NEW YORK — A 10-year-old boy in New York has set a new world record for wearing the most underpants. Jack Singer spent his birthday stepping into more than 200 pairs of undies. His family helped him with the challenge. At one point, the boy’s feet fell asleep. They placed him on the ground and kept going. It took 18 minutes for Jack to put on 215 pairs of underwear. That beat out the previous record of 200. In the end, Jack looked a bit bottom-heavy and tired. The boy used his record to raise money for a local marine who was wounded in Iraq.

Two historic sex toys thought to date back to the 1700s have been sold at an Essex auction for £3,600.

The wooden items, believed to be French, were auctioned at Brentwood Antiques Auction on Thursday.

Auctioneer Wendy Wood said: “You might laugh but it’s a good opportunity for investment. You won’t see another one in a long time.”

An anonymous bidder bought the pair which come with their own leather-lined case.

One of the objects measures 10in (25cm) and the other 11in (28cm).

Staff at the auction described the sex toys as “extraordinary and exceptionally rare”.

The catalogue description read: “Designed to please Lot 340 – an extraordinary and exceptionally rare “Travel Godermiche”.

“A pair of wooden phallus contained within a fitted kid leather covered Treen case with strap fleurs-de-lys decoration

“The case, although having a re-lined interior appears to have age commensurate with the phallus.”

CBS 2 has learned on two separate occasions in February, an air traffic controller from Long Island brought a child with him to work at JFK. The first incident occurred on Feb. 16, and the FAA told CBS 2 on Wednesday that a second child was brought into the tower by the controller a day later on Feb. 17.

At least one of the children was said to be 7 years old.

The 7-year-old spoke with several departing flights.

Child: Jet Blue 171 cleared for take-off.
JB 171: Cleared for takeoff, JetBlue 171.
Controller: Aero Mexico 403, Kennedy, 31L position and hold.
AMX 403: Position and hold Aero Mexico 403.
Controller: Here’s what you get, you guys, when the kids are out of school
Child: JetBlue 171 contact departure.
JB 171: Over to departure, JetBlue 171, awesome job

On the tape, the boy speaks only to planes on the ground awaiting takeoff and then clearly at the direction of the adult on duty, but experts say the boy’s mere presence in the control tower represents an inappropriate distraction and a security breach.

At the time though, the pilots and controller seem more amused than alarmed.

Controller: Cactus 14, Kennedy following an RJ, wind 310 at 15, 31 R cleared to land.
Son: Contact departure, adios amigos.
JB 195: Adios amigos, over to departure JetBlue 195.

Even people who are sympathetic with the childcare needs of a working parent are baffled by the judgment of this air controller.

“That’s scary for everybody. You can’t do that. That’s risking a lot of people’s lives,” said JFK air passenger Shamir Ali. .

The child is heard communicating with multiple pilots on an active runway at one of the nation’s busiest airports. Though some of the pilots seem to be impressed, FAA officials are not, saying in a written statement:

“Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic. This behavior is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees.”

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, is to be deported to Germany as soon as he is released from prison, Judge Colin Doherty ordered Tuesday.

Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.

He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.

Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told Christchurch District Court that Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 dollars and six months in prison.

Bodie told Doherty that the department sought a deterrent sentence for “the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more.”

The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros ($2,800) each on the European market, he noted.

“Internationally, this type of trade is prevalent and is on the increase worldwide and can be lucrative,” he said.

Customs records showed that Kubus had also been to New Zealand in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he had been with a Swiss reptile dealer.

Doherty said Kubus had come to New Zealand and set about poaching the animals in a premeditated way which would have had an impact on particular colonies.

There was a potential for Kubus to end up with far more animals than he could have housed in his own collection and the rest would have been sold.

“I don’t think you necessarily came here to steal to sell, but I am sure the fact that you might have had excess was figured into your thinking,” said the judge, describing the offending as “pretty close to the worst case.”

Merriam Webster’s 10th edition, which has been used for the past few years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (for children aged nine to 10) in Menifee Union school district, has been pulled from shelves over fears that the “sexually graphic” entry is “just not age appropriate”, according to the area’s local paper.

The dictionary’s online definition of the term is “oral stimulation of the genitals”. “It’s hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we’ll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature,” district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus told the paper.

While some parents have praised the move – “[it's] a prestigious dictionary that’s used in the Riverside County spelling bee, but I also imagine there are words in there of concern,” said Randy Freeman – others have raised concerns. “It is not such a bad thing for a kid to have the wherewithal to go and look up a word he may have even heard on the playground,” father Jason Rogers told local press. “You have to draw the line somewhere. What are they going to do next, pull encyclopaedias because they list parts of the human anatomy like the penis and vagina?”

A panel is now reviewing whether the Menifee ban will be made permanent. The Merriam Webster dictionary joins an illustrious set of books that have been banned or challenged in the US, including Nobel prize winner Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, which last year was suspended from and then reinstated to the curriculum at a Michigan school after complaints from parents about its coverage of graphic sex and violence, and titles by Khaled Hosseini and Philip Pullman, included in the American Library Association’s list of books that inspired most complaints last year.

The man, identified only by his surname Kuo, started to feel unwell during the screening earlier this month in the northern city of Hsinchu and was taken to hospital.

Mr Kuo, who suffered from hypertension, was unconscious when he arrived at the Nan Men General Hospital and a scan showed that his brain was haemorrhaging, emergency room doctor Peng Chin-chih said today.

“It’s likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms,” the doctor said.

Mr Kuo died 11 days later from the brain haemorrhage, and the China Times newspaper said it was the first death linked to watching James Cameron’s science-fiction epic Avatar.

Film blogging sites have reported complaints of headaches, dizziness, nausea and blurry eyesight from viewers of Avatar and other movies rich in 3D imagery.

(Ed note: This is stellar. The more controversy and wacko crazy ass stories about this motion picture, the better! It’ll propel it even higher into the stratosphere.

Hey remember those old time horror film posters that warned prospective audience members of the shocking dangers of seeing their movie? LOL.)

Services included in the package are a casket, grave, limousine and preparation of remains.

Funeral home officials said the program is designed to save lives by making partygoers think twice about drinking and driving.

(Ed Note: Yeah, you know. I think this is kind of wrong even if they are trying to do something right. It’s kind of like how I wasn’t too cool with them parking wrecked cars at the end of the High School parking lot.)

A Japanese gamer has discovered the solution to that perennial problem – girls don’t like geeks. He’s married a character in his favourite Nintendo DS game.

Japanese gamer marries DS characterLove Plus is described as a dating simulation game. Players do their best to attract and then keep one of three women.

The player, identified only by the username Sal9000, fell for Nene Anegasaki – but felt compelled by love to take the relationship one stage further.

Last weekend he married his virtual girlfriend at a Tokyo technology festival, with a real priest officiating – although the wedding is apparently not legally binding.

The bride managed to say “I do” bang on cue, and they shared a kiss. There’s no sign of the bride’s family, though – perhaps they don’t approve?

(Ed note: I don’t think I wanna marry a video game character, but I wouldn’t mind a lil’ private foursome with Pico, Chico, and Coco)

A sheriff’s statement says Westlake High School students claimed Hersel paid them to yell profanities, spit and slap him in the face. Several also claimed he offered them cash to urinate and defecate on him.

A motive wasn’t clear.

Authorities say Hersel contacted some teens through the MySpace social networking site.

Hersel couldn’t be reached for comment Friday. He had no listed phone number in Thousand Oaks.

(Ed note: ‘A motive wasn’t clear.’ Really? REALLY? Nobody has a small inkling of maybe why someone would want such to be done? REALLY? REALLY? Also, what is misdemeanor child annoyance? If anything they should be charged for annoying me! STOP KICKING MY SEAT!!)

Grocery store inventories, the company said, are expected to remain limited through the first half of 2010.

The Atlanta plant, south of I-20 and west of I-285 near Thornton Road, opened in 1969 when it was owned by Fearn International. Kellogg temporarily halted production in September due to flooding driven by heavy rains, the company said.

Kellogg said the Atlanta facility is back in production. But problems with equipment at the company’s largest waffle bakery in Rossville, Tenn. require extensive repairs and improvements, taking several lines out of operation.

The Eggo shortage is nationwide, the company said.

“We are working around the clock to restore Eggo store inventories to normal levels as quickly as possible,” Kellogg spokesperson Kris Charles said.

Kellogg said that for competitive reasons it doesn’t disclose the number of employees at the Bucknell Drive plant, or the number or variety of waffles it produces annually.

William Maser, 54, fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away. The cannonball, about two inches in diameter, smashed through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Authorities said nobody was hurt.

State police charged Maser with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

No one answered the phone Friday at Maser’s home. He told WPXI-TV that recreating 19th-century cannons is a longtime hobby. He said he is sorry and he will stop shooting them on his property, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Moyer, 60, of Pennsylvania, was convicted of misdemeanor battery for the June incident this morning.

Judge Wayne Shoemaker imposed the sentence this morning.

“The verdict reinforces the fact that this type of behavior is not acceptable,” said Walt Disney World spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez. Disney officials also banned Moyer from entering any of the company’s resorts, Suarez said.

According to the sentence, Moyer has to write a letter of apology to the victim, Brittney Duncan McGoldrick. He also is under supervised probation for 180 days, must complete 50 hours of community service within four months, pay $1,000 in court costs and submit to a mental evaluation with treatment, if necessary.

Before sentencing, Moyer’s adult son spoke on his behalf.

“He’s a good man,” Emory Moyer said. “He’s a nice guy.”

Emory Moyer also described his father as a man who would never touch a woman inappropriately.

Later, Moyer spoke briefly to the judge.

“I am innocent, I am not guilty of the crimes that I’ve been charged with,” Moyer said.

Moyer has no criminal history and has never received a speeding ticket, he said. This was his first offense.

McGoldrick told prosecutors at the Orange County Courthouse on Monday she had pushed Moyer away from her after the incident.

“My first reaction I just pushed him down. I was doing everything I could to get his hands off my breasts,” Duncan McGoldrick said.

Jurors began their deliberations Monday afternoon.

“We’re just hoping for the only fair and just verdict in this case, which is ‘not guilty’,” said Zahra S. Umansky, Moyer’s attorney.

Moyer had been booked into Orange County Jail on June 7 and was released on $1,000 bail.

The village is home to as many as 230 sets of twins. Nobody knows why there are so many twins in the village of 15,000 people, although one local doctor suspects it might be due to the water.

In fact with about 35-45 twins per live birth, this village in North Kerala, India, has four times more twins than normal. Not surprisingly, the village has been dubbed “the twin village.”

The latest official estimates by the Kodinji’s Twins and Kins Association (TAKA), which conducted door-to-door surveys at the start of the year, found that there were 204 sets of twins.

Based on births since the survey was conducted, there are probably now around 230 sets of twins in the village, locals said. That number is set to rise as there are five women pregnant with twins.

“It’s an amazing phenomenon to see a medical marvel occurring in such a localized place where the people are not exposed to any kinds of harmful drugs or harmful chemicals. It’s a virgin village,” said Dr Sribiju, a researcher.

Pathummakutty and Kunhipathutty, 65, are the oldest surviving twins in the village. The youngest are Rifa Ayesha and Ritha Ayesha, born on June 10. Their proud parents already see a slight difference between them as one lies fast asleep, while the other kicks away with a mischievous grin on her face.

Being a twin is not always easy. Pathummakutty, who like many in the village have a single name, recalls how her family struggled financially when she was a child. But she also remember good times such as laughter after yet another mix up with her twin sister.

It is not uncommon to run into an identical twin while walking down the hilly roads of Kodinji and there are many tales of teachers getting mixed up between twin students.

At the local school, 15-year-old Salmabi said teachers often confused her for her twin sister and she was once reprimanded for something that her twin did.

“It happens all the time,” the students pipe in a chorus.

Scientists are still trying to uncover the mystery of why there are so many twins in the village.

“Based on scientific facts, we feel something in the environment is causing this. It could be something in the water,” said a local doctor, M.K. Sribiju.

“All the world over the cause of twins is mainly because of drugs. Everywhere in the Western world, people are exposed to fertility drugs, their food habits, they consume more dairy products. Everywhere the age of marriage is increasing. There are late marriages predisposed to occurrence of twins,” he said.

However in Kodinji, most marriages are between people aged 18 to 20 years old.

“All the factors leading to the occurrence of twinning world wide, we cannot see it here. There is something unknown that is causing this phenomenon,” he said.

The locals also believe it is to do with the water. Kodinji is surrounded by water in the fields and during the monsoon season it becomes inaccessible from heavy rains.

As scientists try to find the reason for the large numbers of twins in the village, the parents are busy trying to tell their children apart. It doesn’t help that many of the twins have similar names and often wear similar clothes.

While parents light-heartedly point out that their twins even seem to fall sick together, not all traits are shared. Identical twins Anu and Abhi prefer different film stars and one of the boys likes to play cricket, while the other prefers kicking a soccer ball.

With all the attention being showered on the twins of Kodinji, Ajmer, a 12-year-old school boy, feels like the odd one out in a village where being a twin is trendy.