UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Dachshund floors pedal, crashes car

WOODBURY, Minn., July 29 (UPI) -- Police in Minnesota said a car crashed into a liquor store when the 71-year-old motorist's dachshund puppy wedged itself between his feet and the gas pedal.

Woodbury Police Sgt. Curt Zacharias said Richard Coerber, 72, was pulling into a parking space about noon Tuesday at Woodbury Liquors when the small dog jumped on the accelerator, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer-Press reported Thursday.

"He got between the feet and the pedal," Zacharias said. "It was lucky that no one was walking by at that moment."

Zacharias said there was moderate damage to the vehicle and building. He said the puppy was OK and no humans were injured.

Church of Sweden considers swearing fines

UPPSALA, Sweden, July 29 (UPI) -- The Church of Sweden is considering a proposal to institute fines for swearing at meetings of the Synod, the church's official governing body.

The motion, proposed by two Synod members, follows an outbreak of profanity during the annual Synod meeting last year and is due to be voted on during this year's September meeting in Uppsala, the Swedish News Agency TT reported Thursday.

The Synod members said in the proposal that soccer trainers are fined $70 for using profanity during games.

"It is tempting to compare how language, behavior and restraint are handled in sport, which seems to have come a lot further than the Synod," the motion reads.

Judge tosses saggy pants summons

NEW YORK, July 29 (UPI) -- A New York judge tossed a man's disorderly conduct summons for wearing saggy pants, saying the constitution protected his right to look "foolish."

Judge Ruben Franco dismissed the April 20, 2009, summons against Julio Martinez, which said the defendant had "his pants down below his buttocks exposing underwear (and) potentially showing private parts," the New York Post reported Thursday.

"The Constitution still leaves some opportunity for people to be foolish if they so desire," Franco said in his decision, which was issued in June.

"While most of us may consider it distasteful, and indeed foolish, to wear one's pants so low as to expose the underwear ... people can dress as they please, wear anything, so long as they do not offend public order and decency," Franco wrote.

"The issuance of this summons appears to be an attempt by one police officer to show his displeasure with a particular style of dress," the decision read.

Churchill's dentures sell for $23,700

AYLSHAM, England, July 29 (UPI) -- A British auction house said a set of Winston Churchill's false teeth sold for $23,700, far more than the expected maximum $7,800.

Keys auction house in Aylsham, England, said the dentures were auctioned Thursday on behalf of Nigel Cudlipp, the son of dental technician Derek Cudlipp, who created the false teeth, the BBC reported.

"When my father's call up papers came, Churchill personally tore them up," Nigel Cudlipp said. "Churchill said that he would be more important to the war effort if he stayed in London to repair his dentures."

The auction house said the dentures were purchased by a private collector from Gloucestershire.