Hooked on classics
Classical music has long been known to stimulate creativity, optimize brain development and even soothe crying babies. But now the city of Hartford, Conn., has found a new benefit: hooker repellent.
Hartford residents have proposed playing Mozart and Beethoven in Barnard Park in the hopes of using culture to scare away drug dealers and prostitutes. They also hope that the music will make the park more pleasant for law-abiding visitors once it is cleaned up.
The idea was inspired by a similar effort on the mean streets of West Palm Beach, Fla., where crime reportedly decreased as much as 40% in parks where classical music was played. Cities in Canada and Australia have also found success with similar schemes.
It’s all in a name
It’s hard to imagine a street with a crazier name than Bucket of Blood Street in Holbrook, Ariz. But according to a recent poll by Mitsubishi Motors, there are plenty.
The top 10 list included:
10. Tater Peeler Road in Lebanon, Texas.
9. The intersection of Count and Basie in Richmond, Va.
8. Shades of Death Road in Warren County, N.J.
7. Unexpected Road in Buena, N.J.
6. Bucket of Blood Street in Holbrook, Ariz.
5. The intersection of Clinton and Fidelity in Houston
4. The intersection of Lonesome and Hardup in Albany, Ga.
3. Farfrompoopen Road in Tennessee (the only road up to Constipation Ridge)
2. Divorce Court in Heather Highlands, Pa.
1. Psycho Path in Traverse City, Mich.
The order of the top 10 was voted on by visitors to TheCarConnection.com in February. All the roads were verified by the website, although some are private and hard to find.
Hard to impress
Ralph Gomez’s night started off well enough. The St. Augustine, Fla., man was out with his girlfriend showing off the OnStar system in his Cadillac Escalade.
Unfortunately, Gomez didn’t notice that he had inadvertently placed a call to OnStar. And because the volume on his system was set too low, he couldn’t hear the OnStar operator trying to ask if he was OK.
Because there was no response from Gomez, OnStar immediately contacted police. But when they found Gomez, he was more than OK. He was snorting cocaine off of the car’s center console.
As if things weren’t going badly enough for Gomez, it turned out that he was caught with the cocaine within 1,000 ft of a church, which in Florida makes a possession charge even more serious.
No longer a spitting image
With the Winter Olympics over, officials in Beijing know that all eyes will soon be on them when they host the 2008 Summer Games. So to get ready, the city is launching a campaign to clean up its streets.
The problem isn’t crime, though—it’s public spitting. In order to get things under control, officials are preparing to launch an advertising campaign to teach people how to use a tissue when they spit or blow their nose. Volunteers also will hit the streets to hand out convenient “spitting bags.”
Let the games begin.
