Watercooler Stories - July 17, 2007 : General

British woman plagued by phone sex calls
PLYMOUTH, England, July 16 A woman in Plymouth, Britain, has been having phone troubles since she changed her service provider and started getting calls meant for a sex line.

Rachel Collick recently changed her telephone service provider to Virgin Media and immediately began receiving at least six calls a day from men asking for "the young nympho," the Sun reported Monday.

"It started almost immediately. It's always men and after I say hello they say something about talking to the nymphomaniac. I presume they expect me to talk dirty," said the 34-year-old mother of three. "Instead, I point out it's a wrong number and they get flustered. One said, 'Oh sorry' and hung up. The funny thing is the line's with Virgin, yet these callers think I'm anything but!"

"Sometimes the kids answered when these men rang," she said

Virgin offered Collick a new number, but she said does not want to have to change it again.

14-foot python found in Holy Hill, Fla.
HOLY HILL, Fla., July 16 A giant 14-foot python that was found in Holy Hill, Fla., will be turned over to either a zoo or a local animal rehab center, officials said.

Experts said the reticulated python was so strong that it was impossible to get an exact length measurement, but it was definitely large enough to kill dogs and cats or small children, WFTV-TV, Orlando, reported Monday.

The snake was reportedly in good health. Authorities said it likely was released or escaped from someone's pen, since the species is not indigenous to Florida.

The snake was expected to be relocated within the next few days.

400-pound beehive found in Tucson, Ariz.
TUCSON, July 16 A 400-pound beehive was removed from an assisted living center in Tucson, Ariz., after the bees attacked some landscapers.

The men who removed the nine-square-foot honeycomb said it had been in the building's third-story roof for at least three years, KPHO-TV, Phoenix, reported Monday.

They estimated the hive contained at least a quarter-million bees.

Eating champ downs 7.65 pounds of pork
LINCOLN CITY, Ore., July 16 Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, the world's top competitive eater, downed 7.65 pounds of barbecued pork rib meat in 12 minutes at a Lincoln City, Ore., competition.

Chestnut, who 10 days earlier wolfed down a world-record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, took home the top rib-eating prize at the Chinook Winds World Rib Eating Championship for the second year in a row, the Portland Oregonian reported Monday.

The competitive eater, who earned a $1,500 prize, said he fell short of his goal -- a record breaking 8.4 pounds in 12 minutes.

"Sometimes your body is not ready or able to do what you'd like," Chestnut said. "I wasn't able to break the record but I had a lot of fun."

Chestnut said his strategy involves exercise and carefully monitoring his food intake. He said he lives off nutritional supplements in the days before a competition.

"By the time I go to the contests, I feel like I have nothing in me," Chestnut said. "Mentally, I can imagine putting 60 to 65 hot dogs in me. I can suck in my stomach and say, 'Hey, there's an empty cavity in there' and I can put some food in there and my body is ready to digest."