UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

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Cheese sculpture celebrates Fourth of July

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 3 (UPI) -- Officials in a Florida city said members of the public are invited to pose for photos with a cheese sculpture of Mount Rushmore being created Tuesday.

West Palm Beach officials said Wisconsin native Troy Landwehr, 36, is sculpting 640 pounds of cheese into a recreation of Mount Rushmore at City Hall Tuesday and members of the public will be invited to pose for photos with the sculpture, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

Landwehr, who has been sculpting with cheese since he was 11, told the Palm Beach Post the "My Country 'Tis of Cheese" sculpture will be made from mild cheddar.

"Mild cheddar has the right consistency and density," Landwehr said. "It has the right oil and fat content."

He said harder cheeses tend to crack and softer cheeses have difficulty holding their shape.

The cheese sculpture is part of the 4th on Flagler event, the city's free Fourth of July celebration.

Urinal cakes speak against drunk driving

LANSING, Mich., July 3 (UPI) -- Michigan State Police said talking urinal cakes with an anti-drunken driving message will be distributed to nearly 200 eateries before Wednesday.

The state police's Office of Highway Safety Planning said the urinal cakes are being distributed to establishments serving alcoholic beverages in Bay, Wayne, Delta and Ottawa counties as part of a ramped-up effort to prevent drunken driving from now to Sunday, the Bay City Times reported Tuesday.

"Listen up. That's right, I'm talking to you. Had a few drinks? Maybe a few too many? Then do yourself and everyone else a favor: Call a sober friend or a cab. Oh, and don't forget to wash your hands," the urinal cakes say in a pre-recorded message.

The Detroit News reported the cakes are made by Wizmark of Crownsville, Md., which also manufactures urinal cakes that sing and flash lights.

Woman's arm freed from pool table

SAN DIEGO, July 3 (UPI) -- Firefighters in San Diego said it took them about 30 minutes to free a woman whose arm became stuck in a pool table at a bar.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said firefighters were dispatched to the U31 Bar and Cocktail Lounge about 1:45 a.m. to free a woman whose arm was stuck in one of the holes of a pool table, KSWB-TV, San Diego, reported Tuesday.

Bartender Sharon Rangel said the woman "put her arm all the way in."

"I don't know if she was going for an engagement ring or what," Rangel said.

Firefighters said the woman did not require medical attention and Rangel said the pool table was in good shape once it was reassembled.

'VOTE SATAN' sign stolen from yard

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Colo., July 3 (UPI) -- A Colorado couple said they believe whoever cut down the "VOTE SATAN" poster from their yard was attacking their Satanist religious beliefs.

Luigi and Angie Bellaviste of Mountain View, who are members of the Church of Satan, said the poster was one of several yard decorations celebrating their beliefs, including a blacked Christmas-like tree, skulls and the number 666, KCNC-TV, Denver, reported Tuesday.

"I feel like we're being treated unfairly because it's not a so-called mainstream religion," Luigi Bellaviste said.

"I know of many people who have the Virgin Mary and tons of Jesus memorabilia 'I Love Jesus' and what is the difference?" Angie Bellaviste said.

The couple said they want to see the case investigated as a hate crime, but a Mountain View police officer said investigators will more likely seek theft charges because there was no obvious attack on the couple's religious beliefs.