Watercooler Stories

Raunchy books pulled from NYC school

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Officials at a New York City middle school have pulled three books for sixth-graders that give instructions on French kissing and homosexuality.

Last week, parents of students at Public School 150 in the borough of Queens began complaining about their children reading books filled with profanities and descriptions of sexual acts, the New York Daily News reported.

In one poetry book called "You Hear Me?" there are repeated vulgar references to genitalia, as well as language comparing eating an orange to having sex.

Gladys Martinez wrote a letter to her son's teacher after hearing him talk about "First French Kiss," which describes a teen's bumbling make-out session.

"I mean, he shouldn't be sheltered from the world but if he's going to learn that stuff it shouldn't be at school," Martinez said.

Principal Carmen Parache told the Daily News that after reviewing the books, she found them "definitely inappropriate" and said classroom materials would be more carefully screened in the future.

New York shop sells dates from Iraq

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A New York shopkeeper has begun selling Iraqi dates, which are thought to be the first product from the country to be sold in United States in 25 years.

Michael Rakowitz, proprietor of art exhibit and import store Davison's & Co., said the fruit bore the scars of 6,000 miles of travel and multiple inspections at airports, CBS News reported.

"They look dried. They do bear the markings of all they've been through since being off the tree," Rakowitz said.

However, the shop owner said the wear and tear does not harm the allure of the Iraqi dates, which come from what is thought to be the world's most ancient cultivated fruit tree in a region from which it is difficult to obtain goods.

"I think that level of desire that is created from something that has a sort of adversarial history to it is always interesting in when a desire builds around it," Rakowitz told CBS News. "But at the same time, it lives up to it."

Tiny dogs latest fashion statement

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The latest New York fashion accessory is a live dog small enough to fit into a handbag and to travel to bars, restaurants and boutiques with its mistress.

"I think of them as a handbag with a heartbeat," real estate executive Robin Bowden told The New York Times.

The Manhattan office where Bowden is a vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman is the daytime home of several lap or sleeve dogs.

"They have little beds and they scamper up and down," Bowden said. "I've seen brokers showing expensive SoHo lofts, turning up with these tiny puppy dogs in their designer bags."

Sleeve dogs got their name in the Middle Ages because they were small enough to be hidden in the voluminous sleeves of the time. Popular breeds now include Yorkshire terriers, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, French bulldogs and papillons.

Many of the New York dogs live pampered lives that include designer coats and Sunday brunch at restaurants -- in defiance of New York health ordinances.

Mom who had son arrested had other options

COLUMBIA, S.C., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Officials in Columbia, S.C., said other options were available for a mother who called the police on her son for opening a Christmas gift early.

The woman said she plans to ask that the newest addition to the state's naughty list be placed with the state Department of Juvenile Justice, the Columbia Herald reported Thursday.

However, 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett said arresting the 12-year-old, who was charged with petty larceny, may not have been the correct choice for the mother.

"Everybody is laughing and saying this is ridiculous but, at the end of the day, this woman is still in crisis," he said. "There needs to be some other way for her to deal with her problems other than relying on the criminal justice system."

Ouida Dest, an assistant deputy solicitor, told the Herald the woman might have been better served to arrange mental or substance abuse counseling for the boy instead of involving the courts.