Watercooler Stories

Killer, nudist bond over PlayStation

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Talk about strange bedfellows -- two Scottish prison inmates, Jamie Bain and Stephen Gough, have forged a bond over PlayStation games.

Bain and Gough are both in segregation at Saughton Prison. Bain is serving time for the shotgun killing of former boxing champion Alex McKinnon while Gough was sentenced for walking naked out of prison Nov. 3.

The Scotsman reports the pair have spent hours talking and playing videogames.

"The Naked Rambler has been a good friend to Jamie," Bain's mother, Kim, told the Scotsman. She added: "Stephen is kept there because he won't put on clothes. Jamie thinks it's quite funny but they get on well. ... He's a nice man. Jamie says he's a very intelligent guy and they talk and play on the PlayStation."

CIA revises Web site facts

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A flood of protest letters has prompted the CIA to revise information on its Web site about South Korea.

The CIA's World Factbook incorrectly stated that South Korea has been a nation for a millennium despite the fact that the country's history dates back more than 4,000 years, The Korea Times reports.

In addition to correcting that error, the spy agency has also revised the number of deputy prime ministers South Korea has from two to three and the date of its latest constitution from 1948 to 1987.

The factual errors on the CIA Web site resulted in a flood of protest letters to the agency organized by a number of South Korean civic groups.

Still a bone of contention is the use of Japanese names for two locations on the Web site's map of South Korea.

"The misnamed features must be revised," says Park Gi-tae of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea.

Church latest destination for a wedding

LONDON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Traditional church weddings are making a comeback in England but it turns out the trend has little to do with religion.

A survey commissioned by the Church of England reveals that couples are choosing to get married in a church because they like the setting, The Times of London reports.

The Henley Centre questioned 1,800 people who opted for a church wedding and found that just over half mentioned religion as a factor.

Seventy-five percent said they chose to have their wedding ceremony in a church because they wanted a "proper wedding," while 69 percent said they chose a church because of its location.

Picturesque churches in classic beauty spots are the most sought-after as marriage venues, the survey revealed.

Wheeled wedding rolls through Beijing

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A Beijing couple celebrated their nuptials with a unique ceremony -- a wedding on wheels.

Fan Wenyu and Zhang Ling, decked out in wedding apparel, were married in the midst of a roller skate parade circling their neighborhood, China Radio International reported Monday.

Wedding guests, also in roller skates, accompanied the couple with ribbons and colorful balloons in tow.

Zhang Ling said she met her husband-to-be at Beijing Sports University. The couple fell in love after they both graduated and she went to work at the roller-skating rink he runs. She said the mobile wedding was planned after Fan Wenyu suggested they incorporate roller skating into their ceremony.