Watercooler Stories

Molasses truck spills all over highway

WAIMATE, New Zealand, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Police in a New Zealand town said traffic was diverted Monday from a stretch of highway after an overturned truck spilled molasses across the road.

Waimate police said the truck, which was carrying 26.5 tons of the sticky substance, rolled onto its side around 10:30 a.m. Monday on State Highway 1 and spilled its contents onto the roadway, the Timaru (N.Z.) Herald reported.

Senior Sgt. Mike van der Heyden said suction trucks were brought in to pump the molasses off the road.

"We didn't want to hose (the molasses) off because that would just make it runny and cause it to spread further," he said.

Van der Heyden said the truck veered off the left side of the road and got caught in a wet verge, causing it to roll onto its side when the driver tried to pull back onto the roadway.

The driver was treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries to his shoulder.

Man caught urinating on police car

SEATTLE, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A Seattle police spokesman said officers caught a man "mid-stream" while he was urinating on a police patrol car.

Police spokesman Jonah Spagenthal-Lee said the car was parked in a lot around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday while the officers were on foot patrol. They returned to the vehicle and allegedly found the man in "mid-stream," Seattlepi.com reported Monday.

"The man saw the officers, who told the suspect to zip up his pants and put his hands on a nearby wall so officers could pat him down," Spagenthal-Lee said. "There were no other cars parked in the lot at the time."

"As officers were talking to the man, a crowd of people gathered around them in the parking lot. Out of concern for their own safety, the officers took the suspect to the North Precinct, cited him for public urination, and released him," the spokesman said.

He said the citation carries a $27 fine.

Missing trombone returned to boy

DREXEL HILL, Pa., Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The mother of a Pennsylvania 9-year-old whose trombone disappeared last week said the instrument was turned in to police.

Helen Milligan of Drexel Hill said she does not know if the trombone belonging to her son, Aidan, was stolen or picked up as trash Thursday, but she received word Sunday that a man had turned the missing instrument in to the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday.

"I'm just overjoyed. I'm delighted," Milligan said. "I don't think anybody ever thought we were going to see that trombone again. So whoever turned that in, I give him a lot of credit."

Milligan said the Philadelphia Orchestra had offered to replace the trombone if it did not turn up.

"I said to them, 'Don't go through with anything, because you never know. Someone might turn it in,'" she said. "I thought there was a small chance, but I didn't really think it was going to happen."

Milligan said police told her the man who turned in the instrument did not have a criminal record and they are unsure of whether the trombone was stolen.

"We're not going to ask any questions or anything. We're just glad to have the trombone back," she said. "I just say, 'You know what? I'm just happy he turned it in.'"

Teen had photo taken with 840 animals

FORT COLLINS, Colo., Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A Colorado 16-year-old who has been photographed with 840 animal species says his goal is to get pictures with every animal on the planet.

Tallon Nightwalker of Fort Collins said his quest began when he was 5 and his father took his picture with a bullsnake he was working with at the Fort Collins wildlife sanctuary, The Denver Post reported Monday.

The teenager and his father, Bob Nightwalker, said they figure they have about 25,000 more pictures to take.

"There is no doubt this has brought us together," Bob Nightwalker said. "But just as importantly, I think Tallon is helping save many of these animals, many of whom some people have never heard of before."

Tallon has posted the pictures, which all feature living animals without barriers between boy and beast, on a Facebook page titled "Tallon Nightwalker's Animal Pictures."