News of the weird 10/5/08

Cigarette sets off fireworks in man's car

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- A Rhode Island man faces charges after the cigarette he was smoking inside a car apparently ignited fireworks. Police arrested the 28-year-old Sunday after an officer found a sedan smoking in the middle of the street. Firefighters were called to extinguish the blaze. No one was injured. The man told police he was smoking a cigarette in the car when fireworks near his feet ignited. Witnesses told police they saw a passenger tossing fireworks out shortly before police arrived. The man is charged with the use or possession of fireworks under $500.

Distinctive blanket leads to burglary suspects

CHALMETTE, La. -- Police didn't have to look far to find the stolen possessions of a Louisiana family whose house was burglarized while they were away. Their distinctive blanket, which had a dog pattern, was hanging in their next door neighbors' window, police said. And the rest of their belongings were not far away -- police said the alleged burglars were using the blanket to shield themselves from view. "This is like something out of 'World's Stupidest Criminals,"' St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens said. "But we'll take any help we can get in solving a crime." Troy Clouatre, 35, and his aunt, Lisa J. Smith, 47, were being held Friday in St. Bernard Parish Prison on charges of simple burglary and possession of more than $5,000 worth of stolen property. Police did not know if they had an attorney.

Gigantic gourd goes missing in Michigan

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A massive pumpkin has gone missing from a front yard of a home in suburban Flint, Mich. -- and its owner suspects some mighty strong thieves. The Flint Journal reports Thursday the 450-pound pumpkin had been on display for only a day at the Grand Blanc Township home of Bill Teer. He spent five months growing the Atlantic Giant. Teer is offering $200 for the pumpkin's return. He figures someone must have seen it -- or at least the small team required to steal the squash.

Restaurant drops naked lunch promo

GREENVILLE, Maine -- There's no such thing as a free lunch anymore for Black Frog Restaurant patrons nervy enough to run down a dock and plunge naked into Moosehead Lake. Owner Leigh Turner decided Thursday to stop giving out a free Skinny Dip sandwich -- that's thinly sliced prime rib on a baguette -- for a skinny dip after the town board voted to deny his liquor license renewal application. In their decision the night before, selectmen in the popular tourist town noted that they would have had no problem granting the license if the promotion ended for the $10.95 sandwich. Thus, said Turner, dropping the deal was a no-brainer. He had said last year that he had two or three takers a week, and no frontal nudity was exposed to customers. But police said they had gotten several complaints, and three people received summonses for indecent conduct. They have pleaded not guilty. Authorities noted that stories about the Skinny Dip had circulated worldwide, and the indecency charge is a misdemeanor, like disorderly conduct. Police chief Scott MacMaster said he would recommend any establishment lose its liquor license for illegal goings-on. According to the Black Frog's website, its sandwiches also include The Chicken That Didn't Make it Across the Road.

-- From wire reports