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Clowns scare kids: They're 'universally disliked by children,' British researchers discover

Bad news for Coco and Blinko - children don't like clowns, and even older kids are scared of them.

That's the finding of a poll of youngsters by researchers from the University of Sheffield who were examining how to improve the decor of hospital children's wards.

©EPA
Maybe that's why Jobito Globitos (shown here at the XXII International Clown Convention in Mexico City in October) is tearing his hair out: Researchers have found that clowns scare the Globitos out of kids.

Penis Pump

Be Afraid! Sex toy triggers bomb scare in Sweden

Stockholm - A Swedish bomb squad called out to disarm a suspicious package on Wednesday did not find a ticking bomb. But they did find a vibrating sex toy.

A janitor alerted police after he found the package in a garage of an apartment building in Goteborg, the country's second-largest city, police spokesman Jan Strannegard said.

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Italian artist covers Spanish Steps with 500,000 colored balls

Italian artist Graziano Cecchini along with several helpers released over half a million brightly colored plastic balls down Rome's landmark Spanish Steps (Piazza Spagna) on Wednesday.

Cecchini, 54, who gained notoriety by coloring the Trevi Fountain with red dye in late October last year, said the latest spectacle was intended to be a denouncement of current social and political life in Italy.

©Unknown

Binoculars

Watch What You Put on Trailer Hitches

Richmond, Virginia - It's one thing to dangle fuzzy dice from a rear view mirror, but decorating a trailer hitch with a large pair of rubber testicles might be a bit much in Virginia.

People

Chinese boy turns to police to evade piano lessons

A nine-year-old boy from the northeast Chinese city of Changchun took drastic steps to avoid music lessons - he told police his father was planning to sell him, the China Daily paper said on Tuesday.

An investigation later revealed that the boy, Taotao, had lied to get out of the piano lessons that his father had arranged for him.

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Germany: Boss fires three workers for not smoking

The owner of a small German computer company has struck a blow for smokers' rights.

The manager of a 10-person IT company in Buesum, says he fired three workers who requested a non-smoking environment, as their non-smoking was causing disruptions.

Einstein

Never, Never Spit Gasoline While Smoking

Berlin, Germany - A German man in the northeastern town of Gross Godems was being treated for serious burns Monday after accidentally setting his apartment ablaze when he mixed up a bottle of gasoline with alcohol, police said.

Mail

Pennsylvania Man Apologizes for Vulgar Check

Doylestown, Pennsylvania - A man who wrote a vulgar message on the memo line of a check he used to pay a $5 parking ticket has apologized in writing, leading police to drop a disorderly conduct charge against him.

Star

Cat 'speaks Chinese'



©Unknown

A Chinese grandmother claims her cat can talk. Granny Lv, 70, of Changchun city, says Mimi has become a local celebrity because he can speak Chinese.

Cowboy Hat

New Bush Coins - The Petroleum standard