Watercooler Stories

Artist to send toy soldier army after Bush

LOS ANGELES, June 18 (UPI) -- An artist in Altadena, Calif., has distributed scores of toy soldiers to local residents with the request they mail the toys to President George Bush.

Artist Ben McGinty said he began handing out the 7-inch-tall military toys to visitors to his art gallery two weeks ago and an estimated 200 toy soldiers may now be headed to the White House as part of his anti-war campaign, the Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News said Sunday.

McGinty said he created the mailing campaign to allow Bush a way to "play with soldiers he can't kill."

The artist has also taken his fight to both YouTube and MySpace in an attempt to draw further publicity to the campaign.

McGinty told the Star-News that the plastic soldiers fighting in his March of the Toy Soldiers campaign may one day even have their own memorial somewhere thanks to Bush.

"Maybe there will be a pile of these sitting there in his museum," he said.

Elderly vs. elk contest occurs in Sweden

KARLSTAD, Sweden, June 18 (UPI) -- A 78-year-old man recently found himself having to repeatedly fight off a surprisingly aggressive elk while hiking in a Swedish forest.

Armed only with a pair of trekking poles, the unidentified man said he successfully repelled the angry animal in northern Sweden after he encountered it on a forest path last weekend, The Local said Monday.

"I went into a sumo wrestler stance with my legs bent and made up my mind to jab at the elk's eyes with the poles," the man said of his initial reaction to the cow elk.

Using his trusty trekking poles, the man said he fended off eight separate attacks by the enraged animal until it ceased its aggressive actions and fled into the forest.

The Local said afterwards, the man admitted the poles were the only thing ensuring his safety and keeping him calm during the attack.

"I actually stayed cool as a cucumber but I would have been terrified if I hadn't had my poles," he said.

Michigan boy wraps up record with ball

BAY CITY, Mich., June 18 (UPI) -- A boy from Michigan's Thumb region set an official world record recently by wrapping together enough plastic wrap to create a 281.5-pound ball.

Jake Lonsway's unique creation may have taken the 7-year-old eight months to create, but when the official weigh-in took place last week in St. Charles, Mich., the plastic wrap ball took the record by 31.5 pounds, the Bay City (Mich.) Times reports.

The previous record holder was Toronto native Andy Martell, whose 250-pound ball has a circumference of 128 inches.

But Lonsway's creation was also superior in that regard, as his plastic wrap ball measured in last Thursday at an impressive 138 inches in total circumference.

While the child's plastic wrap creation must still receive Guinness World Records authorization, Lonsway remained ever so modest regarding his intriguing world record-holding creation.

"I was probably expecting it to be the record," the 7-year-old told the Times.

No-touching rule implemented at Va. school

FAIRFAX, Va., June 18 (UPI) -- Students at a middle school in Vienna, Va., are at arms-length with one another to avoid being punished under the institution's new no-touching policy.

Officials at Kilmer Middle School have defended their strict no-touching policy, alleging it helps them to keep order in the school's lunchrooms and hallways, The Washington Post said Monday.

But the new policy has prompted complaints from the parents of some students, who said such stringent measures stop children from learning in a real-life environment.

"How do kids learn what's right and what's wrong?" Vienna resident Henri Beaulieu asked. "They are all smart kids, and they can draw lines. If they cross them, they can get in trouble. But I don't think it would happen too often."

Her son Hal, who was disciplined recently after hugging his girlfriend in school, agreed with his mother's condemnation of the school's no-touching rule.

"I think you should be able to shake hands, high-five and maybe a quick hug," he told the Post. "Making out goes too far."