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Victoria's Secret mangles 'Deck the Halls'

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Ohio-based lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret has released a video with some of its top models mangling the lyrics to the Christmas classic "Deck the Halls."

The video, which has received a positive response on YouTube, features Candice Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge, Lindsay Ellingson and Erin Heatherton making constant errors while attempting to recite the tune, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Charlie Warzel of Adweek magazine said the marketing ploy makes the company's models appear more down-to-earth.

"A commercial like this can help the models be a little bit more relatable," Warzel said. "This is a way to sort of bring them down a little bit."

Sweden moves to block example tax number

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The Swedish Tax Authority said it is working to ensure a tax number used for instruction is not given to a real child born Wednesday.

The authority said it took steps after discovering the tax number, 121212-1212, was used by hospitals and clinics to teach healthcare staff how to work different databases, the Swedish news agency TT reported Wednesday.

The agency said it feared a newborn might end up with the number -- which is created from the birth date, 12/12/12, and four additional numbers -- and be confused with fictional patient Tolvan Tolvansson, a name made from "tolv," the Swedish word for "twelve."

"If we hadn't blocked it, a newborn could have ended up with a load of incorrect health information tied to their ID number," Tax Agency spokesperson Ingegerd Widell said.

50-foot rubber duck floats down Thames

LONDON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A 50-foot-tall rubber duck created by a gaming website was floated down the River Thames in an attempt to spread laughter in London.

Barbara Windsor of website Jackpotjoy said the duck was floated down the river Wednesday morning as part of the website's "Fundation" campaign to boost the average times Britons laugh each day from 7.2 to 15, The Sun reported Wednesday.

Windsor said, "2012 really has been the year of the River Thames with the Jubilee Pageant, the floating Olympic rings and David Beckham jetting into the ceremony via speedboat."

"We decided to round off the year with the giant duck and it certainly cheered everyone up ... no-one could suppress a smile as they saw it sailing past," she said.

Icelandic cow sets new record for milk

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A dairy cow on a farm in southern Iceland has broken the national lifetime record for milk production, giving 245,494 pounds in 14 years.

By the end of November, Mokolla, part of the herd at Kirkjulaekur, a farm in Fljotshlid, South Iceland, had beaten the previous record-holder by 333 pounds, Iceland Review reported. Mokolla appears to be still in her milk-producing years, so her lead is likely to increase.

The South Iceland Agriculture Society on its website said Mokolla was born April 7, 1996, and began her career as a milk-producer in 1998. Her best year was 2008.

Mokolla's first calf arrived in 1998, and its most recent was born Feb. 8.

The Agricultural Society described Mokolla as a lucky cow with a good inheritance. Its paternal grandmother, Snegla, was also a notable milk producer.

Hrafnhetta, a cow on the farm Holmar in Austur-Landeyjar, South Iceland, was the previous record-holder.