Slightly off center . . .

Talk about explosive experience

SAN ANTONIO - A South Texas police officer thought he'd confiscated a couple of marijuana water pipes - everyday implements used for smoking drugs commonly called bongs. The trouble was they weren't bongs, but bombs. The officer that confiscated them, logging them as drug paraphernalia. Another officer discovered that the devices were actually two live pipe bombs. The city's bomb squad detonated the bombs in an outside parking lot. The police department building - which also houses courtrooms - was never evacuated because the bombs were deemed too small.

Man hired to sell intimate apparel

MEDFORD, Ore. - Some men might say Chris Reece is the luckiest guy in the world. Reece was recently hired as a Victoria's Secret salesman. The 20-year-old part-time river-rafting guide applied to the intimate apparel store on a dare. He starts work at the outlet in Medford's Rogue Valley Mall.  Company managers say it's unusual for a man to work in such a traditionally female sales world. But just how rare remains another one of Victoria's secrets. A company spokeswoman declined to reveal how many male salesmen it has hired.

No more games for firefighters

PORTLAND, Ore. - Firefighters here have a new edict to follow: No more games. Portland' bravest have been temporarily banned from playing sports while on duty after four firefighters suffered injuries playing basketball and two others were hurt playing tennis. Chief Bob Wall already was mulling changes earlier this fall when a report showed basketball was the fourth-leading cause of firefighter injuries in 1998. So, the chief banned basketball, tennis, racquetball and volleyball until a health and wellness committee reports back with proposals. Firefighters say basketball promotes teamwork and exercise, which is crucial for emergency response and for passing the bureau's annual physical fitness test.

New Guinness World Record created

BOSTON - Robert J. Watson has given his right arm to become the Guinness World Record holder for platelet donation. For the last 13 years, Watson has rolled up his sleeve and donated blood at Children's Hospital. Platelets help with clotting and are especially important for children undergoing chemotherapy and organ transplants. Watson, a 48-year-old owner of several catering companies, has been stuck with a needle 820 times and has given a total of 5,084 units of platelets. His donations have helped sustain 1,125 children. About 5% of the population donates blood, with an even smaller percentage donating platelets. The grateful hospital nominated Watson to the folks at Guinness, who created a new record category for platelet donation.

Pooping pigeons get the shock of their lives

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Pigeons fond of loitering around New York's commuter railway stations may soon get the shock of their lives. Officials at regional railroad Metro-North have authorized funding for wiring at stations that would give electric shocks to birds that try to roost there. The shocks will be strong enough to encourage birds to roost elsewhere, officials say. About 25 stations in the Bronx and southern Westchester County are to be outfitted with the wiring after some strategically placed charges at a test station stopped birds from ''pooping on people as they waited for cabs,'' a Metro-North spokeswoman said.

City stocks tuna for Y2K

MANASSAS PARK, Va. - Whatever else changes when the year 2000 dawns, city officials are sure about one thing: There will be tuna. The city is stuffing a generator-powered Y2K shelter with canned tuna, chicken and other food items to feed 450 people for up to six days. The $85,000 bill for the shelter isn't sitting well with some residents. The gas and power companies that serve the city say they're not expecting any Y2K problems. If disaster doesn't come, the council hopes to sell the goodies to the city's schools.

An online business that'll make you squirm

OSHKOSH, Wis. - Dr. David Janssen's business, Biomaggot.com Inc., is enough to make some people squirm. ''We're maggot farmers,'' said Janssen. Janssen started the company about a 1 1/2 years ago to supply maggots to medical centers and private doctors who use them to clean wounds, said a Biomaggot surgical technician. After maggots are finished with a wound, the skin turns beefy, healthy red, and surgeons can graft it. Biomaggot.com is definitely one of the few places to get maggots online.

Virginia adopts hygiene laws for prisoners

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia prisoners will get a clean-cut look under new hygiene requirements announced by the state Department of Corrections. Officials say the new guidelines are aimed to increase the safety and health of prisoners while giving them a more uniform look. ''We've had a couple of instances where inmates have hidden drugs ... or weapons in their hair,'' said a Department of Corrections spokesman. ''There was even one case of an inmate who had a black widow spider nesting in their hair.''

Pizza on wheels?

ERIE, Pa. - When Tigran Nasibyan worked in pizza shops, he noticed the pies would cool long before they got delivered to a customer's door. His brainchild is Pizza on Wheels, a converted 28-foot school bus fitted with a pizza oven, sink and commercial cooler. Pizza, chicken wings and sandwiches are made and delivered right on the bus. Nasibyan and his business partner Artur Kmursmudyan take turns driving and cooking. To avoid spills on bumpy roads, they keep their speed to about 25 mph.

What a way to start a marriage

ST. LOUIS - Instead of leaving his bride at the altar on their wedding day, Danny Reid took her to the emergency room with him. Just prior to the ceremony, Reid was stung by a bee. Reid, who is allergic to bee stings, was rushed to nearby St. Lukes-West Hospital. The bride-to-be, Michelle Beaudreau, and the 10 wedding attendants followed Reid to the hospital. So did about 100 wedding guests. The wedding party and guests looked on as the hospital chaplain performed the ceremony. Reid lay on a hospital bed as the couple said ''I do.'' Reid and his new wife spent the night at the hospital.

Guide to quirky home remedies

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Head cold dragging you down? Put skunk grease on your chest. Got an aching tooth? Hold a bag full of hot ashes next to it. Measles, diphtheria and other more serious illnesses require a sterner remedy. Drink ''sheep nanny tea,'' a boiled mixture of sheep manure and water strained through cheesecloth. Those are a few Appalachian folk remedies used earlier in the century and collected by Clarke Ridgway, who teaches at West Virginia University's School of Pharmacy. Seventy-five of Ridgway's students gleaned about 750 folk remedies from 100 interviews with family members. Among them: To end a deep cough, place a towel over your head and breathe in a mixture of boiled water and onions; to curb head lice, soak your hair in lamp oil and wrap it in a towel for two days; and to end earache, blow pipe or cigarette smoke into your ear.

There ought to be a law

SAN FRANCISCO - Perhaps you can't fight city hall. But a California high school student is finding you can nudge the state legislature. Sixteen-year-old junior Kristin Schleicher' English essay suggesting that state law require schools to replace textbooks every 10 years won the There Ought to be a Law contest that Assemblywoman Lynne Leach sponsored for high school students in her district. The prize: Leach will introduce and sponsor the bill in January. Kristin got the news when TV cameras showed up in her third-period English class at Monte Vista High School.

Couple says God has forgiven them of debt

HARTFORD, Conn. - When Norman and Melissa Cameron were accused of defaulting on a $54,000 mortgage debt, they appealed to a higher power. Now they may have to appeal to a higher court. A judge has ruled against the Windsor couple, who claimed God had forgiven them their debts. A judge ruled in favor of the Federal National Mortgage Association, Fannie Mae, in the foreclosure lawsuit against the Camerons. Since the judge's ruling, Fannie Mae has assumed ownership of the property, with the power to sell it.

Nothing gets past this robber

FARMINGTON, N.M. - Maybe this guy thought he was in a grocery store. Police say 27-year-old Jeffrey Kline, who is accused in a rash of residential robberies, allegedly stole not only 40 guns, but cake mix, cheese, milk, a laundry bag full of socks and other household goods. The burglaries took place around San Juan County and in Colorado. ''He is suspected of taking anything of value, from stereos to jewelry to food - it's sporadic,'' Detective Tyler Truby said. Kline, who is facing two burglary charges, has three arrest warrants pending against him and is a suspect in at least four other burglaries, Truby said.

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