Watercooler Stories

2,000 new Oxford English Dictionary entries

NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The word "Benjamin," meaning a $100-bill or large sum of money, is one of the new words in the British 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary.

The new entry features illustrative quotations from The New Yorker and GQ magazines, as well as the song "One More Chance," written by Sean Combs and performed by The Notorious B.I.G.

Benjamin is one of more than 2,000 new and revised entries that were added to the online edition of The Oxford English Dictionary.

"For most of the last century, African-American vernacular has been the driving force in American slang," Jesse Sheidlower, principal North American editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, said in a statement. "We put in words that have currency. If the word is slang, it doesn't matter. If that word is being used, our responsibility is to put it in."

Other new entries include: fanfic, po' boy, beat down, hairy eyeball, and Joe Schmo.

2005 predictions: Bin Laden captured

TUNIS, Tunisia, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Tunisian astrologer Hassan al-Sharibi Tuesday predicted the capture of Osama bin Laden and the death of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein next year.

Al-Sharibi, who gained fame after predicting the death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, also said it's possible Syria and Israel might engage in a new war.

"The Middle East region will be sitting on a volcano in 2005 and the situation in Iraq will get even more dramatic as Saddam Hussein is expected to die suddenly before his trial even starts," Sharibi predicted.

"Osama bin Laden will be captured and tried quickly to make up for U.S. setbacks in Iraq," he said.

Sharibi said a senior Iraqi cleric would be the target of an assassination attempt, leading to an unprecedented rise of violence in Iraq.

Sharibi also said several Palestinian leaders would be targeted by assassins, further complicating the situation in the Palestinian territories.

He said another scandal would hit U.S. forces in Iraq, worse than the Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal, forcing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign.

iN DEMAND won't telecast 'Lingerie Bowl'

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. pay-per-view service iN DEMAND has decided not to telecast the "Lingerie Bowl" this year, TV Guide Online reported Tuesday.

The decision means roughly 80 percent of the U.S. audience will be unable to watch lingerie-clad models playing tackle football during halftime of the the Feb. 6 Super Bowl XXXVIII.

An inside source said last year's disappointing viewer turnout is partly to blame for iN DEMAND's decision.

Gun group urges 2nd Amendment observance

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Americans should use U.S. Bill of Rights Day Wednesday as a time to exercise the right to keep and bear arms, the 2nd Amendment Foundation said Tuesday.

"Wednesday would be the perfect opportunity to do any number of things, from purchasing a firearm or ammunition, for yourself or as a gift, to applying for a concealed carry license if you have not yet done so, or visiting a gun range and practicing marksmanship and firearm safety," Alan Gottlieb, founder of the pro-gun rights group said.

Forty-six states now have some form of concealed carry law and 38 states have "shall-issue" statutes, he said. "The Second Amendment recognizes and protects the same right of individuals as is recognized in the First, Fourth, Ninth and 10th Amendments," he said.

The Second Amendment Foundation, which claims 600,000 members, was founded in 1974 and is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.