A Slight Case of Overcharging + November Postings Reprised
A. A Slight Case of Overcharging
1. "Record electricity bill shock"
< http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article476134.ece >
"The bill - for two months - was NOK 7.6 million (USD 1.1 million)"
2. "Computer error means £2.3 trillion electricity bill"
< http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_756911.html >
"The demand for £2,320,333,681,613 was supposed to be for electricity supplied
to Mr Law's new home at Fartown, Huddersfield"
3. "Couple swimming in $7.7 million water bill"
< http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Jan04/120104/wn02.htm >
"A Texas couple needed a drink after they got a water bill for $7,714,510.21
instead of the usual $50 or $60"
4. "Patient billed $1100 for 5min visit" [expired link]
< http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9099746%255E421,00.html >
"A Serpentine mother has been billed $1100 by a doctor for a five-minute visit
while she was in labour - even though he did not deliver the baby"
5. "Lawyer sends £1.5m bill for one hour's work"
< http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1139923.html >
"A self-employed German who earns just £12,000 pounds a year has been landed
with a £1.5 million pound legal bill after asking a lawyer to do a few minutes
work"
B. November Postings Reprised
[World Wide Waits]
* "Schoolboy query taxed British officials for years"
< http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1232964.htm >
"It was only a simple query in a school test - why does Britain's tax year
start on April 5? But according to a report on Monday, the question took
Britain's Inland Revenue's best minds a full seven years to answer"
* "Couple forgot to pick up wedding album - for 15 years"
< http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1189871.html >
"A Malaysian couple forgot to pick up their wedding album until they had been
married for 15 years"
[Possible Overreactions]
* "Poor table manners lead to stabbings"
< http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=284328 >
"A man was charged with stabbing two relatives after they allegedly
criticized his table manners during Thanksgiving dinner"
* "Cabbie killed unruly passenger"
< http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/11/08/705889.html >
"A taxi driver killed a drunken passenger when the man refused to get out of
his cab"
* "Fight over car doors cited in killing"
< http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E2537292,00.html >
"A dented vehicle door led to a homicide Saturday night in the parking lot of
an Aurora Blockbuster video store"
[Not-So-Small Change]
* "Ohio man sets record for most pennies collected"
< http://www.axcessnews.com/national_111604e.shtml >
"A 78-year old man from Ohio has set a new national record for the most
pennies collected, weighing in at 3.5 tons, he cashed in a total of
1,048,013 pennies, or $10,480.13"
[Airport Dramas]
* "Airline stowaway proves a hard rat to track"
< http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1243932.htm >
"A China Eastern Airlines passenger jet flying a daily route between Shanghai
and Singapore was grounded for three days as crews tried to locate and
exterminate a stowaway rat"
* "Pregnant baboon runs loose at Houston airport"
< http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/bizarre/111104_sn_baboon.html >
"A pregnant baboon being loaded on a Continental Airlines plane at Bush
Intercontinental Airport Wednesday briefly escaped when the door to her cage
opened"
* "'Doofus' travellers carrying saws, mines"
< http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/11/23/727821-ap.html >
"Many air travellers in the United States apparently still haven't understood
the word about leaving their handguns and knives behind when they go to the
airport - not to mention chainsaws, landmines and gunpowder, too"
[World Toilet Day]
* "Eminem's bathroom bother"
< http://www.eircomhosting.ie/content/bang/eNews/4490332?view=Standard >
"Eminem was stunned when a huge minder knocked a wall onto him while he was
on the toilet"
* "Soft, strong but a long time to go away - how loo paper puts a strain on
the system"
< http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-2-1369346-2,00.html >
"The pampered posteriors of Britain's bathrooms are placing an increasing
strain on plumbers as ever-kinder toilet tissues block up the nation's
drains"
[Take Your Time - Late Mail II]
* "Letter 286 years late"
< http://www.news24.com/News24/Backpage/Offbeat/0,,2-1343-1347_1626234,00.html >
"A letter that landed in the wrong box 286 years ago finally reached the
right address in Germany on Wednesday after an expert decoded the ornate
handwriting"
