UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Toilet-loving boy, 4, gets free commode

NEW BERLIN, Wis., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin 4-year-old fascinated by toilets is the star of a video produced by fixture-maker Kohler that has more than 100,000 hits on YouTube.

Dustin Kruse of New Berlin, who first started showing an interest in toilets when he was only 18-months-old, came to the attention of Kohler when he visited the company's Design Center in the city of the same name with parents Jim and Michele Kruse and his mother later sent the company a letter asking about a possible demo model of the boy's favorite toilet, a $380 dual-flush toilet, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday.

The company decided instead to send the family a free toilet with a company plumber to ensure it was properly installed.

The company filmed Dustin during a recent return to the Design Center, where dozens of different toilets are on display, and created a YouTube video that has gained more than 100,000 views.

Web site pulls 'kidnapped' baby shirts

PETERBOROUGH, England, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A British online store has pledged to stop selling baby clothes bearing the words, "Help, I'm being kidnapped. These are not my parents."

A spokeswoman for the Web site Kiddicare, based in Peterborough, England, said the store will no longer be stocking the offending Kids Rock brand baby shirts after they received complaints from customers and condemnation from campaigners, The Sun reported Monday.

Catherine Meyer of the charity Parents and Abducted Children Together sharply criticized the shirts for making light of kidnapping.

"This is absolute madness. It trivializes a very serious issue," she said.

The Kiddicare spokeswoman apologized and said the garments would be pulled from the site.

"No offense was intended," she said.

Robber had shorts on his head

STOCK ISLAND, Fla., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a man accused of attempted bank robbery wore a pair of shorts on his head during the crime, but they didn't cover his face.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Eli Escalera, 43, was wearing the shorts like a hat Friday when he walked into the First State Bank on Stock Island near Key West at 12:30 p.m. and handed a note to a teller reading, "Give me what are 20s and 50s," KeysNet.com reported Monday.

The confused teller asked Escalera what he wanted and he responded by saying "nevermind" and leaving the bank, investigators said.

The bank manager called authorities and Deputy Matt Dowling spotted Escalera on a nearby street. The suspect attempted to flee on a bicycle, but was quickly apprehended, authorities said.

The sheriff's office said investigators do not know why Escalera was wearing shorts on his head.

Researcher touts merits of 'mobile dating'

EVANSTON, Ill., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A researcher at Northwestern University in Illinois said he found "mobile dating," which is based in smartphone apps, can be a successful way to meet a partner.

Eli Finkel, associate professor of psychology at Northwestern and lead author of the study, said online dating largely relies on ineffective algorithms and profiles for matchmaking whereas mobile dating allows users to quickly arrange face-to-face meetings to determine their compatibility.

"GPS features on smartphone apps can tell you who is nearby and willing to be browsed," Finkel said. "With a little bit of basic information, potential daters can get together right away for a quick face-to-face meet-up."

Finkel said his research suggests meeting face-to-face as early as possible is important to the success of a relationship and the mobile dating is an effective way to quickly meet someone new.

"You have a little bit of basic information," Finkel said. "Is this person below threshold or above threshold for a five-minute meet-up -- five minutes from now? There's no better way to figure out whether you're compatible with somebody than talking to them over a cup of coffee or a pint of beer."