Watercooler Stories

Fiji beauty called not 'native' enough

SUVA, Fiji, April 27 (UPI) -- Torika Watters, 16, is being criticized on Facebook for not looking "native" enough after she won Fiji's Miss World 2012 beauty pageant.

Indigenous peoples are lambasting the weekend competition, judged by New Zealand supermodel Rachel Hunter and other non-natives, for selecting a winner whose hair doesn't have a "buiniga," a Fiji term for the naturally fuzzy hairstyle of the native islanders, the (Sydney) Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

"In the past few days, there has been nothing but negative criticism and remarks from our own people," a pageant spokeswoman wrote on the competition's Facebook site. "Instead of bringing all the wrong attention to our brand and country, why not start supporting our ambassador, building her up and praying that she impacts the world with her story?

"Fiji has received enough negative press already, shouldn't this be one for making up for lost ground? Our forefathers promoted unity and respect and, sadly, in our society today this is not evident (among) many who call themselves proud Fijians," the spokeswoman said.

Ready for cheeseburger-stuffed pizza?

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 27 (UPI) -- Although not available in its American restaurants, Pizza Hut now offers a pizza with baked-in cheeseburgers, Yahoo! News said Thursday.

Pizza Hut's "Crown Crust Burger" pizza, featuring cheeseburgers in its crust, is being sold in the Middle East, as is one with hot dog filling available in Britain. Another offers chicken fingers in its crust, the news service reported.

While none of the fast-food oddities are for sale in America, television's "Colbert Report" and other U.S. media outlets are devoting significant attention to them, the news service said.

A food blog named "Serious Eats" points out the cheeseburger-enriched pizza comes with topping that replicate an actual cheeseburger, including cheese, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, small pieces of beef and a "special sauce."

'Officer' pulls woman over, asks for date

SIGTUNA, Sweden, April 27 (UPI) -- Swedish police said they are unsure whether a man who pulled a woman over and later texted her for a date was an actual police officer.

The woman, identified as Angelica, 26, told police she believes she was speeding Monday night in Sigtuna when she was pulled over by what appeared to be an undercover police car with flashing blue lights, The Local reported Thursday.

The woman said the man told her she was speeding but he would spare her a ticket and allow her to drive away. However, she said the same man pulled her over a few minutes later and asked for her phone number "just in case something happened."

Angelica said she received a text message after midnight from the man asking her for a date.

"Hello, I want to meet you in Upplands-Vasby tomorrow, what time suits you? Just so we can talk a little. And you can get a free coffee," the text message read. "You got to keep your driving license and you got away without a fine. You were so cute in your blue jeans ;) Can you be in Vasby around 5pm if that works?"

The woman said she called the man later and he again claimed to be a police officer. She said she told him she planned to report his actions.

Police said they are investigating the matter and they are not sure if the man was an actual law enforcement officer.

"This is not good, whether it was actually a policeman or not," lead investigator Mats Johnsson told newspaper Aftonbladet.

New Canadian coins useless in machines

TORONTO, April 27 (UPI) -- The new Canadian $1 and $2 coins being rolled out this year will cost coin vending businesses millions of dollars to retool their machines.

So far, the biggest blow has been to the Toronto Parking Authority, which has begun refitting nearly 3,000 parking meters at a cost of at least $1 million, the Toronto Star said.

Canada abandoned paper $1 bills in 1987 for a bronze-plated nickel coin with the image of a common loon on one side. It immediately was dubbed a "loonie," a term that stuck.

Similarly, when the $2 bill was replaced with a bi-metal coin larger than the loonie in 1996, it caught on as a "toonie."

The new coins cost less to manufacture and are lighter than the originals, so coin operated machines largely reject them, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said.

That affects the hundreds of thousands of coin machines throughout the country from Laundromats to food and beverage machines to condom dispensers.

However, Royal Canadian Mint spokesman Alex Reeves told the Star the new coins' details were released to the industry years ago.

"Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the individual operators to initiate the changeover of equipment, the necessity of which we have communicated for several years," he said.