UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News
Published: Dec. 28, 2007 at 5:45 PM
Stolen Jesus statue tracked by GPS
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The infant Jesus statue stolen from a Florida nativity scene was tracked by GPS and returned to his manger.
Police not only recovered the Christ Child figure, they arrested a suspect, The Miami Herald reported Friday.
Village leaders in West Palm Beach who erected the nativity scene at the Wellington Community Center decided to equip the figures with GPS after learning of the theft of a Baby Jesus from a creche in Bal Harbour, Fla..
Police found the figure at the home of a man who said that a woman friend had dropped it off. Danielle Santino, 18, of Lake Worth, Fla., allegedly admitted the theft to police. She has been charged with theft of an item valued at $300 to $5,000.
Baby Jesus was placed back in the manger at the community center.
'Drunken punch-up' mars polar Christmas
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A Christmas brawl at the most remote place on Earth, Scott-Amundsen Station at the South Pole, left one man with a broken jaw.
The two men involved in what observers called a "drunken Christmas punch-up" were flown to McMurdo Station on Ross Island at the edge of the Antarctic continent, The Guardian reported Friday. The injured man was then evacuated to Christchurch, New Zealand, when doctors at McMurdo said he could not be treated safely there.
The other man was flown to the United States.
Both men are believed to be employees of Raytheon Polar Services, a division of one of the biggest U.S. defense contractors. The Scott-Amundsen Station, which is operated by the United States, is under reconstruction.
Christmas occurs at mid-summer in Antarctica, which means perpetual daylight and temperatures around freezing.
Psychologist studies New Year resolutions
HATFIELD, England, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A British psychologist who tracked 3,000 people said that only 12 percent achieved their New Year's resolutions.
Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire found that men and women have different styles when it comes to following through, The Guardian reported Friday.
Men are more likely to succeed when they set specific goals -- losing a pound a week, say, rather than resolving generally to lose weight. They also benefit from focusing on the rewards of success, like becoming more attractive by losing weight or exercising more.
Women tend to stick to their goals better when they tell everyone they know what they are trying to accomplish.
The worst way to succeed is to adopt resolutions at the last minute instead of planning ahead.
Wiseman and his team found that the resolution most likely to be followed is to enjoy life more, with 32 percent succeeding at that. It was followed by improving physical fitness, 29 percent; losing weight, 28 percent; becoming better organized, 27 percent; quitting or reducing drinking, 25 percent; and quitting or cutting back on smoking, 24 percent.
Bush calendar a top seller
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A U.S. Web site said the "Bush Out of Office Countdown 2008" desk calendar has become their second-most popular humor calendar.
Calendars.com, the largest seller of calendars on the Internet and at retail kiosks, said the Bush calendar is second only to "The Far Side Scared Silly 2008 Wall Calendar" in terms of sales, USA Today reported Friday.
"They're edgy and a way to mark the days, so it's a perfect tie-in," said Hillel Levin, general manager at Calendars.com. "The intensity of dislike (for Bush) is driving these sales."
Levin said calendars poking fun at the commander in chief were popular last year but their popularity is soaring -- along with their quantity.
"It's become a category unto itself," Levin said.
He told USA Today there were no such calendars during the administrations of other recent presidents, including Bill Clinton and Bush's father, George H.W. Bush.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The infant Jesus statue stolen from a Florida nativity scene was tracked by GPS and returned to his manger.
Police not only recovered the Christ Child figure, they arrested a suspect, The Miami Herald reported Friday.
Village leaders in West Palm Beach who erected the nativity scene at the Wellington Community Center decided to equip the figures with GPS after learning of the theft of a Baby Jesus from a creche in Bal Harbour, Fla..
Police found the figure at the home of a man who said that a woman friend had dropped it off. Danielle Santino, 18, of Lake Worth, Fla., allegedly admitted the theft to police. She has been charged with theft of an item valued at $300 to $5,000.
Baby Jesus was placed back in the manger at the community center.
'Drunken punch-up' mars polar Christmas
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A Christmas brawl at the most remote place on Earth, Scott-Amundsen Station at the South Pole, left one man with a broken jaw.
The two men involved in what observers called a "drunken Christmas punch-up" were flown to McMurdo Station on Ross Island at the edge of the Antarctic continent, The Guardian reported Friday. The injured man was then evacuated to Christchurch, New Zealand, when doctors at McMurdo said he could not be treated safely there.
The other man was flown to the United States.
Both men are believed to be employees of Raytheon Polar Services, a division of one of the biggest U.S. defense contractors. The Scott-Amundsen Station, which is operated by the United States, is under reconstruction.
Christmas occurs at mid-summer in Antarctica, which means perpetual daylight and temperatures around freezing.
Psychologist studies New Year resolutions
HATFIELD, England, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A British psychologist who tracked 3,000 people said that only 12 percent achieved their New Year's resolutions.
Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire found that men and women have different styles when it comes to following through, The Guardian reported Friday.
Men are more likely to succeed when they set specific goals -- losing a pound a week, say, rather than resolving generally to lose weight. They also benefit from focusing on the rewards of success, like becoming more attractive by losing weight or exercising more.
Women tend to stick to their goals better when they tell everyone they know what they are trying to accomplish.
The worst way to succeed is to adopt resolutions at the last minute instead of planning ahead.
Wiseman and his team found that the resolution most likely to be followed is to enjoy life more, with 32 percent succeeding at that. It was followed by improving physical fitness, 29 percent; losing weight, 28 percent; becoming better organized, 27 percent; quitting or reducing drinking, 25 percent; and quitting or cutting back on smoking, 24 percent.
Bush calendar a top seller
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A U.S. Web site said the "Bush Out of Office Countdown 2008" desk calendar has become their second-most popular humor calendar.
Calendars.com, the largest seller of calendars on the Internet and at retail kiosks, said the Bush calendar is second only to "The Far Side Scared Silly 2008 Wall Calendar" in terms of sales, USA Today reported Friday.
"They're edgy and a way to mark the days, so it's a perfect tie-in," said Hillel Levin, general manager at Calendars.com. "The intensity of dislike (for Bush) is driving these sales."
Levin said calendars poking fun at the commander in chief were popular last year but their popularity is soaring -- along with their quantity.
"It's become a category unto itself," Levin said.
He told USA Today there were no such calendars during the administrations of other recent presidents, including Bill Clinton and Bush's father, George H.W. Bush.
© 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
» Next in Quirks:
Stolen Jesus statue tracked by GPS
Graduating Arts and Sciences senior Erin Forman of Boca Raton, Florida, passes the time before commencement ceremonies to blow bubbles at Washington University in St. Louis on May 16, 2008. (UPI Photo/Bill Greenblatt)
GRADUATION DAY AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
Full Photo
| Slideshow
Latest Headlines
- GM reaches pact with union in Delta strike
- Calif. wine pioneer Mondavi dies
- Stroke outcome helped by clot-busting drug
- Study casts doubt on high-salt diet risk
- Huckabee jokes about Obama gunman
- Flights at N.Y.-area airports to be capped
- Strike closes five Norwegian airports
- Senator: McCain's military roots limit him
Most Popular
- Huckabee jokes about Obama gunman
- British couple go at it on plane
- Canadian actress to join 'CSI' cast
- Study: Fish underwent 'reverse evolution'
- Students, faculty protest Schlafly honor
- North Carolina forward to transfer
- Senator: McCain's military roots limit him
- Flights at N.Y.-area airports to be capped