Watercooler Stories - October 1, 2007 : General

Oct. 1
Scotland has fewer Nessie sightings
GLASGOW, Scotland, Oct. 1 Tourism officials in Scotland are bemoaning a drop-off in Loch Ness monster sightings, fearing it will be bad for business.

While Scottish officials have long relied on tales of the elusive beast to bolster the nation's tourism industry, sightings of the monster have been dwindling during the last decade, The (Glasgow) Herald reported Sunday.

"It's becoming a potential crisis," said Loch Ness Monster Fan Club co-founder Mikko Takala.

So far in 2007, there have been only two reported sightings of the fabled water creature, a sizable difference from the number of sightings only 10 years ago -- when reports of the Loch Ness monster were regularly in double digits each year and tourists flocked to Scotland to catch a rare glimpse of the mysterious beast.

Naturalist Adrian Shine told the Herald the downward trend represents a newfound skepticism regarding Loch Ness monster.

"I think we live in a more pragmatic age, and that people are becoming more aware of the sort of illusions that can occur on water," he said.

British home a costly demolition project
MANCHESTER, England, Oct. 1 The British government bought a house in Manchester for more than $920,000, only to knock it down.

Neighbors are criticizing the move, calling it a waste of taxpayer money and saying the home should have been revitalized, The Sunday Times of London said.

"It's the most ridiculous amount of money to spend on a house so that you can knock it down," said Karen Abbad. "They should be investing the money in renovating these homes."

"I would not buy houses for that much and then demolish them," said area landlord Steve Clapperton. "It's a waste of taxpayers' money."

Property experts said the house could have been completely refurbished for less than $206,000.

The Times said the government is trying to remove Victorian homes to make room for more modernized housing developments.

Last speaker fights to save language
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1 The last living speaker of Elem Pomo, a language native to the Clear Lake area of Northern California, is trying to pass her knowledge to young people.

Loretta Kelsey, 59 -- the only person still fluent in the 8,000-year-old dialect -- has conducted four weekend-long camps to help children on the tribe's 50-acre reservation learn the language, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.

With the help of a retired university professor who has studied the language, Kelsey is writing a dictionary.

The language, which is not written, was part of a cultural tradition that included fishing and acorn gathering and a rich oral storytelling tradition. Parents, however, did not teach their children the language because they wanted them to fit in, and children left the reservation in search of jobs.

Reviving the language, if it happens at all, will require swimming against history's tide, the newspaper said.

Only about 50 dialects remain of the 150 languages California tribes spoke in the 18th century.

Top Ill. toll cheats owe millions
CHICAGO, Oct. 1 The top 50 Illinois tollway violators owe about $2.2 million in unpaid tolls and fines.

Many of the top offenders failed to pay $1 tolls that will now cost them as much as $70 because of late fees, The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

Some say they were not notified about what they owed until the amount became more than they could afford to pay. The penalties for late payment are part of a strict new policy adopted in 2003 that allows the option of collection agencies.

Andrea Zemankova -- who, with her ex-boyfriend Marcel Medek, is listed by the tollway as the top offender -- said the newspaper was the first to tell her she owes $80,571.

A tollway spokesman said 309 notices were sent to the couple, and the ignorance defense is common for scofflaws.