Unemployed security guard tapped as Spain’s top snoozer [via CNN]
Unemployed Ecuadoran security guard Pedro Soria Lopez, 62, won the inaugural Spanish National Siesta Championship after napping “for 17 minutes and register a 70-decibel snore while sprawled out on a couch in the middle of a crowded shopping mall.” Lopez and hundreds of other contestants had 20 minutes in which to nap (the ideal length for an energy-boosting snooze, experts say) and received extra points for form, pajamas and snore loudness. The grand prize was €1,000 in credit at the Madrid mall.
Crocodile blamed for Congo air crash [via MSNBC]
According to the lone survivor of an August 25 plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a crocodile that escaped from a duffel bag and frightened passengers sparked panic on the aircraft that ultimately led to the accident that killed 20 people. The routine flight from Kinshasa to Bandundu went awry when the crocodile, snuck on board by a passenger who apparently planned on selling the reptile, forced the flight attendant and passengers toward the cockpit, destabilizing the plane and bringing it to a fiery crash. The crocodile reportedly survived and was later killed by a machete.
Booze-Friendly Hospitals Aim to End Patient Woes [via NPR]
A Fort Wayne, Ind. Hospital is hoping to waylay patients complaints about stereotypically bad hospital food with a little booze — though it’s BYOB. Patients and families can bring in alcohol if doctors approve of the consumption, and as a bonus are serving steak dinners before patients’ discharge. Not all are happy with the policy, however; Susan Levin of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine said the practice is “mind-boggling.” “The hospital just isn’t the right environment for a crutch put you at ease,” says Levin. “Of all the places, hospitals should be educating patients about healthy dietary habits.”
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