Watercooler Stories

Mother gorilla won't give up her dead baby

MUENSTER, Germany, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Germany is mourning along with a mother gorilla who refuses to abandon her dead 3-month-old baby at the Muenster zoo, an official says.

The 11-year-old gorilla has been cradling the lifeless body of her baby, named Claudio, and carrying it on her back since he died Saturday, possibly of a heart defect, The Sun reported Wednesday. She has refused to let zookeepers retrieve the infant gorilla's body.

The sight has left zoo visitors in tears, the British newspaper said.

"Claudio died in his mother's arms, (we) think from some heart defect," zoo Director Joerg Adler told The Daily Telegraph.

"Gana doesn't know it, but the whole of Germany is mourning with her. She is so sad right now."

Claudio had started exhibiting signs of not feeling well last Wednesday and though zookeepers kept close watch on him, he died suddenly Saturday morning.

Last year for unknown reasons, Gana rejected her 6-week-old daughter Mary Zwor. She was transferred to a Stuttgart zoo where she is doing well.

Adler noted that in the wild, a gorilla mother may keep a dead baby for weeks.

"We will carry out an autopsy on the body when we can," he said.

Nude pool plans raise concerns

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A Town 'n' Country, Fla., apartment complex has raised concerns with its announcement that it will soon have a clothing-optional pool and spa area.

The Eden, an apartment complex that is switching to condominiums, said on its Web site that nudity will be allowed in a "private European/South Beach style swimming pool and spa area," the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Wednesday.

The complex said only residents over the ages of 18 will be issued pass cards for the area and it is having walls put in to seal the clothing-optional area off away from public view.

However, residents of nearby communities have expressed concern about the complex's plans and its proximity to Alonso High School, which is about one mile away.

"It would seem to me that the process has failed in that there has not been greater notification to the surrounding communities about this possibility," former homeowner president Brian Ross said.

Debbie Carter, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, said the complex's plans do not violate any laws.

"It looks like they're taking every necessary precaution," she said. "They're going to have walls and everything else. Unless they're committing crimes out there, I don't see this as a law enforcement issue."

Student bikes 1,450 miles to school

MIAMI, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A freshman at the University of Miami said he made the entire 1,450-mile journey to the school from his suburban Chicago home on his bicycle.

Jamshed Jehangir, 18, said it took him 17 days to make the trek to the Miami campus from Downers Grove, Ill., sometimes in heavy rain and winds of up to 30 miles per hour, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

"The best feeling is getting here," Jehangir said. "The ride is great but it's amazing when you look back on it."

Jehangir said he was slowed down for half a day by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay in Florida.

''It got pretty bad today being blown around everywhere,'' the studio music and jazz major said.

He said he had to travel light to make the lengthy trek by bike so the remainder of his belongings were sent to the campus by his mother via FedEx.

Court upholds spitting teacher reprimand

PALERMO , Italy, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The Italian Supreme Court has upheld a reprimand issued by a lower court to a teacher who spat in the direction of the school principal.

The decision upheld a Palermo appeals court ruling that the teacher, identified as Antonino R., acted improperly when he spat three times in the direction of the female principal during a teacher's meeting at a Palermo training institute, ANSA reported Wednesday.

The teacher had argued his spitting was an expression of his opinion about the "oppressive" behavior of the principal. He also claimed his spit could not have reached the principal because his mouth was dry from the heated argument that led to the incident.

However, the judges said in their decision that it was was "irrelevant whether or not the spit reached the head teacher" or whether his dry mouth "would have made its execution more problematic."

"The fact remains that there was spitting, and it was directed at the principal," the judges said.

The court said spitting is not a "legitimate" means of "critical expression."