Watercooler Stories

Money abandoned by thieves restolen

ALMERE, Netherlands, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Police in a Dutch town who left stolen money in a cafe while they pursued two robbers returned to find that the money was gone.

The officers in Almere, about 15 miles east of Amsterdam, did not get the robbers either. The thieves abandoned their motorcycle as they had abandoned the money, and escaped on foot -- even though police used dogs in the pursuit -- Expatica reported.

"We were concentrating on the robbers of course," a Flevoland police official said. "The entire amount stolen is part of the investigation. We ask anyone who might know more about this to contact the police."

Schoolyard sword workout brings police

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Police responded to a suburban Chicago schoolyard after a man was spotted swinging a samurai sword during what turned out to be part of an exercise routine.

The swordsman was a 70-year-old man who was a native of China and didn't speak much English, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Buffalo Grove police were called because the fellow was on the grounds of an elementary school.

Officers summoned the man's son, who told him in Chinese to be more discriminating about where he conducted his sword workouts.

Fatherless dragons hatched in Kansas

WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- The virgin birth of two Komodo dragons at a Kansas zoo is being consider as neither miraculous nor that unusual.

The two baby lizards hatched at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita are the first to be produced in North America through a biological process known as parthenogesis that has been recorded twice before.

"We never had a male dragon at the zoo," reptile curator Nate Nelson told the Wichita Eagle Thursday. "And there were no tramps that came wandering through, either."

Parthenogesis doesn't require a male. The process occurs in plants and some lower animals, although scientists say it can happen now and then in some vertebrate species.

Nevertheless, keepers are delighted with the unexpected arrivals and are eager to see how they fare in a single-parent household.

Lawyer is one and only 'Mr. Loophole'

MANCHESTER, England, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A British lawyer known as "Mr. Loophole" says he has registered his nickname to protect its value to his practice.

Nick Freeman has carved out a profitable niche over the years representing wealthy clients such as David Beckham in traffic cases, and doesn't want others cashing in on his nickname.

The Times of London said Mr. Loophole, based in Manchester, is in fact one of the wealthiest solicitors in Britain.

"The media coined the term for me and while some might not know the name Nick Freeman, they usually have heard the name Mr. Loophole," Freeman told the newspaper. "In order to stop others in the legal profession using the name, I have succeeded in my bid to protect the name and have trademarked it with the U.K.'s Patent Office."

Freeman confided he didn't really like the nickname, but was happy to be able to turn it "into a positive."