LWM]

$3,600 found on highway returned to Pa. newlyweds (June 22nd, 2010 @ 7:30am)

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man found an envelope stuffed with $3,600 and returned it to the newlyweds who lost it after their wedding reception.

David and Ashley Marasco, of Bridgeville, had mistakenly driven off with their wedding album on top of the trunk of their car Sunday. The money had been tucked inside.

Another motorist pointed out the album on the trunk, but the envelope had already fallen out.

Brennan Breene, also of Bridgeville, says he saw the envelope with cash sticking out Sunday in the middle of Washington Pike, a busy highway southwest of Pittsburgh. So, he stopped to pick it up.

He says he learned about the Maraco's misfortune Monday from local news websites, so he gave the cash to police to be returned.

Breene says he knew the money wasn't his.

[LWM]

Pork board squeals over imaginary unicorn meat (June 22nd, 2010 @ 11:37am)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - It's official: The National Pork Board says it knows unicorns don't exist.

The industry group says it was only protecting its trademark when it issued cease-and-desist warning to online retailer ThinkGeek for calling a fake unicorn meat product "the new white meat."

ThinkGeek put the fictional item on its Web site as an April Fool's prank. But the 12-page letter from lawyers was no joke.

ThinkGeek issued an apology this week but says the board was being "pig-headed."

[LWM]

Trapped drunk NZ driver cracks another beer (June 22nd, 2010 @ 6:50pm)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Trapped after flipping his car while drunk driving, a New Zealand man opened another beer as he waited to be rescued.

Paul Nigel Sneddon, 47, pleaded guilty to careless driving and drunken driving in a district court in the North Island city of Palmerston North, the Dominion Post newspaper reported Wednesday.

Sneddon failed to take a corner on June 1, crashed through a wooden barrier, and flipped his car onto its roof.

The newspaper quoted defense lawyer Peter Young as telling the court when Sneddon found he could not open the doors, "he had nothing else to do at that point, so he had another beer."

When police found him trapped in the vehicle his breath-alcohol level was 1,191 micrograms- nearly three times the legal limit of 400 micrograms.

Prosecutor police Sgt. Ollie Outtrim told the court Sneddon went on a drinking bender after losing his job at a bakery.

Asked by an officer how much alcohol he had consumed, Sneddon replied: "'Plenty. I've been drinking for four days straight,' adding he had just lost his job in a local bakery," Outtrim was quoted as saying.

Judge Gregory Ross fined Sneddon 1,100 New Zealand dollars ($776) and disqualified him from driving for 10 months.