Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe 10 Downing Street's chief mouser dies LONDON, March 20 (UPI) -- The black and white cat Humphrey, who was the official "mouser" at the British prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, has died. Advertisement "I can confirm we have been told that Humphrey sadly died last week some time," a Downing Street spokesman said. The cat apparently had been suffering from a kidney ailment, the BBC reported. Humphrey was adopted after wandering into the building as a stray while Margaret Thatcher was prime minister in 1989. However, after the Labor Party's 1996 election win, the cat was "retired" and sent to live with a civil servant. Drunken driver bitten by tiger EAST PALATKA, Fla., March 20 (UPI) - A Florida truck driver learned the hard way to be wary of sleeping tigers. Jason Wayne Hardin had been hired to drive a tiger to the Putnam County Fair and to put up fencing around the tiger's cage, the Gainesville Sun reported. Advertisement Kat Kelley, a spokeswoman for Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told the newspaper that Hardin was apparently drunk when he encountered the tiger. She said a deputy saw him stumbling and told him to go back to his trailer. Hardin's trailer was inside the security fence that enclosed the tiger's cage. Investigators believe that he stuck his hand inside the cage or possibly brushed against it, scaring the tiger and he was bitten. "This was strictly human error and poor judgment," Kelley said. "These are wild animals, and no matter how tame they are, they're still animals." Hardin was flown to a University of Florida hospital in Gainesville where he was treated for severed tendons in his arm. Restaurant big tipper comes forward VALLEY VIEW, Va., March 20 (UPI) -- The Virginia woman who left a pregnant waitress $1,000 on a $26.35 restaurant bill has come forward to say God told her to do it. Waitress Amanda Newkirk, 19, was serving a busy lunch crowd March 7 at the Valley View Ruby Tuesday. Newkirk said she found 10 $100 bills and a note that said: "Keep the change! Have a great day." When the news broke, Newkirk became a media magnet, the Roanoke (Va.) Times reported. She has appeared on the TV show "Inside Edition" and has spoken to several radio stations nationwide. To all, she said she had been too busy to remember much about the couple. Advertisement Soon after, Erin Dogan, who lives in the area, called the restaurant to say she had been the person who left the tip. The 28-year-old is a widow, and said she had been going through a tough time and God had told her to give the money to someone who needed it. "I didn't need it. God put us there together. God answered my questions," Dogan said. She said she's saving the details for a book she plans to write. California town for sale on eBay -- again BRIDGEVILLE, Calif., March 20 (UPI) -- A picturesque California town that was the first ever to be auctioned on eBay four years ago is for sale again for more than double the original asking price. Bidding begins April 4 for the 83-acre Bridgeville, which Bruce Krall, a Laguna Hills financial broker bought for $700,000. He is now seeking a minimum bid of $1.75 million for the riverfront property, the Los Angeles Times reports. Krall had wanted to turn Bridgeville into a retreat center, but family issues forced him to abandon the idea. He said he spent hundreds of thousands cleaning and sprucing up the town. The package includes three cows, a 136-year-old post office building, a vacant cafe and a cemetery. Advertisement Founded in 1865 by a trapper, Bridgeville is on the Van Duzen River, 260 miles north of San Francisco on a two-lane highway that twists through redwood forests. About 25 people live there. There is no grocery store, gas station or restaurant. Krall is optimistic people will line up for a chance to own the former logging town. "Finding riverfront property for sale in California is rare," he said.
