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Man fishes 10 hours with hook in head

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The two-man team that took the top prize at a California college fishing championship said one member fished for 10 hours with a hook in his head.

Robert Matsuura, 23, said he was fishing alongside Sacramento State University fishing teammate Peter Lee, 22, during the FLW College Fishing Western Regional Championship Saturday at Folsom Lake when Lee's treble hook lure -- comprised of three hooks each connected to three smaller hooks -- struck him in the back of the head during an attempted cast, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The pair said two of the three larger hooks were embedded in Matsuura's skull.

"I yelled at (Lee) to cut the line," Matsuura said. "Then I jumped in the driver's seat and drove straight to the ramp. I figured I'd go to urgent care to get it out and maybe come back later to fish. But there was a guy there saying, 'Hey, why don't we cut off the lure and the one treble hook that's not inside your head.' The other two hooks were just in too deep."

Matsuura said he took two Tylenols for the pain and continued fishing for 10 hours, with the two man team finishing the day with a haul 2 ounces heavier than that of closest rival Chico State University.

The student said he and Lee collected the $50,000 reward for their university and then set about removing the hook.

"A family friend is a dentist," Matsuura said. "He numbed it and pried it out."

Human skeleton bought at estate sale

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A Florida couple say they were decorating their home for Halloween when they discovered the skeleton prop they recently purchased was made of real human bones.

Mitchell and Judith Fletcher of Tampa told the Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies they thought the item was made of plastic when they purchased it at an estate sale a few weeks ago but they gave it a closer examination while decorating and determined it was authentic, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported.

The couple handed the skeleton over to deputies, who said they discovered a serial number on the femur. Investigators said the skeleton was likely once used for academic study.

The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office took possession of the skeleton for further investigation, deputies said.

20 parking pay boxes stolen in Chicago

CHICAGO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Chicago police said about 20 parking pay boxes, each weighing about 200 pounds, have been stolen during the past month.

The Chicago Police Department said the pay-and-display boxes, recently installed to replace individual meters as part of a $1.15 billion deal privatizing the city's street parking, have become popular targets for thieves, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

"There have been approximately 20 (boxes) taken, of which four have been recovered," police spokesman Roderick Drew told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Drew said the thefts began Sept. 17. He said investigators do not know how much money was inside the boxes when they were taken.

Police said they were working with the parking meter operator, LAZ Parking, in the investigation.

Swedish family finds 3.3 pound mushroom

BROBY, Sweden, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A Swedish mushroom expert said a hormone imbalance may be what caused a cep mushroom found by a family to grow to 3.3 pounds.

Maria Bolmehage said her family discovered the gargantuan fungus while searching for mushrooms in the woods near their home, outside of Broby in the southern part of the country, Swedish news agency TT reported.

"We made a hearty dinner," Bolmehage said.

Mycologist Klas Jaederfeldt said the mushroom may have grown so large due to a hormone imbalance.

"I once saw a cep mushroom of this size. Then a rat had made a home for its family inside," he said.