Watercooler Stories

Man finds snake head in restaurant food

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y., May 8 (UPI) -- A New York state man said he discovered a severed snake head among the vegetables on his plate at a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant.

Jack Pendleton said he was dining with his girlfriend at the Clifton Park restaurant when he noticed a gray object on his plate under a piece of broccoli, the Albany (N.Y.) Times-Union reported.

"I could see these black, rotted eye sockets on the top," he said.

Pendleton said the snake head still had part of a tendon and the spinal chord attached.

Amy Freshwater, a spokeswoman for the restaurant chain, said the company was trying to determine how the snake head wound up in the food.

"We are taking this situation very seriously," she said. "We immediately pulled the broccoli from this restaurant and began an extensive investigation. As a precautionary measure, we pulled broccoli from all restaurants that received product from this supplier. We have since isolated the specific lot date of the broccoli in question and have now reintroduced the product in all restaurants not included in the product hold."

Pendleton said he filed a complaint with the company but he does not plan to sue.

Penalty for no advance notice of death

WHITE HOUSE, Tenn., May 8 (UPI) -- Members of a Tennessee family said they were penalized by a retirement home for not giving at least 30 days notice before their mother died.

Randy Harrell said he received a security check refund from the Windlands Center in White House after his mother, Lucille Harrell, 81, died at the facility March 20, WSMV-TV, Nashville, reported.

"At that time, the check was $301 instead of $1,295, which was her original deposit," Harrell said.

He said facility bosses told him the money was deducted for not giving 30 days notice of his mother's departure from the home, despite the reason being death.

Windlands Center manager John McCrory said the contract states that notice of leaving must be given at least 30 days in advance, although the document does not mention the word "death."

"If they see they are having lots of problems, I even recommend them giving 30-day notice at that time," McCrory said. "That way, it'll cut off some of the costs."

Gun teacher accidentally shot student

PONTIAC, Mich., May 8 (UPI) -- Police said a Michigan concealed weapons teacher accidentally shot a student in the face during a demonstration.

Investigators said the 74-year-old teacher accidentally discharged a bullet from a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday during a class in Oakland County, WDIV-TV, Detroit, reported.

The bullet ricocheted off a table and struck a 52-year-old student in the face. The student was taken to Troy Beaumont Hospital to receive treatment for non-life threatening injuries.

The teacher told investigators he thought the gun was loaded with plastic bullets.

Police said the shooting was being treated as accidental and no charges have been filed.

No U.S. spelling in Toronto: 'councillor'

TORONTO, May 8 (UPI) -- A Toronto city councilor says he's dismayed by growing public use of U.S. spelling that shortens his title by one "l."

Howard Moscoe says the encroachment of U.S. spelling over British spelling is growing in municipal documents, the Toronto Sun reported.

The former school teacher cited a list of words such as "councillor, favourite, grey, colour, favour, neighbour, sulphur, moulder, rigour, moult, and sombre" are being pushed aside by their U.S. variants.

He said on the city's Web site, "color" is used 120 times, and "colour" 1,360 times.

The next step in Moscoe's linguistic quest is to ask Microsoft formally to create a Canadian version of its spell checker program, the Sun said.

"I don't believe Microsoft has deliberately set out to undermine and subvert our Canadian identity," he said. "I think it's a question that we haven't paid enough attention to it, and nobody's asked Microsoft to do it."