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Odds & Ends
By Devin D. O'Leary
NOVEMBER 24, 1997:
Dateline: New York--When the publishers of Time
magazine decided to name the "100 People of the Century"
with a little help from their readers, they could never have guessed
the response they've been getting. It seems a quarter million
letter, postcard, fax and e-mail submissions a day have been flooding
the offices of Time--all in support of one man. Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk may not be a household name, but he was the first
president of Turkey. Although he died in 1938, he is currently
tops in every single one of Time magazine's categories,
including: statesmen, adventurers, scientists, entertainers and,
of course, Person of the Century. Sadly, the publishers have disallowed
ballot-stuffing and have eliminated Ataturk from the running.
Dateline: Iran--Iranian newspapers reported last week on
the case of a struggling writer who repeatedly beat his wife and
locked her for hours inside a room in order to write a more "realistic"
novel. The woman, who has filed for divorce, told a judge that
her husband struck her under various pretexts and would then "scrutinize
me and take notes as I was squirming in pain." At times,
the husband would also lock his wife in a room for hours and stare
at her through a window above the door. The author apparently
thought that his wife's reactions would give him inspiration to
write a realistic best-selling book. The man apologized to his
wife but says he still loves her and refuses to consent to a divorce.
The judge said he would be sent to jail if his wife refused to
forgive him.
Dateline: Connecticut--A man in Bridgeport, Conn., with
severe emphysema apparently lit up a cigarette while hooked to
his oxygen tank. According to local fire officials, the man blew
up his house "like a bomb." The man died instantly,
destroyed his house and incinerated a tree and a telephone pole
on the sidewalk out front.
Dateline: Utah--Actor Mike Lookinland, best known as young
Bobby Brady on "The Brady Bunch," was arrested last
weekend on drunken driving charges after rolling his Ford Bronco
outside St. George, Utah.
Dateline: Michigan--A hospital in Bay City, Mich., now
blames--and has fired--a veteran surgical nurse for leaving a
3-by-7-inch spatula inside a patient. The spatula remained internal
for four months before it was discovered. The nurse says it's
the doctor's fault. The doctor is now suing the nurse and the
union. The patient, meanwhile, is suing the doctor and the hospital.
No word yet on who the nurse and the hospital are suing, but stay
tuned.
Dateline: Arizona--The crime prevention coordinator for
Arizona State University was arrested last week and charged with
burglarizing a campus office. Radawna Michelle allegedly pried
open a desk and stole several CDs and some cash. She was arrested
shortly afterwards and charged with burglary, possession of burglary
tools and theft. The stolen CDs were found in Michelle's office.
Dateline: New York--Famed Macy's department store in New
York City will be eliminating their traditional woods-and-village
"Santaland" this Christmas season and replacing it with
the new high-tech "Santa Claus Adventure." The tiny
computerized theme park will include rumbling floors, animated
Christmas trees, interactive candy machines and a talking robot
greeter. Consequently, any child who asks Santa for a dolly, choo-choo
train or other noncybernetic toy will be given an Intel Pentium
chip and sent home.
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