UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Poll: Sting's lyrics most often misheard

LONDON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A British online poll has found rock musician Sting's 1979 hit "Message in a Bottle" contains the lyrics most often misheard by respondents.

The song topped the online poll of 2,000 music fans with its line "a year has passed since I wrote my note" being commonly misheard as "a year has passed since I broke my nose," The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

Sting also took seventh place on the list with a line from his 1980 song "When the World is Running Down" -- respondents said they commonly misheard "you make the best of what's still around" as "you make the best homemade stew around."

The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" came in second on the list with "it's OK, you may look the other way" being heard as "it's OK, you make love the other way."

The Beatles also made it into the top 10 with their song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes" in the song is sometimes mistaken for "the girl with colitis goes by," the poll found.

The informal online poll was conducted by hearing aid retailer Amplifon, the Daily Mail said.

Florida deputies Taser runaway emu

PANAMA CITY, Fla., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Florida sheriff's deputies say they had no choice but to Taser an escaped emu that was chasing cars.

The pet bird, named Plop-plop, had jumped a low fence days before she was finally cornered by Bay County Sheriff's Deputies Randolph Grob and Derrick Groves. But she wasn't ready to give up easily, the Panama City News Herald reported Thursday.

Whenever they moved within eight or nine feet, the emu would either charge them or ram itself into a fence, they said. They became concerned for the well-being of both Plop-plop and themselves due to the large bird's sharp talons.

"I think we had exhausted the fact that we weren't going to be able to just corral it up on our own without harming it," Grob said. "I guess the point was made, 'Well, what do we have other than shooting it with an actual gun to get rid of it?'"

Two jolts of a Taser were required to bring Plop-plop under control to a point where she could be taken to the local dog kennel. Her owners were then located, ending what Grob called one of the "stranger calls" he ever has taken.

City gives special transit pass for ferret

OTTAWA, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A woman in Canada's capital city who suffers from agoraphobia has been granted a second exemption to take her calming pet ferret on public transit.

Frances Woodard, 54, filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency last year after Ottawa's transit system told her she couldn't take her ferret named Gyno (pronounced Jeeno) on city buses.

Last autumn, she was granted an exemption based on her doctor's written statement that the animal's company was equivalent to guide animals for the blind or otherwise disabled.

But soon after, although there had been no complaints, the pass was rescinded by the OC Transpo transit agency, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

Wednesday night, Ottawa's city council transit committee decided Woodard could still commute with her ferret but ruled out anyone else with pets, even if they're caged, the report said.

The ruling had no effect on the permission of guide dogs for the blind and disabled, the report said.

Obama flip-flops a fashion disaster

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Experts appear to agree that flip-flops bearing the image of Barack Obama cannot be good for the U.S. senator's White House bid.

St. Louis University political science Professor Ken Warren said fashion products bearing the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate's image are likely playing right into the hands of his electoral opponent, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Thursday.

"The McCain camp is probably happy that Obama is on everything and that he's the focus. They want to make Obama the target and make him look like a celebrity -- someone who is good-looking, young and who gives great speeches but has no substance," Warren said.

Meanwhile, Washington University marketing Professor Michael Lewis says most Obama products could serve the Democrat well during the general election. Yet the Olin Business School official agreed the Obama flip-flops wouldn't be his first fashion choice.

"The people who want to wear his paraphernalia want to be different, so the clothes and objects available are a signal of his strength among this potential electorate," he told the Post-Dispatch.

"But about those flip-flops, that's just goofy," he added.