Brits ... in ... space. Or not in space.
A new British reality show is taking a group of unwitting civilians and trying to convince them they've been launched into space, according to This Is London.
Nine unsuspecting Britons will be fooled into thinking they are going to be blasted into space as tourists after some serious training from the Space Tourism Agency of Russia.
In fact, the clueless cosmonauts will be going to space camp in an unused British airbase — and their shuttle will be a Tinseltown toy made for the Clint Eastwood movie "Space Cowboys."
Britain's Channel 4 told This Is London the joke could end up being on them if the nine cosmo-nots, right now being selected in a secret locale that has no contact with the outside world, catch on to the prank.
To monitor their suspicions, the network placed three actors in the group to report to them on whether they stay fooled.
To help the space cadets stay fooled after the non-lift off, a Hollywood specialist created the launch sound, the shuttle is rigged to tip and rock and a huge screen just the window will show a view of Earth from space — even including a hurricane over Mexico.
That's Eight Centuries in Jail for You, Fat Boy!
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A man dubbed the "Fat Boy" robber by police has been sentenced to 841 1/2 years in prison for 13 robberies between 1998 and 2000.
An attorney for Derrick Deon Moore, 35, said he would appeal the sentence, which he called "absolutely ridiculous" for an armed robbery conviction.
Ad hoc State District Judge L.J. Hymel said Tuesday that the brutal nature of the robberies, some of which Moore appeared to be the leader, "weighed heavily on the sentence." Hymel also said that a large number of guns was stolen in one of the robberies and "common sense tells me these guns ended up in the streets of Louisiana and California."
The string of robberies occurred between October 1998 with a heist of a sports store and ended in October 2000, two months before Moore was arrested. More than $150,000 and 46 guns were taken in the robberies, police said.
An appeal would be based upon the length of the sentence, said defense attorney Troy Jackson.
"What the judge is saying is there is no possibility for rehabilitation," Jackson said.
— Thanks to Out There reader Aimee H.
Just Be Glad She's Not Your Mom
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — Tasha Henderson got tired of her 14-year-old daughter's poor grades, her chronic lateness to class and her talking back to her teachers, so she decided to teach the girl a lesson.
She made her daughter Coretha stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection Nov. 4 with a cardboard sign that read: "I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food."
"This may not work. I'm not a professional," said Henderson, a 34-year-old mother of three. "But I felt I owed it to my child to at least try."
In fact, Henderson has seen a turnaround in her daughter's behavior in the past week and a half. But the punishment prompted letters and calls to talk radio from people either praising the woman or blasting her for publicly humiliating her daughter.
"The parents of that girl need more education than she does if they can't see that the worst scenario in this case is to kill their daughter psychologically," Suzanne Ball said in a letter to The Oklahoman.
Marvin Lyle, 52, said in an interview: "I don't see anything wrong with it. I see the other extreme where parents don't care what the kids do, and at least she wants to help her kid."
Coretha has been getting Cs and Ds as a freshman at Edmond Memorial High School in this Oklahoma City suburb. Edmond Memorial is considered one of the top high schools in the state in academics.
While Henderson stood next to her daughter at the intersection, a passing motorist called police with a report of psychological abuse, and an Oklahoma City police officer took a report. Mother and daughter were asked to leave after about an hour, and no citation was issued. But the report was forwarded to the state Department of Human Services.
"There wasn't any criminal act involved that the officer could see that would require any criminal investigation," Master Sgt. Charles Phillips said. "DHS may follow up."
DHS spokesman Doug Doe would not comment on whether an investigation was opened, but suggested such a case would probably not be a high priority.
Tasha Henderson said her daughter's attendance has been perfect and her behavior has been better since the incident.
Coretha, a soft-spoken girl, acknowledged the punishment was humiliating but said it got her attention. "I won't talk back," she said quietly, hanging her head.
She already has been forced by her parents to give up basketball and track because of slipping grades, and said she hopes to improve in school so she can play next year.
Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective.
"The trick is to catch them being good," he said. "It sounds like this mother has not had a chance to catch her child being good or is so upset over seeing her be bad, that's where the focus is."
— Thanks to Out There reader Rob E.
— Click in the photo box above to see a pic of the sign-bearing kid.
Don't Shoot! I'm Good People
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — The mayor's comment that recent shootings shouldn't make "good people" fear violence has spawned a new T-shirt slogan.
"Don't Shoot! I'm one of the Good People of Williamsport," say the shirts going off the shelf for $10 at Cady's News Stand.
"Good people shouldn't be afraid," Mayor Mary B. Wolf had told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette after a rash of October shootings. "If you're a good person and you're not doing drugs, walk with confidence."
The comments prompted some indignant letters to the newspaper, and the ire of at least one city councilman.
Cady's owner Edwin Stu Congdon — often a critic of city government, particularly over downtown construction he said has hurt his business — saw a chance for a humorous jab. He designed the T-shirts with a hands-up silhouette and the "Don't Shoot" slogan, and said customers have been amused.
"It brings a little joy to people's hearts," Congdon said. "It's a marketing thing. I'm trying to make a little off the city since they've hurt me."
— Thanks to Out There reader Aimee H.
Send In the Underwear Elf
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — You might call her the underwear elf.
After 16-year-old Kelsey Swiatko heard that underwear is one of the biggest needs among the city's poor, she launched "Operation Underwear." Swiatko and a corps of helpers spent 10 hours outside a local Wal-Mart on Saturday collecting donations.
Her goal was 1,200 pair and she topped it, filling her family's home with 2,200 pair of underwear and socks.
"We were swimming through underwear," she said.
Most of the donations were from individuals, although Wal-Mart contributed 100 pairs and Target and Jockey stores combined for another 125.
Swiatko made her deliveries this week, splitting 1,100 pairs between the Salvation Army and Shalom Center. On Thursday, the other 1,100 pairs went to a shelter for battered women.
"We get a lot of wonderful used clothing, but underwear, that's one thing where it's so much nicer to have something new," said Paula Clark, the shelter's development coordinator.
Dawn Simon, children's service coordinator, said, "We never get children's underwear and socks. This is like Christmas."
Pastor One Serious Turkey Hunter
PITCAIRN, Pa. (AP) — A pastor who had been camping on his church roof came down after collecting more than 500 turkeys for needy families.
Pastor David Martin of the Pitcairn Assembly of God had said he would camp out on the roof in a tent until he collected the 500 birds. He had been there since Monday.
Martin had collected 255 turkeys as of noon Wednesday. Someone promised him more than 100 turkeys which, along with other donations, surpassed his goal of 500.
"I wanted to bless the community," he said. "And you figure if you do something a little strange, people will show up, and they did. They have given over and over — more than I could have imagined."
Martin said he reached his goal sooner than expected. He had planned to stay on the roof until Friday.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Andrew Hard.
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