Watercooler Stories

Pagan police guaranteed Halloween off

LONDON, July 17 (UPI) -- Pagan police officers in England and Wales can take time off on religious holidays like Halloween and the Summer Solstice, the Home Office said Thursday.

The days off will be deducted from officers' annual vacation time, The Daily Telegraph reported. But practicing Wiccans and Druids will be guaranteed free time on their sacred days.

Andy Pardy, a constable with the Hertfordshire Police, follows the Norse religion, worshipping Odin, Thor and Freya. He discussed more official recognition for pagan officers at meetings this week with the Home Office.

"Paganism is not the new age, tree hugging fad that some people think it is," he told Police Review. "It is not the clandestine, horrible, evil thing that people think it is. A lot of people think it is about dancing naked around a fire but the rituals are not like that."

Officials have also recognized the Pagan Police Association, which advocates for pagan officers and their families. There are believed to be about 35,000 practicing pagans in England and Wales.

Cremation ashes set off anthrax scare

ROME, July 17 (UPI) -- A mailed powder that set off an anthrax scare at the U.S. embassy in Rome turned out to be the ashes of the Texas sender's wife.

The envelope of ashes, which arrived at the embassy July 8, just before President Barack Obama got to Rome for the Group of Eight summit, prompted an evacuation of the building while authorities sealed off the mail room and removed the powder for analysis, the Daily Mail reported.

Lab analysis determined the powder was ashes from a cremation. A letter found in the envelope explained the ashes belonged to the sender's late wife and asked embassy employees to scatter the ashes in the city, as the Texas couple had spent a "very nice holiday there once many years ago."

The man's letter said similar packages were mailed to the U.S. embassies in London, Paris and Istanbul.

FBI investigators visited the home of the man, whose name was not released, and determined his story was true.

Jackson butter sculpture up to online vote

DES MOINES, Iowa, July 17 (UPI) -- The Iowa State Fair is allowing residents to vote online on whether a butter sculpture of the late Michael Jackson will be displayed at the August event.

Fair organizers had originally announced the sculpture of Jackson would appear alongside the traditional life-size butter cow, a staple of the fair since 1911. But after objections from some residents the organizers said they would leave the decision up to online voters at iowastatefair.org, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"We are not honoring him (Jackson) for his character, but recognizing his place in Iowa state history," fair spokeswoman Lori Chapell said.

Jackson performed at the Iowa State Fair with the Jackson 5 in 1971.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was among the groups that weighed in on the butter sculpture controversy, The Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported.

The group said it does not object to the Jackson tribute, but it says the sculpture, as well as the traditional cow, should be made from a "non-dairy butter spread" called "Earth Balance" or "another vegan spread instead of butter."

The Iowa State Fair opens Aug. 13 in Des Moines.

Female gondolier starts apprenticeship

VENICE, Italy, July 17 (UPI) -- The first woman to pass the entry exam for gondolier training in Venice, Italy, has begun ferrying passengers as an apprentice.

Giorgia Boscolo, 23, passed the entry exam to the gondolier course, which was introduced by the Venice City Council in 2007, and now must complete her apprenticeship and pass a final exam to become a full-fledged member of the profession, the ANSA news agency reported Thursday.

Boscolo, wearing the traditional uniform of a white-and-blue striped shirt, black pants and matching shoes, ferried her first Venice residents Thursday on the Grand Canal under supervision from a licensed gondolier.

"On board there are curious passengers, but above all there's the happiness of someone doing a job she always dreamed of," Boscolo said.

She said she inherited her love of gondolas from her gondolier father.

"I've always loved gondolas, and unlike my three sisters I preferred to punt with my father instead of going out with my friends," she said.

Two other women took the entry exam with Boscolo, but she was the only one of the trio to pass.