Watercooler Stories

Officer claims alien encounter

SILBURY HILL, England, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- British UFO experts said they were contacted by a police officer who told them he saw three extraterrestrials examining a crop circle.

Experts Andrew Russell and Colin Andrews said the Wiltshire County, England, police sergeant, who was not named, told them he saw three figures standing around a fresh crop circle in a field near Silbury Hill in the county and stopped to investigate, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"At first, he thought they were forensic officers as they were dressed in white coveralls. He stopped his car and approached the field," Russell said. "The figures were all over 6 feet and had blond hair. They seemed to be inspecting the crop. When he got to the edge of the field, he heard what he believed to be a sound not dissimilar to static electricity."

Russell said the trio fled the off-duty officer "faster than any man he had ever seen."

Andrews said he is "quite convinced the officer had an experience that day and one that we have not fully explored."

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said the department has no comment on the matter.

"The police officer was apparently off duty when this happened so we have no comment to make because it is a personal, not a police, matter," the spokesman said.

Tarantula report grounds plane in Scotland

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- British Airways said a plane was grounded in Scotland following a passenger's report of a tarantula crawling between his legs.

Officials said the man alerted flight staff on the Airbus A319, which arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, from London, that he had spotted a tarantula between his legs on the plane during the trip, and the plane was grounded, causing at least one flight to be canceled, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Engineers searched the plane and a specialist was flown in from London to fumigate the aircraft but no sign of a tarantula was found. Officials said none of the other 82 passengers on the plane reported seeing the spider.

"There is the odd spider that comes in cargo such as fruit, but it is very unusual to have such a report on a U.K. flight," a British Airways spokesman said.

Plane dismantled to find lost phone

MERCIA, Spain, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A Jet2.com flight from Spain to England was delayed while maintenance workers dismantled the plane in search of a cell phone, the budget British airline said.

The carrier said a passenger on the flight that landed in Mercia, Spain, dropped her switched-on mobile phone down an air vent while disembarking and airline bosses would not let the plane depart for Newcastle, England, until the "unknown electrical device" was removed, the Daily Mail reported.

The flight was delayed for three hours while workers dismantled parts of the plane, including the cockpit, to seek out the phone. The item was recovered and the plane departed.

A Jet2 spokesman confirmed the incident and thanked the passengers for their patience.

"Whilst it was no doubt inconvenient that people had to wait for us to retrieve the phone, any mobile or similar communications device that is switched on would need to be removed from the aircraft in order to ensure maximum safety for our passengers," the spokesman said. "We would like to remind all those traveling by air not to switch their phones on until they reach the airport terminal."

Dancing roadside advertiser arrested

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A Kentucky man employed as a dancing roadside advertisement said he was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge for dancing on the top rail of a bridge.

Jeremy Johnson, 32, whose job is to draw customers to the Quiznos Sub Shop in Hopkinsville by dancing at the roadside, said he was inspired to dance while taking a cigarette break on the bridge when motorists began honking and waving at him, the Kentucky New Era, Hopkinsville, Ky., reported.

The Hopkinsville Police Department said several witnesses called 911 because they thought Johnson was about to jump from the bridge.

"I wasn't going to jump. I was just entertaining people," Johnson said. "Most people, if they don't know me, would probably think I was crazy."

Johnson, who was dressed in his Quiznos uniform, said police arrived and ordered him to put his hands behind his back. He was charged with second-degree disorderly conduct and released on a surety bond.