UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Thanksgiving parade goes off-Broadway

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The organizers of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade say it will skip New York's Broadway for the first time in its 85-year history.

Robin Hall, director of Macy's National Events, told Wednesday's New York Daily News the move was being made to avoid new pedestrian plazas that have been built along Broadway at Times Square and Herald Square.

"Dramatic changes in the midtown landscape will divert us for the first time from the fabled Broadway route we have followed since our first parade in 1924," Hall told the newspaper, with Macy's spokesman Orlando Veras adding, "With the street fixtures, lighting and concrete barriers, you couldn't drive anything down those streets."

Meanwhile, the off-Broadway parade -- which as usual will be led off with a Tom Turkey float and end with Santa Claus' appearance -- will feature singer Cyndi Lauper and new mega-balloons depicting Spider-Man, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald and Sailor Mickey Mouse, the Daily News said.

Along with Lauper, other celebrities set to appear include Andrea Bocelli, Alan Cumming, Billy Currington, Jimmy Fallon and the Roots, Gloria Gaynor, Cheyenne Jackson, Jane Krakowski, Carly Simon, Ziggy Marley with Judah Marley, Katharine McPhee and figure skating star Emily Hughes.

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Researcher: Wikipedia losing editors

MADRID, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The number of people contributing to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia shrank by 49,000 in the first three months of the year, a Spanish researcher said.

Felipe Ortega of King John Charles University in Madrid said the number of people editing the Web site shrank by 4,900 people during the same period of 2008, the BBC reported Wednesday.

"If the negative trend is maintained for too much time, say, one or two years, eventually the project could enter a problematic phase," Ortega said.

However, Michael Peel of Wikimedia, which runs the site, said the reduced number of editors is merely a sign of Wikipedia needing less input due to the presence of more experts.

"We're trying to engage a bit more at the moment with people who are very knowledgeable, people who are experts," Peel said.

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Couple's sex in a clock tower draws crowd

SYDNEY, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A couple drew a crowd in Sydney, Australia, by having mid-afternoon sex in a clock tower above a busy street, witnesses said.

Witnesses said crowds gathered at the foot of the building, a former department store that now serves as student housing, and a passersby snapped photos of the amorous pair at about 3:30 p.m. Friday, the Australian Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

"A few other people had noticed as well and when I started taking photos everyone in the area started to look up and point, laugh, grin," a witness said. "From the looks of it, the couple did seem to know they could be seen and seemed completely unfazed."

Newspapers have appealed for the couple to identify themselves. Some speculated the pair were students who had sex atop the building as a prank.

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Figurines depict women in life of PM

ROME, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Two women at the center of scandals in the life of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi are depicted in new wooden figurines.

Craftsmen in Naples have carved the likenesses of call girl Patrizia D'Addario, who allegedly had sex with Berlusconi, and Noemi Letizia, 18, who reportedly calls the prime minister "Papi," or Daddy, The Daily Telegraph said Wednesday.

The figurine of D'Addario, 42, portrays her in a short dress with a revealing neckline and a pair of knee-length boots. The statue of Letizia shows the lingerie model in a blue miniskirt and white top.

The craftsmen make the figurines as part of their festive tradition of creating small wooden statues of individuals who drew public attention during the previous year.

The Daily Telegraph said previous statues made by the Naples workers include likenesses of Berlusconi's wife, Veronica Lario, and U.S. actor George Clooney, who is dating an Italian actress.