Strange but True

ST. LOUIS — Officials of the World Aquarium at the City Museum subscribe wholeheartedly to the maxim that two heads are better than one.

If they’re on the same animal, that is.

Aquarium officials hope an exhibit that opens next week and runs through Sept. 5 will prompt the creation of a Guinness World Record for the most two-headed animals on display.

So far, the aquarium has lined up 10 two-headed snakes and turtles, including "We,” the aquarium’s rare albino two-headed rat snake. The other nine animals are owned by Fred Lally of West Fork, Ark.

And if a local reptile dealer with a two-headed snake adds his to the exhibit, the head count would rise to 22.

"It should be a huge two-headed party,” aquarium president Leonard Sonnenschein said Tuesday.

Sonnenschein hopes two of the guests will hit it off. He would like to mate one of Lally’s snakes, a two-headed albino rat snake named "Golden Girls,” with We.

The aquarium has been trying to breed We since failing to sell the snake online in January. Officials had hoped it would bring $150,000, but there were no bidders and two subsequent offers were under $50,000.

Lally wouldn’t mind being part of a record-breaking exhibit, either. That would boost the prestige of his own collection, which besides Golden Girls also includes a two-headed western diamondback rattlesnake named "Double Trouble” and seven two-headed red ear slider turtles: Wild Ones, Ms. Hazel, Zip & Pip, Lyndon, Crooked Shell, Short Neck and Baby Gill.

Bad mannequin

LOS ANGELES — A woman is suing J.C. Penney Co. after an alleged run-in with a store mannequin that she says left her with a cracked tooth, a bloodied head and recurring shoulder pain.

Diana Newton, 51, of Westminster, sued the Texas-based retailer last month in Orange County Superior Court, claiming she was cracked in the head by a legless female dummy at its Westminster Mall store.

Newton said the incident happened nearly a year ago in the women’s department, as she was shopping for a blouse. The only one in her size was on the mannequin. As a salesclerk was removing the garment, the dummy’s arm flew off and struck Newton’s head, according to her lawsuit.

"I felt a burning sensation,” she recalled.

Paramedics treated her bleeding scalp at the scene. Newton drove herself home, then had someone take her to a hospital for further treatment.

The blow also cracked a molar, which led to a root canal, she said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

A spokeswoman for J.C. Penney said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Special delivery

SPICELAND, Ind. — A postcard that a mother mailed to her son in 1948 was finally delivered to the recipient — but only after the town’s postmaster bought it on eBay.

Spiceland Postmaster Judy Dishman, who is away from her office on leave, bought the postcard because it featured a country view of the Spiceland area, about 40 miles east of Indianapolis. Dishman noticed the postcard was addressed to 82-year-old Charles "Rocky” Rose of Spiceland, so she delivered it.

The card was from Rose’s late mother, Dollie Rose. The mother and son used penny postcards to exchange news during the 1940s, while the son was working in Lima, Ohio, and the mother was in Spiceland, about 100 miles west.

Part of the address is crossed out, and Rose isn’t sure why the postcard was never mailed or where it has been for the last 58 years. The postcard reads in part, "Hi Buddy. How’s my boy? Fine I hope.”

To Rocky Rose, the words are priceless.

"I wouldn’t sell it for nothing on earth,” he said.

Turtle, bass and bush

ALBANY, N.Y. — The snapping turtle, striped bass and lilac bush must have had some great lobbyists.

They were named, respectively, New York’s state reptile, salt water fish and bush in laws signed Friday by Gov. George Pataki.

The common snapping turtle drew unanimous support in the Senate, but faced a slightly more cold-blooded reception in the Assembly, where it was approved 115-19. So noted:

"The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: The common snapping turtle (chelydra serpentina) shall be the official reptile of the state of New York. This act shall take effect immediately.”

The legislative argument for the bill was powerful: "While New York has an official state flower and an official state muffin in addition to other official designations, New York is one of the few states that does not have an official state reptile.”

Students statewide were surveyed to determine "the most popular reptile,” according to the legislative memo supporting the bill. Supporters say the effort helped teach children about biology, math, and civics.

The official state bush had strong support in the Senate and Assembly. A 2004 effort failed.

"The lilac bush has been cherished by generations of New Yorkers, and its beauty and fragrance is celebrated annually at the Lilac Festival of Rochester, known commonly as the lilac capital of the World,” states the legislative memo. "It would seem natural that such a popular bush should be recognized and shared by all New Yorkers as the official bush.”

And it was, unanimously, in the Senate and Assembly.

The striped bass, a popular game fish that can grow to a record of nearly 75 pounds, won its honor to highlight its tourism value.<