WhiteBoard News for Monday, February 3, 2003
Baba, Ecuador (Extra):
Four Ecuadorian sisters have found the perfect match by marrying four brothers from the same village.
Olivia, Rosa, Kelly and Ketty Silva are married to the four Sanchez boys - Darwin, Henry, Ranulfo and William.
The fathers of the two families were childhood friends. They invited each other's children to parties at their houses in the village of Baba.
At one of the parties Ketty Silva met William Sanchez, and they started going out.
William and his brothers started spending more and more time with the Silvas. Eventually his other brothers also asked the other three girls out.
Newspaper Extra reports all four couples are now happily married and have eight children between them.
The girls' father, Eugenio Silva, said: "There's no doubt it was a case of brothers for sisters. In all the time they've been together there have been no problems and they are all very happy."
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Taipei, Taiwan (United Daily News):
A Taiwanese man who suffered from a severe cough for many years has had a sewing needle removed from his back.
Doctor Chiou Ming-hwang says he spotted the needle after doing a chest X-ray on the patient, who hasn't been identified.
The patient said he couldn't recall feeling a needle ever sticking him in the back, but his wife remembered losing one a few years ago on the couple's bed.
Chiou, director of the respiratory centre at Cathay General Hospital in Taipei, says the needle was lodged so deep in the man's back it almost pricked his lungs.
The needle is said to have irritated the lungs, Chiou told the United Daily News.
The patient said he'd had the dry cough for years, and Western and Chinese medicine provided no relief, but said once the needle was removed his cough disappeared.
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Kohat, Afghanistan (Ananova):
An Afghan man says he is determined to set a world record by having 100 children.
Haji Wakeel, 50, from Kohat, has the nickname 'Top-gear 50' for fathering 50 children from his four wives.
He lives in a five room house that doesn't have any beds and claims his wives have never argued with each other because he has treated them well and given them equal rights.
The animal trader's eldest son is seventeen years old and two of his daughters are now married.
He says his children are given food from neighbours since he cannot afford to provide them with enough meals.
Mr Wakeel, who often forgets the names of his numerous children, told Pakistan daily The News: "I don't remember but I think five of my children have died so far, while 45 are alive.
"I want to hit century of my children - I would do if the government sponsored me."
The former government employee claims to have never used any medicine since he has never been ill.
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Alba Lulia, Romania (Libertatea):
A Romanian businessman is paying his wife $575 a month not to nag him when he comes home from work.
Nicolae Popa, who runs a food distribution company in Alba Lulia, says he struck the deal as a last resort.
He told the Libertatea newspaper: "My business is going well but it takes all my energy. I get loads of calls from clients and speak on the phone for four to five hours a day.
"So when I get home in the evening I am so tired I just want to go to bed. Under the circumstances I struck a deal with my wife: I pay her 500 dollars a month as long as she doesn't nag me."
Wife, Maria, who is a programmer and spends most of her time in front of a computer, says she is happy with the deal, but admits to occasional lapses.
She said: "There were occasions when I just couldn't keep my promise...but what else can I do if I stay all day with my computer and don't have anybody else to talk to?"
The Popas have been married for seven years. They are currently planning to have a child, even though Mrs Popa says she will demand double salary to maintain peace and quiet under the new circumstances.
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New York, New York (Ananova):
A New York doctor is commuting 1,220 miles to work to avoid the city's high medical malpractice insurance rates.
Dr David Abraham, an ear-nose-and-throat specialist from Long Island, leaves his family twice a month to travel to Minnesota.
According to the New York Post the arrangement saves him up to $40,000 a year.
Dr Abraham, 60, told the paper he had been paying $70,000 for the insurance at his solo practice in Garden City, Long Island, and was falling deep into debt.
He explained: "I had to drastically re-order my life and find someplace I would do better. I'm smart or crazy, I don't know which."
Ann Cea, president of the New York State Medical Society, blamed the rising premiums on "bloated" malpractice court awards "designed to put money in the pockets of lawyers".
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Chow
SuperChef
www.joeha.com