UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Lamborghini burns as bar patrons watch

PETERBOROUGH, England, July 6 (UPI) -- A rare Lamborghini Gallardo automobile burst into flames as stunned bar patrons in Peterborough, England, gaped at the spectacle, witnesses said.

The bright orange 2005 Lamborghini was thought to be one of only 400 of the Italian sports cars in Britain, and was worth $122,000, the Daily Mail reported Monday. The British newspaper said the vehicle caught fire outside a nightclub Sunday as two men, believed to be test-driving the car, jumped out when smoke billowed from its engine.

"It was engulfed in flames and there were loud popping noises all over the place as the windows and the tires exploded," one witness, Colin Jeffery, assistant manager of the Solstice bar in Peterborough, told the Mail. "There was no end of people gathered round, something like 150 people. A lot of them were stood there filming it on their mobile phones."

Fire officials said it took 20 minutes to extinguish the Lamborghini.

"It was a bit of an unusual one for us because it was quite different from the usual Fiestas or Escorts that we get called to," quipped chief volunteer fire officer Tony De Matteis.

Man sets record for running while on fire

ALTON, England, July 6 (UPI) -- A Scottish man has broken the world's record for running while on fire, witnesses said.

Keith Malcolm, a nurse from Aberdeen, Scotland, set himself ablaze and ran 259 feet, beating the old record of 227 feet, Sunday at the Alton & North East Hampshire Agricultural Show, in Alton, England, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The stunt was aimed at raising money for cancer research. Malcolm had a team from the Hampshire Fire and Rescue department standing by as he sprinted in a ball of fire while wearing eight layers of protective clothing, including four layers of fireproof undergarments, the Telegraph said.

The newspaper said Malcolm also coated himself in protective "stunt gel" so as not to be burned by the flames, which reached 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

"There wasn't much left of the jacket at the end," Malcolm told the Telegraph. "To be honest, the heat I felt was what you would expect if you were wearing all those clothes and a helmet in hot weather and trying to run."

Teen tried to sell naked photos of mom

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, July 6 (UPI) -- A New Zealand Internet auction site said it has pulled two postings by a teenager who sought to sell nude pictures of his mother.

The 18-year-old Auckland student, identified only as Michael, said he put up his first offering on the Trade Me Web site, promising "five naked photos of my mum," after his mother told him to clear out the family garage and sell any unwanted items, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

Michael said he attempted to sell a series of "glamor" shots of his mother, including a picture of her wearing only underwear, on the Web site after it deleted his first auction.

The student said the first auction was "a bit of a joke."

"I did it a bit sneakily but she found out. At first she was was pretty shocked, but then she went along with it. I just wanted a bit of extra cash, we're not rich or anything," he said.

Michael's mother, Jennifer, 44, said she was "pretty annoyed" to find out about her son's first auction.

"He was quite naughty ... I thought 'you cheeky little git,'" she said.

Jennifer said she approved of the second set of pictures, but the auction was deleted by Trade Me bosses.

Trade Me spokesman Jon Macdonald said the two auctions were deleted due to "inappropriate" pictures.

"We don't really want to be the place where people list photos of their mums in their underwear," he said.

Boston creates iPhone application

BOSTON, July 6 (UPI) -- Boston officials said they are preparing to release the city's first official iPhone application, which will allow people to notify City Hall of needed repairs.

Officials said the application, named Citizen Connect, is the first of its kind in the United States and will allow Boston residents to snap phone pictures of potholes, graffiti and burned-out street lights and forward the images to City Hall, The Boston Globe reported Monday.

"If I'm just walking along the sidewalk and I have a complaint -- maybe a storm knocked downed a tree -- I could take a photo and send it immediately,'' said Christopher Loh, 28, a press assistant in Mayor Thomas Menino's office who helped create the idea for the program. "You don't have to bumble around looking for a number to call. It's right there in the palm of your hand.''

Menino said he plans to get an iPhone just so he can use the application.

"If you look at the 24-hour hotline, who's the person who calls the most times?'' Menino said. "It's me. I'm going to use it. I'll tell you if it works well or not.''