Watercooler Stories

Facebook doesn't recognize Effin, Ireland

EFFIN, Ireland, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- An Irish woman said she is trying to convince Facebook to accept the name of her birthplace, the town of Effin.

Ann Marie Kennedy, 47, who registered for Facebook in June, said she believes the social networking site is rejecting the name because of its similarity to an alternative for a profane word and she has started an online campaign to have the city recognized, The Washington Post reported Monday.

"I'm a proud Effin woman," Kennedy said. "There are other Effin people around the world, and they want to put down that Effin is their home town."

Kennedy said the town's name comes from the name of a saint called Eimhin.

"Before cursing became popular, Effin was quite a normal word," Kennedy said.

Facebook sent the Post an e-mailed reply to its request for a comment.

"From time to time we are alerted to oversights such as this in our mapping system," the e-mail read.

Kennedy said she has provided information about the town, including as Google Map showing its location, to Blue Rubicon, a London-based public relations firm working for Facebook. She said she hopes the firm will be able to help her get Effin listed.

"I just want to put down that I am from Effin because I am proud of my parish," she said.

Toilet posters give public health advice

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Bus riders in San Francisco are seeing posters of third-world toilets as reminders to keep vaccinations up-to-date if traveling overseas, health officials said.

The public health posters, carrying the slogan "Don't spend your vacation hugging this," are the work of the California Department of Health's communicable disease division, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

Pamela Axelson, a nurse who helped found the department's Adult Immunization & Travel Clinic said the public service campaign is mostly directed at people from Central America, the Philippines or Southeast Asia who live in San Francisco and are heading back to visit their families.

Axelson said those travelers often incorrectly assume they have a natural immunity to diseases such as Hepatitis A, malaria, typhoid and yellow fever, the Chronicle said.

"They've been here for 20 years or 30 years, and they've lost any immunity they might have had," Axelson said. "They're much more susceptible than they think they are" because of bacteria found in the food and water of their homelands -- hence the toilet ads, the newspaper said.

Axelson said she recommends a visit to a clinic prior to traveling to a developing country to make sure their vaccinations are up-to-date, the Chronicle reported.

Male penguin pair pursuing females

TORONTO, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Two male penguins who shared a nest may just have been each other's wing man, as Toronto Zoo officials say both are now pursuing the opposite sex.

After the African penguins Buddy and Pedro drew international attention this fall for their close relationship that included nesting and swimming together, zoo officials separated them so they could mate with females, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday

Buddy has paired up with a female, while Pedro had his eyes on one he'd like to get to know better, Tom Mason, Toronto Zoo's curator of birds and invertebrates, said Sunday.

"Pedro is ready to go but his prospective mate is quite shy," Mason told the CBC. "She's not quite ready to go, but they're beginners."

Pedro, 10, and Buddy, 21, arrived at the Toronto Zoo last year from Toledo, Ohio. Buddy had a female partner for 10 years and they had some offspring before she died. Pedro has yet to become a father.

Mason noted it's not uncommon for penguins to have a non-sexual, same-sex "social bond," especially when female penguins aren't around.

"When the opposite pairs do show up, the same sex bond tends to break down," he said.

Museum sells grenade-shaped ornaments

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Visitors to the Swedish Army museum are questioning whether its hand grenade-shaped Christmas tree ornaments are in bad taste.

The Stockholm museum is selling the ornaments to raise money for Christian Aid, a charity that combats poverty and helps with disaster relief, Swedish news agency TT reported Monday.

"Support Christian Aid and their work for peace and against poverty by buying our Christmas ornaments which are a subtle reminder of those who are less fortunate than we are during the holiday season," the museum said in announcing the ornaments on its Web site.

However, some museum visitors said they find the ornaments to be distasteful.

"Quite simply I think it's distasteful, especially if they are raising money for charity. This is a museum frequented by children and it's hard to explain to them why there are hand grenades in the Christmas trees," visitor Elinor Lindeborg said. "This is an Army Museum, but should still try to highlight a non-war perspective."