Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Sneaky snake steals nap on toilet seat NEW YORK, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- That wasn't extra padding a New Yorker saw on his toilet; that was a strange 3-foot snake coiled up and taking a snooze, police said. Advertisement Police said the man caught the unexpected visitor Monday night when he went to the loo, flipped on the light and saw the reptile on the toilet seat, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. "There's a giant snake on my toilet," he told police when they arrived at his apartment. The police caught the slithery sleeper, which turned out to be a non-venomous corn snake, bagged it and turned it over to the animal control authorities. Police say they understand the panic felt by the man, not identified by the Daily News, who told officials the snake wasn't his and may have worked its way into his bathroom through the plumbing. Advertisement "Look, anytime you walk into your bathroom and find a big snake staring you in the eye, it's going to spook you," one officer said. Barrier built for stone-throwing chimps JERUSALEM, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A barrier is being built at a Jerusalem zoo to prevent stone-throwing chimps from hitting visitors, officials said. The new reinforced glass barrier will surround the chimpanzee exhibit at Jerusalem's Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, zoo director Shai Doron told reporters. "Chimps know how to throw forehand, but can't throw overhand, like a baseball. So usually the rocks they throw have a big arc and people have time to escape," he said. Rather than covering the chimpanzee compound with rocky Jerusalem soil, it will be covered with a deep layer of fresh soil without the rocky weapons, he said. "It's kind of embarrassing to be stoned by a chimp," Doron told The Jerusalem Post. The chimpanzee rock-throwing draws large crowds even though it is a sign the animals are upset, he said. Visitors think it's funny "until they get a rock in the head," Noa Danen, head of the zoo's primate section, told the newspaper. The money for the two-month refurbishment came from the zoo's endowment fund and was supplemented by a grant from the Tourism Ministry, the paper said. Advertisement Golfer gets 2 holes-in-1; beats huge odds JOLIET, Ill., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- An Illinois golfer shot two holes-in-one in the same competition -- a feat that carries odds of about 67 million to one, the triumphant golfer said. Gene Goselin, 59, of Frankfort and a financial adviser with Bourbonnais, Ill.-based Wells Fargo Advisers, said the double aces helped him and his golf partner, Ray Olijar, tie for Frankfort's Green Garden Men's Club golf tournament championship at 13 under par Sunday, the Joliet (Ill.) Herald News reported. Goselin, who has a 12 handicap, scored the first hole-in-one using a pitching wedge on the par-3 ninth hole of the club's Gold Course, the newspaper said. "I hit the wedge maybe 3 feet right of the cup, it took one hop, spun back and went right in the hole," Goselin said. On the 189-yard 16th hole, Goselin used a 5-iron. "I hit a draw, and the pin was in the middle of the green. The shot hit on the apron, took two bounces and spun back toward the hole. I thought it was getting close, and then it disappeared," said Goselin. Goselin said his fellow golfers encouraged him to buy lottery tickets in light of his good fortune -- and he did just that Sunday night. Advertisement While Goselin said he should be there for each annual championship tournament, he said of Sunday's accomplishment: "It's never going to happen again." Company makes inflatable tanks, jets MOSCOW, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A Moscow company says the inflatable jets, tanks and missiles it creates for the military appear real when viewed on radar or by satellite. Viktor Talanov, marketing director of Rusbal, said the products can momentarily confuse enemy pilots during a conflict, "and time is money," The Moscow Times reported Tuesday. However, Talanov said the Russian Defense Ministry has not told the company how its realistic, life-sized inflatables are being used. "The strategy of how to use these models is a secret, and the army doesn't disclose it," he said. Talanov said the company has received interest in its products from a number of other countries, including Iran and its neighbors. However, he said the company primarily deals with the government and domestic clients due to problems getting the inflatables through customs. "Foreigners come to us regularly, but we can't work with them because of the customs barriers," he said.
