Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Benedict becomes first pope to don earbuds VATICAN CITY, Vatican City, March 8 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI has become to the first pontiff to don earbuds after being given an iPod Nano as a gift from the staff of Vatican Radio. Advertisement Benedict visited the station March 3 to mark the its 75th anniversary. Station staff gave him the gift already loaded with his favorite tracks of religious music, plus pieces by Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin, the Catholic News Service reported. Once the pope, who is also a pianist, gets the hang of the device's trademark click wheel, he will be able to relive the historical papal transition of April 2005. On the player, the radio's German program included a mix of news and interviews done during the death of Pope John Paul II, the conclave and the election of Pope Benedict. A papal spokesman told The Sun the pope "is very pleased" with the gift. Advertisement "The Holy Father likes to unwind listening to it and is of the opinion that this sort of technology is the future," the spokesman said. $20 million suit filed over bedbug bites NEW YORK, March 8 (UPI) -- A Chicago woman has filed a $20 million lawsuit against a resort hotel in New York state after sustaining about 500 bedbug bites. Leslie Fox, 54, filed the suit in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday, and showed reporters photographs taken at the hospital and of the bed at the Catskills Nevele Grande Resort. She and her husband stayed there in July, and she said she awoke on the last day "horrified" and covered in red marks that itched terribly, the New York Post reported. One photo showed a bedbug that was apparently crushed when Fox rolled over on it, causing blood to spurt out onto white sheets, her attorney Alan Schnurman said. The suit seeks compensation for personal injury plus punitive damages. One of the hotel's attorneys, Joseph O'Connor, said he hadn't seen the suit yet, but wondered about its size. "I would like to meet the bedbug that caused a $20 million injury to this person," he said. Hong Kongers get sticky advice on bird flu Advertisement HONG KONG, March 8 (UPI) -- Hong Kong officials, who last week encouraged people to kill wild birds to fight bird flu, have now proposed using sticky gel to repel pesky pigeons and crows. A spokesman for the department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation suggested that a non-toxic, transparent gel would keep birds from landing on walls and buildings, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday. When local resident Austen Ng complained to department officials about wild pigeons at her housing estate, they "suggested that residents could use this glue on the walls," she said. The residents found the advice confusing, however. "They asked, 'If the birds have avian flu, why would we want to stick them to our buildings?'" Ng said. The spokesman had to explain that the gel was "a kind of bird repellent" and would not keep birds from flying away. Last week the department had said it had no objections to citizens killing wild birds provided they did not use a slingshot. It later said the advice was a "misunderstanding." Hong Kong Bird Watching Society vice chairman Michael Kilburn criticized the government for handing out poor advice, saying it was causing public panic. Advertisement 'Sometimes you can't trust just anybody' TENINO, Wash, March 8 (UPI) -- A Girl Scout selling cookies in Washington learned a difficult but valuable lesson: Check the authenticity of $100 bills before giving change. Michelle Lundquist, the mother of 10-year-old Girl Scout Katie Lundquist, said they were excited when a young woman ordered 10 boxes of cookies they were selling Sunday in a Tenino, Wash., store. The woman produced a $100 bill and the Girl Scout returned $60 in change. The mother said she quickly checked the bill with the store's owner, only to find it was fake but by then, the young woman had disappeared. Police were reviewing store surveillance tape to find the bogus-bill-passing woman, the Olympia (Wash.) Olympian reported. While the troop will be reimbursed for the loss, the Girl Scout said she had learned an important lesson. "Sometimes you can't trust just anybody," Katie Lundquist said.
