Watercooler Stories

3 diners kicked out for not finishing meal

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, July 24 (UPI) -- A Gothenburg, Sweden, restaurant manager kicked out three diners for not finishing their meals, officials say.

Danilo Riquelme, 22, and his two friends were first denied dessert and then kicked out of Bamboo Mongolian Barbeque, a buffet in central Gothenburg Tuesday night for not finishing all the food on their plates, The Local reported.

The server alerted a manager, Henrik Cui, who became very peeved with the three diners.

"The boss flipped out and started swearing, 'Go to hell, you're never welcome here,'" said Riquelme. "We were thrown out in the most unpleasant manner. My friend wasn't even allowed to finish his beer."

Cui stands by his decision to throw out the trio.

"Take one plate, take two, and sit here all day if you like -- but don't throw away food. I don't like guests who waste. They aren't welcome here," he said.

Cui did, however, invite Riquelme and his friends back for dessert, stipulating that they would have to eat by the door.

Riquelme declined the offer, saying "after that scolding, of course I don't want to return."

Mo. lake sets world record for noodlers

KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 24 (UPI) -- Missouri's Lake Lotawana is claiming a world record for most people floating around on foam noodles, officials say.

With 1,555 people noodling around in the water Saturday, Lake Lotawana beat the previous record of 940 noodles held by rival Weatherby Lake set in 2008, The Kansas City Star reported.

The noodle nonsense was started three years ago by Weatherby Lake homeowner Pete Pierce, who contacted Guinness World Records, which informed him no such category existed. Pierce then formed the Noodle World Authority and claimed the "world record" with his friends.

Weatherby Lake no longer holds the title.

"The new noodle world champions!" proclaim Lake Lotawana organizer Sarah Frashier.

Lake Lotawana also took the record for furthest traveling noodler with someone coming all the way from Egypt for the event. The distance record was previously held by a German participant at Weatherby Lake.

Saturday's event was put into motion by 14-year-old Nikki Weber and her brother Peter.

"Two years ago, [Nikki] was racing sailboats against Weatherby's kids and saw their world record sign," Frashier said. "She asked if we could try to beat it."

Man stuck in manhole for 40 minutes

CERES, Calif., July 24 (UPI) -- A California man got stuck headfirst in a manhole for about 40 minutes when he tried to retrieve his wallet, police say.

Ceres police officers found Jared Medeiros, 21, of Ceres stuck waist deep in a manhole Friday, Sacramento's KCRA-TV reported. When they arrived, his legs were flailing in the air.

The fire department had to be called in to help pull out Medeiros after he couldn't be budged. He was stuck for about 40 minutes.

Police said Medeiros only suffered some minor scrapes and contusions. They also found that he was intoxicated, but not impaired, the TV station said.

Video shows dog biting shark

BROOME, Australia, July 23 (UPI) -- A man who shot video of two dogs swimming around a pack of sharks off the coast of Western Australia said the footage would be great for a tourism ad.

Russell Hood-pen, 32, said he took the video at One Armed Point, an indigenous community north of Broome, and was shocked to see two dogs swimming with the shark-toothed lemon sharks and was further amazed when one of the dogs clamped its jaws down on a shark's tail and took a ride, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday.

"He's giving him a bite -- the dog's biting a shark," Sky News quoted Hood-pen as saying in the video.

Hood-pen said he believes the video would make a better tourism ad than the current "cheesy" videos attempting to entice people to visit Australia, the Morning Herald reported.

However, John Lee, chief executive of the Tourism and Transport Forum, said he does not think the video would make a good tourism ad.

"That certainly is an amazing piece of footage, but I don't think vision of sharks practically on the beach is the right image to entice people to Australia," Lee said.