Watercooler Stories

City plans saggy pants ban ordinance

HORN LAKE, Tenn., May 21 (UPI) -- Officials in a Tennessee town said they are working on a new ordinance to ban locals from wearing their pants low enough to reveal underwear or bare backsides.

Horn Lake Mayor Nat Baker and members of the board of aldermen said they have seen recent increases in men wearing their pants in the saggy fashion, leading them to seek a ban in the form of an ordinance, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported.

"There have been ordinances like this upheld across the country, and in talking with the city attorney, I think we can draw up something that can be upheld in court," Baker said.

"They need to pull their pants back up to where they should be," Baker said. "It's getting out of hand."

Officials did not reveal possible penalties for violations of the ban.

Bus takes wrong students for field trip

LITTLE FERRY, N.J., May 21 (UPI) -- A New Jersey school district said a bus meant to take middle school students on a field trip showed up early and mistakenly left with a load of high school students.

Ridgefield Park Superintendent John Richardson said seventh- and eighth-grade students from Memorial School in Little Ferry, N.J., were scheduled to leave for a field trip to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The bus arrived early at 7:45 a.m. and filled up with students who thought the bus was their daily ride to Ridgefield Park High School, The Record, Hackensack, N.J., reported.

Superintendent Frank Scarafile of Little Ferry, which does not have its own high school, said the students grew suspicious when the driver appeared to be taking an unusual route to the school and began calling their parents and school officials.

Scarafile said the bus driver refused to speak to school officials on a student's cellphone because drivers are not allowed to use phones while behind the wheel.

The driver was eventually convinced of the mixup and turned around to head back to the school. State Police, called by school officials, caught up with the vehicle and an officer rode on the bus with the students to the high school.

Scarafile said the bus company, First Student, apologized for the incident and for the driver taking students on a field trip without an adult chaperone on board.

Strip club in old school irks neighbors

NEOGA, Ill., May 21 (UPI) -- An Illinois strip club is still drawing nightly protests six months after taking up residence in a vacant elementary school building.

The Pioneer School in Neoga, Ill., which was sold by the district for $36,800 in 2002, opened its doors as The School House strip club six months ago, with the former cafeteria hosting topless dancers and the former teacher's lounge serving as the VIP room for lap dances, the Chicago Tribune reported.

A dwindling number of protesters still gather nightly outside of the establishment with a bonfire and a sign reading: "Does your family know where you are? Jesus does."

Nadine Kastl, 81, who used to drive a school bus for Pioneer School, said a recent basketball game featuring a Neoga team saw the opposing fans waving dollar bills at Neoga cheerleaders in an apparent reference to The School House.

"I can't believe that happened to our kids," she said.

Bob Kearney, co-owner of the club with business partner Travis Funneman, said the club went through all the proper channels before opening and adheres strictly to local regulations.

"It's no longer an argument of legality; now it's an argument of morality," he said as a stripper crawled across the stage. "Is this Nazi Germany? Are they the Taliban? It's OK to break the laws as long as it's in the views of my religion?"

Poll: Men talk soccer more than women

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, May 21 (UPI) -- A Dutch sponsor of a European soccer tournament said men are more likely to talk about the sport than to talk about women.

Heineken International, sponsor of the Union of European Football Associations Champions League, said its online poll of 5,300 men in 15 countries found 88 percent cited soccer as the most common conversation topic between men and their friends.

The May 2010 poll, which focused on men ages 25-40, suggested 45 percent of men in the countries talk about their wives or girlfriends most often while 34 percent focus on discussions about work.

"It might not be the news women wanted to hear but it appears men really do only think about one thing when they get together with their mates -- and that's (soccer)," said Tim Ellerton, sponsorship manager for Heineken International. "With the UEFA Champions League Final taking place this Saturday it is a huge weekend for (soccer) and gives men an excuse, if they ever needed one, to talk about their favorite subject."