Jockstrip: The world as we know it. July 21, 2008

Model T cars roll into Indiana town

RICHMOND, Ind., July 21 (UPI) -- Car enthusiasts are celebrating the centennial of the Model T, which was built by Ford from 1908 to 1927 and is among the top-selling vehicles of all time.

The Model T Ford Club is gathering in Richmond, Ind., for a weeklong celebration, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The newspaper said Model T Runabouts, Roadsters, Speedsters, Touring cars and the like are coming to town from 44 states -- and from countries including Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal and Brazil.

Model T owners Chuck and Ginger Mitchell of St. Clair Shores, Mich., said they have been making plans for years to attend the event.

"If you want to have fun in an old car, the Model T is it," said Chuck Mitchell, 65, who is a volunteer Model T mechanic. He was planning to haul his 1925 Model T Roadster to Richmond Saturday.

The celebration in Richmond is being billed as "The World's Largest Gathering of Model T's."

Experts doubt record-breaking turtle claim

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 21 (UPI) -- A man who captured a 103-pound turtle argues the animal is of record-breaking size, but experts say they doubt his claim is warranted.

Jim McKnight was fishing for bass in southeast Oklahoma when he hooked the large turtle, The Oklahoman reported.

McKnight has gotten in touch with members of the media on several occasions and provided photos of the turtle to prove it is a record-breaker, the newspaper said.

McKnight told reporters a local game warden said it is a typical snapping turtle, but it weighs 35 pounds more than any other snapping turtle of its kind on record.

Wildlife diversity biologist Mark Howery has seen pictures of the animal and insists it is not a regular snapping turtle, but an alligator snapping turtle instead, which can often weigh much more than 103 pounds.

"This has to be an alligator snapping turtle just looking at it. It's not a record alligator snapping turtle, but it's still unusual ... we don't get very many reports of alligator snapping turtles," Howery said.

Woman pays $1,000 to rescue lobster

SHEDIAC, New Brunswick, July 21 (UPI) -- A Canadian woman says she plans to release a giant lobster after she paid $1,000 to rescue the crustacean from a fish market.

Laura-Leah Shaw purchased the 22-pound lobster, named Big Dee-Dee, from the Big Fish seafood market in Shediac, New Brunswick, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The report said two unnamed Ontario groups contributed $1,000 each to rescue the animal, which is thought to be 100 years old.

Big Fish was auctioning Big Dee Dee for an opening price of $1,000, the report said.

Denis Breau, owner of the fish market, said at least 1,000 people visited Big Fish to catch a glimpse of Big Dee Dee, who was caught in the beginning of July.

Shaw said she would travel to the Maritimes region of eastern Canada Monday to let Big Dee Dee go into the wild, but officials said the lobster would need to undergo a health inspection before it is released, to check for diseases.

Monty Python star takes over city hall

CARDIFF, Wales, July 21 (UPI) -- Aberystwyth, Wales, Mayor Sue Jones-Davies says she is OK with the publicly available nude images of her in the movie "Monty Python's Life of Brian."

Jones-Davies, a professional actress and singer, played Judith in the 1979 comedy. Her nude scene is widely available on the Internet, but the movie has been banned in her town -- and she plans to use her new position to repeal the prohibition, The Observer said.

Jones-Davies told the newspaper Aberystwyth banned the film due to its irreverent take on religion.

"We used to be a town with many, many chapels -- it used to be a town that took religion very seriously," she said. "So I can imagine that, at the time, the town's elders weren't very sympathetic to the themes and messages in it."

Jones-Davies -- who was elected mayor July 10 -- has appeared in dozens of TV shows and films, including "Solomon and Gaenor," a 1999 Oscar nominee for best foreign language film.

Submit to