UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Study: Nagging wives get their way

LONDON, May 8 (UPI) -- Whether you call it nagging or not, studies show pestering is an effective tactic for getting husbands to submit to the demands of their wives.

Studies on persuasion from around the world show nagging works because it leaves the targeted person too worn out to fight back, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

It is reported the fatigue created by a non-stop flow of questions or demands makes people more vulnerable to persuasion.

Other tactics that work for persuading someone include not pausing when stating your demand, providing few options and speaking in person, the newspaper said.

"You should avoid engaging in argument or doing battle with sales people when your mental batteries are running low," advice from New Scientist magazine says.

The report says people could also get their way by simply nagging their opponent to submission.

County with no strip clubs mulls ban

PICTOU, Nova Scotia, May 8 (UPI) -- Pictou County in Canada's eastern province of Nova Scotia has no strip clubs but is nevertheless considering a proposed ban on them.

Councilor David Parker submitted the Adult Entertainment Prohibition bylaw at a council meeting this week for debate June 8, Nova Scotia's Chronicle Herald reported.

Parker acknowledged there aren't any strip clubs or massage parlors in the county but said he wants to take pre-emptive measures just in case.

"It may not come to Pictou County," he said. "We're aging. We're not a prime market."

Rebecca Battist-Rhude, a registered massage therapist, said she finds the proposal "very annoying and very frustrating."

She told the Chronicle Herald she's concerned that potential clients wouldn't understand the proposed bylaw's reference to making body rubs illegal wouldn't apply to massage therapy, and said selling sexual services is already a federal criminal offense.

Retiree cleared of finger-biting charge

MAIDENHEAD, England, May 8 (UPI) -- An elderly British woman said she is glad the truth is out since she was found innocent of biting off her neighbor's finger during a spat about flowers.

Pamela Fox, 66, was accused of biting off the finger of Marija Andric, 51, in a fit of rage concerning her garden, the Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

Andric said Fox banged on her door and accused her of ruining flowers along the border separating their Maidenhead, England, homes -- before biting off her finger and running away.

Fox was cleared of the finger-biting charge when Reading Crown Court unanimously acquitted her of one count of grievous bodily harm.

"God knows the truth and the truth has been proved," Fox said on her way out of the courtroom.

Defense counsel David Povall said Andric's finger was severed in a separate incident during the day.

Scooby Doo passes online driving class

ATLANTA, May 8 (UPI) -- The Driving Educators of Georgia registered Scooby Doo for an online driving class to prove Internet learning is insufficient punishment for reckless drivers.

The association signed up the cartoon dog for a Florida Internet driving course -- which Scooby passed with flying colors -- in an effort to convince Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to override legislation allowing drivers to complete court-required driving classes online, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday.

"Sitting down on a Friday night and taking a test with a glass of wine while you're watching 'CSI' -- and maybe paying somebody 20 bucks to do it for you -- isn't the same as attending a Saturday defensive driving class," said Chuck McMullen, a lobbyist for the association.

Advocates of the bill defend the classes, saying they are the modern way of education.

"Distance learning is today. There are many counties and many areas of Georgia that aren't served by any driver education program at all," said J. Barry Schrenk, president of Taggart's Driving School.