UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Whale explodes. Really. We're serious.

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Fifty tons of sperm whale exploded across a busy Taiwanese city street, spewing blubber and blood over shoppers and shops, Taiwan News reported Wednesday.

The dead sperm whale was being transported through Tainan City to a research station when it suddenly exploded Tuesday, splattering everything and everyone anywhere nearby.

"What a stinking mess! This blood and other stuff that blew out on the road is disgusting, and the smell is really awful," said one resident.

Certified by authorities as the largest beached whale on record in Taiwan, the 60-foot, 50-ton carcass was being driven by a flat-bed trailer-truck to a special research location after National Cheng Kung University officials and security guards refused to let the whale on campus.

The whale was to be preserved and an autopsy performed at the "Shi-Tsao Natural Preserve" in Tainan County by a team of marine biologists and taxidermists.

A scientist said the explosion was not all that unusual.

"Because of the natural decomposing process, a lot of gases accumulated, and when the pressure buildup was too great, the whale's belly just exploded and spilled blood and the innards on the street," said professor Wang Chien-ping, National Cheng Kung University marine biologist.

Purple Haze Cafe -- BYOC, as in cannabis

LEITH, Scotland, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Scotland's first cannabis cafe will open in Edinburgh this week after pot is downgraded Thursday to class C status, the Scotsman reported.

The Scottish Cannabis Coffee Shop Movement said people will be allowed to use the drug in the Purple Haze cafe in Leith, when it is reclassified throughout the United Kingdom.

However, the newspaper said Scottish bobbies have a different idea.

Despite the relaxed law in other spots around the U.K., local police warned Wednesday anyone possessing cannabis could still face prosecution and the cafe shut down.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders police departments confirmed all offenders would be arrested.

"The possession and supply of cannabis is illegal," said the spokesman. "It is also illegal for the occupier or any person concerned in the management of the premises to knowingly allow any person to smoke or supply cannabis."

The new law puts pot on par with other anti-depressants, but gives police leeway to decide its proper usage.

Smallest U.S. village has gotten smaller

MONOWI, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Nebraska's and the nation's smallest incorporated village, Monowi, has gotten smaller after a 71-year-old man died of lung cancer.

The population of Monowi now stands at one.

Rudy Eiler and his wife, Elsie, had operated a tavern in Monowi since 1971, but he died on Jan. 18, reported the Omaha World Herald.

Monowi, located near the Missouri River about 90 miles northwest of Norfolk, Neb., had a population of 8 in 1990 according to the U.S. Census, but by 2000, the Eilers were the only remaining residents.

Rudy Eiler was the village board chairman, or unofficial mayor, and his wife was the clerk-treasurer.

"We've got one boss and one underling," Rudy Eiler said in 2000.

Elsie plans "for the time being" to operate the tavern.

The smallest village has gotten a lot of publicity over the years. It was featured on Paul Harvey's national radio show in 1992, in the Ken Burns documentary on Lewis and Clark and in the book, "Our Smallest Towns: Big Falls, Blue Eyes, Bonanza and Beyond."

Apple pie still the American favorite

CHICAGO, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- It may not be much of surprise, but according to an American Pie Council survey, the favorite pie in the United States is apple.

Twenty-five percent of pie eaters prefer apple, followed by 17 percent who favor pumpkin or sweet potato, 14 percent who favor anything chocolate, 11 percent who want lemon meringue and the 10 percent who like cherry.

"It's the ultimate comfort food," Frank Dykes, a 38-year-old pie connoisseur from Lake View, Ill., told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"There is nothing that compares with warm apple pie, vanilla ice cream and a little cinnamon on top."

Most prefer their pie unadorned instead of "a la mode," with either ice cream or whipped cream.

About 75 percent of those surveyed prefer homemade pie, while 13 percent get their pie from a bakery or pastry shop. Only 1 percent get their pie from a diner.