WEIRD, WEIRD

Man loses lifetime flying ticket

A man who bought a lifetime air travel ticket has had it taken away after being accused of fraud.

Steve Rothstein purchased the unlimited ticket back in 1987 and has flown with American Airlines around 10,000 times since, but has accused the company of "betrayal" after his pass was terminated due to fraudulent activity.

Rothstein said: "I feel betrayed. They signed a contract, and a contract's a contract.

"They took away my hobby and my life. They essentially destroyed my persona."

Rothstein has made the most of his unlimited travel and even travelled to 18 destinations across the globe during a single month in 2004.

He previously said: "I could just show up and get a seat.

"I could go someplace and I wouldn't even have to think about it. Just make the reservation and go."

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Fighter sets world record with his mouth

An MMA fighter has broken a Guinness World Record for opening cans with his mouth. Chucky Mady, from Ontario in Canada, was filmed using his powerful jaws to bite open 24 full drinks cans in the space of a single minute.

He said: "I've been doing it for years -- I started when I was 16. Just messing around. Party tricks."

Mady revealed that he decided to take on the world record after seeing somebody else attempt it on a TV programme.

He told the Windsor Star newspaper: "One day, I was watching Guinness World Records Gone Wild on TV. There was this guy, Ryan Stock, who was doing it. His record was 11 cans in one minute, and I was like: 'I can do that.'"

Mady credited his "tough" teeth for the successful record-breaking attempt.

He said: "My teeth are tough. It doesn't hurt."

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139-year-old house relocated

A man has spent thousands of dollars moving his home half a mile away. Tim Brown was able to get his 139-year-old property on the back of a truck and move it elsewhere in San Francisco so a new apartment block could be built in its place.

Phil Joy oversaw the house-moving operation and could understand the extreme measures that Brown went to so he could keep his home intact.

He told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper: "Look at it. It's historic. Original lumber. You cannot get lumber like that anymore. Tight grain from 800-year-old trees. No knots. It's a beautiful thing.

"Move a house, save a tree.

"This is a house that is worth saving. Besides, it's what keeps us in business."

Joy's views were reiterated by local resident Fiona McDougall, who added: "These houses are part of the fabric of San Francisco.

"It's important to preserve them rather than replacing them with a bunch of cold boxes."

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Doctor removes tape 'worm' from boy's ears

A mother rushed her son to the doctors after pulling a 'worm' out of his ear -- only to later discover that it was tape.

Gemma Tyson recalled how she "felt sick" when she pulled the 'brain-worm' from her son Ashton's ear, and her concerns were heightened after a Google search suggested that it could have been 'eating his brain'.

However, once the pair had returned home from hospital, Ashton confessed that he had stuffed a piece of tape inside his ear a week prior.

Tyson said: "Ashton's always got something hurting, so he said about his itchy ear, and when I first looked, I thought it was a big chunk of wax.

"When I pulled it with the long tweezers it just kept coming and coming.

"I thought he had brain worms, and the longer we sat there, the more his brain was getting eaten."

She continued: "When we got home he said, 'I wonder if it could be the tape?' So I just said, 'What?' He said he'd put some tape in and couldn't get it out, so it might be that. I was so embarrassed."