Call it the case of the lucky ChapStick.
Steven Jacobs, a physician's assistant in Brooklyn, N.Y., dropped his tube of lip balm at work last Wednesday — and bent over to pick it up just as a bullet flew through his office window, reports the New York Post.
Police and witnesses said Jacobs, 35, was working at the Ditmas Park Rehab/Care Center (search) just before 3 p.m. when two men started arguing on the street outside.
One guy pulled out a BB gun — which prompted the other to yank out a real handgun and get off several shots.
One bullet hit the first man in the jaw. Another ricocheted and went right into Jacobs' office window just as he reached for the ChapStick (search).
"I thought there was car backfiring in the parking lot," said Jacobs, a former Israeli policeman. "The second shot told me I needed to stay down."
Jacobs was hit above the eye by flying glass, but the cut was not serious, and he said his injuries could have been much worse.
"There's a hole in the window over there, and seconds before, I was standing up there," he said. "I was very fortunate. God was with me, no question. If God wanted me dead, I would be dead."
The man shot outside went to the hospital, while the shooter got away.
After Jacobs' close call made the newspapers, he got a call from Wyeth Consumer Healthcare (search), makers of ChapStick.
"Wyeth wants to make sure that he has ChapStick available forever," spokeswoman Heather Scherman told the Post.
Jacobs was soon to receive a case of 100 ChapSticks, the beginning of a free lifetime supply.
"I'm very happy," said Jacobs. "I use it all the time."
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese police arrested a 58-year-old woman for triggering insomnia and headaches in her next-door neighbor by blasting rock music at her almost continuously for over two years.
Miyoko Kawahara was arrested Monday on suspicion of inflicting injury on the 64-year-old woman by playing loud, fast-paced dance music almost 24 hours a day on a portable stereo she had pointed at her neighbor's house 20 feet away.
Police launched their investigation after doctors diagnosed the neighbor with insomnia and headaches they attributed to the noise, a local police spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
The police said Kawahara started blasting the sounds in November 2002. The police haven't pinpointed a motive for the alleged prolonged harassment, but the spokesman said the two women had spats over minor issues he declined to identify.
Under Japanese law, those convicted of inflicting injury on another person face up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $2,800.
Trained Pigs Do Everything but Fly
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — These pigs run, jump and swim — almost anything but fly.
Thousands of Shanghai residents have turned out to a city park to watch a herd of pigs compete in what organizers are calling the "Pig Olympics."
They run over hurdles, jump through hoops, dive and swim in shows twice a day, according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper.
The pigs, a midget species from Thailand, begin training soon after birth and can start performing after they are 12 months old.
"These lovely pigs are of a special species that is good at sports by nature," said Yang Ying, a manager with promoters Bluesea Broadway Co. Ltd.
Pig races are common in many places, but heavily urban Shanghai offers few opportunities to see farm animals in action.
"It's incredible," said 8-year-old Tan Yizhou, who presented a gold medal to one of the winning pigs. "I never thought that a pig could be so clever."
LONDON (AP) — It was one of those heartwarming Lassie moments — with a twist.
A golden Labrador survived a 100-foot fall down a cliff after another dog — a black Labrador — ran to get help from the first dog's owner, coast guard officials said.
The golden Labrador named Lacey became trapped after slipping down a rocky slope Monday near South Stack, in Holyhead (search), north Wales.
The black Labrador, named Sheena, spotted her lying in a pool of water at the bottom of a gully and raced to fetch Lacey's owner, barking to gain attention and directing her to the stricken animal.
Coast guard rescuers climbed down to the dog and set up a harness-and-rope system to hoist her back to the top. The whole operation took about 40 minutes.
A spokesman for the coast guard said the dog was shivering from the cold but did not seem to be hurt and was wagging her tail.
Students Win Prize for Inefficiency
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue University (search) students won the national Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (search) this past Saturday by proving that changing the batteries in a flashlight isn't always simple.
Students from the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers (search) devised the most whimsically complex method of taking two batteries out of a flashlight, replacing them and turning the flashlight on.
The team, which gave Purdue its third straight national title in the event, used 125 steps to accomplish this year's design task — more than six times the 20 steps required in the event.
"You spend most of your time trying to get the last 1 percent of things to work," said Hollingsworth, a senior in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics from Zionsville.
The winning machine simulated a rocket launch and a meteor impact on Earth, which was portrayed by an orange ping-pong ball.
The team also won the event's People's Choice Award, which was voted on by the more than 400 audience members. A team from Ferris State University placed second with a carnival-themed machine. A team from the University of Texas at Austin (search) was third.
The competition, which took place in the Purdue Armory, pays homage to the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg (search), whose drawings displayed whimsical machines with complex mechanisms to perform simple tasks.
Compiled by FOX News' Paul Wagenseil.
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