Watercooler Stories

Soldiers prefer buttons to Velcro

WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- Velcro may be the most up-to-date fastening, but U.S. soldiers say it does not work as well as the old-fashioned button in the dust of Afghanistan.

After listening to complaints about the maintenance required for "hook-and-pile tape," as Velcro is called generically, the military is issuing new pants in August with pockets that button, USA Today reported. Debi Dawson, a military spokeswoman, said the biggest problem was the tendency of pockets to come open, often at critical moments.

That will please Sgt. Kenny Hatten.

"Get rid of the pocket flap Velcro and give us back our buttons," Hatten wrote on a Web site. "Buttons are silent, easy to replace in the field, work just fine in the mud, do not clog up with dirt and do not fray and disintegrate with repeated laundering."

In a test of prototype pants with 2,700 soldiers, military designers found 60 percent preferred buttons for pockets, 29 percent snap-fasteners and only 11 percent Velcro.

Buttons have another advantage -- using them will save 96 cents for each uniform, Dawson said. Hatten would like to go even further, saying the military should let soldiers sew on their own name tapes instead of using ones attached by Velcro.

Police: Boy, 14, took bus for joyride

WAUWATOSA, Wis., June 16 (UPI) -- Wisconsin authorities said they arrested a 14-year-old boy who had been suspended from school and allegedly took a school bus for a joyride.

Wauwatosa police said the Milwaukee teen, who was suspended from school June 8 for reasons not released by authorities, allegedly drove the school bus away as the driver helped a special needs student to his front door, WauwatosaNow.com reported.

Police said the bus was parked at the boy's grandmother's house for a few hours and then driven to Mayfair Mall where the boy was spotted by a woman whose father drives for Lakeside Buses of Wisconsin, which owned the vehicle.

The woman confronted the boy and he was prevented from leaving the parking lot by police. He told officers he "had no intention of shopping, but wanted to be seen by others driving the bus through the lot," the police report said.

The boy was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and taken to the Milwaukee County Juvenile Detention Center.

Police visit hotel on karaoke call

TOPEKA, Kan., June 16 (UPI) -- Police said they were called to a Topeka, Kan., hotel on a report of a man using a karaoke machine to sing an impromptu early morning concert outside of a room.

Police said a desk worker at the Regency Inn & Suites called 911 at about 7:32 a.m. Sunday and reported a man using an "amped-up karaoke machine" to sing songs in a hallway and refusing repeated requests for silence, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Police said the man and his karaoke machine were gone by the time they arrived. It was unclear whether the man was staying at the hotel.

Dispatchers said they did not know the man's set list or whether he sang with any degree of talent.

Police: Woman dumped liquids on books

BOISE, Idaho, June 16 (UPI) -- Police in Idaho said they arrested a woman suspected of damaging thousands of dollars worth of library books by pouring liquid into a drop box.

Boise police said Joy Cassidy, 74, is believed to have poured liquids including corn syrup and ketchup into the Ada County Library drop box at least 10 times since May 2009, The (Boise) Idaho Statesman reported.

Police said they pulled Cassidy over Sunday because her car matched the description of a vehicle seen in the area during reports of the vandalism.

Boise Police spokesman Chuck McClure said officers determined Cassidy had just dropped an open jar of mayonnaise into the return box. He said police also found a loaded handgun under her driver's seat.

Cassidy was charged with misdemeanor injury to property and misdemeanor carrying a concealed weapon. Police said they have yet to determine a motive for the alleged library vandalism.