Man Trapped in Toilet When Lock Freezes - Yahoo! News: "Fri Jan 20, 3:52 PM ET
BERLIN - When a 58-year-old motorist nipped into a German highway rest stop public toilet to answer the call of nature Friday morning, he had no idea how cruel nature could be.
Off highway A6 near the town of Lichtenau in Bavaria, which has been experiencing cold weather and snow over the past few days, the man found himself trapped in the toilet stall after the lock froze while he was inside.
Unable to pry the door open, the man finally was able to explain his predicament when someone occupied the stall next to him and get them to call police on a cell phone.
After about an hour in the chilly cell, police were able to get the door open and free the man, whom they described about 'thoroughly frozen through, but in good general health.'"
18:47 Posted by David
Hamster, Snake Best Friends at Tokyo Zoo - Yahoo! News: "Thu Jan 19, 8:03 PM ET
TOKYO - Gohan and Aochan make strange bedfellows: one's a 3.5-inch dwarf hamster; the other is a four-foot rat snake. Zookeepers at Tokyo's Mutsugoro Okoku zoo presented the hamster — whose name means 'meal' in Japanese — to Aochan as a tasty morsel in October, after the snake refused to eat frozen mice.
But instead of indulging, Aochan decided to make friends with the furry rodent, according to keeper Kazuya Yamamoto. The pair have shared a cage since.
'I've never seen anything like it. Gohan sometimes even climbs onto Aochan to take a nap on his back,' Yamamoto said.
Aochan, a 2-year-old male Japanese rat snake, eventually developed an appetite for frozen rodents but has so far shown no signs of gobbling up Gohan — despite her name.
'We named her Gohan as a joke,' Yamamoto chuckled. 'But I don't think there's any danger. Aochan seems to enjoy Gohan's company very much.'
The Tokyo zoo also keeps a range of mostly livestock animals, and promotes 'cross-breed interaction,' according to Yamamoto.
But Gohan and Aochan's case was 'was a complete accident,' Yamamoto said."
17:11 Posted by David
Pizza man says he was attacked by young girls: "
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A pizza delivery man in Cincinnati has told police he was the victim of a robbery attempt yesterday -- by a pack of girls.
Police say he described his assailants as five very young girls.
Investigators believe they're looking for suspects in the eleven-to-14 age group.
A police captain says it's a little disturbing.
The 21-year-old delivery man says the girls tried to take the pizza from him and ended up knocking him to the ground.
But he wasn't hurt, and nothing was taken.
He says when he arrived at the spot where he was supposed to deliver the pie, it seemed the girls were waiting for him.
Police are looking into whether they were the ones who phoned in the order. "
14:58 Posted by David
Cat Calls 911 to Help Owner, Police Say: "Mon Jan 2, 6:39 AM ET
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Police aren't sure how else to explain it. But when an officer walked into an apartment Thursday night to answer a 911 call, an orange-and-tan striped cat was lying by a telephone on the living room floor. The cat's owner, Gary Rosheisen, was on the ground near his bed having fallen out of his wheelchair.
Rosheisen said his cat, Tommy, must have hit the right buttons to call 911.
'I know it sounds kind of weird,' Officer Patrick Daugherty said, unsuccessfully searching for some other explanation.
Rosheisen said he couldn't get up because of pain from osteoporosis and ministrokes that disrupt his balance. He also wasn't wearing his medical-alert necklace and couldn't reach a cord above his pillow that alerts paramedics that he needs help.
Daugherty said police received a 911 call from Rosheisen's apartment, but there was no one on the phone. Police called back to make sure everything was OK, and when no one answered, they decided to check things out.
That's when Daugherty found Tommy next to the phone.
Rosheisen got the cat three years ago to help lower his blood pressure. He tried to train him to call 911, unsure if the training ever stuck.
The phone in the living room is always on the floor, and there are 12 small buttons — including a speed dial for 911 right above the button for the speaker phone.
'He's my hero,' Rosheisen said."
