Fun_People Archive
23 Oct
Three courses of weirdness

Date: Sat, 23 Oct 93 15:03:28 PDT
To: Fun_People
Subject: Three courses of weirdness

 From: vangogh.CS.Berkeley.EDU!bostic (Keith Bostic)
 From: WEIRDNUZ.296 (News of the Weird, October 8, 1993)
 By: Chuck Shepherd

[First, for the appetizer, a new angle on "intellectual property" that I never
though of when I signed those forms for personnel...  -psl]

* Actor Charles Peyton, who appears in X-rated films under the name Jeff
Stryker, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles this summer charging infringement
of the "intellectual property" rights he owns in his name and his body.
The lawsuit is against two companies that manufacture "Doc Johnson" marital
aids; Peyton accused them of selling rubber replicas of his penis without
permission. [The Recorder (San Francisco), 9-2-93]

[And for the main course, my favorite,  More Stupid Criminal Tricks...]

* In Gastonia, NC, Donald Eugene Murray, 52, fearful of being found guilty
of sexual assault, fled the courtroom just as jury deliberations began.
The jurors--unaware of the escape--found him not guilty.  An arrest warrant
for the escape was issued. [Columbus Dispatch, Aug93]

* A 48-year-old convicted sex offender in Mesa, Ariz., invited his probation
officer to join him at a sex offenders' support group meeting in June so he
could demonstrate how much progress toward rehabilitation he had made.
During the meeting, the man admitted to the group that he had recently
broken into the homes of three women and stolen underwear from them.  Those
break-ins were new information to the probation officer and to local police.
The man's probation was revoked, and he was returned to prison. [Scottsdale
Progress Tribune, Aug93]

* Francis Perlmutter, who had inadvertently confessed to murder in St. Paul,
Minn., in June when he left a message on an answering machine, told
reporters who were questioning him just after his arrest:  "I don't know
what's going to happen now.  This is my first murder." [St. Paul Pioneer
Press, 6-19-93]

* Convicted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, imprisoned in Huntsville, Tex.,
told an Associated Press reporter in July that he actually made up tales
about his involvement in the nearly 600 murders he had confessed to.  Lucas,
who is now serving life sentences for ten murders, said that once he got
started making up confessions, he couldn't stop:  "I just didn't have any
willpower." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette-AP, Aug93]

* A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Yu-te Chen, 27, of Taiwan, to 30 days in
jail in September after federal agents found 52 snakes illegally in his
possession as he attempted to board a flight home from Los Angeles
International Airport.  Most were found in a carry-on bag, but 18 were
strapped to his biceps and ankles.  [San Antonio Express-News, 9-6-93]

* Christopher Howard, 25, was arrested in Haines City, Fla., in August after
police responded to his call reporting that a burglar was trying to break
into his house.  When the officers arrived, Howard led them around the house
looking for the alleged burglar, but apparently forgot that he had left on
the dining room table a ceramic plate containing cocaine, which the officers
soon discovered. [Lakeland Ledger, 8-5-93]

[And finally, for dessert, a cautionary item for the pals from work who get
together on Monday nights at the Szechuan restaurant and dare the cook to make
the food hotter than last time...  -psl] 

* A February issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association
reported that a 23-year-old Israeli man required surgery to repair his small
intestine after it ruptured following a competition with his brother in
which he ate 25 chili peppers in 12 minutes.  Capsaicin, the burning agent
in chili peppers, had eaten through the intestine wall. [Chicago Sun Times,
2-21-93]

Copyright 1993, Universal Press Syndicate.  All rights
reserved.  Released for the personal use of readers. 
No commercial use may be made of the material or of the
name News of the Weird.

© 1993 Peter Langston