Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Retirees froth as brewer cuts free beer MONTREAL, June 9 (UPI) -- Some 2,400 retirees from Canada's Molson brewery are angry with the company's decision to phase out their free monthly beer allotments. Advertisement Retirees in Vancouver, Montreal and St. John's, Newfoundland, received a letter saying the company intended to standardize its perks across the country to current and past employees, the Toronto Star reported Tuesday. After Jan. 1, current Newfoundland workers' allotment will fall from 72 dozen bottles or cans a year to 52 dozen, the company said. Retirees' free beer will fall from six dozen bottles a month to one dozen and will be phased out in five years, the report said. In Vancouver and Montreal, unions have filed grievances against the company, which said the free beer costs about $1 million per year, the Star said. St. John's retiree Bill Bavis, who worked for Molson for 32 years, told the Star he found the cutback announcement unfair. Advertisement "I think with the economic downturn they're trying to take advantage of us, as a way to cut retirees' benefits and justify it," he said. In April, parent company Molson Coors announced its net profit more than doubled in the first quarter compared to last year, to $75.7 million, the newspaper said. Fisherman reels in live missile CLEARWATER, Fla., June 9 (UPI) -- A Florida fisherman said an 8-foot-long missile that became ensnared in his long line while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico was turned over to authorities. Solomon Rodney, 37, said he assumed the missile was inactive or already exploded because of a hole in its side so it rode atop his boat for 10 days before he returned to shore and turned it over to a bomb squad from MacDill Air Force Base, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Tuesday. Rodney said he was surprised to hear the missile was live. "If it was going to explode, it was going to explode a long time ago," he said after the missile had spent 10 days on his boat. "This is a live air-to-air missile," Pinellas County sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said Monday. "It is 8 feet long, and the MacDill team is dismantling it." Advertisement Rodney said the MacDill team told him not to bring anymore missiles home from his fishing trips. "They told me if you find another one, just let it go," he said. Revelers set Smurf costume world record SWANSEA, Wales, June 9 (UPI) -- A group of 2,510 people in Wales set a world record by gathering at a nightclub while they were all dressed as Smurfs. The participants, dressed as small blue characters with white hats and pants, nearly doubled the previous record during the event at the Oceana nightclub in Swansea, which was organized by the costume shop Jokers' Masquerade, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday. Organizers said the event eclipsed a previous record of 1,253 people in Smurf costumes at a Castleblayney, Ireland, event. "Smurf Guinness World Record holder has become an illustrious title," said Rebecca Oatley of Jokers' Masquerade. "There have been five attempts over the last 18 months, with Swansea trumping Castleblayney's 1,253 Smurfs recorded last year. We knew that if we were going to break the record, we had to do it in style and 2,510 Smurfs will be a tough act to follow for any budding record-breakers." "This is just the beginning of our world record run. We are hoping to set, break and smash Guinness World Records for iconic characters from Daleks to Superheroes. Watch this space." Advertisement Woman, city wrangle over toilet 'planters' LAKEMOOR, Ill., June 9 (UPI) -- A Lakemoor, Ill., woman said city officials have threatened her with fines if she does not remove two toilets and a sink serving as planters in her yard. Tina Asmus said she will not remove her "art piece planters," despite Mayor Todd Weihoffen's threats of a fine of $25 to $500 starting June 15 if she does not comply with orders to remove the toilets from her yard, The (Arlington Heights, Ill) Daily Herald reported Tuesday. "I'm very creative, artsy and crafty in this regard and I like to find old things that I can recycle and repurpose," she said. "I saw a friend who made a planter out of an old toilet once and I loved it, so last year, I made one for myself." However, Weihoffen, a plumber by trade, said he does not see anything "artsy" in the display; he sees only "old plumbing fixtures" that do not belong in a clean yard. "I was elected mayor because voters want the town cleaned up," he said. "If I do not enforce the ordinances about this, then anyone with some junk in their yard can stick a flower on it and call it art." Advertisement However, Asmus, too, is refusing to budge on the issue. "I should be allowed to put out whatever kind of planter I want as long as it's not obscene," she said. "And, this isn't obscene."
