A 34-year-old Australian man has a woman nearly twice his age to thank for saving his life.
A huge crocodile nearly 14 feet long dragged the man out of his tent early Monday morning at a campsite in far northern Queensland, the Australian Associated Press reported.
A 60-year-old fellow camper heard the shrieks of the man's wife and child and, without hesitation, pounced onto the back of the giant reptile.
"She was also camping there," said Royal Flying Doctor Service (search) public affairs manager Stephen Pemberthy, "and she saw what was happening and she jumped on the croc."
Startled, the prehistoric beast let go of the man's legs, but then grabbed the woman and started heading toward the beach with her clamped in its jaws.
That's when a third camper, like the other two as yet unnamed, ran up and shot the crocodile dead.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (search) personnel, in the area hunting down feral pigs, saw the campers' rescue beacon and arranged a rescue helicopter.
Local authorities said the man and woman were fortunate to survive the attack, which took place at Bathurst Bay (search), opposite the Great Barrier Reef and over 150 miles from the town of Cairns, where they were flown for treatment.
The pair had "mostly fractured limbs and they were pretty lucky basically," RFDS Dr Charles Ellis told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The woman was being treated for a broken arm and cuts and bruises, and the man for a broken arm and leg and general bodily injuries at Cairns Base Hospital.
Dr. Mark Read of the QPWS warned tourists to be on their guard as the Australian summer approached.
"Anyone visiting or traveling near coastal areas and rivers, as well as in fresh water sections of lagoons, swamps and waterways is urged to be wary," Read said.
Angry 11-Year-Old Goes for a Long Drive
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — An 11-year-old boy who told authorities he was upset about being bullied at school took off in the family car on an odyssey that ended more than 200 miles away on the other side of the state.
Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, the boy left his suburban Kansas City home early last Tuesday, making his way onto Interstate 35 and driving 92 miles to Bethany, a northwest Missouri community in an area where he used to hunt with his father.
He stopped there at a convenience store for some chips and a soft drink, then drove off aimlessly, following several other highways before ending up 135 miles away in Callao in northeast Missouri's Macon County.
Sgt. Michael Johnston of the Macon County Sheriff's Department said he got a call about 10:30 a.m. from the Callao postmaster, who reported that a boy was locked out of his car and wanted to talk.
"He just wanted some help," Johnston said. "He was a very polite guy. He spoke highly of his parents. He spoke highly of his school. But he knew he was in trouble."
The boy told Johnson he left home about 5:10 a.m. and had driven at speeds up to 85 mph.
"He was darn lucky," Johnston said.
The boy reported some problems during the trip, saying the 1995 Chevrolet ran out of gasoline at one point, but that he continued on his way after some construction workers helped him out.
After locking himself out of the car when he stopped to use a restroom in Callao, he went to the post office and asked for help.
Johnston said the boy told him his only driving experience was operating a tractor a few times and backing the car out of the driveway.
The relieved parents, who had filed a missing person report in Independence noting that their car and keys were also gone, picked their son up at mid-afternoon Tuesday. He was back in school the next day.
Officials said they had not seen any indications of bullying at the boy's school.
"But we're taking the concern very seriously," Associate Superintendent Patty Schumacher said. "We don't want a student to ever feel pushed into a corner or want to just take off."
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A teenager may go to jail for using foul language with a high school teacher.
Glenn Gattis and his parents don't deny that he cursed or has had other disciplinary problems at Ashley High School (search). But they say the misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct is an overreaction.
The 17-year-old Gattis says he became frustrated and used bad language when he got in trouble for being late to class again.
He said he was ultimately stopped by deputies working as school resource officers, who gave him a citation for using language meant to provoke violence. He was also suspended for three days.
Gattis' mother, Judy Lewis, said she could understand if her son had to serve detention at school. But he could get up to 30 days in jail. The family has hired a lawyer to fight the charge.
School officials declined to comment.
Highway Beautification Project Comes to Sad End
PERRYSBURG, Ohio (AP) — It was a clear-cut error: A state worker mowed down 28,000 young trees that had been planted as part of a $33,000 highway beautification project.
The only thing left behind were signs that read "Do not mow or spray."
"Shame on us. We wasted all that effort," Joe Rutherford, a spokesman with the Ohio Transportation Department (search), said Friday.
The oaks, ash, birches, maples and sycamores were planted in 2002 and 2003 at the interchange of Interstate 75 and I-475 near this Toledo suburb.
The city, county and state paid for the seedlings, and volunteers put in more than 700 hours planting them.
Rutherford said the seedlings, which were no more than 2 feet tall, were cut down earlier this week. He said that many of the seedlings were dead and that someone got the idea it would be OK to mow them down.
"I'm sure at some point someone was directed to mow. I'm not sure at what level that was given," he said. "We've reviewing the matter."
Cemetery Switches to Fake Grass
APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — The Sunset Hills Memorial Park (search) cemetery is giving up grass in favor of artificial turf.
It's a move owners believe will save as much as $180,000 in water and maintenance costs over the next three years. The cemetery is the final resting place for cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
"I actually believe it will revolutionize the cemetery industry eventually," said Sunset Hills co-owner Chet Hitt. He knows of no other cemetery that uses artificial turf.
Hitt originally started selling artificial turf just to people who wanted it for their family plots, but has gradually begun to put it down throughout the cemetery. He expects he'll have to replace it about once every eight years.
Artificial grass has several benefits besides saving money on water and maintenance costs, said Dave Hepburn of the Interment Association of California, the state's largest cemetery trade association.
Real grass can discolor tombstones and grow into graveside flower vases, damaging them, Hepburn said. Heavy watering can also damage concrete walkways and discolor headstones over time.
"The most important thing for a cemetery is to look good at all times, to look beautiful inside," Hepburn said.
Singaporean Breaks Dubious Record
SINGAPORE (AP) — Spurred on by shouts of "Shove it in, shove it in!" 19-year-old Don Ezra Nicholas stuffed more than three McDonald's hamburgers into his mouth — without swallowing — and claimed a new global record at the end of Singapore's contest to be the world's wackiest.
Nicholas jumped up, pumped his fists in the air and shouted, "Yes! I am the burger king!" as he spat out the last bits of the 3 1/5 burgers that he hopes put him in the Guinness World Records.
"I just thought to myself, I've got to do this, I've got to do this," Nicholas said after his feat Sunday. "I'm on top of the world right now, because everyone's going to know that I can shove more than three burgers in my mouth!"
The previous burger-stuffing record was set in 1998 by Johnny Reitz, an American who squeezed three into his mouth without spitting or swallowing.
Twenty Singaporeans tried to smash 10 unusual records over the weekend in a bid to make this tiny island nation stand out a bit more on the world map.
They broke two.
Jeffery Koh, 50, became the world's fastest eater of dry biscuits by swallowing three cream crackers in 14.45 seconds, smashing the previous mark of 49.15 seconds set in 2002.
But other attempts failed. They ranged from the fastest to drink a 14-ounce bottle of ketchup through a straw, to the longest paper airplane flight.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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