Jack of all Days

3-year old ‘wizard’: I’m including this only because the picture is too darn cute. It is of little Charlie Thomas, who spotted a discarded traffic cone and immediately saw its potential as an impromptu Harry Potter outfit. But after placing it carefully on his head to show his family, the magic soon disappeared. The plastic cone became firmly stuck and despite the best efforts of the toddler’s parents, it refused to budge. Perhaps a Potter-style cry of ‘Expelliarmus!’ might have helped. But in the end they had to call the fire brigade - and it took a crew of six half an hour to release Charlie using cutting tools and pliers.

It’s Rocky the Frying Squirrel! A kamikaze squirrel fell from the sky and detonated a woman’s car. Firefighters said the buck-toothed sabateur had been gnawing on power lines connected to a transformer above the 2006 Toyota Camry. “The squirrel chewed through the wire, was set on fire, fell down directly to where the car was,” Tony Millar said. “The squirrel, on fire, slid into the engine compartment and blew up the car. Police said there were no injuries - except, that is, for the squirrel, which is dead.

Prisons nix handbook for female employees: The New York state Department of Correctional Services is no longer distributing or using a handbook that told its female officers to not gossip at work, be too bossy at home or swear to “be one of the boys.” That handbook, which had been given to officers who graduated from the training academy for more than 20 years, was featured recently in an article in The Post-Standard. Women were encouraged to play tennis or eat ice cream on their days off to relieve stress and to not dress for work as if they were going to a nightclub or beach. No such handbook exists for male officers, who outnumber female officers by about 10 to 1. The book had sections on catcalls and wolf whistles, discouraged women from being flirtatious on the job and encouraged them to seek out other women’s advice in child-rearing. The handbook, and other memos, are part of a federal lawsuit filed by Penny Collins of Marcellus, a state corrections officer who claims she was discriminated against and harassed on the job because she is a woman.

Falsely accused woman released after 70 years: A woman who was locked up for 70 years after being falsely accused of stealing half-a-crown in England, has died just months after being reunited with her family. Jean Gambell spent most of her life being passed around various mental institutions after being labeled as a teenager as a “feeble-minded person.” Over the years, the 85-year-old lost all contact with her family. It was by chance that her brother discovered that she was still alive and was able to organize a tearful family reunion at a care home in Macclesfield. At the age of 15, in 1937, Jean was falsely accused of stealing 2s 6d (12.5p) from the doctor’s surgery where she worked as a cleaner. She was sectioned under the 1890 Lunacy Act and even though the money was later found, she has been moved from mental institution to mental institution.

Tattoo spells out Coca-Cola: A man who has proudly showed off his tattoo for 26 years was baffled to realize it actually spelled Coca-Cola. Vince Mattingley had his named tattooed on his chest in Chinese writing after asking staff at his favorite restaurant to write his name in Chinese symbols. But a waiter drew the Coke words - and Vince had it etched on his chest. Vince only realized the mistake when he recently traveled to Thailand and a barman asked him why he had Coca-Cola written on his chest. “I thought it was a joke then I found out that’s what it said. The restaurant staff must have had a good laugh about it,” Vince said. He now plans to get another Oriental tattoo to cover up the name. He added: “I’m going to go with something Japanese this time.”

When is a bra strap just a bra strap? How old do you have to be before you can be accused of sexual harassment? And is it sexual harassment when a 7-year-old at a school in Duncanville, Texas, tells a classmate to wear a darker shirt because he can see her bra strap? According to officials at places like Fossil Hill Middle School in Fort Worth, Texas, yes. Catherine Price of Broadsheet writes: “I mean, come on — a 7-year-old pointing out a bra strap? He’d probably point out a classmate’s booger, too. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily trying to humiliate or harass the person — he’s just being a kid. … you can reprimand a kid for being rude without accusing him or her of sexual harassment. By making a big deal out of childish behavior that, in these cases, really is just childish, we’re doing a disservice to the victims of real harassment.”