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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 22, 2007

You've Not Been Robbed By A Stapler-Wielding Man

ASHLAND, Ky. - A man wearing a ski mask used a stapler to hold up an eastern Kentucky ice cream store - and briefly got away with $175, authorities said.

Gerald Rocchi, 32, was arrested shortly after he flashed a chrome-plated stapler at an employee of The Ice Cream Shop in Ashland and demanded money, police said.

Ashland police Capt. Don Petrella said he didn't know whether Rocchi planned to shoot staples at the shop's employees or use it as a blunt instrument if he didn't get the cash.

It didn't come to that because the employees handed over the cash, Petrella said.

You Can Always Opt For A Glass Of Water

SEATTLE - Jones Soda Co., a Seattle-based purveyor of offbeat fizzy water, is selling holiday-themed limited-edition packs of sodas that include flavors such as ham and latkes.

The Christmas pack will feature such flavors as Sugar Plum, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Christmas Ham. The Hanukkah pack will have Jelly Doughnut, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coins and Latkes sodas, the company said.

It even will be kosher, the company said - including the ham.

A portion of the proceeds from the sodas will be given to charity, the company said.

Last year's seasonal pack was Thanksgiving-themed, with Green Pea, Sweet Potato, Dinner Roll, Turkey and Gravy, and Antacid sodas.

For its contract to supply soda to Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team, Jones came up with Perspiration, Dirt, Sports Cream and Natural Field Turf. The company - fortunately or unfortunately - prides itself on the accuracy of the taste.

Jones also makes more traditional flavors, including root beer, cherry and strawberry sodas.

He's Not Your Next-Door Neighbor

SUWON, South Korea - Sim Jae-duck has made his political career as South Korea's Mr. Toilet by beautifying public restrooms. Now he has a home befitting his title: a toilet-shaped domicile complete with the latest in lavatory luxury.

Sim is building the two-story house to commemorate the inaugural meeting this month of the World Toilet Association. The group, supported by the South Korean government, aims to launch a "toilet revolution" by getting people to open their bathroom doors for the sake of improving worldwide hygiene.

Sim, a lawmaker in the National Assembly, hopes his house in his hometown Suwon, some 30 miles south of Seoul, will help bring attention to the cause and is seeking a guest to pay $50,000 to stay one night with the proceeds to benefit the association.

The toilet theme is central to the house, which is named Haewoojae, or a "place to solve one's worries." It is shaped like a 24½-foot-tall toilet bowl. Thinking of how to push forward his cause of having better hygiene and sanitation, Sim tore down his former home to build the $1.1 million building.

The Associated Press

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