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Dutch official: Save H20, pee in shower

AA EN HUNZE, Netherlands, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A local government official in the Netherlands is recommending people save money and resources by peeing in the shower.

Bert Wassink, a council member in the Drenthe municipality of Aa en Hunze, said residents can reduce water consumption by combining shower time with toilet time, DutchNews.nl reported Wednesday.

Wassink made his comments as part of the council's 2013 sustainability initiative, which has saving water as one of its focal points.

The official said peeing in the shower "saves lots of clean water and is good for the environment."

"If you combine showers and peeing, you save a lot of water and money, so why not?" asked Wassink, who said he makes the practice a daily habit.

Dutch-language news site AD.nl said statistics indicate the average Dutch person uses 10.3 gallons of water per day on showers and 9.5 gallons per day flushing the toilet.

Bull launches sergeant into the air

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A Florida sheriff's sergeant directing traffic after a highway crash was flipped into the air by a bull that fell from a wrecked trailer.

Alachua County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Richard LaLonde said Monday he saw the trailer carrying 32 bulls blow a tire about noon Saturday and crash through a fence and some trees, the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun reported Wednesday.

LaLonde said he started directing traffic around a bull that had fallen from the truck and was signaling another approaching deputy to cut his siren to avoid agitating the animal when he heard someone shouting at him from a distance.

"You know when someone's yelling your name, and you know it's not good?" LaLonde said.

The sergeant said he had only seconds to react when he turned and saw the bull charging at him.

"All I could do was protect my vitals for the hit," he said.

LaLonde said the bull sent him flying.

"When you're in the air during a critical incident," LaLonde said, "you're looking at dying, and time slows down."

However, he said he was not seriously injured and was able to join efforts to corral the bull once he landed.

Authorities said the bull had to be shot and killed. A few other bovines escaped the trailer, but were recaptured.

KFC protester tackled, pelted with food

WESTWOOD, England, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A British teenager who dressed in a giant chicken suit for a protest outside a KFC restaurant said he was punched, tackled and covered in food.

Olly Tyler, 16, of Westwood, England, said he is a vegetarian and decided to protest outside the KFC fast food restaurant after hearing allegations of inhumane treatment of hens at the eatery's factories, The Sun reported Wednesday.

Tyler said he spent more than $960 on a 7-foot-tall chicken suit and stood outside the eatery a few days before Christmas with a sign calling on patrons to "Boycott KFC Cruelty."

"I've protested outside this KFC before and I was pelted with three chicken wings, but this time it was much worse," Tyler said. "People threw sauce and chicken wings at me as well as chicken nuggets. When I left the ground was covered in them. One guy punched me in the head. It didn't hurt but I was really shocked. Twenty minutes later, two guys got out of their car and rugby tackled me to the ground. I have no idea why they did it. I think they just got caught in the hype."

Tyler said he is done protesting KFC and is now working for Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign.

A manager at the KFC said many customers thought Tyler was part of a promotion.

"We told the customers we were doing a promotion," the manager said. "He was standing there as a chicken, and on the top of his sign it said KFC with the Colonel's head."

'Snow circles' appear in Connecticut park

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- People in a Connecticut town said someone cleared a series of intricate patterns in the snow at a downtown park.

Pedestrians walking around the New Haven Green park in downtown New Haven said the "snow circles" appeared in the park Tuesday, WFSB-TV, Hartford, Conn., reported Wednesday.

The passersby Tuesday said they do not know who was behind the public artwork.

"I think it's somebody who has a lot of time on their hands, so they decided to have some fun in the snow," said Gloria Caprio of West Haven.

Colin Andrews, an expert in crop circles, said the snow circles show a lack of precision.

"The lack of symmetry, which I have seen around the world with regard to crop circles isn't here. The spiral symmetry from an elevated position lacks preciseness," Andrews said.