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Big Toe
Even with his arms stuck in a piece of machinery, one northwest Florida man was able to call 911 using his big toe. Police said the unidentified man became trapped in a press-like machine that resembles an elevator. He was alone and no one heard his cries for help. He managed to shake his cell phone off his belt, kicked off one shoe and used his big toe to dial 911. Rescuers used a thick metal bar to pry the machinery off his arms.
Bad idea
In Illinois, city officials for the city of Oak Lawn have removed comical remarks in octagonal shapes they placed under stop signs in an effort to get motorists to obey traffic laws. Mayor Dave Heilmann said the Illinois Department of Transportation determined the signs violated the federal “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.” The public safety campaign to cut down on speeding through stop signs began last September. Slogans such as “and smell the roses” and “means that you aren’t moving” were placed near 50 stop signs. At the time, Heilmann said he thought the remarks would get motorists to stop in order to read the phrases. Heilmann said IDOT’s objection to the signs meant he had to junk $1,700 worth of signs.
Not dead
In Methuen, Massachusetts, a woman was on the receiving end of a phone call regarding her funeral. But Rose Griffin is not dead, so the call was a bit of a shock. The woman got the call from someone looking for her son, who was not there. When an irate Griffin used her caller ID to call back, the man informed her he was a funeral director trying to make arrangements for her son’s dead mother. Griffin, a Wal-Mart greeter, joked that she expects to be around for some time because she’s mean and only the good die young.
Billions
In Texas, Fort Worth police arrested a man accused of trying to cash a stolen check for billions of dollars. Police said Charles Ray Fuller, 21, tried to cash the check at a Chase Bank, but the teller did a double take after noticing the check was for a cool $360 billion. The check was made out to “Fulla Comp and Entertainment,” the record company Fuller “wanted to start,” according to local media reports.
Viagra
A working class suburb of Chile’s capital of Santiago began handing out free Viagra to senior citizens recently. Lo Prado Mayor Gonzalo Navarrete said he started the program because “an active sexuality improves the overall quality of life.” About 1,500 residents of the working-class area are eligible to receive as many as four pills of the erectile dysfunction drug each month, but they have to be at least 60 and be registered with the municipality’s health service. “A doctor will have to certify that they suffer from erectile dysfunction and that their condition would not put them in danger of suffering cardio-respiratory side effects,” Navarrete told The Associated Press.
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