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Daredevil does double flip on snowmobile

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- What weighs 450 pounds, flips over and over counter-clockwise and roars as it flies through the air? -- a snowmobile driven by Minnesotan Levi LaVallee.

LaVallee, 26, of Longville, performed the fete Friday at the Snowmobile Speed and Style at Winter X Games 13 on Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo. Unfortunately, the three-time X Games gold medalist came down so hard he was thrown off his snowmobile so didn't win the Next Trick competition.

He's not giving up, though. He said he will start practicing the stunt again in March.

LaVallee, who has raced snowmobiles for 16 years, practices his daring double-back flip by driving his modified Polaris off a specially designed ramp, landing in a 10-foot-deep pit filled with foam rubber.

The stunt is obviously a crowd pleaser but LaVallee says he sees it as "more of a science project."

"A lot of people think it's pure craziness that goes through your head," he said. "But there is a lot of preparation involved.

"When we started, the ramp wasn't high enough and the sled didn't have the power to get enough rotation. We had to come up with a game plan."

LaVallee admits there's fear involved.

"It is unbelievably scary, because you're so high in the air,'' he said. "When you tuck in for the second rotation, you don't know if you're going to make it. It's like you're falling out of the sky."

It's the fans' adulation that drives him, though.

"For a little kid to high-five me, for someone to ask for an autograph, that is the coolest thing. That's why I do this," he said.

Complaining flier offered taste test gig

LONDON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Britain's Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. has offered a customer who complained about food the chance to help select meals for future flights, the airline said.

A spokesman for the airline said a passenger on a Dec. 7 Mumbai-to-London flight wrote a letter to Virgin Atlantic President Richard Branson complaining about the food on the flight, including five pictures of offending food items, The Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

The spokesman said Branson called the customer and offered him the chance to visit the airline's catering house to help select foods and wines for future Virgin flights.

"While we investigated his complaint seriously, and following Richard Branson's phone call we've invited him to our catering house to select the next range of meals and wines we serve on board," the spokesman said. "Then we can ensure his personal taste is well and truly catered for."

Study: Cows with names give more milk

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, England, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A researcher at England's Newcastle University says cows with names tend to be happier and more productive than their nameless fellow cows.

Dr. Catherine Douglas said she analyzed data collected from more than 500 British dairy farms of varying sizes, and found that cows given names by farmers produce an average extra pint and a half of milk per day, adding up to an extra 6,800 gallons a year for an average dairy farm, The Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

Douglas said cows with names also tend to be more docile during milking and are less likely to kick or stomp on farmers.

"Just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one attention," the researcher said.

Douglas said named cows produce less cortisol, a stress hormone that has been tied to lower milk production.

"What our study shows is what many good, caring farmers have long since believed," she said. "By placing more importance on the individual, we not only improve the animals' welfare and their perception of humans, but also increase milk production."

Pizzeria owner charged in calzone attack

PALM COAST, Fla., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a pizzeria owner was arrested after allegedly attacking two men who complained about a mistaken calzone order.

A Flagler County sheriff's report said Richard Phinney, 44, called Goomba's pizzeria in Palm Coast, Fla., to try to get a replacement order for his daughter Friday after the eatery failed to heed his request that her calzone not include sauce and feta cheese, the Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal reported Wednesday.

The father said a Goomba's employee told him on the phone that the eatery's grills had been shut down for the night so Phinney and his roommate, Richard Capie, 35, visited the restaurant to try to get a refund.

Phinney said he and Capie were speaking to a manager outside of the restaurant when owner Joseph Milano, 40, arrived and invited the two men to come inside and discuss the situation. However, he said that after speaking for a few minutes, Milano pistol-whipped him with a gun he retrieved from behind a counter and physically attacked both men.

Capie was able to grab the gun and he left with Phinney, the report said.

Investigators said surveillance camera footage from the restaurant appears to confirm Phinney and Capie's account.

Milano was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He