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1913 message in a bottle received

SPOKANE, Wash., April 6 (UPI) -- A message left in a bottle in 1913 has been found on the shores of the Spokane River in Washington.

Darin Winkler said he was walking along the river's edge when he spotted what appeared to be an antique bottle surrounded by rubbish, the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review reported Sunday.

"Spring and high water brings up various kinds of things on shore," Winkler said. "We saw an old flattened basketball and a bunch of bottles. Mostly they were whiskey bottles, Mad Dog 20-20 bottles, things like that. But this one stood out."

Winkler said he took the bottle back to his house and carefully teased the note out of it. He said the paper was slightly damp and flaking in places.

The pencil-written note was dated March 30, 1913, and signed by Emmett Presnell of Rockford, Wash. It asked the finder of the bottle to write him back.

The newspaper noted that Presnell died at age 85, on May 13, 1978.

Pittsburgh responds to 'bad hair' slam

PITTSBURGH, April 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. cities judged the worst for hair include Corpus Christi, Texas; Olympia, Wash.; and Pittsburgh, the "chicks at TotalBeauty.com" have determined.

Pittsburgh, for one, isn't taking the slam lightly and the city's stylists have jumped to its defense with blow dryers blazing, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported Sunday.

TotalBeauty.com wrote about Pittsburgh: "It's not called the 'Pitts' for nothin.' As the most polluted city in America, your hair will be calling Greenpeace on a daily basis. Pollution has been known to cause premature baldness, graying and dullness."

"These girls don't know what they're talking about," responded Sybil Schafer, owner of Sybil Salon and Spa. "What decade are you 'chicks' living in? Pittsburgh hasn't been the most polluted city since the '60s. We have cleaned up our act, including our hair."

"I don't think that list is probably all that accurate," Dennis Emery, manager of Ecotage Salon & Spa at Macy's Downtown, told the newspaper. "Many cities in Florida have higher humidity levels than Pittsburgh. Humidity just destroys a hair style. The hair will go limp."

Teacher kisses pig for charity

PLANT CITY, Fla., April 6 (UPI) -- A Florida elementary school teacher has followed through on a promise to kiss a pig after raising the most money for cancer research, observers said.

Second grade teacher Laura Carter of Trapnell Elementary School in Plant City, Fla., puckered up Friday and kissed a potbellied pig to the thunderous applause of more than 500 students, the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune reported.

Carter was carrying on a yearly tradition at the school and its efforts to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, wherein the person who collects the most pledges gets the honor of kissing "Miss Piggy," the newspaper said.

After collecting $1,167.60 in pledges and kissing the 65-pound porker, Carter told the Tribune, "It was real slimy."

Judge orders parrot to appear in court

BOCA RATON, Fla., April 6 (UPI) -- An African Grey parrot must appear in a Florida court as part of a civil lawsuit contesting the matter of who is its rightful owner, a judge says.

Palm Beach County Judge James Martz ordered the $2,000 parrot to appear in his court Monday to help decide which Boca Raton, Fla., woman owns the bird, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

On one side of the legal battle is 52-year-old Angela Colicheski, who insists she purchased the parrot 13 years ago. She alleges her parrot flew away 3 years ago, only to reappear in the possession of 47-year-old Sarita Lytell.

Lytell alleges she found her parrot, also an African Grey, around the same time of the disappearance of Colicheski's bird, but refuses to hand over her beloved pet.

Colicheski's attorney, Spencer Siegel, told the Sun-Sentinel his client hopes to win her lawsuit by having Lytell bring her parrot into court.

"The bird wears an identification ring on his claw," Siegel said. "And we feel that it's necessary (to prove ownership) if the numbers on the ring become essential."