Weird But True

WEIRD BUT TRUE

An Albuquerque principal is in a hairy situation after driving a student off campus to a barbershop last week without seeking the permission of the teen’s parents.

Al Sanchez, of Rio Grande HS, faces disciplinary action after giving the 15-year-old boy two choices: receive a suspension or remove what he thought were gang symbols that had been shaved into the kid’s head.

Sanchez said he “was just trying to do a nice thing.”

The boy, a boxer, said the designs – the number “505” and New Mexico’s Zia Sun Symbol – were there to let the crowd know he was from the state during an upcoming bout.

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Fans of Pachinko, an upright pinball game from Japan, are wondering if their play helps pay for North Korea’s nuclear-weapon program.

It has long been believed that money earned from Pachinko, a $200 billion-a-year industry in Japan, somehow finds its way to the Pyongyang government.

“I used to play frequently, but I don’t go so often anymore,” said one woman. “I really don’t want North Korea using my money for bombs.”

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Officials in Gavle, Sweden, say vandals won’t be getting their goat this Christmas.

Pranksters have torched the town’s straw-goat statue – a 43-foot-high holiday symbol – 22 times over the past four decades. But this year, officials decided to fireproof it.

“It is impossible to burn it to the ground this year, although you might be able to singe its paws,” one official said.

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Visitors to China have a new sightseeing destination: the country’s biggest nuclear-power plant, Dayawan.

Entry cost is about $3.80 – with all proceeds going to charity, the Xinhua news agency reports.

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A fisherman in Jijel, Algeria, netted seven lobsters, including one that’s 62-years-old and two others believed to be 59.

The fisherman said he’ll sell them all for $1,700, according to Agence France-Presse, which noted lobsters’ ages are calculated by dividing their weight by .22 pounds.