Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Pranksters dress statue as Homer Simpson

DUNCHURCH, England, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Residents of a British town said pranksters carried on a 40-year tradition of disguising a statue in the village, this time as Homer Simpson.

Tony Kember, 66, chairman of the Dunchurch, England, historical society, said the village's 19th century statue of Lord John Scott was disguised as "The Simpsons" patriarch as part of an annual prank tradition that has previously featured the statue dressed as Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Guy Fawkes and Shrek, The Sun reported.

"I have lived in the village for over 40 years and people were dressing up the statue before that," Kember said.

"Nobody in the village seems to know who the culprits are -- or if they do they are not telling anyone," he said. "People in the village love seeing the statue dressed up, it is always a surprise which character he will be."

Grammar vandals awarded book deal

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Two U.S. men convicted on federal vandalism charges for fixing typos on public signs said they have landed a book deal to write about their adventures.

Benjamin Herson of Oregon and Jeff Deck of Massachusetts said they were given a $150,000 advance to write "The Great Typo Hunt," which is due out Aug. 3, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported.

The men were sentenced to probation and ordered to stay out of national parks for a year for correcting the grammar on a 70-year-old sign at the Grand Canyon's South Rim during their 2008 cross-country typo trek. They credited the case's publicity with helping them land the book deal.

"The overreaction of the government probably helped us a lot in terms of getting this deal," Herson said. "It's one of those true lemonade-out-of-lemons stories."

Velvet painting museum closing

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The Oregon owners of what may be the world's only velvet painting museum said they are closing the attraction after four years.

Caren Anderson and Carl Baldwin said they are closing Portland's Velveteria museum of black velvet paintings for the final time Jan. 24 because they are moving from Oregon to Southern California, The (Portland) Oregonian reported.

Anderson and Baldwin said they are California natives and have long wanted to return home. They said they hope to re-open Velveteria with their collection of more than 2,000 paintings in California at some point in the future.

The pair said their museum has long struggled to make money.

"We were making it, but then the economy went really sour. This is a tricky business. We needed more people to come in all year-round," Anderson said.

Top couch potato sits for 48 hours

NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A New York man said he plans to distribute most of his winnings from spending 48 hours in a recliner at a restaurant to his friends and family.

Champion couch potato Jorge Cruz, 26, sat and snacked in a recliner at the ESPN Zone in Times Square for two full days, beating the previous record for the annual event by 19 hours, the New York Daily News reported.

Cruz and his three opponents in the competition sat down at 11 a.m. on New Year's Day and were allowed hourly stretches with bathroom breaks occurring once every 8 hours.

"They'll bring me free food to sit here and watch sports? I thought, 'Sounds like a win-win,'" Cruz said. "I come here all the time anyway."

Cruz said the flat-screen TV he won will go to his mother, while his father will receive the new recliner. He said the $500 ESPN arcade voucher will go to kids at the non-profit Patchwork of Young Leaders Society, where Cruz works, to make up for his missing their march during the weekend.

He said other prizes will go to friends, but he plans to hang on to his trophy and the year's worth of free cable TV.