Oddly enough 2/20/06

Man arrested for allegedly biting off girlfriend's nose

TULSA, Okla. -- A family had to call police and an ambulance after a man allegedly bit off the nose of his girlfriend, authorities said. Jody Bennett came out of a back room of a north Tulsa residence on Thursday with a napkin over her face and said her boyfriend, identified as Greg Hill, had bitten her nose. Medics responding to the house saw that Bennett's nose had been severed and called police. An ambulance took Bennett, 37, to a hospital where police talked to emergency room personnel about pumping Hill's stomach to see if the nose was inside, police Cpl. Shane Tuell said. "They said, given the acid in the stomach, that it would be a futile effort to try and do that," Tuell said. Hill, 45, denied biting Bennett's nose, police said. He was booked into the Tulsa Jail on complaints of aggravated assault and battery, resisting arrest and destroying evidence.

Lightbulb stolen that may have belonged to Edison

CRESTWOOD, Ky. -- It was hidden in a shoe box inside a drawer, but the burglar who stumbled upon it must have thought the ancient-looking light bulb was worth something. The bulb's owner said it was probably made by Thomas Edison, who is credited with developing a long-burning filament that made the incandescent light bulb marketable. Helena Grimes, owner of the Waldeck Mansion that was burglarized this week, said the light bulb had belonged to her great-great-uncle. Grimes said she was told by a Smithsonian Institution expert that there are likely only 12 others like it. Grimes and her husband, David Gleason, are offering a reward for information leading to the return of the light bulb and some silver trays and trophies that were also swiped during the burglary.

62-year-old woman gives birth to boy by Caesarian

REDDING, Calif. -- A 62-year-old woman gave birth Friday to a healthy 6-pound, 9-ounce baby boy, becoming one of the oldest women in the world to successfully bear a child. Janise Wulf gave birth to her 12th child. She is also a grandmother of 20 and a great-grandmother of three. Family members said the delivery went smoothly, despite earlier concerns about the mother's health. Wulf, a diabetic, experienced swelling and higher blood pressure earlier this week, prompting doctors to perform the Caesarean section a week early. Wulf and her third husband, Scott, 48, named the boy Adam Charles Wulf. He follows just 3 1/2 years behind his older brother, Ian. "I hate to raise one alone, without a sibling," said Wulf, who was impregnated both times through in vitro fertilization. The oldest woman on record to give birth is a 66-year-old Adriana Iliescu of Romania, who had a Caesarean section Jan. 15, 2005.

Family uses Korean War shell for lawn ornament

WOODBURN, Ore. -- For at least two decades, the Korean War-era shell sat in the front yard. It wasn't so dangerous a lawn ornament as it might have been -- it had no fuse. The fuse detonates the larger explosive charge on impact. The shells are difficult to explode without one. A state police expert said it could have gone off in extreme circumstances. "If the place had caught fire, then the shell could have detonated," said Sgt. Steve Sigurdson of the state police arson and explosives unit. The experts said the shell was of a type that was shot from 8-inch-diameter howitzers during the Korean War. It was also used in Vietnam. Police didn't disclose the name of the family who lived with the shell. A nephew with explosives training who was leaving for Iraq visited the family, examined the lawn ornament and called authorities, Sigurdson said.

Ill. resident reports bird's head in can of pinto beans

CHICAGO -- A northern Illinois resident reported finding a bird's head in a can of pinto beans, prompting a Chicago-based food company to announce a voluntary recall Friday. La Preferida Inc. said in a statement that it was recalling a limited number of its cans as a precaution. The company says the beans were canned by New Meridian Inc. in Eaton, Ind. "There are still many unanswered questions, but we have decided to err on the side of safety," said David Brand, La Preferida's director of quality assurance. The company is investigating to determine how the bird head got into the 15-ounce can, he said. The Illinois Department of Public Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are also investigating.

-- From wire reports