Watercooler Stories

After 300 years, bells could stop chiming

CRANFIELD, England, July 30 (UPI) -- Church bells in Cranfield, England, chimed every quarter hour for hundreds of years -- but the tradition was broken after some newcomers complained.

New residents said chimes kept them awake at night, Britain's Mail on Sunday reported. The city council has issued a noise abatement regulation, to take effect next month, preventing the bells from ringing at night.

Some longtime residents are upset about the ban. They say the church and its bells are part of the town's history.

"It is ludicrous," said bell ringer Michael Barnicott-White, 45. "This clock has been chiming since 1715, which is pretty much 300 years, so why should it stop?"

Some Cranfield residents told the Mail they were afraid the nighttime ban could lead to a total ban on the bells.

Man sells 'cloud juice' from South Seas

LONDON, July 30 (UPI) -- A man on a small island in the South Seas has come up with a new feature in the growing business of bottled water -- something he calls Cloud Juice.

Tasmanian-born Duncan McFee, 40, collects water from rain clouds on King Island, near Tasmania, Britain's Mail on Sunday reported. Locals say the water on King Island is the purest in the world because the rain clouds travel for 7,000 miles from South America without passing over any land, and picking up practically no pollution.

At $10 a bottle, the Mail said, Cloud Juice is the most expensive water ever brought to the United Kingdom.

McFee said he saw an opportunity to make a business of the water when he arrived on the island for a teaching career in 1991. He employs some of his high school students to work in the plant, the Mail said.

Man's organs kept in jar, family sues

NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- A New York family is suing the medical examiner's office after learning their late father's organs were still in a jar -- months after his funeral.

Richard Candia Sr.'s family was shocked to learn that his brain and organs were being kept in a jar at the city office, The New York Post reported Sunday.

"I wanted to find out the status of my father's autopsy results," said Denise Downes. "And I was on the phone with the medical examiner's office and they said 'The brain is being examined right now.'"

Months later, the family reportedly learned that the medical examiner's office was in possession of Candia's lungs, kidneys, spleen and heart, the newspaper said.

Denise Downes' brother, Richard Candia Jr., ordered an autopsy after finding his 63-year-old father dead.

A negligence lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Manhattan Supreme Court against the city, the medical examiner's office, and the city Health and Hospitals Corp., the Post said.

Man investigated in odd death of wife

HARLINGTON, Texas, July 30 (UPI) -- A Harlington, Texas, man is under investigation after his wife's body was found in a storage room at the back of their home.

Eugene Pilouw said he thought his wife had left him when she went missing earlier this month, the Harlington Valley Morning Star reported.

Pilouw reportedly suffers from diabetes, which has damaged the nerves in his nose that allow him to smell. Pilouw said he called police after his daughter discovered the body July 15, the Star reported.

Pilouw said the storage room where the body was found was a room that was not used very often. Police said they think the body had been there for about three days.

"I thought she had run away from home again -- especially after I noticed an envelope with $250 was missing," Pilouw said. "It was to be used for the property tax."

Police said they were waiting for a toxicology report to determine whether foul play was involved.