From buddy  Wed Nov  1 15:03:43 1995
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 15:03:37
Subject: off the wire


OFF THE WIRE
News We Just Couldn't Pass Up

A small group of policemen are trying to change a negative image of
Bangkok law enforcement and ease driver tensions by dancing as they
direct traffic.

Twelve Ventura, Calif., cheerleaders crammed into a Voltswagen Bug
during a contest.  The weight forced the seat springs onto the
uncovered terminals of the car's battery, causing the back seat to
smolder.  A 16-year-old was treated for minor burns on the upper leg.

Hong Kong police are studying thousands of pictures of naked police
officers after one of their anti-vice operations found officers might
be posing for raunchy photos for cash.

A Kansas City, Mo., repo man nabbed a Pontiac Firebird -- and zipped
off with the owner's 8-day-old son in the back seat.

Ralph Lauren has a line of paint out now.  The designer of clothing and
home furnishings offers 400 colors such as Picket Fence White and
Golden Retriever.

The IRS may have to return most of a $7,000 check that a 93-year-old
California man mistakenly wrote to the agency in 1984, a federal
appeals court ruled.  His daughter said he had been senile and meant to
write the check for $700.

Jumbo-jet pilots flying into Sri Lanka can breathe easier -- children
have stopped flying kites along the approach to Colombo airport.

An Australian man was fined $2,000 for quacking like a duck on his
radio transmitter.

An Australian who escaped from prison was glad to see pursuing police.
They shot at and fended off a 13-foot crocodile that was about to
attack him in a remote Outback river.  The fugitive swam to the other
side and got away.

Compiled by Ivan Weiss.  From _The Seattle Times_, Saturday, October 14,
1995.  Reprinted without permission.