FLASH LITES: RIP ‘N’ READ POP CULTURE RECAP

FLASH LITES: RIP ‘N’ READ POP CULTURE RECAP



LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) – Magic Johnson, mayor of Los Angeles? The former LA Lakers star says he may consider running for the city’s top post if he doesn’t like how recently-elected mayor James Hahn runs the town.

ATLANTA – American men have ended a brief affair with underwear briefs. According to the online underwear retailer Underneath.com, sales figures indicate today’s guys prefer bikinis and boxer briefs to the old standby “tighty-whiteys.”

NAIROBI – Bad news for the Survivor cast members currently shooting in Kenya: That country’s president is asking citizens to abstain from sex for the next two years. President Daniel arap Moi hopes the chastity vow will help curb the spread of AIDS.

NEW ZEALAND – Cow flatulence is such a threat to New Zealand’s climate that the government plans to use live organisms to kill the bacteria inside the cows’ digestive systems. New grass seeds are also being introduced that will cut down on gas production for the animals.

LOS ANGELES – Actor Mickey Rourke is a walking fashion emergency. The bad boy actor was recently seen exiting a plane wearing short shorts, tube socks, a leather jacket and red painted nails. Even stranger: Eyewitnesses say he’s had so much plastic surgery that he now looks like Bette Davis.

ROBBINSDALE, Minn. – A 34-year-old Minnesota man sawed off his own arm to keep from being pulled into a hay baler. While removing a clump of hay from the machine he got caught and was pulled towards the machine. He used a piece of metal to cut off his arm at his elbow.

BERLIN – German TV execs are discovering that reality doesn’t always make good TV. The German network, RTL II, has canceled a show called Big Diet, which features 12 people trying to lose weight. It seems ratings were dropping quicker than the pounds.

ALSAGER, England – A British company is developing a toilet that can tell if you’re sick by analyzing your bowel movements. A spokesman says the high-tech toilet will also evaluate your diet and suggest food to improve your nutrition.

LAS VEGAS – Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf may soon have more baby rattles than tennis rackets. The tennis twosome recently announced that they are expecting a child in mid-December.

STRASBOURG, France – After the disappearance of dozens of lawn gnomes in France, more than 70 were found on the steps of a cathedral in northeastern France. Among them was a banner signed by the Gnome Liberation Front, a group requesting that the gnomes be freed and returned to the wild.