Strange Time Capsule
TOKYO (AFP) - A letter that a young girl in Japan sent into the sky in a balloon some 15 years ago has been found on a fish hauled from 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) below the Pacific.
A fisherman found the still legible piece of paper sitting on a sticky flatfish in his catch on Thursday, along with a torn-off string and the fragment of a red balloon.
He opened the folded paper, discovering it was a handwritten letter from a six-year-old girl at an elementary school in Kawasaki, 150 kilometres (93 miles) away from where the fish was caught off Choshi port.
The sender, Natsumi Shirahige, and her friends released letters as part of events to mark the school's 120th anniversary, which was in 1993.
"Our school is 120 years old... If you pick up this letter, please write to me," the letter reads, listing the school's address.
The 52-year-old fisherman said the letter was a nice surprise.
"I've been in fishing for a long time but this is unbelievable," the smiling man told the Asahi television network.
Shirahige, now a 21-year-old university student, said: "I can't get over the wonder of how the letter survived 15 years. I never expected I'd get a reply this way."
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Ratatouille
HELSINKI (Reuters) - A hospital patient in Finland found a mouse head among the steamed vegetables on his plate.
"Understandably, he lost his appetite," said Sakari Kela, chief administrator at the Northern Karelia Central Hospital.
The health of the patient in Joensuu, eastern Finland, had not been compromised by the dead rodent, Kela said on Saturday.
The severed head most likely originated in a bag of Belgian vegetables. The body has not been found and being "a Belgian mouse, the rest of it could be anywhere in Europe", Kela said.
(Reporting by Sakari Suoninen)
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Jackpot Jeans
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - All week, Sammy Zabib was getting an earful from his girlfriend for forgetting to buy her a pair of designer jeans she spotted in a casino boutique last weekend.
"She was mad," said Zabib, a 42-year-old limousine fleet manager in New York. "We had an argument. More than one."
They're not arguing now.
On a return trip to pick up the jeans and end the grief Friday morning, Zabib won nearly $800,000 playing a slot machine.
He got up at 5 a.m. and drove three hours to Atlantic City, arriving at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa before the boutique, Whim, opened at 10 a.m.
In his pocket was a photocopy of a picture of the jeans that his girlfriend printed out for him, just to make sure there would be no confusion.
With some time to kill, he sat down at a Brazil Slingo slot machine and started playing, betting $4 a spin for about an hour.
"I was just trying to kill time until the store opened so I could get her those jeans," he said. "Then the machine stopped working. I didn't know why, so I called security. They came over, took a look at it, and said, 'You won the jackpot!'"
He called his girlfriend, whom he identified only as Anna, and she started screaming.
"She wasn't mad anymore," he said with a laugh. "She's waiting for me at home now."
After receiving his payout from the casino, Zabib completed his mission, buying the pair of "7 For All Mankind" jeans — Dojo style — that Anna had wanted so badly.
"They're the hot brand right now," said Borgata spokesman Michael Facenda. "They go for $149 a pair."
Zabib doesn't know what else he'll do with his newfound riches.
"Maybe buy her some more jeans," Zabib said.
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Mama's Outlaws
LODI, Calif. - Shoplifting is all in the family for one California clan, police say.
A grandmother, her daughter and some of her grandchildren tried to steal $900 worth of merchandise from a Target store in Lodi, 35 miles south of Sacramento, police Officer Misty Smith said.
The family's alleged shoplifting spree earlier this week was captured by surveillance video, which police say showed them cutting open boxes and hiding MP3 players, digital cameras, DVDs, jewelry and sports equipment in purses, bags and a backpack.
An 8-year-old and a 5-year-old were among the family members detained.
"The 5-year-old actually had a pack of gum. A small item but we could see where her life was heading because she thinks more than likely this is a normal way of life, this is what you do," said Dale Eubanks of the Lodi police.
Linda Robinson, 59, and her 36-year-old daughter, Anna Fernandez, were charged Wednesday with burglary, grand theft, vandalism and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. They were released from jail. If convicted, each could face eight years in prison.
Fernandez's teenage sons, 17 and 14, were arrested on suspicion of grand theft and will face charges in juvenille court, authorities said. Another teen not related to the family also was arrested.
The two children were released to relatives and will not face charges.
It was not immediately clear if the family had a lawyer.
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