From drunken girlfriends to boxes of pornography, London cabbies have been left with it all.
A new study designed to determine how much business equipment gets lost in cabs revealed some unexpected news about the contents left behind in London's black cabs, the London Times Online reported.
One cabbie reported a man leaving his drunken girlfriend behind in the cab as a "tip" for the driver. Another was burdened with a passenger wearing only his underwear.
Diamonds, machine guns and wooden legs are other unexpected remnants that have been left for London's hard-working cab drivers at the end of some long nights.
From the 11 cities surveyed, London emerged as the most forgetful, with the survey suggesting that 54,872 mobile phones, 4,718 handheld computers, 3,179 laptops and 923 computer memory sticks were left in London cabs in the past six months alone. The survey was carried out by Pointsec, a company that specializes in security for mobile devices.
Luckily for these passengers, London cabbies are an honest group, and 96 percent of phones and 97 percent of laptops were returned by the drivers. Many cabbies actually chased after the drivers when these items were left behind.
That Better Be Some Top-of-the-Line Tomato Sauce
You never know what you might unwrap at Christmas time.
Upon opening the box to what they thought was their brand-new camcorder, a Missouri couple was shocked to find a jar of spaghetti sauce instead.
Melisa Rittenberg and her husband had bought the camcorder at Best Buy and brought it home to find that instead of containing a $1,300 camera, the box inexplicably held a jar of tomato sauce.
The box had appeared unopened and, according to the store, had come directly from the manufacturer.
The store is looking into the matter.
Town Sheriff Reins in Renegade Reindeer
OSLO, Norway (AP) — It took the long arm of the law to restore order when a renegade reindeer sprinted along a highway in Norway's Arctic, nearly causing a series of traffic accidents.
The long arm belonged to Acting Sheriff Klemet Klemetsen, who reached through the window of his police cruiser and grabbed the fleeing animal by the skin of the neck while driving alongside it.
"That was a new experience for me," the 50-year-old officer told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "It isn't normal procedure for a police officer to grab a reindeer through his car window. I've never heard of it before.
Motorists had called the police to warn of a panicked reindeer, which had been frightened by stray dogs, sprinting down the main road into Kautokeino, a key town for Norway's Sami reindeer herders, on Monday.
Klemetsen said by telephone that several of the drivers said they had nearly been in car wrecks because of the reindeer, and he knew he had to do something quickly before someone got hurt.
He spotted the reindeer, turned on his blue flashing lights and set off in pursuit on the icy road.
"He was fast," said Klemetsen, who estimated that he was driving at about 20 miles an hour when he pulled up alongside the reindeer.
"Then I had to figure out what to do," he said. Klemetsen rolled down his window, closed in on the antlered culprit and grabbed it. Then he brought the small, roughly 65-pound reindeer to a halt by maintaining his grip and slowing down the police car.
"I don't think any policeman has ever caught a reindeer like that. Maybe this is something for the Guinness record book?" he asked.
Who Says You Can't Get Something for Nothing?
BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) — Need a hug?
Jon Nickell, a 19-year-old college student home for Thanksgiving, stood on a corner one day last week with a hand-lettered sign that offered free hugs. Many downtown shoppers accepted his embrace.
"It's the right thing to do," said Barbara Borello. "He looked like he needed a hug, and I know I did, too. I think everyone should come out and get their hug."
Nickell is the younger brother of Josh Nickell, who was recently sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison for the murder of Arthur Gugler, a 77-year-old collector of World War II memorabilia, during a theft attempt.
"The situation with our family is really hard right now," Jon Nickell said. "All the members of our family are going out to be extroverted, to help out as much as possible. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is coming again very, very soon, and we want to show love to all those around us."
Nickell said he hatched the idea of giving free hugs while away at Walla Walla College in Washington state.
"Thanksgiving is a time of giving back to people," he said, "and what better way to give thanks than a hug?"
He said he received a wide range of responses from his unusual offer. Most people, he said, were "open and willing, and going away with a smile on their face," he said. Others, however, declined his hug. Some "accused me of being a Communist, since I'm offering something for nothing."
Nickell said he plans to continue the offer later in the week.
"I want to encourage the people of Baker to take advantage of the season," he said. "This is the season we're thankful for each other. There are lots of ways we can show our love for each other this season."
And the Award Goes to ... The Man Who Never Shuts Up!
TOKYO (AP) — There's no escaping Norio Minorikawa on Japanese TV. He hosts news shows, talk shows, wildlife shows — even his country's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
On Tuesday he reaped the benefit of all that work: a Guinness World Record for most live hours on the tube by a TV host.
The hyperactive TV personality, better known to Japanese TV fans as Monta Mino, spends a total of 21 hours and 42 minutes every week on live TV across 11 shows, according to the Guinness Web site.
"I'm touched. I want to die talking," Minorikawa told London-based Guinness Chief Operating Officer Alistair Richards at a presentation ceremony in Tokyo.
Minorikawa hosts a further five prerecorded programs including "Millionaire," the wildlife show "Amazing Animals" and "Full Throttle TV," on which he advises viewers on lifestyle, health and relationships.
The Joke's on This Guy...
VEEDERSBURG, Ind. (AP) — A foundry worker accused the wrong man of putting motor oil on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich — and wound up taking a trip to the hospital.
Bradley McManomy, 27, of Veedersburg, stabbed 22-year-old Jeremy Gordon twice in his lower leg with a 3- to 4-inch blade, police said.
Gordon confronted McManomy on Nov. 14 in a restroom of the Fountain Foundry Corp. in Veedersburg, 30 miles southwest of Lafayette, because he thought McManomy had put the oil on his sandwich, police said.
"It wasn't even the right guy," Fountain County Sheriff Robert Bass said. "This is an example of how just a practical joke could turn bad."
McManomy was arrested on suspicion of battery with a deadly weapon. He was being held at the Fountain County Jail on $15,000 bond and was to appear in court Thursday.
Gordon was treated at St. Clare Medical Center in Crawfordsville and released.
Bass said charges might also be filed against Gordon for starting the fight.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Hannah Sentenac.
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