Watercooler Stories

Man eats record 103 burgers

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A California man ate a record-setting 103 hamburgers in 8 minutes at the Krystal Square Off IV World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Joey Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., became the first competitor to eat more than 100 burgers, breaking the record of 97 set by Takeru Kobayashi, a three-time champion of the contest from Nagano, Japan, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Monday.

The win helped Chestnut solidify his position at the No. 1 competitive eater with the International Federation of Competitive Eating. He was awarded a championship belt, a crystal trophy and a check for $10,000.

“I’m drained,” Chestnut said after the event. “All I want to do is take a nap and digest this food.”

Bob Shoudt, of Philadelphia, Pa., came in second with 95 burgers and Pat Bertoletti, of Chicago, finished third by downing 94 burgers.

$53,000 charge at strip club challenged

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Investigators are probing allegations of fraud and larceny at a Florida gentleman's club where a recent graduate racked up $53,000 in charges.

Tommy Salter's father said the student was celebrating his graduation from Georgia Tech at Club 10 on Aug. 18, the Northwest Florida Daily News, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., reported Monday.

An Okaloosa County Sheriff’s report said Salter told employees he could only spend $600 at the club but a $53,000 charge was sent to Salter's father, Joe Salter, on the joint American Express credit card the two men share.

“Their employees totally took advantage of my son,” Salter told the newspaper. “It’s totally ludicrous.”

Tim Beal, co-owner of the club, said the charges were the result of “a huge champagne night.”

“Oftentimes, men come in here and they spend a lot of money in an effort to show off in front of the entertainers,” Beal said to the Daily News. “And then they get buyer’s remorse.”

Meteorite fails to draw high bids

NEW YORK, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A piece of famous space rock -- a meteorite -- was pulled from a New York auction after it failed to generate high enough bids.

The 30-pound piece of the Willamette Meteorite, which was found in 1902 in Oregon, peaked at a $300,000 bid, despite expectations that it would bring in up to $1.3 million at Bonhams auction house, the New York Post reported Monday.

However, a total of $750,000 was brought in by other space rocks and related items at the auction.

The "Claxton mailbox," a mailbox that was hit by a falling space rock outside a Georgia home in 1894, fetched $82,750 at the auction.

The 164-pound Campo del Cielo Meteorite, which fell from the sky in Argentina in 1576, was purchased for $14,000 in the sale.

Recycled metal hippo stolen in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Sculptor and stonemason Carl Gifford's male hippopotamus sculpture, made from recycled metals, was stolen from outside his home in Wellington, New Zealand.

Gifford's large stone and recycled metal sculptures, including large boulders stacked on top of each other, two hippos, a giant spider and a dog have made his home and works a tourist attraction, New Zealand's Dominion Post reported.

He said the "Hippo," which would take at least two people to move, disappeared from the plot of land across from his home Thursday night.

Offers of up to $4,000 were regularly made by people who wanted to buy the sculpture, but Gifford said he wouldn't sell it due to its originality.

"I love what I'm doing and I'm passionate about it. It's cut me deep mate. I love it so much and it would be difficult to sell it," he said.

A metal sphere, a cow's head and a sword made from recycled metal were also stolen.