Watercooler Stories

Hundreds mourn Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla

CINCINNATI, April 13 (UPI) -- Hundreds of people have flocked to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden where Colossus, the famed silverback gorilla, died this week.

A 5-foot by 5-foot card rests on the path to Gorilla World, where patrons signed messages like "Good luck in the trees of monkey heaven."

The 40-year-old Colossus lived in Gorilla World in Cincinnati since 1993, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Primate Center team leader Ron Evans said he was one of the zoo's top attractions.

"There were so many people who came here because of his charisma, and that helped us educate people on the bigger picture, the plight of gorillas in the wild," said Evans.

Colossus died during a root canal and physical Tuesday when he suffered a heart attack.

New Anne Frank letters on exhibit

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, April 13 (UPI) -- Previously undisclosed letters from Anne Frank -- the Jewish girl killed by Nazis and famous for her diary -- are on display at an Amsterdam museum.

Curator Wouter van der Sluis said the letters, some of which were thought to have been destroyed, show an additional insight into Frank.

He said the letters show just how independent she was, the BBC reports. They also reveal she was a much more religious person that previously thought.

Most of the letters were addressed to relatives in Switzerland.

One is to her father, explaining a friendship with a boy she was hiding with in an Amsterdam attic. Her father didn't approve and said he would burn the letter, but he didn't burn it.

The curator said the exhibit at the Amsterdam Historical Museum is important "because she's world famous, you want to know everything about her, and indeed you find something more about her reading those letters."

British town upset over pressure-wash

READING, England, April 13 (UPI) -- Residents of a British town with a ban on watering their gardens are upset because a large office building was seen being pressure washed.

To make matters worse, the utility company Thames Water occupies three floors of the building.

Having just finished a drier than usual winter -- fueling a drought threat and water conservation rules -- residents of Reading, England, face a $1,750 fine if they are caught watering lawns and plants or washing cars with a hose or sprinkler.

There are virtually no limits on businesses or public bodies, so the power-washing incident wasn't illegal. The power-washers use more than 630 gallons of water per hour.

Officials from Thames Water said the company doesn't own the building that was being power-washed and has asked the owner not to wash the windows anymore.

Colleges now need more than 'perfect'

CHICAGO, April 13 (UPI) -- "Perfect" may no longer be enough to gain college admission as Adam Ammar of Chicago found out after scoring an ideal 36 on ACT college entrance exam.

Only 251 students out of the 2.1 million people who took the ACT last year matched the 36, the highest possible on the test. However, Ammar says he was rejected or wait-listed this year by nearly all of his top college choices, including Princeton, Yale, Stanford, MIT and Columbia, reports The Chicago Sun-Times.

Top colleges and universities, both public and private, say this is the most competitive year ever and are looking beyond grades and exams.

University and high school officials are being far more selective because of the growing numbers of applications brought on by demographics. High school counselors also say the best students are sending out more applications than before, with lots of extras in their applications besides high scores.

The good news for Ammar, who wants to study medicine, is that he has been admitted to the neuroscience program at Johns Hopkins University.