Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe No record, but hearse fans happy in Hell HELL, Mich., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- There weren't enough hearses in Hell -- Hell, Mich. -- to set a world record for the largest procession of hearses, organizers conceded this weekend. Advertisement The annual Just Hearse'N Around festival for hearse enthusiasts took place in Hell Saturday with 43 of the solemn vehicles taking part in the run from Hell to the Terrified Forest in Pinckney, Mich. The Detroit News said Sunday that the aim had been 50 hearses, the minimum required to establish a new Guinness World Record category. Rain was blamed for the smaller-than-hoped turnout, but those who did show up were there for more than a world record. "I kind of like the dark side of things," Wally Wojciechowski, 47, Garden City, told the Detroit Free Press. Immigrant opossums adapt to Brooklyn Advertisement NEW YORK, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Officials in New York's Brooklyn borough say they are being overrun by opossums that have experienced a population boom since being introduced as a rat-control measure. The nocturnal creatures have been prowling around the alleys, yards and even golf courses in the borough, much to the chagrin of the folks who live there. "They are everywhere," said Theresa Scavo, chairwoman for Community Board 15, told the New York Post. The newspaper Sunday reported opossums were actually brought into Brooklyn by the city a few years ago as a predator to New York's venerable rat population. Although opossums do eat rodents, there appears to be little dent in the rodent population. No one seems to know quite what to do about the growing opossum presence in Brooklyn. In fact, the Post said, various city departments involved in health and vector control say they have no record of even being involved in the decision. Canine model has time to help others NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- One of New York's biggest celebrities has four legs and weighs only 80 pounds -- a Labradoodle known both for his modeling skills and his good works. Advertisement Bocker, a cross between a Labrador and a poodle, is not a high-strung demanding star, his owner, Marie Shelto, told the New York Daily News. Whether playing a canine version of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on TV, modeling for Ralph Lauren or serving as the face and bark of Dogs in Party Hats, a contest raising money for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, he gets the job done. "Bocker is very low-key no matter what situation he is in. People say he never gets his curls in a knot," Shelto said. "Producers have told me that he is even easier to work with than humans." Shelto acquired Bocker, 7, because she needed a hypoallergenic animal. He is a certified therapy dog and has worked in the Tail-wagging Tutor program for elementary school children. "Bocker is always ready and willing to lend a helping paw," Shelto said. When he is not busy, Bocker lives quietly with his owners in Athens, N.Y., about 30 miles south of Albany. Bedbugs make Niketown scratch shopping day NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- New York's spreading bedbugs have struck another high-profile Manhattan store, Niketown, Nike announced Saturday. Nike's flagship store on East 57th Street was forced to close Saturday, the New York Daily News reported. Advertisement "Our primary concern is the well-being of our consumers and sales associates," Nike's statement said. "We are taking all proper steps to eradicate the problem and we expect the store to reopen shortly." The five-story Niketown, with big-name endorsers like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter, sells wares ranging from expensive footwear to headbands to T-shirts. Before hitting Niketown New York, the insects are known to have bitten into the Empire State Building, the Hollister store in SoHo, the Brooklyn district attorney's office, a Times Square movie theater and the Time Warner Center. A study by the pest control company Terminix found New York had the nation's worst bedbug infestation.
