UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Astronomers look skyward to track Odysseus

NEW YORK, June 24 (UPI) -- Astronomers from North and South America completed their odyssey determining when Odysseus slew his wife's suitors after returning home from the Trojan War.

Astronomers Marcelo Magnasco of Rockefeller University in New York and Constantino Baikouzis of the Observatorio Astronomico de La Plata in Argentina read Homer's "The Odyssey" with a heavenly thought as they looked for astronomical clues about the Trojan War hero's murderous activities following his 10-year journey home from the war, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The date he did the deadly deed? Odysseus raised his bow April 16, 1178 B.C., executing the 100-plus suitors trying to force his wife into marriage.

A big clue was an event believed to be a solar eclipse. Using a computer program the astronomers determined April 16, 1178 B.C., was the day three astrological events intersected: a new moon, Venus was visible six days before the event and 29 days prior, and the constellations Pleiades and Bootes both were visible at sunset.

Their findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, still leave many questions unanswered, the Times said, including whether the events really occurred or if Homer was just one heck of a storyteller.

Role in wedding party auctioned

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., June 24 (UPI) -- A prime spot in a wedding may bring big bucks on eBay, a Virginia Beach, Va., woman hopes.

Kelly Gray, 23, is auctioning off an opportunity to be one of her bridesmaids at an April 19, 2009 ceremony and reception that she and her fiance are planning on a tight budget. To help finance the under $7,000 affair, Gray came up with the idea of accepting bids on being part of the bridal party, The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reported Tuesday.

"As weird as it sounds, I just think somebody might be interested," she said. "Somebody who's never been in a wedding and always wanted to, or somebody who does weddings and wants to help out."

Gray said she hopes the winner of the contest will take their role seriously. She understands that her bridesmaid could possibly turn out not to be female.

"I don't want to discriminate. Whoever wins, they're in. If he wants to wear the dress, I'll let him, and I'll stand next to him," she said.

Drugs found in steering column of used car

CARTERSVILLE, Ga., June 24 (UPI) -- A Cartersville, Ga., man said mechanics found crack and powdered cocaine hidden in the steering column of his recently purchased used car.

Mike Schaub said workers at Car Audio Sensations found a bag of crack and a bag of powdered cocaine under the dash of the Pontiac he purchased from Bill Heard's used car lot, WSB-TV, Atlanta, reported Tuesday.

"Everybody just backed away like it was a bomb or something. Then we just called the police from there because no one wanted to get in trouble," Car Audio Sensations owner Steve Rice said.

Authorities said Bill Heard purchased the car from a rental company. They said neither company is believed to have been aware of the drugs.

"It was hidden in a very good spot, it was in the steering column and I can see somebody missing it," said Lt. Mark Mayton, Bartow County Drug Task Force commander.

A lawyer with Bill Heard said the dealership reversed their deal with the rental company and has replaced Schaub's Pontiac with an Impala for $10 less a month. The dealership also took six months off of Schaub's loan for his trouble.

Lead-stuffed salmon draws fraud charges

PORT DALHOUSIE, Ontario, June 24 (UPI) -- A Niagara-area man keen to win a Canadian fishing derby has been charged with fraud after his salmon was found to be artificially weighted with lead pellets.

Every day of the week from May through the end of June, the Salmon Masters Derby offers a $500 prize for the heaviest fish weighing more than 20 pounds. Details came to light Monday about a fisherman who brought a salmon to a weigh-in station in Port Dalhousie last month that made judges suspicious, the St. Catharines Standard reported.

While the weight wasn't published, it was remarkably high for a salmon of its size, the report said.

Niagara Regional Police fraud Detective Mark McNeil, also a fisherman, told the newspaper the man apparently thought the weigh scales were the ultimate judge.

"They have a mathematical formula they can use for salmon and the weight of this salmon didn't jibe with the measurements," McNeil said.

Judges opened the salmon and found pieces of lead, at which point the man grabbed the fish and left, the report said.

Norval Boufford was charged with one count of fraud under $5,000, McNeil said.