Watercooler Stories

Urine-drinker banned from public johns

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 20 (UPI) -- An Ohio man's drinking problem has landed him in jail, but not for alcohol abuse, officials said.

Alan David Patton, 59, allegedly has a fetish for drinking urine and he has been ordered to spend 30 days in jail and five years under house arrest for a recent bathroom-related crime, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

"I'm not certain jail time is going to do the trick for him," said Columbus Assistant City Prosecutor Joseph E. Schmansky. "It seems like what Mr. Patton really wants to do is just do the jail time and then get out and do it again."

Last month, Patton was acquitted of collecting urine from a public bathroom, but Delaware Municipal Court Judge David P. Sunderman found him guilty of criminal mischief.

Patton's criminal history dates to 1978 and includes charges of voyeurism, public indecency, criminal mischief and rape.

The judge also banned Patton from using public restrooms.

Inventor too young to attend toy fair

MILWAUKEE, March 20 (UPI) -- The inventor of colorful, reusable static-cling decals for Lego-type bricks was too young to attend a toy show in New York, officials said.

Greyson MacLean, inventor of the reusable BrickStix decals, is 11-years-old, and Toy Fair 2011 in New York City required attendees to be 18 or over, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Greyson's decals are now in more than 50 stores in 20 states and his father, Matt MacLean, said retailers in other countries have shown an interest in the decals since last month's toy fair in New York.

The stickers let young builders customize their creations with signs, lettering and artwork and because they adhere to smooth surfaces through static electricity, they are removable and reusable.

The family fulfills Web site orders from a curtained-off area in their basement. The stickers come in three themes, metro, space and transport, and sell for $5.99 per set of 84 stickers.

"I can't even describe the feeling," Greyson said of his sticker invention. "You feel excited when you hear someone just ordered 15 of your product."

Telephone call results in drug citation

IRWIN, Pa., March 20 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania man could be nominated for a "dumberest" award by a radio station for joking about being high and driving to a police station, officials said.

Michael Hegland was cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana as a result of his phone-in to Pittsburgh radio station WXDX-FM, the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Tribune-Review reported.

Hegland, 25, called the host of "The X" program Friday to discuss a traffic stop for a brake light violation.

Hegland told host Bob McLaughlin the citations would be dropped if he corrected the problem within two days. McLaughlin told Hegland to stop by the police station to prove he had complied with the grace period and he jokingly told Hegland to avoid being high when he went there.

As it turns out, the local police were listening to the same radio program. An officer called the station and told Police Chief Joseph Pocsatko about Hegland's comments.

Hegland showed up at the police station a short time later, smelling of marijuana. Pocsatko asked Hegland to accompany him to his vehicle so he could confirm the brake light was repaired.

Pocsatko said the vehicle also smelled of marijuana. He asked Hegland if he was in possession of the drug and Hegland reached in his car and removed a cigarette package containing a small amount of weed and a glass pipe.

Hegland could be nominated for the station's weekly segment, "Dumb, Dumber and Dumberest," which highlights the least intelligent callers of the week.

Birthing plan goes awry

PITTSBURGH, March 20 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania insurance agent Justin Young says his job teaches him to expect the unexpected but he says he never expected to deliver his own child.

Justin and Megan Young were in their car in Mars, Pa., preparing to head to the hospital for the birth of their second child when Megan unexpectedly told him not to start the vehicle because the baby was coming, and quickly, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

"We had bags packed. We had our doctors. We had a plan in place," said Young.

But the plan was to no avail.

"People can have all the birth plans they want in the world, but you can't plan Mother Nature," Young said. "And I know that pretty well being an insurance agent. You can't plan on what is going to happen."

As it turned out, Young, with the help of a 911 supervisor, delivered his daughter, Avery, on the front seat of the family SUV while it was still parked in the garage.

"He seemed a little nervous, probably not as nervous as I was if I was in his shoes though," said Terry Sweeny, a supervisor for the Butler County Department of Emergency Services.