Jockstrip: The world as we know it

School zaps 'Merry Christmas' menus

FEDERAL WAY, Wash., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The Federal Way, Wash., school district destroyed lunch menus for 23 elementary schools after an employee added the greeting "Merry Christmas," a report said.

The 11,500 copies of the one-page lunch menu were recycled before they reached students, since the greeting "has a religious connotation for some people," a school spokeswoman told the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune.

The December lunch menus -- reprinted last month at a cost of $494 -- now carry a "Happy Holidays" greeting that the spokeswoman said conforms to practices of the school district between Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.

Accused rapist leaves cell phone number

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A man accused of raping two Orlando, Fla., college coeds programmed his phone number into their cell phones in case they wanted to date later, police said.

Evislandys Brito, 23, a Cuban-born unemployed landscaper, was held Tuesday on sexual battery, armed burglary and aggravated assault.

The man was accused of raping two University of Central Florida college coeds in an off-campus apartment complex within 27 hours, and staying afterward to chat and program their phones for a possible future date.

The suspect was caught Monday when an officer posing as a victim called Brito's cell phone and urged him to return to her room.

"This is a real strange case," Orange County, Fla., sheriff's police Sgt. Richard Mankewich told the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel. "He actually acts like the boyfriend of these girls. Obviously, he's got some serious issues."

Students criticized police for not informing them of the Sunday rape, which they said could have prevented Monday's attack.

Newspapers about cockroach eatery vanish

BRISTOL, England, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Some 1,400 copies of a British newspaper that had front-page reports of a cockroach-infested restaurant were purchased and disappeared within minutes.

Two men apparently embarked on a spending spree and bought up all the Bristol Evening Post editions at a cost of nearly $800 when it featured the story of two brothers were fined $35,000 for offenses at their Chinese restaurant.

But Cam and Kiem Mu, owners of the Sea Palace in Weston super Mare, denied they knew anything of the newspaper cull, the BBC reported.

They were fined after a woman found a live cockroach in her dish, and inspectors later found the insects in the ceiling and in the ladies' washroom.

After being fined, the brothers issued a statement of apology.

"We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to all our customers and those concerned over this lapse in standards, but you can be assured that this is probably now the cleanest kitchen with the highest standards in Weston-super-Mare, and will continue to remain so," the statement said.

Musical sandwich adds to British lunchtime

CAMBRIDGE, England, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A Cambridge, England, store is selling what's billed as the first musical sandwich made with turkey and cranberries and playing traditional Christmas tunes.

With technology similar to that used in musical greeting cards, a Tesco grocery store has been serving up the sandwich that plays holiday tunes including "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

Shopper reaction was mixed to the musical sandwich that sold for about $5 in a nation that consumes 5 million sandwiches a day, the Cambridge (England) Evening News reported.

"We just wanted to offer shoppers something a little bit different this year," said Michael Greener, manager of the Tesco store.

As for himself, though, Greener said, "I'm just after a bit of peace and quiet at lunch time."