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The skinny

By Times Wires
Published December 14, 2007

Competitive eating

When you have pies, keep an eye on the pup

The World Pie Eating Championship in England has been thrown into disarray by a foot-tall bichon frise named Charlie. Seems that the meat-and-potato-filled pies are manufactured to exacting specifications, and are delivered to a past champion the day before the event at Harry's Bar in Wigan. When Dave Williams, the 1995 champ, took delivery of the 30 competition pies, he put them in the fridge, but didn't close it correctly. When he turned his back, Charlie attacked. He finished 20 of the pies and damaged 10. Which actually should have made him champ. The contest was saved, however, when the bakery managed to resupply them at the last minute. Adrian Frost was the winner, wolfing down his pie in 34 seconds. Charlie was entered in the contest, but didn't seem interested enough to finish his pie, according to the BBC.

Toilet trouble

Police decide story doesn't hold water

Two men were arrested in Appleton, Wis., when police caught them in the very early morning hours behind a restaurant that had just been burglarized. The men were carrying a bunch of tools with them, and their story was that they were going to help a friend fix a toilet. Police thought the tools looked more like ones that a person would use to break into a building. The men's story fell apart quickly when they couldn't come up with a last name, phone number or address for the friend with the broken toilet. Police arrested them until they can identify a friend with a broken toilet.

I wanna rock!

Danger in Conn.'s blackboard jungle

In what sounds like the plot line for a MTV heavy rotation metal hit in 1985, a teacher at the Booth Free School wait, what do they have against Booths? in Roxbury, Conn., locked herself inside a classroom when she perceived a threat coming over the school's public address system after hours. Turns out, three teenagers were fooling around with the loudspeaker, and decided to go all karaoke with their version of the Guns N' Roses song Welcome to the Jungle. When they got to the part where they sing, "You're in the jungle, baby, and you're gonna die," that was too much for her, so she hid. Six troopers responded with three police dogs, and locked up the teens. They said they had no idea that anyone else was in the school at the time. "These things happen," said Sgt. Brian Van Ness, the most understanding cop ever. "Luckily it was humorous." No charges will be filed.

Superstition

Leg ends up not good luck at all

Two men in southern India chopped off the leg of an 80-year-old man, apparently under the belief that it had magical powers. Some might suggest Yanadi Kondaiah was asking for it, because he went around telling people that touching his leg could cure illness and grant wishes. "This seems to be a case of superstition. The two people might have taken away the leg hoping to benefit from its magical powers," said Pendakanti Dastgiri, the police officer handling the case. Kondaiah said two men offered him a drink, and that he passed out. He was found by passing villagers and taken to the hospital. The suspects, and the leg, are on the loose.

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 13, 2007, 23:30:46]