Odd News

OLDSMAR, Fla., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said they arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly punching his sleeping father because he was bothered by his snoring.

MORROW, Ga., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Authorities in Georgia said a man dressed as an elf was arrested for allegedly telling a mall Santa that he was carrying explosives.

MANCHESTER, England, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A British psychologist said his research indicates foot movements are one of the most powerful indicators of whether a woman finds a suitor attractive.

TROY, Mich., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Troy, Mich., said a Detroit man threatened to kill someone after being told he could not return an Xbox video game system at a store in a mall.

VATICAN CITY, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A MySpace Music playlist submitted by the Vatican includes Mozart's "Don Giovanni" alongside the less traditional "Changes" by Tupac Shakur.

LONDON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A British fan of Monster Munch potato chips has undergone a legal name change to share the same moniker as his favorite brand of snack food.

MAITLAND, Fla., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Wildlife officials in Maitland, Fla., said a female bald eagle attacked another female eagle in an apparent attempt to steal the bird's mate and home.

UPI Almanac for Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009.

SKOKIE, Ill., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- In December 1989, I was taking a sheet of cookies from the oven when I felt a tickle over my bare toes. Looking down, I saw the first bold pioneer in yet another carpenter ant infestation.

PHOENIX, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- An Arizona school district employee resigned after officials accused him of using district computers to search for extraterrestrial life, authorities said.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The American Humanist Association hopes to take the Christ out of Christmas with ads featuring people in Santa Hats preaching atheism.

HASTINGS, New Zealand, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- New Zealand authorities said an attempt to hide cannabis in a rubber glove plastered in marmite was not enough to fool a prison drug-sniffing dog.

MONTREAL, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A Canadian researcher said he had to cancel a pornography study because he could not find any adult men who had never viewed sexually explicit material.

STUTTGART, Ark., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A Minnesota man's duck calling was certified as the best in the world at the 74th annual World's Championship Duck Calling Contest in Arkansas.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Police in Massachusetts said the driver of a livestock truck from which two cows escaped will be cited for having an unsecured load.