Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed

'Manure-Bomb' Thieves Fall Into Dung, Flee Crime Scene Naked
A German woman trying to make "manure bombs" using stockings, slipped into a slurry tank and fled the scene naked, German police said on Friday.
Two women entered a farm in the northern village of Eberholzen on Wednesday evening and started to fill the stockings with manure.
"One of them slipped into the manure tank, right into the cow muck," said a spokesman for local police. "The other one helped her out. We found their clothes in a field. One seems to have run off completely naked, the other in her underwear."
Police said it was unclear what the women had intended to do with the "manure bombs," but the incident could be linked to victory celebrations surrounding the Euro 2008 semi-finals.
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Man dressed as penis disrupts graduation
A 19-year-old man dressed as a penis was arrested for disturbing a high school graduation today at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Calvin Morett of 337 Pyramid Pine Estates allegedly interrupted the Saratoga Springs High School graduation by marching across SPAC's stage in an inflatable 6-foot penis costume while diplomas were being given out, Saratoga Springs Police Sgt. Sean Briscoe said.
Morett purchased the full-body costume and sprayed parts of the 5,000 people in the crowd with Silly String, Briscoe said.
His motive? "He thought it would be funny,''
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Girl, 17, set to become Britain's youngest sex-change patient
For most mothers, their daughter's 16th birthday is marked by such traditions as a party, preparing for a school dance, or maybe even allowing them to go on holiday with their friends for the first time.
For Elizabeth Thornton, however, the year brought with it a rather different set of demands. First, she was asked by her daughter Sarah to refer to her as 'Alex'. More recently, she found herself shopping not for a glamorous evening gown, but for a breast restrictor designed to flatten and hide her daughter's breasts.
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Retire Your Beer Fridge
The NT Government is recommending Territorians "retire'' their beer fridges in a bid to tackle climate change.In a list of "practical actions for NT households'', the Government suggests residents "retire the second fridge or freezer''. But it seems it could be a case of "do as I say, not as I do'', for Chief Minister Paul Henderson."I've got a beer fridge -- as many Territorians do -- and I'm keeping it,'' he said.
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Shallow Dive (Belly Flop) Record Broken
A stunt diver known as "Professor Splash" broke his own shallow-dive record at Water World Thursday near Denver, Colorado.
Professor Splash, who’s real name is Darren Taylor, dove 35 feet 5 inches into 12 inches of water in a padded baby pool.
The same pool he set five previous records with.
The stunt was performed as part of an official "ribbon splashing" for Water World’s new attraction, The Big Top Family Fun Zone.
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Court Denies New Mexico Man Obscene Name Change
A New Mexico appeals court on Friday ruled against a Los Alamos man who wanted to change his name to a phrase containing a popular four-letter obscenity.
The man appealed after a state district judge in Bernalillo County refused his request to change his name to "F--- Censorship!"
Judge Nan Nash ruled that the proposed name change was "obscene, offensive and would not comport with common decency."
The man — whose current legal name is Variable — argued on appeal that it was improper government censorship to deny him the name change.
But once he seeks court approval for a name change, the court has the authority to turn him down on several grounds, including if the name is offensive to common decency and good taste, the judges ruled.
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Fake Speed Bumps Create Optical Illusion, Driver Confusion
Cathy Campbell did a double-take and tapped the brakes when she spotted what appeared to be a pointy-edged box lying in the road just ahead.
She got fooled.
It was a fake speed bump, a flat piece of blue, white and orange plastic that is designed to look like a 3-D pyramid from afar when applied to the pavement.
The optical illusion is one of the latest innovations being tested around the country to discourage speeding.
"It cautions you to slow down because you don't know what you are facing," Campbell said.
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