Watercooler Stories

Fish rain on Australian town

LAJAMANU, Australia, March 2 (UPI) -- Weather experts said the fish that fell on a remote Australian town for two days had likely been sucked up by a thunderstorm before falling to the ground.

Residents of Lajamanu said hundreds of small white fish, believed to be common spangled perch, fell from the sky during the weekend despite the town's location 326 miles from the nearest river, The Sun reported. Locals said many of the fish were still alive when they hit the ground.

Mark Kersemakers, a senior forecaster with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, said the fish could have been transported by a storm system.

"It could have scooped the fish up 40,000 to 50,000 feet in the air," he said. "Once they get up into the system they are pretty much frozen. After some period they are released."

Locals said it has rained fish in the town twice before, in 1974 and 2004.

Prisoners sing for Corrections Idol

DORAL, Fla., March 2 (UPI) -- Corrections officials in Florida's Miami-Dade County said a prisoner won his second consecutive Corrections Idol competition.

Andrew Cashmere, 38, who sang a self-written song entitled "Jesus," was chosen as the winner of Sunday's contest by a judging panel of high-ranking corrections officers at the Metro West Detention Center west of Doral, Fla., The Miami Herald reported.

"It's a pleasure to be able to be here and perform," said Cashmere, who also won first place at last year's event.

Officials said 15 prisoners and detainees participated in Corrections Idol -- with entries including songs, rap and poetry. They said the event, organized by the Inmate Special Events Committee, is intended to give prisoners an outlet for their creativity and build their self-image through positive activities.

"When they come here, they feel like they belong," Chief of Operations Manny Fernandez said. "They're part of the solution, not the problem."

Suit: Police violated finger free speech

CLACKAMAS, Ore., March 2 (UPI) -- An Oregon man's lawsuit against Clackamas County sheriff's deputies claims his First Amendment rights to display his middle finger were violated.

Robert Ekas, 46, said flipping the bird to sheriff's deputies in 2007 led to multiple verbal showdowns with deputies as well as traffic violations that the federal suit claims were retaliation for his silent, one-fingered statements, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Monday.

"I did it because I have the right to do it," Ekas said. "We all have that right, and we all need to test it. Otherwise we'll lose it."

The lawsuit claims traffic tickets he received for an improper lane change and improperly displaying his license plate -- citations later dismissed in court -- were retaliation for flashing his middle finger at the deputies.

Ekas, a mathematician who is representing himself in the case, is seeking corrective action and unspecified damages from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and three of its employees.

About 60 strip in cold for wildlife

NEW YORK, March 2 (UPI) -- Organizers of New York's "Naked" Polar Bear Cruise said about 60 people stripped down to next to nothing on a ship's deck for a wildlife charity.

The Polar Bear Club and Circle Line Cruises, which sponsored the event, said participants stripped down on the deck of a cruise ship Saturday on the Hudson River to collect donations for each minute they spent in the cold wearing nearly nothing, the New York Daily News reported.

Proceeds from the event went to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the city's Bronx Zoo.

"You're doing this for wildlife, but you're nuts," Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz told participants before the cruise.

"This will not be as bad as the swim," Bronx Zoo boss Jim Breheny said, referring to the annual Coney Island Polar Bear New Year's Day plunge. "When you come off, you're still dry at least."