UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Mills McCartney: Rats' milk may be safer

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Heather Mills McCartney, estranged wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney, said in London drinking dog and rat milk may be more earth-friendly than cow milk.

McCartney claimed livestock produce more carbon emissions than transport and suggested going vegan or finding alternative sources of animal-based foods, the Telegraph reported Tuesday.

"There are many other kinds of milk available. Why don't we try drinking rats' milk and dogs' milk?" she asked.

"Eighty percent of global warming comes from livestock and deforestation," McCartney said in helping start a campaign by the vegetarian group, Viva. "I'm not telling people to go vegan overnight. But if they stop drinking their cows' milk lattes, maybe this sort of thing won't have to happen."

Holiday toilets open in New York

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Charmin toilet paper people opened a string of free rest rooms on Times Square in New York to give holiday visitors a place to do their business.

The toilets were officially opened for the season Monday -- the same day Dick Wilson, the actor who portrayed "Mr. Whipple" in hundreds of Charmin ads, died -- and will be closed New Year's Eve, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

Attendants have been hired by Charmin to oversee the 20 toilets, which are located on the east side of

Broadway between 45th and 46th streets. Users are given the choice between Charmin's Ultra Soft and Ultra Strong line of products.

The temporary toilets were lauded by "Saturday Night Live" alum Molly Shannon, who was in attendance for the ceremonial "first flush," the New York Post reported.

"I have a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, and I know what it's like to need a bathroom when you're walking around New York City," the actress said.

London police diversify mascots

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Scotland Yard has begun a $30,000 program in London to add a team of ethnically diverse mascots to supplement Steve, the police's current white male mascot.

Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said in a letter to the London Assembly the majority of the money is being spent on uniforms for the mascots -- with giant helmets for their foam heads being the most costly item, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

Complaints about Steve, who was based on an actual member of a Safer Neighborhood team in London, came to light in September when a police officer -- identified as Sergeant Wright -- wrote about him in the police magazine, The Job.

"An Asian member of our team agreed to be Steve," the sergeant said. "He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and because the character would not have dark-skinned arms it became apparent that the officer would not be able to perform the role. Female team members also felt isolated."

However, some have objected to the diversification program.

Richard Barnes, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, said the police should have more important things to do.

"Are they serious? There are so many issues that are of greater importance than the gender of a giant foam doll," he said.

Tests tossed over typos

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Errors in thousands of testing booklets released by the U.S. Department of Education have led to the invalidation of U.S. scores for an international exam.

Reading scores on the Program for International Student Assessment test, which was administered successfully in 56 other countries, have been scrapped after it was revealed that errors in the test weren't corrected before it was administered to 5,600 U.S. 15-year-olds last fall, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

"I'm really upset about this," said Mark Schneider, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics at the department. "It's a big embarrassment."

The contractor that printed the tests has reimbursed $500,000 to the government.

Patrick Gibbons, a spokesman for contractor RTI International, said "great care" was taken to ensure the accuracy of the exams but quality-control procedures failed to catch the flaws in the test.

"The testing industry is stretched," Schneider said. "There are some systemic problems, but the problem with this test was simply a copy-editing problem. A good copy editor would have caught this in 10 seconds."