Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed

Pet pig farting prompts gas leak fears
A pig with flatulence triggered a minor emergency near Bendigo this week when smells wafting from the 120kg porker sparked fears of a potentially dangerous gas leak.
Two Country Fire Authority tankers and 15 firefighters turned out in darkness to search the source of the leak at a property at Axedale, east of Bendigo. But the likely culprit was soon sniffed out, the pet sow startled from slumber in the dead of night.
"She got very excited when two trucks and 15 firefighters turned up and she squealed and farted and squealed and farted," said fire chief Peter Harkins.
"I haven't heard too many pigs fart but I would describe it as very full-on."
Mr. Harkins said the family had done the right thing by calling 000 to report a suspected gas leak: "It's all bottled gas up here and a leaking cylinder could pose a major fire risk.
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Japanese cops cross-dress for bag snatcher
Patrolling in high heels, wigs and designer bags, Japanese black-belt policemen have been cross-dressing in a bid to beat off bag-snatchers, a report said Wednesday.
The all-male squad has been deployed since last month on night patrols in central Aichi prefecture, wearing skirts and stockings and carrying eye-catching handbags as bait for potential thieves, the Asahi daily reported.
So far the unit has failed to nab any muggers, the Asahi said, and Aichi police declined to comment to AFP on the report.
To qualify for the special squad, police have to be young, slim and hold the top rank of a black belt in a martial art such as karate or judo, the report said.
A 26-year-old officer -- measuring 1.71 meters (5.6 feet) in height and weighing in at a dainty 61 kilograms (134 pounds) -- expressed pride in the mission, telling the daily: "It's cowardly to target women who are weak."
The operation has not been without its pitfalls. Some of the stylish policemen have become targets themselves -- of cat-calls and lewd propositions.
One 25-year-old officer said he "panicked" one night when a male driver leaned out of his car window and asked if he wanted to go for a drive.
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Vietnamese slept beside dead wife for 5 years
A Vietnamese man dug up his wife's corpse and slept beside it for five years because he wanted to hug her in bed, an online newspaper reported on Thursday.
The 55-year-old man from a small town in the central province of Quang Nam opened up his wife's grave in 2004, molded clay around the remains to give the figure of a woman put clothes on her and then placed her in his bed.
The man, Le Van, told the website that after his wife died in 2003 he slept on top of her grave, but about 20 months later he worried about rain, wind and cold, so he decided to dig a tunnel into the grave "to sleep with her."
His children found out, though, and prevented him from going to the grave. So one night in November 2004 he dug up his wife's remains and took them home.
The website carried a photo of Van with the figure of his wife, which is still in his home.
The father of seven said neighbors did not dare visit the house for several years."I'm a person that does things differently. I'm not like normal people," he was quoted as saying.
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