Watercooler Stories

Accused drug dealer tarred and feathered

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A man was tied to a lamppost in Northern Ireland, then tarred and feathered, and left with a sign hanging from his neck saying "I'm a drug-dealing scumbag."

The abusive vigilante punishment administered by masked men as women and children looked on -- reminiscent of past paramilitary attacks -- drew condemnation across party lines, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.

The Sunday attack came in a Belfast neighborhood with a strong Ulster Defense Association presence but the group's advisers said the organization wasn't involved, the British newspaper said.

Frankie Gallagher of the Ulster Political Research Group said the UDA told the community to go to the police about the alleged drug dealing but they failed to intervene after being given information. "The community responded in the way it did because it had no confidence in the police," Gallagher said.

The attack came as the Ulster Defense Association has been warned government funding for projects it supports will end unless it disarms and gives up violent tactics.

Hospitalized man loses club membership

NEW YORK, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A member of a New York health club, allegedly assaulted while he was on a stationary cycle, got a notice of membership termination in his hospital bed.

Stuart Sugarman’s lawyer told the New York Post that his client received a “bizarre” cell phone message while he was in Lenox Hill Hospital in mid-August.

“He was in disbelief,” Samuel Davis said.

Sugarman’s neck was injured when a fellow health club member allegedly threw him against the wall during a spinning class at the Equinox club. Christopher Carter has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Carter allegedly became enraged because Sugarman was noisily encouraging himself with cries like “You go, girl.” But Sugarman says Carter could have asked him to be quiet.

Davis said that his client plans to sue both the club and Carter. Carter accuses Sugarman of claiming more serious injuries than he actually suffered.

Mich. to drivers: Clean your plate

DETROIT, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Michigan officials have released a 27-page list of some 8,000 words and phrases that aren’t allowed on personalized license plates.

The fertile imaginations of Michiganders have come up with all manner of entendres, acronyms and sayings that the Michigan secretary of state has henceforth banned from vehicles plying the roads and expressways.

"Our view is that they (drivers) are not allowed to use state property to express an offensive thought," Melissa Malerman, administrative law examiner with the secretary of state, told the Detroit Free Press.

The newspaper said the list includes the likes of: COCAINE, H8BUSH, ALQAIDA and SMOKPOT? A large number of others were deemed unprintable for both freeway and newspaper.

Walrus penis fetches $8,000 at auction

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A 12,000-year-old fossilized walrus penis measuring 4 1/2 feet in length was the most talked-about item at a Beverly Hills, Calif., auction.

The walrus penis, thought to be the largest specimen on record, was purchased by oddity-museum chain Ripley's for $8,000 at I.M. Chait auction house, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

"I was prepared to spend at least twice, probably three times that amount," said Edward Meyer, vice president of exhibits and archives for Ripley's Believe It or Not!

"This one is considerably bigger than anything we've seen before. When it comes to fossils, size matters," Meyer said.

He said the purchase will now be taken to an Orlando, Fla., warehouse for a detailed examination before it goes on display at one of the company's 30 museums.

"We're very pleased that it's going to Ripley's so that the public can have an opportunity to see it," auctioneer Josh Chait said. "There's a limited clientele for a piece like that. Not everyone's going to want to put it on their mantel."