News of the Weird
Bizarre but true stories about real people collected by syndicated columnist Chuck Shepherd.
Britain’s Home Office announced that it had agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit by 197 heroin-addicted prisoners that it was “assault” and a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights for them to have been almost immediately denied all drugs when they were arrested. For forcing the inmates to go “cold turkey,” the government agreed to pay each the equivalent of about $7,000.
Britain’s Channel 4 public television announced that it would schedule a week of documentaries on masturbation, including one by self-designated “orgasm coach” Betty Dodson, “Masturbation for Girls,” teaching hands-on techniques to three women.
The pendulum swung the other way, however, when Britain’s Tesco stores agreed that a kit for learning pole dancing (advertised on its Web site), to “(u)nleash the sex kitten inside,” with a garter and suggestive DVD, was perhaps unsuited for its “toy” section, where it might have been appealing to adolescent girls.
(Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or [email protected] or go to www.NewsoftheWeird.com.) NEWS OF THE WEIRD