STRIP CLUB RAISES MONEY FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - This is a charity effort that, we presume,
raised more than just money for a good cause. A strip club in Ohio
says it was able to bring in $1,000 for Haitian earthquake relief
through an event called "Lap Dances for Haiti." Marilyn's on
Monroe in Toledo says it donated the $10 cover charges it collected
on Saturday to an organization that provides food and clothing for
Haiti. Of course, it did so by providing the kind of entertainment
that features very little in the way of clothing. But the
organization that benefited from the event has no problem with
where the money came from. She says the group appreciates any
donations that are given to help Haiti.

SUPER BOWL ADS SURPASS RECORD

NEW YORK (AP) - It was a Super Bowl with a super number of TV
ads. If you thought Sunday's game had an awful lot of commercials,
a tally by a research firm would prove you right. Kantar Media says
this year's Super Bowl had nearly 48 minutes of ads. To put that
into perspective, a football game has 60 minutes of official
playing time, so the ad time came up just 12 minutes shy of actual
pigskin action. And, in case you're wondering - that is a record
for the most ads in a Super Bowl. It's nearly 3 minutes longer than
last year's total, which set the previous mark.

SAVED BY DOIN' THE "DEW"

SAGUACHE, Colo. (AP) - What Jared is to Subway sandwich shops,
Jason Pede may turn out to be for Mountain Dew. The 31-year-old
Indiana man says he was able to survive being stuck in the snow in
Colorado because he had a supply of the soda in his SUV. Pede says
he had no food, but kept himself hydrated with Mountain Dew and
snow while he was stuck in his SUV for three days. He was rescued
Sunday morning after he was able to walk seven miles to a road -
and flagged down help with a flashlight. Pede was driving from New
Mexico to Aspen, Colorado to deliver an Australian Shepherd rescue
dog when he ended up in need of a rescue. He says someone told him
of a shortcut to Aspen - which led him to become stranded in the
Rio Grande National Forest - in snow that went above the hood of
his SUV.

HOW THE ELM ARE YOU?
YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) - Even in death, "Herbie" still has fans.
For those who don't know, Herbie was a 217-year-old, 100-foot-tall
giant elm that had been the biggest American elm in New England. It
had to be cut down January 19 after losing a battle with Dutch elm
disease. But the legend of Herbie lives on, in part in the form of
a pair of cross-sections cut from the tree. Each of the cross-cuts
measures four inches wide - and weighs 1,600 pounds. The cuts will
be put on display - one in the town of Yarmouth, Maine - and the
other at the state Forest Service. The tree has several fan pages
on Facebook.

COWS GIVE COMPETITION TO SHEEP IN NEW ZEALAND:
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Residents of New Zealand already
get a lot of grief over the fact that they are outnumbered by sheep
by a ratio of 20-to-1. Now, they're also getting competition from
another farm animal: cows. Authorities say the number of dairy
cattle in New Zealand have reached a record 5.8 million. And that
is well more than one animal for each of the country's 4.3 million
citizens. But despite a decline in their numbers, sheep still rule
the roost, if you'll pardon the mixed metaphor. Last year, some 32
million head of sheep were counted - less than half the peak of 70
million reported in 1982 - but still outnumbering human residents
by a margin of about 8-to-1.

by Oscar Wells Gabriel II

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)