Watercooler Stories

Sheriff: Nude runner kicked pee on deputy

LITTLETON, Colo., Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Authorities in Arapahoe County, Colo., said a man who allegedly jogged nude and kicked urine on a deputy was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said Kevin Lininger was arrested after neighbors reported a man running nude at about 7:30 a.m., The Denver Post reported.

He said the man, who was arrested at his home while fully clothed, refused to talk but became angry after he was taken into custody and urinated on the floor of the sheriff's department. Robinson said the suspect then intentionally kicked some of the urine onto a detention deputy's pants and shoes.

The sheriff said investigators have not determined the cause of Lininger's alleged behavior.

"He didn't demonstrate any signs of alcohol or drug use," Robinson said.

Lininger was charged with indecent exposure and assault. He was being held in the Arapahoe County Detention Center, with bail set at $10,000.

Man and son kicked off flight for chatting

ALGHERO, Italy, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- A man who says he was kicked off a Ryanair flight from Alghero, Italy, says he may sue the carrier.

Dr. Paolo Tomasi, 47, was on the flight from Alghero to London Stansted with his 8-year-old son when a flight attendant warned him to stop chatting during the pre-flight safety demonstration, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"I was talking in a calm and measured way, and I have a list of a number of passengers who are prepared to give evidence supporting me," Tomasi said.

Tomasi asked to be compensated for the nearly $1,000 he spent to get on a flight the following day and said he is preparing to follow up on the matter legally.

"He refused to stop talking during the safety demonstration and was disturbing other passengers. He clearly was not listening even though he was asked to pay attention," a Ryanair spokesman said.

Bagel prices top $1 in New York

NEW YORK, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Bagel sellers in New York said rising costs of wheat and other materials have driven the price of a plain bagel in the city to $1 and more.

Bakers said the price of wheat flour, which is currently at a record $12 a bushel, has contributed the most to the price hikes, the New York Post reported.

Brooklyn's Coney Island Bagels, for example, currently sells plain products with no toppings for a full dollar, up from 60 cents last February. Meanwhile, at H&H Bagels on the city's Upper West Side, a plain bagel sells for $1.20.

"We don't have any choice but to raise prices," said Shahim Islam, manager of Tal Bagels, where prices jumped this week from $1 to $1.20. "Some people will complain, but we'll just have to explain that flour has doubled and the cost of everything is going up."

Sammy Abbis, manager of Pick-A-Bagel, which has managed to keep its prices just barely below the dollar mark at 95 cents said he has had to lay off a number of employees to prevent his prices from skyrocketing.

"In the last year I've had to let four people go," he said.

No public male scratching allowed in Italy

ROME, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Social sensitivity in Italy won out when the country's Court of Appeal ruled that men cannot scratch themselves in public.

The ruling says blatant scratching of one's private parts is "an act contrary to decorum and public decency," Sky News reported Thursday.

Superstitious Italian men often hold or touch their private parts for good luck when they see a hearse or to ward off bad luck, the British broadcaster said, similar to knocking on wood or tossing salt over one's shoulder.

Italy's Court of Appeal in Rome issued the ruling on an appeal of a 42-year-old man from Como who was fined for gross indecency last year. His lawyer argued that his client was only adjusting himself in his overalls.