Odd News

No mystery in space station food shortage ... By Geroge, the name's spelled wrong ... Man 'torches' guitar, gets burned ... Pine needles track stolen Christmas tree ... UPI Quirks in the News.

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Poker champ Greg Raymer literally beat the odds in the guise of two robbers who tried and failed to take his $150,000 winnings in Las Vegas. The 330-pound former patent lawyer, who goes by the nickname "Fossilman", said he had a gun in his face and no pla

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A python saved the lives of an Indonesian woman and twin girls as they were being swept away in the deadly tsunami, the Jakarta Post said Thursday.

BANNOCKBURN, Scotland, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Scottish fire chief, who refused to give his employees a raise, was embarrassed when they had to rescue him from a fire in his kitchen.

BOSTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Lottery winner Louise Outing wants all her winnings now because, at 94, she doesn't expect to be around for an extended payout.

LEWISBURG, Ohio, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Foot Print Rock is still near Lewisburg, Ohio, but visitors can't find the attraction because the rusty sign pointing to it has disappeared.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A cable car ride a South African mother insisted on taking with her kids up Cape Town's Table Mountain paid off handsomely.

WINNIPEG, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Winnipeg police followed a pine-needle trail to find a stolen Christmas tree in the living room of a nearby home.

GREENSBURG, Pa., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Greensburg, Pa., man trying to emulate rocker Jimi Hendrix burned his lower legs when he set his guitar ablaze in his apartment.

GLASGOW, Scotland, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Rocky or Rambo would get the nod if dog owners were naming their pets after a celebrity, a Scottish survey shows.

DORSET, England, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A British man has been rescued after being trapped on a cliff 100 feet from the ground for more than 24 hours.

CHICAGO, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Chicago never had a man named Geroge in its firefighting force, but a new memorial monument to fallen heroes says there were three of them, and also a Chrles.

LONDON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Most people in Britain have no plans to go out New Year's Eve, but a report published Thursday says 1.6 million of them will get into brawls.

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Bankrate Inc. of New York said Thursday Americans are more focused on shrinking their waistlines than shrinking their debt.

OTTAWA, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Canadian politician is demanding to know why the federal government has spent $1 million on training clowns, the Toronto Sun reported Thursday.