Thief targets fire hydrants, and more

Thief targets fire hydrants

A California man has been charged with stealing 45 fire hydrants, leaving gaping holes in the sidewalk. Authorities say that Brian Burian posed as a city worker, wearing an orange vest and driving a white van with cones in the back, while he used a foot-long “key” to turn off the hydrants’ water supply and hauled them into the truck. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I’ve never seen something this bold and brazen, in broad daylight,” said district supervisor Dave Reading. Police say Burian sold the $1,800 hydrants for scrap metal.

George Clooney's cashmere throw

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George Clooney travels with a security blanket, says Britain’s Daily Star. A hotel worker in Honolulu, where Clooney stayed while shooting his latest film, said the actor travels with a particular cashmere throw, and housekeeping staff were briefed as to its proper care and maintenance. “We had to lay it on top of his sheets when we turned down the bed,” says the source. “He obviously can’t sleep without it.”

Publisher destroys book with egregious error

An Australian publisher has destroyed 7,000 copies of a cookbook after a recipe called for “salt and freshly ground black people.” The recipe, for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto, was meant to call for black pepper, but a typo led a computer spell-checker program to insert the erroneous word. “We’re mortified that this has become an issue of any kind,” said publisher Bob Sessions, “and why anyone would be offended, we don’t know.”