Men arrested for stealing a pittance of
power
TOKYO ““ Stealing juice can be a costly endeavor in
Japan.
Police have nabbed two Japanese men for siphoning electricity in
heists worth less than 1 cent each, an official said Sunday.
A 38-year-old man was caught red-handed by a patrolling police
officer last September, after unplugging a business’ neon
sign and using the electricity to recharge his mobile phone.
The other culprit, a 22-year-old university student, was giving
a street performance in November when he unplugged a vending
machine in order to power his portable stereo. A police officer was
alerted after local residents complained about the noise.
Police said they could not let the incidents slide, even though
the men are believed to have stolen $0.0094 worth of electricity.
Both men confessed and got off with reprimands.
Label contest originates from “˜plague’ of
lawsuits
NOVI, Mich. ““ It is a warning label that may seem
perfectly logical ““ to fish: A 5-inch fishing lure with three
nasty steel hooks advises that it is “Harmful if
swallowed.”
If only carp could read.
The label took fourth place in the seventh annual Wacky Warning
Label Contest. But organizers of the contest, the Michigan Lawsuit
Abuse Watch, say it highlights the lengths to which manufacturers
will go in order to avoid lawsuits stemming from misuse of consumer
products.
“Wacky warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued
times,” said Robert B. Dorigo Jones, president of the
nonprofit group working to raise public awareness of how the
explosion in litigation is harming the country.
“It used to be that if someone spilled coffee in their
lap, they simply called themselves clumsy. Today, too many people
are calling themselves an attorney.”
Taking first prize last week was a warning found on a bottle of
drain cleaner. The label reads: “If you do not understand, or
cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this
product.”
The $250 second prize went to a Virginia man who sent in a label
on a snow sled that advises users: “Beware: sled may develop
high speed under certain snow conditions.”
Crack solicitor dials wrong number, still tries to
buy
PANAMA CITY, Fla. ““ A woman seeking to buy crack cocaine
called the wrong numbers, but still tried to buy the drug from
people she had mistakenly called, police said.
Tara Jo Curtis, 29, was arrested Saturday at the No Name Lounge
and released Sunday from the Bay County Jail under a $10,000
bond.
Someone reported the wrong number calls and investigators
arranged a controlled sale of fake crack, police said.
Snake thief thwarted after being bit by his
loot
GREENWICH, N.J. ““ A man who police say stole two snakes
from a pet store was bitten by one of the reptiles as he drove home
from the Franklin Township store.
The tiger python snakes were not poisonous, and the 20-year-old
man, whom police declined to identify, did not seek medical
treatment for the bite to his groin area.
Police said the man took the snakes last week, slipping them
into canvas bags he had rigged in his pants pockets. As the man
headed home, one of the snakes wriggled out of the bag, wrapped
itself around his leg and bit him.
Police recovered the snakes from the man’s home. Officers
went there because the man had bought an iguana from the store the
same day the snakes were stolen.
The man was charged with receiving stolen property. Theft
charges were also expected to be filed.
Reports from Daily Bruin wire services.