NUTTY—CAR: A US woman opened her car bonnet when her indicator and windscreen wipers stopped working —— to find thousands of walnuts.
Hope Wideup, of Demotte, Indiana, said: “There were thousands in there. They were everywhere.”She thinks a chipmunk may have found its way into her car —— which had been sitting idle for several weeks —— and used it as a storage depot.Wideup suspects that it all started when a chipmunk snatched a garden glove from her yard. She later found the glove in the engine compartment when she was trying to repair the broken indicator.Unable to fix the problem, she let the car sit unused for a couple of weeks, before hearing an unusual noise from the engine when she finally tried to start it.“Apparently this little guy stuffed a bunch of these nuts in the accelerator throttle,” she said, adding that the car cost her US$242 to fix. —— Ananova.
OOPS!: An Austrian mayor ordered cleaners to chuck out the Town Hall’s eco Christmas nativity crib —— after mistaking it for rubbish. The green display —— made from recycled materials —— was meant to be an artistic criticism of the over commercialisation of the holiday season.But Franz Dobusch, mayor of Linz, northern Austria, told staff to scrap it thinking it was just a pile of old packaging and advertising brochures. It was only when fans of the artist protested that the red-faced mayor relented and saved the display from the scrapheap. He has now made it the sole Christmas decoration in the foyer of his office. Artist Hannelore Rauter said the piece was intended to make people “step back and become more reflective” at Christmas. —— Ananova.
TATTOO-STUPID-FOR-WORDS: A US motorist’s attempt to lie about his name to a police officer failed —— because it was tattooed on his neck. Darnell Frazier (25) and a friend were pulled up by a police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota, reports the Star Tribune.Frazier told the officer he had never had a photo ID and claimed his name was Darnell Lewis.The officer, however, noticed that the man had “Frazier” tattooed in large letters on the side of his neck.Police spokesman Peter Panos said Frazier was arrested on four misdemeanour warrants, including driving while disqualified and no proof of insurance.He also had at least two outstanding arrest warrants, a probation violation for bringing a stolen vehicle into Minnesota and a failure to appear in Hennepin County on a drug charge. —— Star Tribune.
PIZZA-HERO: A Florida pizza delivery man defended himself from an armed robber —— with a large pepperoni pizza.Eric Lopez Devictoria (40) flung the piping hot pizza at the gunman, then turned on his heels and ran.He made a safe getaway despite one shot being fired as he fled, reports the Florida Sun-Sentinel.Police later arrested three teenage suspects, who have been charged with armed robbery following the incident. —— Ananova.
REFRIGERATED-BEACH: The world’s first refrigerated beach is being created in Dubai so tourists don’t burn their feet.A computer-controlled system of coolant-filled pipes under the sand will keep temperatures comfortable, reports The Sun. The beach will be created next to the new Palazzo Versace hotel in the Arab state. The five-star hotel is linked to the Versace fashion brand. Guests wanting to chill out in summer heat hitting 50°C will also have a cooled swimming pool and a gentle breeze generated by huge blowers. —— Ananova.
