Watercooler Stories

Legally blind driver doesn't get far

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A legally blind Iowa man reportedly admits that driving his girlfriend's car was not very bright.

John Coates was arrested Sunday after he allegedly attacked the father of his girlfriend's children with brass knuckles and then escaped in her Dodge Caravan. Police in Des Moines say he ended up in an alley after sideswiping a parked car and running a truck off the road.

Coates faces a long list of charges, including attacking the father of his girlfriend's children. He is also charged with driving without a license, failure to show proof of insurance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

"He kept saying, 'Driving was the dumbest thing. I shouldn't have drove. I don't know what I was thinking,'" Des Moines Police Officer Ryan Doty told the Des Moines Register.

Lack of liquor license hampers sports bar

PLAIN, Ohio, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- An Ohio sports bar has one small problem -- it's in a dry area and it can't serve alcohol.

The owner, Mike Bolognue, spent more than half a million dollars converting an empty space in a strip mall in Stark County into a Legends Sports Pub & Grille. But he assumed he could get a liquor license since the state Division of Liquor Control accepted his application and learned too late that he had picked a location in a dry precinct, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Bolognue must now make his case before the voters in May. Since the bar opened Nov. 16, that means he must keep going for six months without turning on the 27 beer taps.

"Here we are a sports bar that's alcohol free," Bolognue told the newspaper. "We're the only sports bar in the world, we think, that doesn't sell alcohol."

The restaurant opens for breakfast, something that was not part of the game plan. Bolognue also uses promotions to lure customers in, like a large steak selling for less than $10, and he and general manager Al Lopez hope they are building good will that will mean more business for the restaurant later when the booze starts flowing.

Dumpster diving soars for free air travel

NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Dumpster-diving has reached new depths in the United States, with a rush for frequent-flier coupons printed on the side of Wendy's restaurant cups.

Under the promotion that began last month, Wendy's and Florida-based discount airline AirTran are offering free frequent-flyer rewards on the sides of 84 million 20- and 32-ounce cups. Just 64 coupons are worth a round-trip flight anywhere AirTran flies.

Now, the hungry and homeless are being jostled by entrepreneurs who aren't afraid to get dirty, with many of them even offering their salvaged coupons on Internet auction sites, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

On Craigslist, buyers are soliciting coupons for upwards of $1.50 each, more than the retail value of a Wendy's soft drink.

"I will pay you to dumpster-dive at Wendy's," wrote a buyer in Indianapolis. "Looking for about 1,000-1,500 of these, maybe a few more."

Meanwhile, AirTran has already redeemed an estimated 85,000 coupons, but is limiting individuals to two round-trip flights, said Tad Hutcheson, airline vice president of marketing.

Auction sites offer killers' memorabilia

BOSTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts serial killer has been cashing in on his fame by selling artwork online.

Alfred Gaynor's crayon drawing of Jesus, "The Righteous Man's Reward," was auctioned for $250, the Boston Herald reported. The flap over that sale has created a market for Gaynor's letters and other items on auction sites that specialized in murderer memorabilia.

Gaynor was convicted of strangling four women in Springfield. Helen Strickland, mother of one of his victims, is not happy about the trade in his mementos.

"These are the same hands that broke my daughter's nose and arm, that strangled and sodomized four women," she told the Herald. "Why is that exciting to someone? How can the people who killed someone get more respect and more privileges than the victims?"

State Rep. Peter J. Koutoujian has introduced legislation that would bar killers from benefiting from sale of their art.