Watercooler Stories

Net casino names baby GoldenPalaceDotCom

TRENTON, N.J., June 5 (UPI) -- As part of its advertising campaign, Internet casino GoldenPalace.com has spent $15,000 to name a child GoldenPalace.com.

The bouncing baby boy was born a healthy 7 pounds, 10 ounces at 2:28 p.m. May 19. In the latest in a series of eccentric advertising campaigns by the Internet casino, the baby's official name is GoldenPalaceDotCom Silverman.

"We congratulate the new parents of GoldenPalaceDotCom Silverman," Richard Rowe, GoldenPalace.com chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We wish them and their beautiful baby boy all the best. You can expect more baby-naming in the future as I am sure other people will follow suit and be looking to auction off the naming rights to their children."

Other children already share the online casino's name, as well as 33-year-old Tennessee resident Terri Illigan, who sold her naming rights on eBay for $15,199, and subsequently changed her name to GoldenPalace.com to help support her five children.

Author, dog a hit on book tour

ST. LOUIS, June 5 (UPI) -- St. Louis author Randy Grim is on a book tour with the hero of "Miracle Dog: How Quentin Survived the Gas Chamber to Speak for Animals on Death Row."

Quentin, a stray, was found alive with his tail and tongue wagging on top a several dead dogs that had been put to sleep in a St. Louis animal control gas chamber and given to Grim, the founder and head of Stray Rescue of St. Louis, a charitable shelter for animals.

Dog admirers and bookstores have been selling out of the book when Grim and Quentin appear at book signings -- several times Grim has had to dip into his personal cache of books to cover the demand.

"It's America's dirty little secret," said Grim. "If people actually saw the (animal) gas chamber working, they would sign a petition tomorrow to ban it."

The book tells the story of Quentin's miraculous survival in August of 2003. Grim wanted to find a new home for Quentin, but a special bond was formed and ever since the dog has accompanied him as he speaks out against the U.S. disposable society and advocating animal guardianship.

Young, Asian woman 'perfect' U.K. doctor

LONDON, June 5 (UPI) -- While the traditional image of a British doctor is a white middle-aged man, a study finds the "perfect" U.K. physician is a young, Asian woman.

Some 300 London patients were given photographs of doctors of varied age, sex and ethnic group and were asked to rate them on a scale of one to five for perceived expertise.

While women doctors, both white and Asian, scored at the top in almost all categories, the white middle-aged male doctors over the age of 50 scored near the bottom, reported the Sunday Telegraph.

The study, to be published in the journal Patient Evaluation and Control, found patients felt more at ease with the young, female Asian doctors giving physical examinations. The patients also had more faith in the the Asian female doctors' diagnoses and were more likely to follow their prescribed treatment.

Nurses, teachers, homemakers overworked

SANTA CLARITA, Calif., June 5 (UPI) -- Nurses, teachers, and homemakers were ranked by U.S. adults in a survey as the top three most overworked professions.

The Escape Completely survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, was commissioned by Princess Cruises to assess U.S. adult consumer opinions about people's need to "escape." It found 40 percent of adults ranked neighbors among the top-three people in their lives from which they most needed to escape, surpassing even their boss at 34 percent.

Thirty-two percent said they needed to escape their spouse or partner, while 31 percent said they needed to escape their child or children.

The survey also found that of the top-three people in their lives who needed a vacation the most, 79 percent of U.S. adults said they needed a vacation the most. Only 58 percent said their spouse or partner needed the vacation escape more.

When respondents were asked to name the celebrity who they would most want to accompany them on a vacation escape most chose a member of the cast from ABC's "Desperate Housewives."