WhiteBoard News for Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Highland, Michigan (Ananova):

Residents of a road called Crapo Street in the US are fighting to change the name because they are sick of people making jokes.

The street, in Highland, Michigan, is correctly pronounced 'Cray-po' but commonly referred to as 'Crap-o', reports the Oakland County news.

Local road commission officials are expected to spare the residents any further humiliation by renaming the street Gov. Crapo Street.

The street is named after Governor Crapo a lumber baron from Massachusetts who built a rail line through Highland, sparking the community's growth.

"The residents who asked for the change are very nice people with a legitimate concern," said Patricia Pilchowski, Highland Township's supervisor.

"They just became very frustrated that they could never give their address out without someone cracking a joke."
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Berlin, Germany (AP):

German archaeologists have unearthed what could be Europe's oldest toothbrush, officials said Tuesday. 

The brush, dug up at the site of a former hospital in the western city of Minden, is at least 250 years old, said the Landscape Association of Westfalen-Lippe, which oversees the excavation. 

While the bristles have rotted away, the brush's 4-inch handle of animal bone is carved at the other end into a tiny spoon believed to be used for cleaning out the owner's ears. 

The toothbrush is almost identical to one found earlier this year near Quedlinburg, about 100 miles farther east. Experts dated that brush at around 1750, making it the oldest found in Europe at the time, and suggest the latest find may have been come from the same workshop. 

Toothbrushes first became widely used in the 18th century, as tooth-rooting sugar became a fixture in the diet of wealthier Europeans. 
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Rochefort, Belgium (Ananova):

Mourners at a chapel of rest in Belgium were shocked when a mobile phone started ringing inside the coffin.

Relatives of Marc Marchal have now lodged a complaint against the undertaker, says Gazet van Antwerpen.

Mr Marchal, 32, from Rochefort, died instantly when his motorcycle crashed into a tractor between Rochefort and Saint-Hubert.

Because the body was badly mutilated, the undertaker suggested the family say their final farewell with the body already in the coffin.

They were all gathered around the coffin at the undertaker's premises on the evening before the funeral when the phone started ringing.

Some members of the family were so startled they ran outside while the undertaker had to reopen the coffin to empty the dead man's pockets.

The relatives want police to charge the undertaker who they say cannot have prepared the body properly.
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Severodvinsk, Russia (Ananova):

A Russian teenager ended up with frostbite after turning to the freezer after burning her mouth on a hot drink.

The 13-year-old girl had panicked after scalding her tongue while drinking tea.

She opened the freezer and placed her tongue against the interior wall to cool it down.

But her hot tongue quickly became stuck fast to the appliance.

Because she was alone at her home in Severodvinsk, northwest Russia, she had to wait for her parents to return home to be rescued.

She was still face down when they walked through the door some time later.

Her frantic parents called an ambulance after failing to pry her tongue loose, local news agency Delfi reported.

Paramedics managed to free the girl but discovered she had suffered severe frostbite and took her to hospital by ambulance.

Doctors later said they had managed to save the girl's tongue after several hours of treatment.
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Vienna, Austria (Ananova):

A restaurant owner in Austria who fled the building together with his staff when a fire broke out "forgot" to evacuate the guests.

Around 20 were still sitting at the tables when the fire brigade arrived even though the room had filled with smoke.

A fireman at the scene in Vienna said the owner had acted sensibly by turning off the gas mains and leaving the building.

"But in the commotion, he apparently forgot to clear the restaurant," the fireman added.

One group of fire fighters were able to put the flames out, while a second group evacuated the guests.

A number of customers were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation.
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Barrow, Alaska (AP):

The sun is setting on Barrow and won't be seen again for 66 days.

The sun was expected to rise at 12:33 p.m. Tuesday and will set just 1 hour and 18 minutes later at 1:51 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Barrow.

Residents may see a snippet of sun above the horizon for a few more days, depending on their elevation and also the effects of cold temperatures and atmospheric conditions, which can make part of the sun appear above the horizon even when it is actually below the horizon, said the Weather Service's Gina Sturm. 

"I'm sad to see the sun go, and I look forward to its return next year. It will be great to have it with us again as we move toward spring," said Marie Adams-Carroll, who has lived in Barrow all her life.

She said she and her husband Geoff Carroll have a sled dog team, and even the dogs can be affected by the dark and the cold.

George Cowan, who lived in Barrow for 17 years before moving to Seattle, was back for a visit and reflecting on life in Alaska's northernmost town.

"It's a bigger deal when it comes back in January after being down for all that time," he said. "One time, when it was due to return, I walked to the Barrow airport to get a nice picture of the sun when it came up. Then when it happened, I missed taking the picture because both the camera and my fingers had frozen up."

Bob Bolger, who works with computers, said he wasn't that concerned about being thrown into darkness for more than two months.

"The sun is greatly overrated," he said.

To mark the occasion, Barrow was planning a "Goodbye to the Sun" two-mile fun event, to start at the sun sign outside of the Ipalook Elementary School. The event, which was to begin at 12:15 p.m., was timed so that participants could soak up the last few rays, weather permitting. 
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Chow
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