Watercooler Stories

Procter & Gamble wins devil worship case

SALT LAKE CITY, March 20 (UPI) -- A federal jury in Utah awarded $19.25 million to Procter & Gamble from four Amway distributors who spread a rumor that it supported a satanic church.

U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart could add interest to the award against Amway distributors Randy Haugen, Steven E. Brady, Stephen L. Bybee and Ted Randal Walker, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

"This is about protecting our reputation," a Procter & Gamble attorney said in a news release. "We will take appropriate legal measures when competitors unfairly undermine the reputation of our brands or our company."

Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble sued Amway and the distributors in 1995 when the distributors spread the devil-worship rumor through the Amway voice-mail system, the Tribune reported.

The four men passed along an untrue story that Procter & Gamble's president had announced his affiliation with the Church of Satan on a television talk show, the newspaper reported.

Missing wheelchair now 8 years in court

NASHVILLE, March 20 (UPI) -- Tennessee's Court of Appeals says a man can sue for hundreds of harassing phone calls about a wheelchair that went missing eight years ago.

Reginald Nairon, a retired Brentwood, Tenn., pharmacist, alleges Joel Holland, co-owner of Holland Medical Equipment in Nashville, made as many as 40 calls a day beginning in 1998 demanding the return of a rented wheelchair.

Nairon said his mother had rented it, but she has since died and he has no idea where it is.

The case had been thrown out by a county court, but the state appeals court said Nairon had a right to be heard, the Nashville Tennessean reported Tuesday.

Court records show Nairon said he never called the police about the calls, but he saved recordings of several messages, one of which says: "You've opened up a nightmare that you won't even believe. You can't believe just how literally crazy I am. I'm coming after you, bud. Find my wheelchair and arrange to get it back to me or you've got a nightmare."

Holland's attorney denies all of the allegations, the report said.

U.S.P.S. puts its stamp on wedded bliss

WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- While the U.S. Postal Service is raising rates for most services, spring brides will get a price break when they go to mail their wedding invitations.

The cost of a first class stamp will rise from 39 cents to 41 cents May 14, the U.S.P.S. announced Tuesday, but stamps for 2-ounce wedding invitations will actually drop from 63 cents to 58 cents, the U.S.P.S. Board of Governors announced in a news release.

Some of the more optimistic brides-to-be may want to pare down the bulk to a single ounce and use the new 41-cent Forever Stamp. But beware -- it's going to be a lot cheaper to say "I do" than to say "I don't any more."

The cost of a Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box -- say the kind that can hold mounds of divorce papers -- could be going up as much as a $1.05 to $9.15.

Outlaw climber makes 2nd Malaysia attempt

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 20 (UPI) -- A Frenchman's second effort to scale the world's tallest building barehanded Tuesday ended like his first one, in a Malaysian jail.

Robert "Spiderman" Alain returned to the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur on the 10th anniversary of his first try, the Bernama news agency reported. He started his climb at 3 p.m., with his only equipment some white powder to help him sustain a firm grip.

Alain made his first attempt on them in 1997 while interior construction was still under way.

Faizal Hanif, a sightseer in the area, said he saw Alain when he was at the third floor and assumed he was a workman. But he noticed that a large crowd was gathering to watch.

Police met Alain at the 60th floor and convinced him to give up -- just as they did in 1997 on the same floor. The crowd cheered as he waved a Malaysian flag before being handcuffed and taken away to answer charges of climbing without a permit.

Alain has climbed many of the world's famous buildings, usually as an outlaw although he has been paid for promotional climbs. He is also the subject of a documentary film, "Alain Robert Is Spiderman."