Watercooler Stories

Job applicants creative to get noticed

CHICAGO, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Many compete for the same job opening and one U.S. hiring manager said a job seeker grabbed his attention by wearing a tuxedo to the job interview.

Hiring managers nationwide shared some of their most memorable attention-grabbing job applications in CareerBuilder.com's latest survey "How to Get in the Front Door."

In addition to the tuxedo-wearing applicant, job seekers have sent a singing telegram to the employer, highlighting qualifications; brought references live in person to the interview; sent a videotape of a typical working day along with a resume; and taken out an ad in a trade journal.

Other attention-getting ploys included: buying Starbuck's for the entire office; repeatedly sitting next to the hiring manager at church; sending a flower arrangement -- with a note attached to each flower containing resume information; photocopying an applicant's face for use as a background for his resume; and having a current boss cold call the hiring manager to tout an applicant's qualifications.

British patients get money for pets

LONDON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Frequent visitors to some British hospitals could be eligible for an $1,800 stipend to purchase and care for a pet.

A health authority in Lewisham plans to set up the chronically sick with a companion as a preventative measure. The project hopes caring for a pet will promote exercise and forestall depression, the Sunday Times of London said.

"This has a direct impact on (patients') physical and mental health," said Gill Galliano of Lewisham Primary Care Trust. "The benefit for the NHS is that the patients are able to take care of themselves and do not have to visit hospital so frequently."

Therapeutic pet visits to British hospital wards have become somewhat standard. Pets for Therapy is a charity that brings 3,500 dogs and 90 cats to bedsides to cheer up the infirmed.

"Caring for a pet can help patients to recover faster," Galliano said. "They feel less isolated and undertake increased activity."

Photographer shot aiming for Spears photo

MALIBU, Calif., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- A photographer was shot in the thigh with a pellet gun while staking out a home where Britney Spears was believed to be attending a party.

Brad Diaz was with 15 to 20 photographers outside the Malibu home Saturday night when he was struck by a pellet, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Lt. Steve Smith of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the photographer was not seriously injured.

"They put a county Band-Aid on him and transported him away in an ambulance," Smith said. "If there's anything below minor, that's what the injury was."

Smith said police do not know who fired the shot.

Waterproof book aims at middle-aged women

NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- While it might be useful on a beach when the tide comes in, the creator of the waterproof book says his target is U.S. middle-aged women who read in the tub.

Charles Melcher, President of Melcher Media in New York and creator of the waterproof DuraBook, wants to roll out a licensing program so any publisher or company that wants to publish a DuraBook would be able to do so, the New York Times reported Sunday.

Melcher founded his publishing company in 1994. Last August he received a patent for the process of making waterproof books.

He said he got the idea for the DuraBook eight years ago, but it's taken some time to find the right waterproof paper and an ink that would not smear.