The Other Side of Life 24/7: Reuters Oddly Enough Report

Friday, June 8, 2012

Reuters Oddly Enough Report

Reuters » Oddly Enough

06/8/2012

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Estonia president has tweet for "smug" Paul Krugman

TALLINN (Reuters) - The president of small euro zone nation Estonia took to the Twitter-sphere on Thursday to launch a bitter attack on renowned economist Paul Krugman after the U.S. Nobel laureate questioned the Baltic state's economic recovery from a deep crisis.

German minister chided for flying carpet from Kabul

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's overseas aid minister has received a stiff customs bill and a reprimand for getting the country's top spy to fly home a rug from Afghanistan for him without declaring it, officials said on Friday.

Indiana refinery workers find dead monkeys in crate

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Indiana refinery workers got a surprise when they opened a crate of valves from India and found the remains of two small monkeys, which had been there for at least a year.

Damp bomb shelters now trendy Shanghai hot spots

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - From the outside, The Shelter looks like any other building along Yongfu Road, a favorite hangout for Shanghai bar-goers.

Rectangle Oreos and cucumber gum, made in China for China

SUZHOU, China (Reuters) - There are no bad ideas inside Kraft Foods' biscuit research lab in China, according to director Maggie Wang. Not even the chewing gum Oreo cookie that a colleague asked her to bite into one day.

On U.S. car license plates, DAMNIML8 is OK, TOILET is not

(Reuters) - When Whitney Calk sought a personalized license plate from a Tennessee state agency to tout her vegetarian ideals, she was annoyed when she was told no. Turns out the letters ILVTOFU can be construed to mean more than enjoying bean curd.

Radiation: Shall I compare thee to an angry Japanese wife?

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese research agency has dropped a controversial public relations campaign aimed at educating women about nuclear safety that compared radiation to the screaming voice of an angry wife.

Pot smoking mother drives off with baby on car roof

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A marijuana-smoking woman was arrested on Saturday in Phoenix after she accidentally drove away with her five-week-old son in a child safety seat on the roof of her vehicle, police said.

Squat-down toilets will boost Nomura, shareholder says

LONDON (Reuters) - With investment banks facing an uncertain future, one Nomura shareholder has come up with a novel suggestion to help to boost its share price: replace all office toilets with Japanese-style squat facilities.

Probation for Colorado woman who slid buttocks across $30 million painting

DENVER (Reuters) - A woman who punched, scratched and slid her buttocks against a $30 million painting by abstract expressionist Clyfford Still at a Denver museum has been sentenced to two years of probation, and will have to undergo mental health treatment, prosecutors said on Thursday.