A frequent flier hot dog

A Colorado woman is holding onto a 54-year-old hot dog that her recently deceased sister mailed back and forth to her over the decades. The wiener passing started as a prank between Flora and Rose Zimbelman, when Flora slipped the frank into her sister's suitcase. The joke quickly turned into a sisterly tradition.

Quirky perversion

Police in Groningen, the Netherlands, are investigating a man they believe is stealing used tampons and sanitary napkins out of dorm garbage cans. It is not known what the man - who has been dubbed the "tampon maniac" - does with the soiled goods, but he does leave notes for his "victims".

More than a name in common

Darryl Peebles of Graham, North Carolina, never thought he would find a friend when he googled himself, but that's what happened when he e-mailed Daryl Peebles of Tasmania, Australia. The two learned they had more in common then their moniker: Both love to perform. In fact, the Australian Peebles recently visited Graham and the two put on a variety show at a local church.

Why not a cow?

A farmer in Siberia, Russia, has put in a request to President Vladimir Putin for permission to marry his cow. In an e-mail, the man explains that: "All the girls have left our small village and moved to the city, so I cannot find a woman to be with..." However, he has a solution: "I love animals very much and want to ask you when it will be allowed in Russia, as it is in Holland, to marry domestic animals?"

Black magic claim taken seriously

Police in Assam, India, laughed when a man called to complain about his neighbour using black magic to summon ghosts to steal his chickens and torture him nightly. However, the judge thought it was no laughing matter and ordered the officers to investigate the case immediately.

Cashier flips out over yo-yo

A convenience store clerk in Fort Pierce, Florida, is in jail for allegedly stabbing a teenager who didn't want to buy a yo-yo from his store. Amar Shreiteh punched and stabbed 14-year-old Jeremius Howard after he played with a yo-yo and put it back on the shelf because it was already open. Another clerk tried to stop Shreiteh but was also injured.

WHEN DRINKING GETS DANGEROUS

Three bar-goers got quite a shock recently in Columbia, South Carolina, after they drank peach martinis laced with a caustic cleaning substance. Apparently, the bartender had run out of sugar and asked a dishwasher - who didn't speak English - for help. He then accidentally handed over the cleaning powder. The victims suffered burns in their mouths.

wHO SAYS i'M TOO OLD?

A 62-year-old Englishwoman has just been given the title of "Britain's oldest mum" after giving birth to a 2.7-kilogram baby boy. Patti Farrant already has three grown children from a previous marriage and decided to have her recent baby because her husband, John Farrant, wanted to be a father even though they were both getting up in years.

Girl gone wild

You've heard of "Girls Gone Wild?" Well, one girl who really did go wild on a recent weekend is being accused of punching Joe Francis, the man behind the "Girls Gone Wild" series. Francis was attending a friend's party when the disgruntled girl assaulted him. While the motive for the attack and extent of Francis' injury is undetermined, he is rumoured to have taken the reported assault quite personally, telling police that matters will "be decided in court".

Suiting up to cheat

More than 20 students in Hanoi, Vietnam, have been caught cheating on their college entrance exams by wiring up their wigs and shirts. The cheats were all caught within the past week and ABCNews.com reports the desperate slacker scholars spent more than US$3,000 (Bt110,000) for the elaborate equipment, including getting mobile phones wired into wigs and shirts.