Watercooler Stories

Alleged thief survives 200-foot fall

ELIZABETH, N.J., May 22 (UPI) -- A Staten Island, N.Y., man out on bail for allegedly stealing an expensive handbag survived a 200-foot jump after allegedly stealing another one, police say.

New York Port Authority police were chasing Darin Hickman, 46, after he allegedly shoplifted a tony Louis Vuitton purse from a mall in New Jersey. Just as Hickman got close to the Goethals Bridge in Elizabeth, N.J., he rammed a police car, causing his Mitsubishi Diamante to catch fire, the New York Post reported Sunday.

Hickman jumped out of the car and bolted down the highway and then he made a totally unexpected move, police said.

"Suddenly, he makes a hard left -- and falls 200 feet!" an officer on the scene marveled. "I still, to this moment, can't believe what I saw. This mope threw himself off a bridge, and has no external injuries and seems to be fine."

When police and firefighters discovered Hickman alive and breathing, all he wanted to know was, "How's my car?" the officer said.

The alleged robber was out on bail for stealing a comparable Louis Vuitton bag worth $2,500 last week.

Condom makers seek upscale market

NEW YORK, May 22 (UPI) -- The maker of the world's most expensive condoms says $65 a dozen is pretty fair considering their quality.

Jud Ireland, chief executive officer of Naked, tells the New York Post his condoms include a high-priced lubricant and are made with latex that is both thinner and softer than most brands found on drugstore shelves in the United States.

And, according to Ireland's sister, Marie, they have a visual appeal. "I'd rather have sex with someone who has a Naked condom," she told the Post. "The guy looks better, I think."

While Naked sells for $5 per unit as opposed to $1 for Brand X, the market for upscale condoms is growing. Ireland called Naked's target audience "edgy, hip and rich."

Man saves dog from alligator

PALM BEACH, Fla., May 22 (UPI) -- A retired Florida construction worker says his lifetime of hard work gave him the strength needed to pull his dog out of an alligator's jaws.

Gary Murphy, 72, told TCPalm.com he isn't a hero. "I just wanted my dog back."

Murphy was working on a boat Thursday when he saw his 11-year-old West Highland White Terrier in the jaws of an alligator. He immediately jumped on the gator's back and hit it on the head until it released the dog.

"It was like landing on a pile of rocks," he said about jumping on the alligator. "If your kid was in the water with its head in a gator's mouth, what would you do?"

When the alligator released the dog, Murphy scooped it up and ran inside his home. He took the dog to an animal hospital the next day, where it was treated for a compressed lung and cuts and puncture wounds to its back and stomach.

Murphy said his healthy lifestyle and having a background in construction gave him the strength to rescue his dog.

Murphy said his wife, who was out of town when the incident happened, asked him a single question.

Man took beer to 'score women'

JENSEN BEACH, Fla., May 21 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a man who stole an 18-pack of Bud Light from a 7-Eleven store told deputies he took the beer to help him get women.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office said the man, who was accompanied by two others who were uninvolved with the theft, took the beer from the Jensen Beach convenience store Monday morning and left in a silver Dodge Neon with the other men, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Friday.

Deputies said they found the men changing a tire on the vehicle about 3 miles from the store. They said Anthony Hernandez, 20, admitted stealing the beer so he could "score some women."

The sheriff's office said Hernandez, who was arrested, told them he did not know the whereabouts of the pilfered beer.