Cortez Curtis, 13, took his mother's calculator to school in Brandon, Fla. In addition to standard math tools, it had a
screwdriver, magnifying glass, and a 2-inch knife. Weapon! screamed Burns Middle School administrators, who immediately suspended the boy for 10 days, brought in the police to file felony weapons charges, and started expulsion hearings, even though he did not "brandish" the tiny knife or threaten anyone with it. "That's what zero tolerance means," sniffed district spokesman Mark Hart. District Superintendent Earl Lennard, however, added that the district tries to use "common sense" in such situations. (Tampa Tribune) ...That's not what zero tolerance means.
http://www.thisistrue.com/

CALVERT COUNTY, Mary. - When some people receive a bit of bad
news, they break down and cry or become very angry. Others are
so devastated that they decide to jump through a window. After
hearing that he was sentenced to five years in prison for
beating his girlfriend, John A. Brock told the judge, "If you
give me five years, I might as well throw myself out that
window." Which he did. The 33-year-old suffered cuts and
several broken bones and survived the 20-foot plunge to the
pavement below. The failed attempt at suicide landed the broken
man with another charge against him: Destruction of property.
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

WHITESTOWN, N.Y. -- Eight people are seeking $600,000 apiece
in damages in a lawsuit involving a woman convicted of repeat-
edly urinating into an office coffee pot. State police said
the woman urinated on several occasions into a glass coffee
pot used by other airport personnel and pilots. She was re-
portedly mad about being passed over for a promotion. State
police became involved after the tower manager reported a
strong odor emanating from the coffee machine. A sample of
a yellowish liquid was taken from the machine and sent to a
lab for testing. It was found to be urine. The wives of four
of the plaintiffs are seeking an additional $200,000 apiece
because they say their husbands "would not freely mingle in
society with others because of the derision and jokes" made
in public.
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

LONDON - Police are warning London vodka drinkers not to
consume a potentially deadly type of vodka that contains
dangerous amounts of methanol. Apparently the authorities
found 480 litres of the contaminated liquor, called "Origi-
nal Russia Export Quality," during raids on commercial pre-
mises. If consumed, methanol can lead to abdominal pain,
drowsiness, blurred vision, blindness and breathing
difficulties. Doesn't most alcohol do that?
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

Melba toast is named after Australian opera singer Dame
Nellie Melba (1861-1931).

Elvis' favorite collectibles were official badges. He col-
lected police badges in almost every city he performed in.

Duran Duran took their name from a mad scientists in the
movie Barbarella.

The world's largest disco was held at the Buffalo Conven-
tion Centre, New York, 1979. 13,000 danced a place into the
Guinness Book of World Records.

In August 1983, Peter Stewart of Birmingham, UK set a world
record by disco dancing for 408 hours.

The Beatles song "Martha My Dear" was written by Paul Mc-
Cartney about his sheepdog Martha.

The harmonica is the world's best-selling music instrument.

Themes from movies Unforgiven, A Perfect World, The Bridges
of Madison County, and Absolute Power were all written by
Clint Eastwood.

The only guy without a beard in ZZTOP surname (last name)
is Beard.

The Carpenters signature song, We've Only Just Begun, was
originally part of a television commercial for a Califor-
nia bank.
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

TOKYO - Did you think the U.S. was the only country that
could possibly elect a former professional wrestler to pol-
itical office? Please. The Japanese have empowered "The
Great Sasuke" to hold a position in a local assembly. How-
ever, unlike most other wrestlers, this one doesn't take off
his mask when he's out of the ring. The 33-year-old wrestler
who fought his way to victory under his ring name, and wear-
ing his mask during his campaign, has vowed that the mask
will not leave his face even after he enters the staid halls
of Japanese politics. Once he's in office, he plans to take
a hold of city crime, put it in a choke hold, and pin it
down to keep the streets safe.
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - If you think human puke is disgusting,
wait until you get a load of paranormal barf. There has re-
portedly been a ghost who goes by the name of "Barfing Barb"
Barb haunts a college dormitory at Indiana State University.
According to folklore professor Nan McEntire, Barfing Barb
has been haunting Burford Hall for generations. Those who
have seen the ghost first hand describe it as a female who
spews paranormal puke all over the place. She is believed
by many to be the spirit of a co-ed who barfed herself to
death after one too many frat parties. Probably because
they're too creeped out, but no one ever offers to hold
her hair back.
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

People who have recurrent and intrusive thoughts, followed
by recurrent patterns of behavior, are diagnosed with Obses-
sive-Compulsive Disorder. Those who have recurrent thoughts
about what Brad Pitt is doing right now, followed by the need
to buy his used napkin on Ebay, are now being diagnosed with
Celebrity Worship Syndrome. Psychologists have come up with
a newly-identified psychological condition that one in three
people in Britain suffer from. While some suffer mildly, by
moderately idolizing their favorite star, others would go so
far as to die for their modern-day hero. So if you're think-
ing about what Lewis is doing more often than you think about
the need to breathe, you might want to seek professional help.
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

OSLO - A Norwegian jail inmate was busted with cash weaved
in his massive bush of shoulder-length dreadlocks. The 20-
year-old man was stashing $2,688 in his dreads. Guards
found the money during a routine check, but it was unclear
how long the money had been there. The inmate, who is now
serving the third month of nearly a three-year sentence
for smuggling 31 pounds of marijuana and hashish in Norway,
said he hid the money in his dreads because he feared the
police would not believe he had earned it legally. Uh, ya
think?
http://www.bizarrenews.com/

NEWARK, N.J. - Some people just don't know when to shut
their mouths. For a man accused of four counts of robbery,
he should have quit while he wasn't ahead. The U.S. Postal
Service employee pleaded guilty to robbing four New Jersey
banks, but then decided he should fess up to the other 23
banks he burglarized in four other states. Over a four-year
spree, Cazzie Williams took from banks in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Maryland and Virginia. Already facing a maximum of 20 years
on each of the four counts he was initially charged with,
it probably wasn't a good idea for him to rat himself out
on the other ones.