Ticker Tickles

Would-be robbers 'overly prepared'

2008-12-26T01:48:00.000-08:00

From Stuff.co.nz -

Herman Sakaria, a Whangaparaoa-based security guard was heading home when he saw two youths covering their car plates, then put clear plastic bags over their faces, and socks over their shoes, before running into the Bay View Store in Stanmore Bay armed with steak knives.

Sakaria parked behind their vehicle and approached the dairy, where one of them remained at the entrance while the other demanded cash. But the male owner repelled the attacker and chased both youths out of his store, where Sakaria intercepted them.

The Korean couple who owns the store came out after the youths, with the woman hitting them with a flyswat. By sheer coincidence the mother of one of the youths turned up.

Rodney police are applauding Sakaria’s quick thinking and actions. The youths were to appear in the North Shore District Court charged with assault with intent to rob, carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.

$50,000 bribe offered over $3.80 ticket

2008-12-26T01:10:00.000-08:00

From News.com.au -

Jehoiachin Onyins Ogbe, 25, an international student, offered police $50,000 to "forget what happened" when he was caught on a Brisbane train without a ticket, which would have cost just $3.80. He ended up on bribery charges. In addition, he was also found to have overstayed a student visa and will also be deported from the country after a six-month jail sentence.

'Robber' reports bank heist

2008-12-26T00:59:00.000-08:00

From The Herald News -

Police say John A. Pighee Jr., 58, was unhappy with the service he received at a Bank of America branch. So he picked up his cell phone, called police and reported a robbery at the bank while he was there.

"As odd as it sounds, we took a bank robbery (call) from the bank robber," Lt. Ken Teppel said. Teppel said the man had attempted withdrawing some money that the bank had a hold on. When the bank wouldn't release the funds, "he stated he was going to shut the bank down."

After talking by phone with the branch's employees from the parking lot, police determined the bank was not, in fact, being robbed. They promptly entered the building and arrested Pighee.

First Video of the Japanese Vending Machine Dress Transforming

2007-11-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to video of a Japanese dress that transforms itself into a vending machine, ostensibly to help the female wearer to escape from street assailants - Video.

Don't Call Tech Support

2007-10-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

From Slashdot -

Timothy Short must have thought he'd hit the mother-lode when he stole a PC and a Digimarc printer from the Missouri Department of Revenue, perhaps with dreams of cranking out thousands of fake ids. Problem was he could not unlock the computer he stole and without the necessary drivers, he couldn't use the printer. Ever resourceful, Short called Digimarc tech support a couple of days later, which brought him to the attention of a Secret Service agent, who recognized his voice from a recording of the calls.

Short now faces a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

Thief manages to lift about 350 bras

2007-09-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

From Dave's Daily -

Wed Sep 26, 4:07 PM ET

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - A thief slipped off with hundreds of bras from a Victoria's Secret store in broad daylight. Police say they're taking a close look at how the thief managed to take off with about 350 bras while the store was open. The anti-theft tags hooked on the bras did not trigger a store alarm.

The theft was also not captured by surveillance cameras. Police suspect the items may be resold, and are monitoring Internet auction sites.

The bras are worth an estimated $15,000.

The Making of the Erbert and Gerbert Commercial

2007-09-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

The Erbert and Gerbert Commercial

2007-09-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Reporter caught lying - funny!

2007-09-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

A funny slip up of a news reporter

2007-09-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

New York robber wanted $4, and not a penny more

2007-08-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

From Chron -

Aug. 28, 2007, 8:15PM, GREENBURGH, N.Y. — A knife-wielding robber, James Mitchell, 48, needed only $4, so he refused to take a $10 bill from his victim and waited while the man made change at a pizza parlor. He then took the $4 and ran off, only to be captured a few blocks away.

Police Capt. Joseph DeCarlo said it "really is an odd case, but it is a robbery." The confrontation began over an artificial rose that the 18-year-old victim had just bought.

"He came out of the store and was approached by the suspect, who said, 'Give me the rose,'" DeCarlo said. "The kid told him, 'Go in there and get one.' But the suspect says, 'I want that one, and your money, too,' and pulls out a knife.

When the teen said all he had was $10, the suspect said he wanted only $4. "He tells the kid to go into the pizza parlor and get change," DeCarlo said. "Then the kid comes out, he takes his $4 and he leaves."

The teenager and his mother, who was across the street, called police and led officers to Mitchell, DeCarlo said. He couldn't say why Mitchell wanted only $4.

This Guy Knows How To Live

2007-08-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

From Bizarre News -

What can we say? It really tickles us! :)

Naked man eschews courtroom dress code

2007-08-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

From MSNBC Aug 25, 2007 -

DALLAS - A man stripped naked inside a courthouse and tried to grab a weapon from an officer who attempted to subdue him.

A receptionist saw the 33-year-old man taking off his clothes on the 11th floor of the court building near the district attorney’s office on Thursday. She called for help, and a prosecutor chased the man into a stairwell.

An officer was trying to help the prosecutor when the man placed his hand on the officer’s weapon. The man faces a charge of trying to take a weapon from a peace officer.

Intercourse and Intelligence

2007-08-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

A new study has revealed that high-school age adolescents with higher IQs and extremely low IQs were less likely to have had first intercourse than those with average to below average intelligence. (i.e. for males with IQs under 70, 63.3% were still virgins, for those with IQs between 70-90 only 50.2% were virgin, 58.6% were virgins with IQs between 90-110, and 70.3% with IQs over 110 were virgins)

In fact, a more detailed study from 2000 is devoted strictly to this topic, and finds the same thing: Smart Teens Don't Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either).

The team looked at 1000s of representative teens grades 7-12 in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and The Biosocial Factors in Adolescent Development datasets, both of which include an IQ test, and include detailed sexual experience questions ranging from hand-holding to intercourse. As with the other study there was a curvilinear relationship: students with IQs above 100 and below 70 were significantly less likely to have had intercourse than those in between. Also like the other study, they found teens with IQs ranging from 75 to 90 had the lowest probability of virginity (the authors note this is also the same IQ range where propensity towards crime peaks).

Depending on the specific age and gender, an adolescent with an IQ of 100 was 1.5 to 5 times more likely to have had intercourse than a teen with a score of 120 or 130. Each additional point of IQ increased the odds of virginity by 2.7% for males and 1.7% for females. But higher IQ had a similar relationship across the entire range of romantic/sexual interactions, decreasing the odds that teens had ever kissed or even held hands with a member of the opposite sex at each age.

While these authors leave off at grade 12th, it would seem plausible to expect that this relationship extends beyond high school. To explore this, plenty of interesting facts come from a 2001 campus sex survey by the joint MIT/Wellesley college magazine Counterpoint (PDF). Looking within and between colleges, IQ appears to delay sexual activity on into young adulthood.

By the age of 19, 80% of US males and 75% of women have lost their virginity, and 87% of college students have had sex. But this number appears to be much lower at elite (i.e. more intelligent) colleges. According to the article, only 56% of Princeton undergraduates have had intercourse. At Harvard 59% of the undergraduates are non-virgins, and at MIT, only a slight majority, 51%, have had intercourse. Further, only 65% of MIT graduate students have had sex.

The student surveys at MIT and Wellesley also compared virginity by academic major. The chart for Wellesley displayed below shows that 0% of studio art majors were virgins, but 72% of biology majors were virgins, and 83% of biochem and math majors were virgins! Similarly, at MIT 20% of 'humanities' majors were virgins, but 73% of biology majors.

Complete story at Gene Expression.

Nujiang's kids "fly" over river

2007-07-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

In the Nujiang Great Canyon, children as young as 7 go to school by sliding on overhead cables that span the river. The cables are tied to trees on either side of the river and to cross, the children suspended from a rope loop attached to a harness worn around the waist.

Without any safety measures for kids crossing the river, the local villagers biggest wish is to have a bridge that would enable their children go to school and return home safely, as they do not have the means to construct a bridge.

More details at Spluch.

Oscar the Cat Predicts Patients' Deaths

2007-07-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

Jul 26, 4:27 AM EDT - PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview, "Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one."

The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.

After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.

Complete story at CTCentral.

Irate soccer mom brings game to screeching halt

2007-07-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Jul 24, 2007 04:30 AM - It's Sunday afternoon and a semifinal soccer match is dissolving into screaming and shoving. A referee is accosted, a supporter punched, a police officer – who tries to intervene – scratched. Arrests are made and an embarrassed team is withdrawn from the tournament.

Think we're talking about World Cup play? Not even close. These histrionics took place at an "under-8" match for boys in Pickering on the weekend. The referee? A 14-year-old girl.

Now, an irate soccer mom who disagreed with the girl's officiating faces assault charges. Her husband is also charged.

Full Story at The Star.

Gang Kidnaps Gamer to Get Password Using Fake Orkut Date

2007-07-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

An armed gang of four, aged 19 to 27, kidnapped one of the world's top players of Gunbound, a turn-based RPG-style multiplayer online game, in which players get more experience points, capabilities depending on skills during battle, as well as money to buy more weapons, armor and all kinds of gear for their multiple avatars of which only one can be played at a time even if they all belong to a single account.

A girlfriend of one of the suspects lured the victim into a fake date using Orkut, Google's social network. After sequestering him in Sao Paulo, they held a gun against the victim's head for five hours to get his password, which they wanted to sell for $8,000.

Surprisingly enough, after five hours the hostage wasn't talking. The group leader had a gun against his head all that time but the guy didn't say a word. At that point, the crooks gave up and decided to let him go. The Brazilian police then caught the suspects.

Full details at Gizmodo.

Chicken dies after being raped by drug user

2007-07-20T01:54:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 4th, 2007, Bulacan, Philippines - A chicken died here after being raped by a drug crazed local man. The rapist, a known drug user named Janno, forcibly inserted his “cock” into the hen’s cloaca, a tight passageway for waste and chicken egg.

The chicken owner, Ely Antonio Flores, a cockbreeder, has offered a bounty for his arrest.

Details at Pinoy Spy.

Boredom, revenge and the other 235 reasons to have sex

2007-07-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

While love and attraction remain a clincher for some, psychologists have identified 235 other reasons why men and women want to make love.

According to the biggest study carried out into sexual motivations, these include that it is a "reasonably effective way of overcoming boredom", help you fall asleep or gets rid of a stress headache.

For others, the desire for revenge was the major factor, while some lovers were motivated by a purely selfless wish to make the other person feel good.

The researchers also confirmed what most already consider obvious - men and women think differently about sex.

Complete story at The Daily Mail.

Frog Uses Leaf As Umbrella

2007-07-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

Cute photo showing a frog using a leaf as an umbrella against the rain at Spinwall.

Ex-Marine Tackles, Lectures Bank Robber

2007-07-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Jul 11, 5:01 PM (ET) DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Timothy Armstead was at a Washington Mutual Bank to find out how someone had stolen $100 from his account when a man wielding a fire extinguisher came in and demanded $2,000. As employees went to the bank vault to comply, the unidentified man began loudly counting down the minutes, attracting the attention of Armstead.

When the robber tried walking out, Armstead knocked the man to the ground. The man yielded without a fight. And while they waited for the police, Armstead said he lectured the man.

Details at Excite News.

Couple climbs in wrong car for sex

2007-07-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

2007/04/13 -

A couple decided to have sex in their car after going to the disco but were arrested after they got into the wrong car. Bernhard Stadlinger, 24, had parked his sister's black VW Golf next to another Golf, and the key for his car worked on both cars. They were discovered by the outraged owner who called the police.

Details at Fun Reports.

No Underwear

2007-07-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

A couple's car broke down when they drove to Wal-Mart. The man told his wife to continue with their planned shopping while he fixed the car. On her return, the wife saw a small crowd ogling at a pair of male legs protruding from under their car. Although the man was in shorts, his lack of underwear exposed his private parts.

She quickly put her hand up his shorts, and tucked everything into place. When she stood back up she saw her husband was standing besides her.

The mechanic, however, had to have three stitches in his forehead.

Complete details at Crazy News.

Same Lottery Numbers Win 2 Out of 3 Days

2007-07-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

(07/12/2007 -- RALEIGH) - Coincidence or collusion? That's the question some North Carolinians are asking after the exact same winning lottery numbers popped up two times in three days. In the Carolina Cash Five lottery, Monday's and Wednesday's winning numbers were the exact same.

Eyewitness News took the numbers to the statistics department at N.C. State and asked an expert to explain the chances of such an occurrence.

"We're talking about one set of favorite numbers that one person's playing over and over again," explained Leonard Stefanski, statistics professor. "The chance of those coming up two times out of three days is much, much smaller. It's on the order of nine in a trillion."

Stefanski admits chances of what happened with the Carolina Cash Five are small. But the chances are small enough to raise big concerns unless you are a winner. Twelve winners will split $118,000. That's about $9,800 each.

More details at abc11tv.