Watercooler Stories

Glowing sky baffles N.J. residents

LINDEN, N.J., March 25 (UPI) -- New Jersey police got a number of phone calls from people worried about a strange glow in the sky that turned out to be coming from a refinery, officials said.

The strange glow that hovered over Union County started late Saturday night and lingered into early Sunday, baffling local residents, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported.

Police in Elizabeth, Linden and Roselle received calls from concerned residents.

It turned out a ConocoPhillips refinery in Linden was releasing excess gas that burned against a foggy sky, creating the glow, Elizabeth police officer Thomas Glackin said.

The light left the sky sometime early Sunday, a few hours after it started.

 

Apology made for 'Borat' anthem snafu

KUWAIT CITY, March 25 (UPI) -- A member of Kazakhstan's shooting team said the president of the Asian Shooting Federation apologized for the playing of the "Borat" theme at a meet in Kuwait.

Oksana Stavitskaya told Russia's ITAR-Tass news service the federation president contacted the team Sunday to express his regrets for the playing of the gag anthem instead of the official Kazakh state song.

"He recognized that the use of the music from the scandalous film in place of the anthem of Kazakhstan was completely a mistake of the organizers," Stavitskaya said. "He explained that the awards ceremony was conducted by a firm under contract."

Stavitskaya and her teammates had to grin and bear it last week when shooter Maria Dmitrienko took the podium in Kuwait to receive the gold medal at the Arab Shooting Championships.

The mock anthem in the satire "Borat" included off-the-wall lyrics celebrating, among other things, the top-notch hygiene of the nation's hookers, ABC noted.

 

Couple find 50-carat emerald in N.C. mine

HIDDENITE, N.C., March 25 (UPI) -- A North Carolina couple unearthed a 50.5-carat emerald worth an estimated $10,000 while digging at a local mine.

Kevin and Libby Barrieault, of Hiddenite, came across the gem Friday at the North American Emerald mine in Hiddenite, WCNC-TV, Charlotte, reported.

"I don't think I'll sell it, but we're not sure yet," Libby Barrieault said. "I might just put a wire around it and wear it like it is. It's beautiful."

The Barrieaults are members of the Mountain Area Gem and Mineral Association Club, which takes field trips to different mines hunting for buried treasures. Jamie Hill, the mine's owner, said he normally doesn't allow clubs to visit but allowed MAGMA because they persistently asked for two years.

"We're not opening our doors to the general public just yet, but we will allow gem clubs and professional clubs in every once in a while," said Hill.

Another couple from Florida discovered a 30-carat emerald at the mine Saturday, as well as a rock with about 370 carats worth of the jewels.

"They were like a human bulldozer, they had picks and shovels," Hill said of the miners. "By the end of the day they had transformed the landscape."

 

Thief made to reattach door he stole

VARMLAND, Sweden, March 25 (UPI) -- Swedish police made a man reattach a door he allegedly stole from a Varmland County home, the resident of the home said.

The resident, whose name was not reported, told Varmlands Folkblad he was driving home from work Thursday when he saw another car going in the opposite direction with what appeared to be his front door strapped to the roof.

Upon reaching his home, the man discovered a gaping hole where his front door used to be and turned around to chase the suspected thief, Swedish news agency TT reported Saturday.

The man called police, who finally caught up to the thief and made him put the door back where it belonged, Varmlands Folkblad said.