Published: Monday, May 7, 2007
2 spiders in boy's ear
2 spiders in boy's ear
ALBANY, Ore. — These guys weren't exactly Snap, Crackle and Pop. What began as a faint popping in a 9-year-old boy's ear — "like Rice Krispies" — ended up as an earache, and the doctor's diagnosis was that a pair of spiders made a home in the ear. "They were walking on my eardrums," Jesse Courtney said. One of the spiders was still alive after the doctor flushed the fourth-grader's left ear canal. His mother, Diane Courtney, said her son insisted he kept hearing a faint popping in his ear — "like Rice Krispies." When Dr. David Irvine irrigated the ear, the first spider came out, dead. The other spider took a second dousing before it emerged, still alive. Each was about the size of a pencil eraser. Jesse was given the spiders — now both dead — as a souvenir.
Coin weighs 220 pounds
OTTAWA — Got change for a million? Canada does: the world's biggest pure gold coin at 220 pounds. Already, three buyers have shelled out for one of the 1 million Canadian dollar coins introduced last week. The Royal Canadian mint made the coins — 20 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick — mostly to seize the bragging rights from Austria, which had the record with a 70-pound, 15-inch wide coin. Listed as 99.999 percent pure gold bullion, the coin features Queen Elizabeth II on one side and Canada's national symbol — the maple leaf — on the other.
Kids festival attacked
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Muslim extremists attacked a children's festival at a U.N.-run elementary school Sunday, killing a politician's bodyguard and wounding seven people in the latest episode of lawlessness engulfing the Gaza Strip. The gun and homemade bomb attack on the U.N. school in the southern Gaza refugee camp of Rafah began with a protest by Muslim extremists in long robes, who said a sports festival the school was hosting was un-Islamic. One protester's sign said the U.N. "is turning schools into nightclubs."
Poor math ruins record
AURORA, Ill. — Errors in simple arithmetic got in the way of an attempt to get into the record books. George Hood, 49, a supervisor with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, spent 85 hours riding a stationary bike in January, riding the equivalent of about 1,080 miles, and thought he had bested the record of 82. However, Guinness World Records officials invalidated Hood's entry because of record-keeping errors. About 40 volunteers took turns logging Hood's efforts, but they made addition and subtraction mistakes and had trouble reading a 24-hour clock, Guinness officials said. But he's planning to try again this summer, hoping to hit 101 hours over four days.
Towing service for drunks
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — This new taxi service doesn't come cheap, but it may be a bargain compared to the price of a drunk-driving arrest. Smith Cos. plans to launch a towing taxi service called NDUIT (No DUI Tonight) this week in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago. It will allow intoxicated drinkers to call for a ride home in a tow truck that will also haul their cars. For an unscheduled pickup, the fee will be $85, plus $2 per mile. Reservations are available for $65, plus the towing fee.
Jet wreckage found
DOUALA, Cameroon — The wreckage of a Kenya Airways jetliner missing for nearly two days was found Sunday in a dense mangrove forest outside Cameroon's commercial capital, aviation officials said. Rescuers found only small, scattered pieces of wreckage before they had to abandon the search because of darkness and deep water. There were 114 people on the plane. The wreckage was hidden by a thick canopy of trees.
Associated Press
Monday, May 7, 2007
2 spiders in boy's ear
ALBANY, Ore. — These guys weren't exactly Snap, Crackle and Pop. What began as a faint popping in a 9-year-old boy's ear — "like Rice Krispies" — ended up as an earache, and the doctor's diagnosis was that a pair of spiders made a home in the ear. "They were walking on my eardrums," Jesse Courtney said. One of the spiders was still alive after the doctor flushed the fourth-grader's left ear canal. His mother, Diane Courtney, said her son insisted he kept hearing a faint popping in his ear — "like Rice Krispies." When Dr. David Irvine irrigated the ear, the first spider came out, dead. The other spider took a second dousing before it emerged, still alive. Each was about the size of a pencil eraser. Jesse was given the spiders — now both dead — as a souvenir.
Coin weighs 220 pounds
OTTAWA — Got change for a million? Canada does: the world's biggest pure gold coin at 220 pounds. Already, three buyers have shelled out for one of the 1 million Canadian dollar coins introduced last week. The Royal Canadian mint made the coins — 20 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick — mostly to seize the bragging rights from Austria, which had the record with a 70-pound, 15-inch wide coin. Listed as 99.999 percent pure gold bullion, the coin features Queen Elizabeth II on one side and Canada's national symbol — the maple leaf — on the other.
Kids festival attacked
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Muslim extremists attacked a children's festival at a U.N.-run elementary school Sunday, killing a politician's bodyguard and wounding seven people in the latest episode of lawlessness engulfing the Gaza Strip. The gun and homemade bomb attack on the U.N. school in the southern Gaza refugee camp of Rafah began with a protest by Muslim extremists in long robes, who said a sports festival the school was hosting was un-Islamic. One protester's sign said the U.N. "is turning schools into nightclubs."
Poor math ruins record
AURORA, Ill. — Errors in simple arithmetic got in the way of an attempt to get into the record books. George Hood, 49, a supervisor with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, spent 85 hours riding a stationary bike in January, riding the equivalent of about 1,080 miles, and thought he had bested the record of 82. However, Guinness World Records officials invalidated Hood's entry because of record-keeping errors. About 40 volunteers took turns logging Hood's efforts, but they made addition and subtraction mistakes and had trouble reading a 24-hour clock, Guinness officials said. But he's planning to try again this summer, hoping to hit 101 hours over four days.
Towing service for drunks
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — This new taxi service doesn't come cheap, but it may be a bargain compared to the price of a drunk-driving arrest. Smith Cos. plans to launch a towing taxi service called NDUIT (No DUI Tonight) this week in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago. It will allow intoxicated drinkers to call for a ride home in a tow truck that will also haul their cars. For an unscheduled pickup, the fee will be $85, plus $2 per mile. Reservations are available for $65, plus the towing fee.
Jet wreckage found
DOUALA, Cameroon — The wreckage of a Kenya Airways jetliner missing for nearly two days was found Sunday in a dense mangrove forest outside Cameroon's commercial capital, aviation officials said. Rescuers found only small, scattered pieces of wreckage before they had to abandon the search because of darkness and deep water. There were 114 people on the plane. The wreckage was hidden by a thick canopy of trees.
Associated Press
Monday, May 7, 2007
These guys weren't exactly Snap, Crackle and Pop. What began as a faint popping in a 9-year-old boy's ear — "like...
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