UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Hundreds of carts taken from toy shop

NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Police said a series of shopping cart thefts beginning the day after Thanksgiving ended with a New York Toys 'R' Us being left without a single shopping cart.

Investigators said the more than 500 carts at the recently-opened store in New York's Bronx borough began disappearing on Black Friday and the store was completely cart-less by the time the busy last-minute shopping days rolled around last week, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

Officers said they are probing whether the carts, which cost about $200 each, were taken by an organized gang to sell for scrap or by local homeless people using carts to store their belongings.

Meanwhile, store employees said customers are stuck carrying items around the store by hand and several simply left the store upon discovering the lack of carts.

British bingo fans move to defend slang

SUDBURY, England, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- British bingo enthusiasts said they are rallying around the game's lingo after a council banned the traditional call of "two fat ladies."

Rob Hutchinson, of onlinebingoclub.co.uk, said he is circulating a petition to save bingo slang after John Sayers, 75, the former mayor of Sudbury, England, was banned by the town's council from using the "two fat ladies" euphemism for the number 88 due to concerns that overweight players could be offended, The Sun reported Monday.

"The call of 'two fat ladies' in bingo is part of our heritage," said Hutchinson, whose petition has thus far gathered about 3,000 signatures. "What's the alternative -- 'two generously proportioned people of either gender?'"

Chrissie Maher, founder of the Plain English Campaign, agreed with Hutchinson.

"It shouldn't be necessary to mess about with parts of our heritage like bingo slang," Maher said.

Lenin and Mao sculpture sparks debate

RICHMOND, British Columbia, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Officials in a Canadian town said an outdoor sculpture of Vladimir Lenin and a female version of Chairman Mao Zedong is stirring debate.

Richmond City Councilman Derek Dang said the stainless steel sculpture, Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head, by Beijing brothers Zhen and Qiang Gao, has become the talk of the city's business district since it was installed there last week as part of the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale, the Vancouver Sun reported Monday.

"It certainly generates debate," Dang said of the sculpture featuring the Russian and Chinese communist leaders. "It is art and art generates conversation, and remember it's not going to be there forever."

The Vancouver Sculpture Biennale takes place every two years in Vancouver and surrounding towns and features public displays from about three dozen artists from all across the globe.

Dang said Richmond officials did not choose the specific pieces to be displayed in the city.

"When council decided to participate in the Biennale they didn't give us a catalogue to choose from and maybe that's a good thing," Dang said. "We got what we got."

"(Miss Mao) certainly has caused a lot of debate and evokes some strong emotions among people who remember those times," Dang said. "(The Gao brothers') inspiration and imagination is what makes it art."

Police: Pair trashed apartment for art

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Florida police said they arrested two men who allegedly caused $12,000 in damage to one of their rental apartments to turn it into an art gallery.

Gainesville Officer Ed Wilkins said police were called to the apartment of Jonathan Marnarellis Fager, 22, and were told by the resident and his friend John Macquarrie, 25, that they used a sledge hammer and croquet balls to partially demolish the apartment as part of their plan to transform the residence into an art gallery, the Gainesville Sun reported Monday.

Wilkins said the damage to the apartment, located in the College Manor complex, included shattered windows and mirrors, pulled-out drywall and unspecified damage to the roof, balcony and a window frame. He said the men apparently performed the demolition at some point between Dec. 14 and 23.

Macquarrie and Fager were charged with felony criminal mischief and booked into the Alachua County jail.