Watercooler Stories

Friends build 15-foot snowman

DANVILLE, Vt., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A group of five friends in Vermont said it took them 3 hours to build a 15-foot-tall snowman at the side of Route 2.

Danville pals James Beattie, Jacob Mills and Derek Chamberlin said they and two other friends spent 3 hours Sunday packing snow to create the giant snowman, which features two large sticks for arms and a nose quite a bit larger than a traditional carrot, WCAX-TV, Burlington, Vt., reported Wednesday.

"It's a box we used to hold grinding wheels, just something we had down at the farm," Beattie said. "The eyes are beef jerky cans and the mouth are Brillo pads."

The friends said they were surprised by the number of people who pulled over to the side of the road to look at their creation.

"We definitely thought people would stop, but definitely a lot more stopping than we thought would," Beattie said.

The friends said they plan to make the snowman larger if more snow falls in the area.

Fine tossed for flower-eating goat

SYDNEY, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- An Australian comedian was cleared of a fine for damaging vegetation when a court ruled his pet goat was to blame.

Jimbo Bazoobi, real name James Dezarnaulds was fined about $464 for damaging vegetation when his goat, Gary, munched on a freshly planted flower bed in Sydney's Circular Quay area, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

Lawyer Paul McGirr argued before Magistrate Carolyn Barkell at Sydney's Downing Center court his client could not control Gary's appetite.

"It is a liability that attaches to only a person ... Gary's not a person," McGirr said.

Barkell dismissed the fine.

'Cleaning Fairy' busted while shoveling

ELYRIA, Ohio, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Police in Ohio said a woman previously arrested for breaking into homes to clean them was arrested while shoveling strangers' driveways.

Elyria Police said they responded to a report of a "suspicious female" shoveling a home's driveway without permission Tuesday and they arrived to find Susan Warren, 53, WOIO-TV, Cleveland, reported Wednesday.

Warren was dubbed "The Cleaning Fairy" when she was busted in November 2012 for allegedly breaking into a house and cleaning it, leaving behind a handwritten bill for $75. She was sentenced to a year of probation.

Police said Warren had a warrant out for a probation violation and she was taken to jail.

Taiwanese ramen bowl has iPhone dock

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A Taiwanese company has dubbed its latest product, a ramen noodles bowl with an iPhone dock, the "anti-loneliness bowl."

MisoSoupDesign partners Minnie Jan and Daisuke Nagatomo, who attended Columbia University together, said they were inspired to create the "anti-loneliness bowl" when they spotted a man eating alone while clutching his phone, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

"He just couldn't let the phone go!" Jan said. "We thought it would be a good idea to help him restore his manners."

"We did it for fun -- it's kind of sarcastic," she said of the bowl's creation. "We're not trying to promote everyone looking at their screens all the time."