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Volume 1 Issue 19Temecula Valley

TIDBITS®TAKES A LOOK AT

STRANGE LAWSUITSBy T.A. Tafoya

There is no shortage of lawsuits. Layers keep busy defending weird and wacky cases. Tidbits looks at a few frivolous lawsuits for a laugh, but don’t try them yourself! Frivolous lawsuits rarely make it through the courts and usually end up costing the plaintiff.

● Richard Overton took the advertising message of Anheuser-Busch a bit too literally. In 1991, he sued the company for $10,000 claiming to have suffered emotional distress, mental injury and fi nancial loss because drinking Anheuser-Busch beer did not bring to life the beautiful women in tropical settings as was advertised. The supposed false advertising led him to buy and drink more Bud Light. The case was dismissed.● An episode of “Fear Factor” prompted Austin Aitken to sue NBC for $2.5 million in 2005. Aitken claimed to have suffered injury and great pain after watching contestants on the television eat rats. This caused him to become light-headed and dizzy, which resulted in him vomiting and running into a doorway. The judge threw out the lawsuit.

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LAWSUITS (continued)● In 2006, Allen Heckard sued Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight for $832 million. In the suit he claimed to suffer defamation, permanent injury and emotional pain and suffering because he was often mistaken for Michael Jordan. He said that continual public harassment because of the alleged resemblance “has troubled his nerves.” Heckard dropped the lawsuit later that year. ● After eating Cap’n Crunch with Crunch Berries over a period of four years, Janine Sugawara realized that the “Crunch Berries” in the cereal were not real fruit. She filed a class-action suit against Quaker’s parent company PepsiCo in 2009 for fraud and breech of warranty, seeking full restitution of all money gained through misleading labeling and a court order forcing Quaker to disclose to the public the true composition of Crunch Berries. The case was dismissed.● In 1910, Olaf Olverson was desperate for cash, so he sold his body to the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, for medical research after his death. A year later, he inherited a fortune. He tried to “buy himself back” from the institute, but they wouldn’t cooperate. When Olverson refused to donate his body, the institute sued him for breach of contract. Olverson lost the case. The judge ruled that he not only owed his body to the Institute, he owed them money for the two teeth he had removed without the Institute’s permission, saying Olverson had illegally tampered with their property.● Bobby Mackey’s Music World in Wilder, Kentucky, was sued by J.R. Costigan in 1993. He claimed a ghost “punched and kicked him” while he was using the bar’s restroom one night. He sued the bar for $1,000 in damages and demanded that a warning sign of the ghost’s presence be put up in the restroom. The club’s lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing the difficulty of getting the ghost into court to testify for the defense. The case was dismissed.● In 1976, at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, doctors removed John Moore’s spleen in a successful effort to cure his cancer. Doctors later found that the spleen possessed unique cancer-fighting cells. Experiments with the cells led to a new discovery worth an estimated $3 billion. Moore tried to sue the University of California, claiming his spleen

To Your Good Health By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

Broken Heart Not Just Figure of Speech

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Last December, my husband called the paramedics when I did not respond to him. They rushed me to the hospital when I began convuls-ing. I have no recollection of any of this. When I woke one week later, I was in the ICU. I was told that I had broken-heart syndrome. I also was told it has to do with blood pressure. Can you confirm that there is such a thing? -- A.

ANSWER: Broken-heart syndrome is for real. It’s a recent addition to the catalog of illnesses. Japanese doctors first described it, and called it Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy. Car-diomyopathy is a heart illness that affects the heart muscle, not the heart arteries or heart valves.The classical case is one where a person develops severe chest discomfort preceded by physical or emotional stress. The emotional stress could be the unexpected death of a loved one. An EKG shows a pattern that replicates the pat-tern of a heart attack. The heart’s function is greatly com-promised. It doesn’t pump blood like it should, and that can lower blood pressure. Seizures are not included in the list of symptoms. However, a drop in blood pressure also drops the flow of blood to the brain. That can trigger seizures.The explanation for this is a surge in the body’s stress chemicals that affect heart function. Damage to the heart muscle isn’t permanent. The heart returns to good health in a matter of weeks. You didn’t mention any prior stress. Do you recollect any?On the plus side, your heart arteries are in good shape, and you ought not to suffer a recurrence.The booklet on congestive heart failure does not address broken-heart syndrome specifically, but it does detail a more common condition, its treatment and its prognosis. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue -- No. 103W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$5 Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have weak kidneys due to type 1 diabetes. My doctor has me eating three fruits a day and four vegetables. He limited my meat to 6 ounces daily. Does this limitation of meat benefit my kidneys? -- E.L.

ANSWER: Many times, when the kidneys aren’t working up to par (weak kidneys), doctors put their patients on a re-duced-protein diet. It slows the decline of kidney function. That’s why your doctor limited your meat (protein) intake.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Is distilled water bad for drinking? Can you chew too much gum? My husband chews about four pieces every day. -- P.M.

ANSWER: Distilling water involves boiling water and condensing the water vapor by cooling it. Components dis-solved in the water are left behind. You can drink distilled water. You will miss out on the minerals contained in most water and on fluoride added to city water, but you can get these elements in other ways.If you chew too much sugar-containing gum, you promote cavities. Too much sugarless gum can cause diarrhea. Four sticks are not too much.

For Advertising Call (951) 695-2323 Page 3LAWSUITS (continued)

was pirated. The spleen had belonged to him so he should share in the commercial value. He sued for part of the profi ts, but in 1990, 14 years after the operation, Moore lost the case.● Computer designers at Apple codenamed a new computer model Sagan in 1993. Traditionally, this is an honor. “You pick a name of someone you respect,” an employee explained, “and the code is only used while the computer is being developed. It never makes it out of the company.” This didn’t matter to Carl Sagan; his lawyers complained that the code was “an illegal usurpation of his name for commercial purposes” and demanded that it be changed. The designers changed it to BHA, which stood for “Butt-Head Astronomer.” Sagan sued again, contending “Butt-Head” is “defamatory on its face.” Apple won.:● Chicago lawyer Frank Zaffere sued his ex-fi ancé Maria Dillon when she broke off their engagement in 1992. Zaffere fi led a suit for $40,310.48 to cover his “lost courting expenses.” He did send a letter along with court papers to his ex stating: “I am still willing to marry you on the conditions herein below set forth: 1) We proceed with our marriage within 45 days of the date of this letter; 2) You confi rm [that you] . . . will forever be faithful to me; 3) You promise . . . that you will never lie to me again about anything.” He closed with: “Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the matters discussed herein. Sincerely, Frank.” The case was dismissed and so was the wedding.● Andrea Pizzo, a former student of the University of Maine, sued her alma mater for failing to protect her from a cow with a “dangerous disposition.” While taking a class in

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1. In 2010, San Francisco’s Buster Posey had a 21-game hitting streak, the longest by a Giants rookie since when?2. Three pitchers between 1966 and 1987 started at least 20 games a season for 20 consecutive seasons. Name two of them.

3. Who was the first football player in ACC history to have at least 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in the same season?4. Name the last NBA player before New Orleans’ Chris Paul in 2007-08 to average at least 20 points, 10 assists and 2.5 steals for a season.5. What NHL team other than the Edmonton Oilers (five times) has tallied 400-plus goals for a sea-son?6. In 1928, Sonja Henie became the youngest Olympic figure-skating champion. How old was she?7. Who was the last men’s golfer before Tiger Woods (2005-06) and Padraig Harrington (2007-08) to win consecutive British Opens?

1. HISTORY: What was the name of the Roman general who captured Jerusalem in 70 A.D.? 2. ARCHITECTURE: Who came up with the first design of the U.S. Capitol Building?3. LITERATURE: In what town was writer Mark Twain born?4. TELEVISION: Who was Tom Hanks’ male co-star on the comedy show “Bosom Buddies”?5. MOVIES: Who was the male lead in the movie “American Beauty”?6. SCIENCE: Tectonics is a field of what sci-ence?7. INVENTIONS: In what decade was the micro-wave oven invented?8. EXPLORERS: To which tribe did Sacajawea, the Native American guide who led the Lewis and Clark expedition, belong?9. U.S. STATES: What state is nicknamed the Garden State? 10. MYTHOLOGY: In Greek mythology, what was a creature that was half man and half goat?

LAWSUITS (continued)livestock management, a 400-plus-pound Bovine head-butted her into the wall of its pen. Pizzo suffered knee and wrist injuries, so she sued the college for an unspecified amount. In her suit she claims the school “should have known that the heifer had a personality problem.” Verdict unknown.● Cynthia Economou was sued by Karl Lambert in Florida court; he claimed that Economou stole his foot. Lambert’s foot was severed in a car accident, and Economu, the paramedic on site, took his mangled limb to help in the training of her body recovery dog. In her defense, Economu said, “It was an unrecognizable mass of flesh ... It wasn’t a clean cut. You couldn’t even recognize it as a foot ... If I had thought it was somehow re-attachable and usable, I would have gone to my commander.” She was charged with second-degree petty theft and received six months of probation.

OVERCOMING THE ODDS:FALLING FROM THE SKY

What would you do if you were in an airplane miles above the earth and the unthinkable happened — the plane breaks apart, and you suddenly find yourself in a free fall? If you were above 10,000 feet, you would quickly loose consciousness due to thin air. When you reached 10,000 feet, you may wake up. A free fall from 35,000 feet would take about three minutes with a landing speed of around 125 miles per hour! (Of course, the time and rate of speed depend on your weight and the amount of air drag created by the position of your body.) The following stories are about two amazing survivors of free-falling experiences.

● In April 1944, Pilot Joe Herman of the Royal Australian Air Force and his crew were on a mission to bomb munitions factories at Bochum. After dropping its bombs, the plane was struck by enemy fire. Herman ordered his crew to bail out, but before he could secure his parachute, the plane exploded, and he was thrown into the night air.

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FALLING FROM THE SKY (continued)● As he was falling, he bumped into what he thought was debris. In a panic, Herman grabbed on, but then realized it was the leg of mid-upper gunner, John Vivashand, who at that moment was opening his parachute. The parachute inflated slowly, which helped Herman maintain his firm grasp. The two men came down safely with Herman hitting the ground first. His only injury was two broken ribs. ● On Christmas Eve, 1971, LANSA Flight 508 from Lima, Peru, to Pucallpa, Peru, was struck by lightning at 21,000 feet. A fire started, and systems began failing, causing the pilots to loose control of the aircraft. The plane soon went into a dive. ● The turbulent forces on the wings caused them to tear away from the aircraft as it came crashing down into a mountainous region of the Amazon. Amongst the debris, 17-year-old Juliane Margaret Koepcke regained consciousness after an unknown amount of time, still strapped in her seat. ● All the other 91 people aboard — six crew members and 85 passengers, including Koepcke’s mother, were dead. Koepcke miraculously sustained only a broken collarbone. She spent the next 10 days alone and lost in the jungle with only a bag of candy for food. ● Her father once told her to survive in the jungle, follow water. Koepcke waded from tiny streams to larger ones until on the tenth day, she made it to the bank of the Shebonya River where she saw a canoe tethered to the shoreline. ● After climbing up an embankment, she found a hut. As it turned out, it belonged to a group of lumberjacks. They found her the next day. The incident was seen as a miracle of divine intervention in Peru, and free-fall statistics seem to support this thought. Her story has been the subject of two films, the most recent being a Werner Herzog documentary called “Wings of Hope.”

● It was noted psychiatrist and sleep researcher William C. Dement who made the following sage observation: “Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be qui-etly and safely insane every night of our lives.”

● For reasons that aren’t entirely clear in the record at hand, it’s illegal to wear a hat while dancing in Fargo, N.D.

● Despite the fact that the English language is very large in terms of the number of words available to those who can use them, it seems that much of our writing is made up of only a few words. In a study once conducted by lexicographer G.H. McKnight, it was found that approx-imately one-quarter of all the words in any given sample of writing in English is one of the following nine: and, be, have, it, of, the, to, will and you.

● Some species of squid can swim up to 35 mph.

● If you’re an avid hiker, you might want to keep in mind that the most dangerous trail in America, according to Backpacker magazine, is located in Canyonlands Na-tional Park in Utah. The trail known as The Maze earned this distinction thanks to numerous dead-end canyons, few sources of water and temperatures that soar to over 100 degrees F. in summer.

● If you’re like me, you’re a turophile: a lover of cheese.

● When the eggs of the Darwin frog hatch and the tad-poles emerge, the babies are swallowed by a male frog. They’re not victims of cannibalism, however; the father keeps the tadpoles in his vocal sac for two months. Once they’ve matured and become tiny frogs, the young ones are coughed up and have to fend for themselves.

Thought for the Day: “It’s not a good idea to put your wife into a novel; not your latest wife, anyway.” -- Nor-man Mailer

Celiac Disease is a lifelong, autoimmune, diges-tive disorder affecting both children and adults. When people eat foods that contain gluten, it cre-ates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed. Celiac Disease is a multi-symptom, multi-system disorder, activated by eating gluten-proteins found in wheat, barley and rye. It is estimated that 1 out of 133 people have Celiac Disease, but 97% of those people go undiagnosed.

Hemet Chapter CDF Meets 2nd Saturday9:30 am, Red Robin. Please join us !

Temecula Valley

www. tidbitssocal.com Page 6LAWS

What are laws, and how do they govern our lives? Here is a brief look at the intended meaning and purpose of laws.

● Everyone and everything lives by some kind of law. Even if you lived on a deserted island by yourself, your life and activities would still be ruled by the law of gravity and other natural, universal laws. Even ants live by their own set of laws.● The Babylonian king Hammurabi is credited as the first in history to record a set of written laws in about 1786 B.C. They are known as the Code of Hammurabi. ● All civilized societies depend on laws to define the structure in which people relate to one another and to keep order. Laws affect all aspects of society, including everything from economics to social interactions.● Yet laws alone do not ensure order and peaceful relations. Every law must be enforced to carry any weight. In many countries and communities today, laws are enforced by police and a system of courts.● There are many different classifications of laws. Contract law governs both simple and complex business transactions. Property law outlines the rights and obligations concerning the ownership of real estate (land and buildings) as well as movable objects like cars, televisions, etc. ● Financial assets are overseen by trust laws, while tort law allows people to seek

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Page 7For Advertising Call (951) 695-2323LAWS (continued)

compensation if their rights are infringed upon or their property is damaged. Criminal law, also known as penal law, protects us by giving the government the ability and authority to prosecute someone that harms another person’s rights or property.● Labor laws and safety standards ensure that our workplaces are safe. Restaurants and grocery stores we frequent are governed by health codes that keep us safe from spoiled, dirty or diseased food products that could make us sick.● Written works, movies, music and other forms of expression are protected from being copied by copyright laws. And when using the Internet, we are subject to emerging laws governing this new medium.● America came into existence due to a dispute over laws. Whether or not the laws of the British Empire should apply to the colonies in North America was the question, and it found colonists and the crown staunchly adhering to opposing answers. The result was war and the American Revolution.● Today in the United States, the Constitution outlines our most basic rights and is the basis for the creation of law, the protection of human rights and the election of political representatives.● Society is not always in agreement with the laws that regulate our conduct or how the institutions that implement the laws behave. Oftentimes, we are in rebellion against some of their provisions. ● The Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with saying, “Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered.”● As the population grows and technology advances, the need for ever-changing laws exists. New and improved rules are written every day. One of the best designs of the American legal system is the power of the individual to collectively make or change laws through the right to vote.

DEAR READERS: I recently received a report from the University of Missouri about a dog named “Sugar,” a Cocker Spaniel who was badly injured in the tornado that ravaged Joplin, Mo. When her owners grabbed her and ran for the safety of their basement shelter, “Sugar, sensing the increased fear of her owners, became panicky and bolted back upstairs to her own ‘safe area,” a spot under one of the beds.’ With the tornado almost atop their house, the owners could not leave the shelter to retrieve her.Sugar survived the tornado, although she was badly injured and had lost use of her hind legs. Veterinarians at the University of Missouri performed emergency surgery to correct the injury to her spine. After many days of physical rehabilitation and therapy, Sugar is recovering with her owners.In addition to this encouraging story of recovery, what caught my interest was that Sugar’s owners knew exactly where she preferred to hide when something scary was happening. This doesn’t seem like much, but knowing your pet’s favorite hiding places can be a lifesaving advantage in an emergency. With Sugar, unfortunately, this was not the case, as she was found several blocks away. There was nothing more her owners could do without putting themselves in mortal danger (something else that is important to keep in mind in an emergency). But in a less extreme emergency, when there’s time to gather the family and pets, or when your pet is having a health emergency, you’ll be able to fi nd your pet faster, or direct emergency personnel to where your pet normally hides, if you know where that hiding place is.

Send your question or comment to ask@pawscorner.com, or write to Paw’s Corner, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. For more pet care-related advice and information, visit www.pawscorner.com.

Know Your Pet’s ‘Safe Area’By Samantha Mazzotta

Here’s RUSTY !

Rusty is around 2 years-old male Jack Russel

He was found on a busy road, he is very sweet and loveable.

He is altered and micro-chipped.

Come visit him this weekend.

I will be at PETCO Menifee30464 Haun Road10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday.

See you there ! ! !

www.sckadoptions.org.951/ 679-6444

www. tidbitssocal.com Page 8

1. Titus2. William Thornton3. Florida, Missouri4. Peter Scolari5. Kevin Spacey6. Geology7. 1940s8. Shoshone9. New Jersey10. Satyr

1. Willie McCovey hit in 22 consecutive games in 1959.2. Don Sutton (22 sea-sons), Phil Niekro (21 seasons) and Tom Seaver (20 seasons).3. C.J. Spiller of Clemson in 2009.4. Detroit’s Isiah Thomas, in the 1983-84 season.5. None.6. Henie was 15 years, 315 days old.7. Tom Watson, 1982-83.