Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Online orders pour in for winking pants

EVERETT, Wash., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A Washington state retiree said he is swamped with Internet orders for Winkers, pants that wink while the wearer walks.

William Jones, 73, of Everett, said he designed his first pair of Winkers, which use the crease between a wearer's buttock and the top of the leg to create animated images, as a pair of winking eyes a few years ago, the Everett (Wash.) Herald reported.

Jones said his Web site for the product has amassed more than a quarter-million hits since it went live less than a week ago.

"We're swamped," Jones said. "It caught me off guard. I wasn't ready for what happened."

Jones said he created each pair of Winkers by hand in his living room. He said it can take him up to 10 hours to complete a single pair.

Winkers start at $159 for the basic winking eyes and reach prices of $579 for more elaborate designs.

Salvation Army auctions Dali works

HOUSTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A Houston Salvation Army thrift store is auctioning off some unusual donations -- Salvador Dali originals given by an anonymous donor.

Assistant store Supervisor Carl Roberts said a wealthy Houston woman donated the pieces -- including a bronze crucifix, a drawing of Don Quixote and several prints -- with the only condition being the money must go to the Salvation Army's adult rehabilitation center, KTRK-TV, Houston, reported.

Dali experts said the certificates of authenticity issued by a California gallery do not guarantee the pieces are not forgeries, but Roberts said he is convinced they are genuine. Experts said Dali works are difficult to authenticate due to massive amounts of forgeries in circulation.

The Salvation Army store said the works have gathered bids of thousands of dollars. The auction will close at the end of August.

Police: Robber left traffic ticket

IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Police in upstate New York said they tracked down a bank robbery suspect using a traffic ticket left behind at the scene.

Irondequoit police said Damien Ponder, 27, of Rochester, N.Y., allegedly used the back of the traffic ticket Saturday to write a note demanding money from a teller at the First Niagara Bank, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.

Sgt. Barry VanNostrand said Ponder was given an undisclosed amount of cash, which he dropped along with the note while leaving. The suspect allegedly retrieved most of the cash, but left behind the traffic ticket.

Investigators said the ticket bore Ponder's name and address. He was arrested Tuesday in Rochester and charged with felony third-degree robbery and fourth-degree grand larceny.

Lecturers share student gaffes

LONDON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A British magazine says university student gaffes submitted by lecturers include an assertion that the French Resistance used the Internet during World War II.

The Times of London's Higher Education magazine said submissions to its annual "exam howlers" competition include a sentence from a student at London's Brunel University explaining the military might of the United States, which the student said possesses "highly developed and powerful marital equipment," The Times reported.

A University of Leeds student told his instructor a political group "used the Internet to publicize their cause, just like the French Resistance did during the Second World War."

Meanwhile, a Staffordshire University biology student discussing genomes authored a paper on the "science of gnomes."

Emma Cayley, a lecturer at the University of Exeter, submitted one of her students' comments on a medieval French poem, noting "all of the sentences end in a coma."

"That's pretty much how I felt marking it, too," Cayley said.