Watercooler Stories

Legless driver and pedal pusher get DUI's

DORCHESTER, Wis., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A man without legs and one of his friends were both arrested for driving the same vehicle while intoxicated in Dorchester, Wis.

Harvey J. Miller, 43, who has no legs, was steering the vehicle while Edwin H. Marzinske, 55, operated the pedals, The Marshfield News-Herald reported.

Both were issued citations for drunk driving. It was the third offense for Miller and the second for Marzinske, but both were also cited for driving after revocation.

Another drunk man who was in the vehicle walked home after the Aug. 18 incident.

Woman allegedly lets 5-year-old drive

LAFAYETTE, Ind., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A woman from Lafayette, Ind., has been arrested for allegedly letting her 5-year-old son drive her around while she was intoxicated.

Holly Schnobrich, 24, was charged with two counts of felony neglect and public intoxication after neighbors noticed her son trying to drive her around in their car, WRTV Indianapolis reported.

The boy and his 3-year-old brother were placed into the custody of the Department of Child Services, police said.

The Tippecanoe County, Ind., Sheriff's Department said authorities were called Sunday after neighbors told them they saw the boy behind the wheel.

"It was just bizarre," a police officer told WRTV. "I asked, 'Is this toddler driving your car?' She said, 'He's a good driver.'"

Schnobrich reportedly admitted taking prescription painkillers and sleeping pills before the incident, the report said.

The child reportedly told police he was having trouble because he couldn't reach the pedals.

ISU students fight dress code

NORMAL, Ill., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Student leaders at Illinois State University claim a dress code recently adopted by the marketing department violates the student Constitution.

The Student Government Association says Article 1, Section 1, Letter J of the ISU Constitution states that students have "the right to be free from any mandatory dress code.” They say that includes the marketing department's requirement that all students wear business-casual attire, The Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph reported.

The policy, which had been adopted in some marketing courses as early as 2003, was expanded to cover the business school's entire department to help promote professional conduct and prepare students for the business world.

Invention makes binge-drinking easier

CHICAGO, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Two Northwestern University biomedical engineering graduates have invented a device to make the binge-drinking game of Beer Pong easier.

Mike Johnson and Andy Wright are marketing their $9.99 Beer Pong Rubbers online, with triangular shaped rubber mats that prevent plastic beer cups from slipping or moving while the drinking game is played, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Beer Pong is played by two teams facing one another at a 6- to 8-foot-long table. Players try to throw or bounce a Ping Pong ball into the opponents' plastic glass -- and if they succeed, the beer's owner must down the entire cup in one go.

The team that has no cups left loses.

"I think the engineering side at Northwestern helped us through the design and development and the patent protection," Johnson told the newspaper.

Johnson acknowledged mounting concern in U.S. schools about binge-drinking but said his education hadn't been based solely on the mats.

"It's funny because we came out with the product at the same time Andy and I were working on a medical device to prevent sleep apnea in premature babies," he said to the Sun-Times.