UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

LONDON, July 8 (UPI) -- The London Telegraph has bad news for those who enjoy using certain words to shock people: there are only 16 taboo words left in the English language.

The authors of the Collins English Dictionary say everyday conversation is now so foul-mouthed, only a few words can be considered truly taboo.

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For example, the Telegraph says "Bollocks" and "gangbang" are among 70 words previously described as "taboo" that have been downgraded to "slang".

So now, say the dictionary researchers, it appears only 16 taboo words are in use in English, including the f-word and the c-word.

Even the use of asterisks to hide the full word from a reader's eyes may soon become a historical nicety.

Dictionary editor Jeremy Butterfield told the newspaper many words considered taboo as recently as 2000 have been used with such frequency that today they've ceased to have "shock value".

Of course, the Telegraph noted, the entire topic could be just a load of !@!@!.

Zoologist sees genitals in Stonehenge

VANCOUVER, July 8 (UPI) -- A Canadian scholar says he sees female genitals when he looks at England's mystical Stonehenge.

Anthony Perks, a professor emeritus of zoology at the University of British Columbia, says Stonehenge could have been built as a giant symbol of birth and regeneration.

Perks, who is also an honorary professor of obstetrics and gynecology, says the theory would help explain the monument's noticeably empty center, the National Post reported.

He and fellow researchers say their theory is bolstered by discovery of the body of a sacrificial child at the center of the circles at Woodhenge, a monument made of wooden blocks that is a few miles from Stonehenge in southwestern England. They suggest an excavation at Stonehenge could lead to a similar find.

David Miles, chief archaeologist with English Heritage, which owns the Stonehenge site, said he is "slightly skeptical" of Perks's hypothesis.

Former IRS agent admits sex escapades

LOS ANGELES, July 8 (UPI) -- A former Internal Revenue Service investigator in California has admitted to a passion for prostitutes and as a result faces more than six years in prison.

Kenneth Philip Fazende, 44, who worked as an IRS agent for seven years, faces 63 to 78 months in prison under terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors reached Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Fazende came under suspicion in 2001 when he reported to police his unmarked IRS car had been stolen by a burglar who broke into his Hollywood apartment and took the keys. In his plea agreement, Fazende admitted having fabricated the burglary story. In fact, he said, a 16-year-old prostitute he had picked up on Sunset Boulevard stole the keys and made off with the car after he left her alone in his apartment.

Fazende also admitted having been involved with two other Hollywood prostitutes in 1999 and 2000, one of whom stole his personal car.

Pig racing on Long Island controversial

NORTHPORT, N.Y., July 8 (UPI) -- At the Northport, N.Y., Fire Department's annual fair, seven pigs raced for Oreo cookies, while weathering protests from some humans.

The protests came from Northport's mayor and an animal rights activist. They had contended that the idea of racing pigs for amusement was cruel, and Mayor Pete Panarites said he would push for a law outlawing the practice of display of farm animals in August.

The prospect of a ban did not deter the fire department from holding their annual event Monday. Afterward several onlookers shrugged and said they did not understand what the controversy was about.

"I think that was hilarious," said human observer Georgina Bonavita, of Northport. "What's cruel is us standing out here in the rain to watch something so silly."

The race was over exactly 10 seconds after it began with pig No. 1 winning by a snout, Long Island Newsday reports. He received an Oreo cookie for his effort.