Watercooler Stories

Hundred of Santas joined SantaCon in LA

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Hundreds of people dressed as Santa gathered in Los Angeles for the SantaCon 2011 bar crawl.

The event, which was predominantly Twitter-driven, began Saturday morning and went well into the night, the Los Angeles Times reported. Attendees who signed up were told where to meet Friday.

Few Santas knew who was in charge of the event, or where they would be going.

"Are we meeting at the North Pole?" asked one Santa.

"No, Hooters," his friend said.

Rules of SantaCon included wear a full costume, not just a hat, be nice to children, hand out gifts and tip servers generously. Also, address everyone as Santa, no real names.

"It's not a drunk-fest," one Santa said. "It's just the awesomeness of having so many Santas coming together in the holiday spirit."

The horde of Santas stopped briefly at the Hollywood and Highland shopping center to sing a Christmas carol.

"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, now bring us some beer," they sang.

Woman: Date stole my car

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A Florida woman says she was at a movie with a friend when he excused himself to go get something from her car only to disappear with it.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office said the Zephyrhills woman, whose name was not released, and Michael Pratt, 27, of New Port Richey were taking in a movie last week when Pratt asked for her car keys, saying he wanted to retrieve something from the rental, a 2012 Ford Focus, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

He left the theater and never came back. So the woman called him.

"I stole your car," Pratt said before hanging up.

The woman said she tried calling back for two more days without getting a response so she contacted the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the newspaper reported Thursday.

Authorities said Pratt called the woman four days after allegedly taking the car, saying he had dumped it in a Walmart parking lot in New Port Richey.

After sheriff's deputies found the car, they arrested Pratt Wednesday charging him with grand theft auto, the Times reported.

Pratt previously spent more than a year in prison for fraud, grand theft, forgery and failing to return rental property -- along with grand theft auto.

England's reindeer race a 'roaring success'

SURREY, England, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Reindeer didn't fly but displayed impressive speed at a racecourse in Surrey, England, and a spokeswoman called the first reindeer derby a "roaring success."

The reindeer -- named, of course, for Santa's helpers -- raced Friday night at Kempton Park Racecourse as part of the Winter Festival, sponsored by off-track betting company William Hill, the Daily Mail reported.

Dasher crossed the finish line first and took the prize -- a trophy filled with carrots.

Bettors placed wagers and cheered on their favorite reindeer.

"This has proved a roaring success with punters across the land as the festive season continues," said Kate Miller, a spokeswoman for William Hill. "December can be an inclement month weather-wise, with many race meetings lost to the elements. Reindeer racing could prove a lifeline for race-starved punters in the future."

Father Christmas served as official race starter, while a team of elves cheered.

Indian teen makes Guinness 'short' list

NAGPUR, India, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A young Indian woman who stands just over 2 feet tall has been named the world's shortest living woman by the keepers of the Guinness World Records.

Jyoti Amge, who is 24.7 inches tall, accepted the title Friday while celebrating her 18th birthday in her hometown of Nagpur, the BBC said Saturday.

Guinness confirmed Amge measured 7 centimeters shorter than the previous record-holder, Bridgette Jordan of the United States.

"I feel grateful to be this size, after all if I weren't small and had not achieved these world records I might never have been able to visit Japan and Europe, and many other wonderful countries," Amge told the British network.

Amge has a form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia and is not expected to grow further, the BBC said.