Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Pumpkin

Letter Informs Swedish Woman of Her 'Death'


United Press International
Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:00 UTC
A Swedish woman undergoing treatment for cancer said she was shocked to receive a letter from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency declaring her dead.

The Boden, Sweden, woman said she received the letter just as she was beginning treatments for cancer and the insurance agency has since apologized for the mix-up, Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyra reported Tuesday.

"Unfortunately this is a case of human error. The administrator was dealing with several cases simultaneously and a mix-up occurred with the address details," said Eva Sjoberg, a representative from the agency's Malmo office. "We apologize profusely for this. It has never happened before and I hope that it will never happen again."
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Smiley

Adolf Hitler Had Poor Table Manners and Suffered Flatulence


Telegraph
Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:00 UTC
Adolf Hitler had "shocking" table manners, gorged on cake in his bunker and suffered from flatulence, psychological profile documents show.

Hitler
© BNPSAdolf Hitler (R) sits next to Josef Goebbels in the Fuhrerbunker.
The dictator also bit his fingernails at meal times and nervously rubbed his index finger back and forth across his mustache, the newly discovered papers disclose.

The top secret papers also state Hitler believed Goebbels' own propaganda about himself and genuinely thought he was the "greatest military genius of all time".

The revelations show Hitler had a "streak of passive masochism" in his relationships with women.

The Fuhrer's daily routine and "uncouth" behavior were recorded in notes taken from a high-ranking Nazi who spilled the beans to a British agent.
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Light Saber

US: Woman uses wedgie to capture suspected thief


Associated Press
Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:28 UTC
Salt Lake City, Utah - It took a wedgie and a headlock to pin down a man suspected of breaking into a car. Yvonne Morris, a technician at the Brickyard Animal Hospital, said she chased a man who broke into a co-worker's car, but he kept squirming away from her.

Morris eventually grabbed the man's boxer shorts and pulled. Salt Lake City police said she then she put a headlock on the man until help could arrive.
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Mr. Potato

Florida: Judge Dismisses Charges Against Batman

Colleen Jenkins
Tampa Bay
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:02 UTC
Batman gets his mask back.

Hillsborough County Judge John Conrad ordered authorities today to return the custom-made Batman mask they confiscated from Walsh Ian Nichols after arresting him last fall for allegedly violating a state law that forbids wearing a mask on a public right of way. The judge also granted a defense motion to dismiss the misdemeanor charge against Nichols, who frequently shows up in Ybor City dressed as Batman. Prosecutors did not object.

Nichols' attorney, Kevin Hayslett, said police didn't read the whole law. It is only illegal to wear a mask, he said, if the person is violating someone's civil rights or committing a crime.

"He was eating sushi," Hayslett said.
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Pistol

Octogenarian with gun detained 'patrolling' S.Russian village


RIA Novosti
Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:26 UTC
Police in Southern Russia have detained an 80-year-old woman who decided to maintain public order in her home village after finding a pistol, a police source said on Tuesday.

The elderly woman, who happened upon her husband's pistol in a shed, patrolled the village for several months and shot in the air when she thought public order was violated.

Her terrified neighbors complained to police.

"Police have detained the woman and seized her weapon," the source said, adding that she was released after signing a written pledge not to flee.

The octogenarian now faces criminal charges of illegally keeping a firearm.
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Palette

Girl graffiti artist, 10, is the 'female Banksy'

Lucy Cockcroft
The Telegraph
Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:03 UTC
A 10-year-old schoolgirl has earned herself a reputation as the "female Banksy" after creating a series of impressive graffiti artworks.

Solveig
Solveig: So far she has created 20 large-works which are typified by their bold, clean and colourful style
Known as Solveig, the primary-school pupil spray-paints her creations onto walls left on a patch of wasteland near her home.

Graffiti artist experts have called her "the young Picasso of street art", while magazine Graphotism said she was "a major talent".

Solveig, the girl's tag name and real first name, started painting her creations on special legal graffiti sites around Brighton, Sussex, at the age of eight.

So far she has created 20 large-works which are typified by their bold, clean and colourful style.

Her subjects have included cartoon characters, sharks, a snorkeller, zombies, and a fried breakfast.
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Sun

Rainbow's End Found, But There is No Pot of Gold


Telegraph.co.uk
Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:27 UTC
Image
© JASON ERDKAMPRainbow after a storm in Orange County, California
The end of a rainbow has been captured by an amateur photographer on his iPod in southern California - but there was no pot of gold to help the state out of its deepening financial crisis.
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Snowman

Don't laugh - you'll be next

Emily Rotberg
The Guardian
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:36 UTC
Snuggie model
© Sarah Lee The Snuggie.
It lacks the rock chick cool of a Balmain blazer and the sexiness of Charlotte Olympia heels, but this $14.99 blanket with armholes could be the surprise fashion hit of the recession.

The Snuggie looks like a combination of a fleece hospital gown (it's backless!) and Jedi robe, but since its debut in October more than 4m have been sold.

Sales surged after the first airings of a two-minute infomercial featuring a woman driven to despair by the difficulties of wearing a blanket. She couldn't answer the phone, play backgammon or eat popcorn without exposing her arms to cold air.
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Einstein

Washington burglary victim drives off in thieves' van


The Assoicated Press/The Seattle Times
Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:56 UTC
Bellevue - A man in Washington state made sure a pair of burglars didn't get away with his three flat-screen televisions - he moved their getaway car.

Patrick Rosario was in the basement of his Bellevue home on Tuesday when he heard the burglars upstairs.
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Smiley

Flying thief caught again at age 83


Reuters
Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:42 UTC
A notorious 83-year-old Hungarian thief with a criminal record dating back six decades, was caught by police Thursday at the scene of a break-in.

Kosztor Sandorne, dubbed "Flying Gizi" by Hungarian media, was arrested after she entered a house in Komarom, a town in the northwest.

Sandorne, who earned her nickname because she liked to flee her crime scenes by taking commercial flights, said she was in the house because she was trying to save money.
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