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Schools catching cheaters with Web service

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- In efforts to catch cheating students, more than 150 schools in the United States now use online cheat-checking services, officials say.

The online services, including Turnitin and SafeAssign, run students' assignments through massive databases to detect whether a student plagiarized material from Internet sources or other students, the New York Post reported Saturday.

During the 2010-2011 school year, 173 New York City students were suspended for "scholastic dishonesty," including plagiarism, cheating on tests and "collusion" on papers, spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said, which was up from 146 suspensions in 2009-10

"It's very easy to cut and paste," said Teddi Fishman, director of the Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Turnitin charges schools $2 per student for its services.

Man uses camera to deflect shark bite

NASSAU, Bahamas, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A 42-year-old British diver photographing sharks in the Bahamas got an unplanned close-up of inside a shark's mouth when the shark tried to bite him.

Russell Easton, of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, was taking pictures of a tiger shark off the coast of Cat Island in the Bahamas when it suddenly snapped at him, the Sunday Mirror reported.

"I was looking through the viewfinder of the camera when I suddenly saw this huge mouth and teeth," Easton said.

"Sharks bite because that is how they find out what something is," he said. "It had its mouth wide open and was about to bite me, but bit the camera instead. That gave me a few vital seconds to swim away."

Despite his fortunate escape, Easton said he plans to photograph sharks in the future.

Survey: Margarita the U.S. adult beverage

NORWALK, Conn., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Many U.S. consumers, despite the sluggish economy, seek a more sophisticated experience when eating out and when ordering adult beverages, a survey indicates.

The Cheers On-Premise BARometer Handbook, published by The Beverage Information Group, said a bar manager's survey found the Margarita remains the most popular mixed drink nationwide, although decreasing slightly in share.

The Martini and Rum and Coke take second and third spots, respectively, while the Cosmopolitan cracked the top five this year, the survey said.

Absolut vodka narrowly beat out Grey Goose as the leading call for a brand in 2011, while chardonnay is still the best-selling wine because consumers find it easy to order and drink, but Merlot was more popular in hotels and clubs, the publication said.

Corona edged out Heineken as the best-selling imported beer, while Sam Adams continued as the most popular craft beer, the survey found.

The Cheers On-Premise BARometer Handbook provides alcohol beverage trends. The 2011 edition is an abbreviated edition focusing on the bar manager's survey which examines the observations of bartenders and bar managers at on-premise venues in major metropolitan markets.

U.K. boy calls gender differences 'silly'

SAWSTON, England, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A British couple posted an Internet video in which their gender-neutral young son says the cultural differences between boys and girls is "silly."

"Pink and yellow are girls' colors and blue and green are boys' colors," said 5-year-old Sasha Laxton. "I think that is really silly."

Also silly, according to Sasha, is the idea that dressing up in a tutu and fairy wings at Christmas is something restricted to little girls.

The Sunday Mirror said the video was the latest appearance by Sasha, whose gender was kept a secret by his parents until he enrolled in school.

Feminist blogger Beck Laxton and her partner, Kieran Cooper, insist they are not trying to morph their son into a daughter but are instead allowing him to develop his own personality free from the constraints of sexual stereotypes.

"We wanted to challenge gender stereotypes," Laxton said. "So if Sasha wants to dress up in girls' clothes then so be it. He has cars and Lego and he also has dolls."

"The girls' clothes are fancy dress and for fun at home," Laxton added. "We don't make Sasha go out in girls' clothes."