KMOV Weird World

Meatball-eating winner snarfs 50 in 10 minutes

2009-11-10T04:00:08Z

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Joey Chestnut maintained his dominance in the sport of competitive eating -- and expanded his palate -- by winning the first-ever Martorano's Masters Meatball Eating Championship in Las Vegas.

Chestnut on Sunday gobbled 50 meatballs in 10 minutes at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino.

The 6.25 pounds was a new world record and earned him the first-place prize of $1,500.

Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti finished in second place, just one meatball behind Chestnut.

Sonya Thomas, weighing in at 105 pounds, ate 42 meatballs to finish third.

The event was a Major League Eating-sanctioned competition.

Chestnut's resume also includes hot dog, pizza and chicken wing contests.

Police catch crooks in the act of napping

2009-11-09T22:34:07Z

POMONA, Calif. (AP) -- Police in Southern California report they caught the crooks napping -- literally.

]]> Authorities in Pomona say they found four suspected bandits snoozing in a garage. Officers made the discovery while investigating the rip-off of electronics from a nearby home. Police say that some of the stolen items were in the suspects' pockets. The four men are scheduled for a court appearance tomorrow.

Granny is pulled over for speeding

2009-11-09T18:32:45Z

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Trudie Martin was first pulled over for speeding at age 75.

]]> And that was more than 30 years ago. Martin turned 108 on Oct. 19th. She won't take any of those old people vitamins, either. Martin prefers the "active lifestyle" formula. As for her diet, Martin tells North Carolina's Winston-Salem Journal that she eats anything she wants. And with plenty of salt. She says, "You live until the Lord calls you home."

Interesting use of Webcam brings out the kid in everyone

2009-11-09T16:31:33Z

MYERSVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Lots of folks have Webcams these days.

]]> But that wasn't the case when Steve Chambers bought a Quikcam in 1994. He wasn't sure what to make of online streaming video. So, he pointed his Webcam at an ant farm. Now 15 years later, more than 1.2 million visitors have watched the industrious insects at StevesAntFarm.com. He says the online ant farm gets people thinking about when they were kids. The Maryland man does more online than just gaze at ants. He's also the designer of the NASA.gov Web site.

Student wears short dress, kicked out of class

2009-11-09T13:30:36Z

SAO PAULO (AP) -- A mini-dress has gotten a Brazilian university student kicked out of school.

]]> The university (Bandeirante University) says 20-year-old Geisy Arruda disrespected "academic dignity and morality." She was heckled by hundreds of fellow students for wearing a short, pink dress to class last month. Arruda was escorted off of campus by police, after putting on a professor's white coat. In newspaper ads defending their actions, university officials accuse the young woman of posing for pictures and provoking students.

Rooming together, not 'together'

2009-11-09T08:33:30Z

ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Montique Holman and Stephen Williams live together on the campus at Southern Oregon University.

]]> But they're not an item. They're roommates in SOU's coed dorm, Diamond Hall. Students say a coed makeover has had an unexpected perk, better bathrooms. No more common baths with a bunch of toilet stalls and showers. To meet the state building code, the potties and showers are in separate lockable rooms. But it doesn't make much sense to Holman, a junior. She tells a local paper (Daily Tidings), that if they can share a bedroom, they can share a bathroom, too.

Police: Graffiti artist left work incomplete

2009-11-08T21:56:13Z

PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) -- Police in Florida say a graffiti artist who apparently ran out of paint midway through a spray-painted creation left a note to potential critics to explain the unfinished work.

Palm Bay police Officer Dan Fisher says the artist painted the words "ran out of purple" on the white concrete wall. The note was next to an incomplete bright purple piece that read "Solo."

Fisher says the artist would likely face a criminal mischief charge if he or she is apprehended. The damage was estimated at about $200.

Authorities: Man stole car to face theft charge

2009-11-07T22:33:17Z

VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) -- The California Highway Patrol say a man stole a car to make a court appearance on a previous auto theft charge.

Patrol investigator Chris Linehan says he arrested Samuel Botchvaroff Tuesday as he sat inside a stolen 2000 Range Rover at the Vallejo courthouse. The 24-year-old Botchvaroff had just left his arraignment on auto theft charges stemming from an Oct. 31 arrest.

Linehan said the Range Rover's LoJack system helped him locate the vehicle, which had been stolen from Oakland earlier Tuesday morning.

Authorities say Botchvaroff told officers his car had been impounded, and he had no other way to get to his arraignment.

He was booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of auto theft and possession of stolen property.

Medical marijuana shops growing like weeds

2009-11-07T02:53:48Z

SEBASTOPOL, Calif. (AP) -- It could be easier to find pot than a cup of coffee in L.A. Los Angeles has more pot shops than Starbucks and almost as many as public schools.

]]> In California, medical marijuana dispensaries are growing like -- well -- weeds. California voters approved medicinal marijuana more than a decade ago. But many communities have yet to regulate the budding industry -- including L.A. The pot shop in the wine country town of Sebastopol is in a former auto dealership and will soon open a second location. Local officials are high on medical marijuana as way of increasing tax revenue during these tough times.

Public restroom needs professionals

2009-11-07T00:57:19Z

NEW YORK (AP) -- It may not be your dream job, but it does have perks.

]]> Lots of T-P. Charmin is looking for greeters for 20 public restrooms in New York's Times Square. Five so-called Charmin Ambassadors will entertain the potty patrons over the holiday season. The job pays $10,000 for six weeks. Hundreds of would-be bathroom entertainers showed up for auditions yesterday in New York. Charmin advises their would-be temps must "really, really enjoy going to the bathroom."

Chunk some pumpkins

2009-11-06T22:00:29Z

BRIDGEVILLE, Del. (AP) -- Incoming!

]]> The pumpkins will be flying this weekend near in Bridgeville, Del. The 24th annual world Punkin Chunkin contest will have the orange gourds soaring over a field. Inventors and garage mechanics are putting the finishing touches on their compressed air cannons. Last year's event was won by 21-one-year-old Jake Burton. His team set a new distance record by blasting their pumpkin more than 4,483 feet.

The police have my homework

2009-11-06T20:36:47Z

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (AP) -- The dog didn't eat one kid's homework.

]]> The cops have it -- as evidence. Police in Rhode Island report two 15-year-old boys skipped class one day this week and broke into a home near their high school. Lt. Eugene Jalette says after stealing some video game systems, the boys grabbed their backpacks and headed back to school. But the homework of one of the boys apparently fell out of his school bag, near a broken basement window. The assignment had the kid's name on it. Police report arresting the boys at their school and recovering the stolen stuff. The names of suspects aren't being released because of their age.

Man calls 911 over missing McDonald's drink

2009-11-06T18:38:07Z

ALOHA, Ore. (AP) -- No, an incorrect order in a drive-through lane isn't a 911 emergency.

]]> A 20-year-old man who called 911 to complain about his missing McDonalds orange juice now has to pay a $300 fine. Deputies in Washington County, Ore., tried to explain to Raibin Raof Osman that such disputes don't qualify as a police matter. Deputies say when Osman insisted he had the right to police help -- he was read his rights, then taken off to jail. The Oregonian newspaper reports Osman has pleaded guilty to improper use of 911.

Bus drives 3 miles per hour

2009-11-06T14:40:00Z

NEW YORK (AP) -- If you're going crosstown in the Big Apple, you might be better off walking.

]]> The Straphangers Campaign is giving its annual "Pokey" award to Manhattan's crosstown 42nd Street bus. The transit watchdog group says the M42 bus averages just 3.7 mph on weekday afternoons.

Wild dogs nurse at zoo

2009-11-06T02:28:33Z

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Honey, the mommy mutt, is nursing a litter of wild dogs.

]]> Officials at the Pittsburgh Zoo brought in Honey from the city animal shelter. The zoo has a litter of nine African painted dogs whose mother died shortly after their birth. Zoo vet Dr. Stephanie James says the only other litter of wild dogs hand-raised in captivity was in the United Kingdom. Honey
recently had a litter of her own. Zoo officials hope to be able to wean the wild pups in a couple of weeks.