Watercooler Stories

Untucked shirt yields 3-day suspension

ALBUQUERQUE, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- An Albuquerque mother said her daughter was suspended from middle school for a dress code violation -- wearing her shirt untucked.

Judy Benavidez said her daughter Natalia, 12, makes good grades in advanced classes at Harrison Middle School and rarely finds herself in any sort of trouble, KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, reported.

However, she said Natalia received a three-day suspension from the school for wearing her shirt untucked.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to be sitting at home for three days for having her shirt untucked," Benavidez said. "The school is not doing her any justice by having her sit at home on vacation when there are so many things she could be doing here at school."

Harrison Middle School Principal Christine Eisenberg said students had been warned that dress code violations could lead to suspensions.

"I've told the kids, 'We've been in school eight weeks now, teachers have individually reminded you, I have individually reminded you.' So any student caught not following the dress code will have consequences leading up to suspension," she said.

Park moves statue with genitalia

BLANDING, Utah, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Managers of the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding, Utah, said complaints led them to move a statue with male genitalia from the park's entrance.

State Parks Director Mary Tullius said a local group that calls itself the "Values Committee" had pushed to have the sculpture of Kokopelli, a healer and fertility god in ancient Indian cultures, moved from where it has stood since 1989, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Park manager Teri Paul said the sculpture was nearly removed from the park entirely, but another group of Blanding residents complained that removing the statue would be a form of censorship. She said the statue will instead be moved to another location inside the park.

"This (Values Committee) group has let it be known that they are offended by it and would like it removed," Tullius said.

She said the group was "complaining that it has male anatomy so it is too phallic for some of the locals. Our intention is to be good partners in the community and we feel like this is a reasonable compromise."

Marble-like toy makes Christmas hot list

NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- A toy reviewing Web site based in New York predicts one of this year's hottest Christmas sellers will be a marble-like toy called Bakugan.

The toy, which resembles a marble until it transforms into an action-figure monster when tossed, was one of 16 chosen by the Web site Time to Play for its 2008 "Most Wanted List," the New York Post reported.

"Kids think this is a marble on steroids," said Anton Rabie, president of Spin Master, the U.S. manufacturer of Bakugan.

Time to Play said sales of the toy will likely be bolstered by its low price tag -- $4.99.

"You look at it and it's $4.99 -- that's less than a latte at Starbucks," said Chris Byrne, content director at Time to Play. "The price point is going to drive volume sales, it's a high perceived value."

Also on the "Most Wanted List" is the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker, which has a suggested retail price of $29.99.

British judges lose traditional wigs

LONDON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- A new regulation in Britain says judges in most of the country's courts will no longer be required to wear their traditional wigs.

The regulation, which went into effect Thursday, means the horsehair barristers' wigs that typically adorn the heads of most British judges will essentially be extinct in the country's courtrooms, The Times of London reported.

The loss of the wigs represents an attempt to modernize the British legal system and is accompanied by the implementation of a new robe design for all judges as well. The new robes were created by designer Betty Jackson and include dark blue gabardine materials and velvet facings, the newspaper said.

The changes in British courtrooms after 300 years of the traditional judicial robes will not affect the country's criminal courts, the report said. Judges in those courts will still wear the gray wigs and traditional robes.