Rarely a week goes by without something interesting occurring in the mathNEWS broom closet. Last week we received a letter from the Archives Service of the University. Apparently, the archives had moved twice in the past 8 years and no one had informed us. It turns out we are now sending the issues to RIM (as they own the building now). Oh well, let's see what other oddities occurred since we last met.
Once in a while, we hear stories (and see movies) about prisoners managing to escape from jails. Sometimes the escapees use clever tactics, other times the guards have let their guard down. Sometimes being a jail guard can be an incredibly boring (and stamina-draining) job, which leads me to the following story. About 30 prisoners in an Ugandan jail managed to escape when they were doing "outdoor work." The jail guards who were on duty did not realize that the prisoners had escaped. Their eyes (and minds) were somewhere else — they were chasing a rabbit that was on the field. There was no mention on whether or not they caught the rabbit, but none of the escapees have yet been caught. On one hand, maybe monitoring prisoners' outdoor work is the only time the guards can roam free. On the other, with their attention span, I wonder if they can guard The Pink Tie.
Very often when two athletes come face to face with each other, the thought of throwing a punch seems to be always on the duo's mind. Sometimes the athletes do let their fists fly, but most of the time they let their mouths do the talking. Usually the medium is words, but sometimes it can be a little saliva. In an Australian Rules football game, two opposing players got into an altercation. Both were ready to throw a punch when one player, without warning, lunged his head towards the other player's head, grabbed the opponent's ears and gave him a kiss. The opposing player said he did not expect to be kissed and wiped the saliva away quickly because he was 'worried about catching something.' The player that gave the kiss was charged with misconduct and a tribunal gave him 'a rap across the knuckles'. He did not receive any suspension for the "crime." In this age where many think violence is out of hand, it's nice to see people finding creative ways to settle problems.
Most places have a policy of "No shirts, no shoes, no service." If you are barefooted, you can just strap something that resembles a shoe to get by. However, sometimes a person's choice of footwear may get someone else hurt. An Australian man slipped on the floor of an Australian hotel. You may be thinking, "It's the man's fault for slipping, why is the hotel responsible?" Of course, that's not the entire story. Another man had earlier entered the hotel wearing shoes in accordance to the hotel's policy. However, the "shoes" were actually a pair of raw pork chops, as the man did not have any other kind of footwear. As the man walked, some of the juice leaked from the chops and was left on the hotel floor. Before the juices dried the first man entered the hotel and fell on the floor. The court ordered the hotel to pay $35,000 to the latter, while the the punishment for the former is unknown. Granted, the hotel should not have allowed the a man to enter just because he wore "shoes," but the real question is "How could he stand on his feet and not slip on his own trail?"
For some reasons, people are fascinated by ghost towns, the Gold Rush days, and the gunfight at the OK Corral (they got the location wrong, actually). It seems that ghost towns with a single street are a mandatory feature in amusement parks. Many towns are asking residents to leave so they can become "ghost towns" — at least this is the case for one Quebec town. Sometimes the desire to be a ghost town is so large that people are willing to fight for the title. Calico and Bodie, two sparsely-populated California towns, are going to the state supreme court and wish for the court to decide which town gets the designation of "California's Official Ghost Town" (to be decided by either the court or the state legislature; I forgot which). It is ironic that the two towns want to be an "official" ghost town so that they can attract more people.
The police face many dangers in their line of duty. From unruly drunks to dangerous drivers, the list goes on and on. Everyday the police go out and expect the unexpected, but I doubt many think of the possibility of the following: A group of Winnipeg city police were in an apartment building to investigate a break-in. At the same time, a pair of brothers, who are also retired Mounties, were visiting one brother's girlfriend, who happened to have lived in the same building. When the brothers saw the police below, they threw oranges, apples, and onions at the officers. The officers had to duck for cover as the fruits and onions splattered around them. The brothers were said to be drunk at the time. The duo tried to put the blame on the girlfriend but the judge did not buy it. The two were sent to jail for assault. It makes one wonder how their track record was like when they were Mounties. Well, at least they didn't hurl any coconuts or pineapples.
Jason "the Screamer" Lau
Am I out of touch with the world?