Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Ghost hunters bedevil Ill. cemetery

BARRINGTON, Ill., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Police in a Chicago-area town are trying to keep ghost hunters out of a supposedly haunted cemetery.

Officials in Cuba Township now keep White Cemetery permanently locked, the Chicago Tribune reports. People with relatives buried there are issued keys to the gate, and anyone in the cemetery without a key or official permission is subject to arrest for trespassing.

The myths, which include stories of balls of light moving out of the cemetery and down Cuba Road and of a phantom car that comes to the main gate, have built up over the years. They attract teenagers looking for a thrill and adults doing psychic research, with traffic at its heaviest in October and November.

Sgt. Christopher Thompson of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said that the ghost hunters do not realize they have become "bothersome." And he said none of his deputies have noticed anything paranormal.

"I don't think any of our deputies are afraid of the cemetery assignment," he said.

NFL Cheerleader, woman held after incident

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Police in Tampa, Fla., have arrested a Carolina Panthers cheerleader and another woman after they allegedly had sex in a nightclub restroom stall.

The arrested woman claimed to be the cheerleader's teammate, the Tampa Tribune reported, quoting police. One was charged with battery, the other disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the report said. Both are out on bail.

The Sunday incident at the nightclub began hours before the Panthers faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Fellow Panther cheerleaders, who posted bail for the two, declined comment.

One club patron said she could see the two women in the stall and heard moaning. After about 15 minutes, she said, the two women emerged and one of them hit her in the face.

The patron then held her until security arrived.

Fake earl remains mum on identity

LONDON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A man who lived for 22 years under a false identity as a British nobleman is keeping quiet about his real antecedents.

Christopher Edward, earl of Buckingham, used a technique borrowed from the novel "The Day of the Jackal," the Times of London reported. He obtained a birth certificate in the name of a baby who died in 1963 and then got a driver's license and passport.

"Buckingham" used the title "Lord Buckingham" on his stationary, but he lived quietly, marrying, fathering two children and divorcing, and working most recently as a security expert for a Swiss company.

In 2003, British authorities discovered in a check of passports against death registers that the Buckingham passport was fake. When "Buckingham" boarded a ferry at Calais in January, immigration agents discovered his passport had been revoked and he was arrested on his arrival in Britain. He faces a prison term for obtaining a false passport.

"Buckingham," who told police he was the victim of a "terrible mistake," has refused to say who he really is.

The Buckingham title has been extinct since 1687. A 15th century Duke of Buckingham was executed for rebelling against Richard III, and a 17th century duke, no relation to the earlier one, was assassinated in 1628. His son, who died childless, was the last holder of the title.

Kids unaware fries made from potatoes

LONDON, Nov. 8 (UPI) - A British poll on eating habits found that 36 percent of children were unaware that french fries, or chips, are made from potatoes.

Nearly 1-in-10 of the 1,002 children between 8 and 14 questioned by the British Heart Foundation thought chips were mostly made of oil, while others suggested salt, eggs, flour, and even apples, The Telegraph reported.

Another 37 percent did not know that cheese was made mostly of milk.

"Kids have lost touch with the most basic foods and no longer understand what they are eating," said Peter Hollins, the foundation's director general. "Banning foods or telling children not to eat them is not enough -- we must engage children in understanding why certain foods are less healthy than others."

The group said 440,000 British children are predicted to become overweight or obese in the next two years.