Watercooler Stories

Sleeping bear gets fatal wake-up call

KENORA, Ontario, March 24 (UPI) -- Police in Kenora, Ontario, shot a black bear last week just after the animal had come out of hibernation beneath a home.

Police had received a report Friday about the bear sleeping in the crawlspace of the house. They said they tried to tranquilize the animal, but the bear must have been pretty well rested because the tranquilizer darts didn't keep it from charging the officers, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.

Police shot the bear multiple times with a rifle but it fled -- with officers in pursuit.

Wendy Bouchard said she saw police approaching her home with guns and she watched as they shot the bear 21 more times, by her count, which she said was overkill.

"The last three shots were wasted," Bouchard told the Free Press. "The bear was clearly dead. It wasn't moving."

Columbia University no longer 'juicy'

NEW YORK, March 24 (UPI) -- Students at New York's Columbia University will no longer be able use campus computers to access a Web site that promises "always juicy" gossip.

The college's student council voted to ban JuicyCampus.com from the university computer server, meaning on-campus students cannot visit the site with the slogan "always anonymous … always juicy," the New York Post reported.

The Web site has gained popularity due to students' ability to post anonymous rumors about fellow students, with many labeling certain students as gay or specialists in various sexual techniques.

One New York University student, who asked she be identified as Lucy Q, said JuicyCampus.com was simply an online site for hateful comments.

"The anonymity of JuicyCampus makes it the perfect forum for hateful, often baseless, postings," she said.

The Post said the Web site was created by Duke University alum Matt Ivester and currently features loose talk regarding 59 U.S. colleges.

Hotel offers high-calorie high-fat teas

GLASGOW, Scotland, March 24 (UPI) -- An upscale Scottish hotel is offering traditional Glasgow teas -- a meal that provides more than enough saturated fats for the day and 1,600 calories.

The Hilton Grosvenor Hotel in Glasgow charges almost 9 pounds for the meal -- about $18. Customers get a sugar and fat overload, including trifle, pancakes, scones and local specialties like Tunnock's Teacakes and Caramel Wafers, The Scotsman reports.

Nutritionists have come out in force against the menu. Wendy Barrie, who serves as a food adviser to First Minister Alex Salmond, was appalled.

"Scotland has already gained a dreadful reputation because of the notoriety of the deep-fried Mars bar and this just adds to it," she said. "I can only hope that this menu is meant to be funny, but our health as a nation is no laughing matter."

Stuart Nelson, the hotel's general manager, said the critics need to "lighten up a bit." He points out that no one is going to eat a Glasgow tea every day.

"This is nothing more than good old-fashioned comfort food," Nelson said. "It is the exactly the kind of food that generations of Glaswegians enjoyed when they were round at their aunty or granny's house."

Twin beds may benefit marriages

LONDON, March 24 (UPI) -- British sleep researchers say the secret of a happy marriage may be separate beds -- or even separate bedrooms.

The Sleep Council reports that when couples share a bed both may be woken about six times during the night by their partners, The Times of London said. The problem is worse if one or both snores or has restless leg syndrome.

About 25 percent of British adults snore, the British Snoring and Sleep Apnea Association said. The problem may cost their partners two hours of sleep every night.

In the United States, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that the greatest marital problems seem to occur when one partner is a lark, getting up early in the morning ready for the day, and the other an owl who prefers to stay up late and sleep in. A California woman ended up getting a divorce because she got fed up with her husband's habit of staying up late playing computer games.

For other couples, separate bedrooms could be the right choice. The National Association of Home Builders predicted that by 2015 a majority of custom-built homes will have his-and-hers master bedrooms.