Advertisement

Jockstrip: The World As We Know It

By PENNY NELSON BARTHOLOMEW, United Press International
Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter

DIXIE CHICKS ENTER THE RECORD BOOK

The Dixie Chicks has entered the Guinness World Records Book. Their publicist tells UPI that they achieved the feat by having the all-time best-selling country album by a group.

Advertisement

The CD was "Wide Open Spaces." Lead singer Natalie Maines said she and the others entered the book without having to do some of the silly and outrageous things many have done for their "page of recognition." Maines says that "no one else had 11 million people help them (as) we did."

Additionally, the new edition of the Guinness book contains a record set by a Wisconsin man who has eaten more than 17,500 Big Macs during his life. Makes one think that he should have won some kind of award just for keeping count all these years.

(Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)

Advertisement


THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

Nashville Pussy had to buy its new Web-site domain name from a Chattanooga, Tenn., madam who runs an online sex chat room.

It seems the Internet address NashvillePussy.com was already being used by a site designed for ladies to offer their favors online. The band bought the name from the woman for an undisclosed sum of money.

"It was a pleasure to do business," said Nashville Pussy singer Blaine Cartwright.

"We expect some residual traffic from their old customers," said guitarist Ruyter Suys. "Stick around, boys, surf on in and try a taste of something else, some Southern fried chicken with a lot more sauce."

"We pander to a different crowd," added Cartwright. "Actually, it's probably the same crowd!"


NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS

The mystery of "skunky" beer has been solved by a team of chemists led by the University of North Carolina's Malcolm D. Forbes.

Many afficionados of the malted beverage think that beer goes bad when mishandled. "Historically, beer has been stored in brown or green bottles to protect hop-derived compounds from light in a process we call photodegradation," said Forbes. Hops give the beer its flavor and protects it by inhibiting bacterial growth. But certain elements of hops, known as isohumulones, are light-sensitive, and their breakdown can lead to an offensive flavor and smell.

Advertisement

Forbes and his team used sophisticated analytical chemistry techniques to track the reaction, and found that one of the end-products is what the team calls a "skunky thiol." As it turns out, the chemical is related to the funky ones in skunk glands.

The study is reported in the Nov. 5 issue of the European journal Chemistry.

(Thanks to UPI Science Writer Jim Kling)


TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

Fears of anthrax have kept hazardous materials teams hopping nationwide.

In one case, the white powdery substance found on an airline cockpit seat turned out to be dandruff. In another case, the white powder on the steps of a Chicago subway station was determined to be cleanser.

Then there was the brown, powdery substance mailed to Illinois Gov. George Ryan. A secretary to Ryan alerted security personnel at the state office building in Chicago after discovering the envelope. The envelope was turned over to the FBI for testing. It turned up negative for spores but positive for bacteria -- the kind found in human excrement.


AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY

Jay Leno's 2001 Harley-Davidson -- festooned with dozens of celebrity autographs -- has fetched a high bid of $360,200 on eBay to raise money for The Twin Towers Fund.

Advertisement

The "Tonight Show" host has collected signatures on the bike from Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington and Nicole Kidman, among others.

The list of celebrities who have signed the bike also includes Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Cuba Gooding Jr., Salma Hayek, Pamela Anderson, Magic Johnson and Terry Bradshaw.

Visitors to eBay's Auction for America have been bidding on the bike, which Leno just bought in July, since last week. On Oct. 10, Leno added a brand new limited edition 2001 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 SuperCrew to the package. The SuperCrew is the second in a series of trucks jointly developed by Harley-Davidson and Ford.

After verifying that the top bidder has the funds to do the deal, Leno will announce the auction winner on Friday's "Tonight Show."

The list of signatures also includes Arsenio Hall, Leelee Sobieski, Tim Allen, Bill Maher, Mira Sorvino, Ed Harris, David Spade, Martina McBride, Megan Mullally, Michael Richards, Ed Kowalczyk, Drew Carey, Maria Bartiromo, Emeril Lagasse, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Douglas, Jessica Alba, Ricky Martin, Jenna Elfman, Breckin Meyer, Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina Jolie, Doug Flutie, James Taylor, Russell Crowe, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Adam Sandler, Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Short, James Woods, Jennifer Garner, Ozzy Osbourne, Rodney Dangerfield, Heather Locklear, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Jet Li and Jill Hennessy.

Advertisement

A publicist for NBC said Heather Graham, Kevin Spacey and Leno would sign the bike before it is turned over to the highest bidder.

Images of both vehicles and celebrity signings are posted at nbcmv.com.

Latest Headlines