Watercooler Stories

N.Y. teen falls into open manhole

NEW YORK, July 13 (UPI) -- A 15-year-old girl in New York suffered some scrapes after falling through an open manhole she overlooked, her mother says.

Kim Longueira of Staten Island said her daughter Alexa suddenly found the ground was no longer below her moments after a friend handed her a cell phone, the New York Daily News said.

"She's all scraped up on her back, under her arms and her shoulders," Longueira said of the injuries her daughter suffered in Wednesday's accident.

Longueira said her doctors are concerned the teen may have suffered spinal damage in the fall of up to five feet.

New York's WPIX-TV reported the teen's family is prepared to sue since Department of Environmental Protection workers allegedly left the open sewer manhole unsupervised.

"DEP workers learn safety first ... but there was no safety measures put into place here," alleged Longueira, who denied reports her daughter had been text-messaging at the time of the accident.

Same-sex penguin couple split

SAN FRANCISCO, July 13 (UPI) -- Linda the penguin has split up two male penguins that lived as a nesting couple for six years at the San Francisco Zoo, caretakers said.

Male penguins Harry and Pepper had been so content together they were allowed to incubate and hatch an egg laid by another Magellanic penguin last year, zookeeper Anthony Brown said.

"Of all of the parents that year, they were the best. They took very good care of their chick," Brown told the San Francisco Examiner.

Enter the widow Linda, who began courting Harry in her partner's old burrow shortly after his death this past winter, Brown said.

"To be completely anthropomorphizing, Linda seems conniving," Brown said. "She's got her plan. I don't think she was wanting to be a single girl for too long."

Though Harry and Linda have been nesting in recent months, molting season in late summer tends to reshuffle couples, KTVU-TV reported.

"It'll be interesting to see if Harry spends any of that time with Pepper," Brown said. "We'll have to wait and see."

N. Ireland tries new-style July 12 fires

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, July 13 (UPI) -- Some officials in Northern Ireland are trying to give the traditional July 12 bonfires a new look this year, using carbon-neutral steel beacons.

The bonfires are lit by Loyalists to commemorate the victory of King William III over his Roman Catholic father-in-law, James II, in 1690.

The Belfast City Council erected six of its new beacons Friday, The Times of London reported. The pyramids, set on a base of sand, are filled with wood chips and willow and are said to burn for as long as two hours.

While the beacons are expensive, at 8,000 pounds (about $12,000) each, they can be reused several times. Cleanup after a bonfire using scrap lumber and most anything else that will burn bonfire costs about 5,000 pounds.

Northern Ireland will also have plenty of the standard bonfires. Residents begin assembling them several months in advance because of fierce competition. Last-minute raids to steal lumber are frequent.

Colin Patton, an organizer in South Belfast, likes the new beacons.

"It saves a lot of grief for residents because it removes a lot of the problems of fly-tipping rubbish around the bonfire site and attracting kids with blue bags full of drink," he told the Times.

British tourists have distant friends

LONDON, July 13 (UPI) -- European hoteliers rate British tourists as their worst guests, while those on other continents find them polite and generous, a travel Web site says.

Expedia released its annual survey of 4,500 hoteliers Friday. They rated the Japanese as the top guests, valued for their politeness and cleanliness and described as quiet and unlikely to complain.

Worldwide, the British were in the second spot, followed by Canadians, Germans and Swiss. The French placed at the bottom among 27 nationalities.

European hotel-owners, however, described the British as rude and messy whiners who leave meager tips.

U.S. travelers were in the No. 8 position, with a reputation for generous tips but also loudness.

Generally, tourists from Mediterranean countries have a bad reputation. Turks and Greeks tied for the 24th spot, while Spain followed at No. 26.