Newshound

Misspelling Officials

AN AMERICAN lake has been misspelled for years, embarrassed officials have admitted.  Tongue-twisting Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Massachusetts was spelled wrongly on signs for years, as local newspaper The Worcester Telegram and Gazette had been pointing out since 2003.

Following research into the different variations of spelling the name, Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg was identified as the correct spelling, while the officially used Chargoggagoggmanchaoggagoggchaubunaguhgamaugg is said to be wrong.

Local signs are now to be repainted. Given that it has the longest name in the country, locals also know the lake as “Webster Lake”.

Mugging Eagle

AN AUSTRIAN woman reported the theft of her handbag to police, naming an eagle as the perpetrator.

Pensioner Klara Maier, 69, had her handbag snatched out of her hand by a bald eagle – with an impressive 7ft wingspan.

She then saw the bird land on the street and rip open the bag to inspect its contents. Police later found the eagle hiding in a field. “The eagle is a bit battered and bruised but will recover,” said a police spokesman.

It was identified as a trained bird that had escaped into the wild. Its owner said afterwards: “He’s a very peaceful bird. He was starving and thought the handbag had some food in it.”

Bloody Soup

AN INDONESIAN has been accused of mixing menstrual blood into her employer’s meals and now has to defend herself in court.

Believing the ingredient would help smooth over their troubled relationship, 26-year-old Indra Ningsih mixed the blood into vegetables, but was found out when her female employer found her acting suspiciously in the kitchen.

She is now scheduled to appear in court for “administering poison or other destructive or noxious substances with intent to injure”.