Watercooler Stories

PETA activists shower naked behind banner

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Two animals rights activists took a nude shower together in a Pittsburgh square Tuesday afternoon, using a banner as an improvised shower stall.

The women were both members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which opposes killing animals for meat or hides, as well as scientific experimentation involving animals.

While they were both naked during their shower at Forbes Avenue and Market Place, the large banner covered them from mid-thigh to just below their shoulders, WPXI-TV reported. It bore pro-vegetarian slogans, including "1 lb. of meat equals 6 months of showers."

PETA said the environmentally conscious should learn that giving up meat is one of the best things they can do.

"It's impossible to 'go green' without going vegetarian," said PETA member Colleen Higgins. "Just by changing their diets, concerned people can help protect the Earth, their own health and countless animals."

Italian model offers virginity for $1.5M

ROME, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- An Italian model and former "Big Brother" cast member say she is selling her virginity for nearly $1.5 million.

Raffella Fico, 20, an aspiring actress who appeared on the Italian version of "Big Brother" this year, told the celebrity magazine Chi she will have sex for the first time with a man willing to pay $1,419,595 for the honor, ANSA reported Tuesday.

"I can't wait to see who's going to pull out the money to have me," she said. "I don't know what it's like to have sex."

Fico said despite her high asking price for her virginity, she plans to be choosy about the buyer.

"If I don't like him I'll just have a glass of wine and forget about it," she said.

Fico's brother was quoted by Chi as backing up his sister's claims of sexual purity.

"She's never had a boyfriend. I swear on my mother's grave," he told the magazine. "She's a devout Catholic and prays to Padre Pio every night."

Homing pigeon refuses to leave yard

MANCHESTER, N.H., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A New Hampshire couple says they are searching for the owner of a homing pigeon that showed up in their yard and refuses to leave.

Don and Fran Roy of Manchester said the wayward pigeon, which they have named Trouble, had an identification band they tracked to a Preston, Conn., store, the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester reported Tuesday. The store said the bird had been sold to a Pennsylvania man.

However, that man, Dan Sizczynski, said he gave the bird away after the end of the summer racing season and does not know who ended up with the bird. He said he gives away about 140 pigeons at the end of each season.

The Roys said local animal shelters, wildlife rehabilitators and a lost-and-found ad have failed to find the lost bird's owner or a new home.

"We're worried about it," Fran Roy said. "We haven't the heart to take her out in the wild and let her go."

The couple said they have tried releasing Trouble from their yard, but the bird just circles around and returns.

"He went around the yard twice and came right back," Don Roy said.

Police say dirty dishes sparked assault

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A Texas woman was arrested after allegedly biting her boyfriend and hitting him with a picture frame while arguing about dirty dishes, police said.

Briana Lin Pouncy, 20, of Fort Worth was arrested Thursday at the apartment she shares with her boyfriend, Joseph Boykins, 21, after she allegedly bit Boykins on the shoulder, cut his face by striking him with a picture frame and swung at him with a sword because she was upset that the dishes were not clean, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Tuesday.

Police spokesman Lt. Paul Henderson said Boykins told officers Pouncy had become enraged after finding the dishes had not been cleaned and demanded he leave the apartment. He said his girlfriend of nine months became violent when he refused to leave.

Pouncy was charged with aggravated assault and released Friday from Mansfield Jail after posting $10,000 bond.