Watercooler Stories

NYC toddler survives 3-story plunge

NEW YORK, June 2 (UPI) -- A 2-year-old New York City toddler was nursing some broken bones Wednesday after surviving a 3-story plunge from his apartment onto a steel awning.

Albert Otero, 2, lifted the window past the height of the guards and climbed out Tuesday morning while his mother was napping on the sofa, the New York Post said.

Neighbor Elsa Morales was leaning out her window when she saw the boy fall and hit the awning face down wearing only his diaper.

She raced downstairs screaming for someone to call 911 and got construction workers to bring a ladder, which she climbed to the awning.

"I said, 'Albert, are you OK?'" Santana said. "He shook his little head and said no."

Sirens awoke the boy's mother, who raced downstairs.

Her roommate, Maria Mendez, said it wasn't a case of bad parenting.

"She's a good mom, but sometimes she doesn't pay attention too much," Mendez said.

Doctor: Thongs can be a pain in the butt

LONDON, June 2 (UPI) -- As popular as thong and G-string underwear is with women, a gynecologist is warning they also account for a lot of itchiness, squirming and infections.

Gynecologist Thomas Gent said he has seen a huge increase in the number of women suffering problems, with friction caused by the string part of the underwear often to blame. He went as far as calling for a ban on thongs, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

Anthony Rutherford, a consultant gynecologist at Leeds General Infirmary, also denounced the fashion trend.

"If your G-string is worn too tight or it rolls up then that might be uncomfortable and wearing that with a tight pair of jeans might cause soreness," he said.

In response to complaints, several British fashion chains have removed thongs and padded bras for girls as young as 9, the report said.

Secret to 80-year marriage: 'Yes dear'

HEREFORD, England, June 2 (UPI) -- Two English centenarians celebrating their world-record 80th wedding anniversary Wednesday attribute their success to two words -- "Yes, dear."

Percy Arrowsmith, 105, and his 100-year-old bride Florence of Hereford told reporters they plan a family party to celebrate their marriage on June 1, 1925, with their three elderly children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

The Mirror said Florence did most of the talking to reporters as she summed up "yes, dear" and other tips for a healthy relationship.

"You must never be afraid to say sorry," she said as her husband nodded.

He nodded again when she advised against going to bed with an unresolved quarrel.

"We still love one another -- that's the most important part," she said, to which her husband responded: "Yes, dear."

Armstrong threatens barber for hair sale

LEBANON, Ohio, June 2 (UPI) -- Famed astronaut Neil Armstrong has threatened legal action against a Lebanon, Ohio, barber who sold a small plastic bag of his hair for $3,000.

Mark Sizemore, who cut the hair of the first man on the moon about once a month, sold the hair scraps in May 2004 to an agent for John Reznikoff, the owner of the largest collection of hair samples from historical figures, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Armstrong's lawyer, Ross Wales, sent a letter to Sizemore demanding he return the hair or donate the $3,000 to charity in addition to footing Armstrong's legal bills.

"I don't have $3,000 to donate to a charity. And I told his lawyer I'm not going to pay for lawyer fees for someone I didn't hire," said Sizemore, adding he used the money to pay his bills.

Reznikoff's collection includes locks from Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Napoleon, Elvis Presley and Charles Dickens.

Slave's name nixed for thoroughbred horse

LEXINGTON, Ky., June 2 (UPI) -- A Kentucky thoroughbred horse owner is appealing The Jockey Club's ruling he cannot name a horse after a slave of President Thomas Jefferson.

Garrett Redmond, historian and owner of the Ballycapple farm in Paris, Ky., has filed a freedom of speech lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Lexington after being refused permission to call his 2-year-old filly Sally Hemings.

Hemings was a slave of Jefferson and is widely believed to have been his mistress who possibly also bore him children.

The Jockey Club originally told Redmond he would need permission from Hemings to use the name. Redmond told the Lexington Herald-Leader that in itself is illogical based on horses named Buddha and Louis Quatorze, for the French King.

Stewards then refused the name altogether, citing concerns it "may be offensive."