Special delivery. Police Sergeant Steven Rocher helped deliver a woman’s baby on the streets of Philadelphia early Christmas morning. He discovered the woman lying on the sidewalk near a bus stop about to give birth. The baby’s father was with her. After safely delivering the baby, Rocher called for a police car to take the parents to the hospital along with their new baby girl.

Small-print Bible. Israeli scientists have inscribed the entire text of the Jewish Bible onto a space less than half the size of a grain of sugar. The nanotechnology experts at the Technion institute in Haifa say the text measures less than 0.01 square inch surface. It may not take up much space, but in order to read this Bible you will need exceptionally good eyesight and know how to read Hebrew.

Loose change adds up. Paul Brant bought his brand new Dodge Ram half-ton pickup truck using spare change that he collected in bottles and cans. He was escorted by sheriff’s deputies as he brought nearly $26,000 in rolled coins to the dealership to make the purchase. It was not the first time. In 1994, he bought a Dodge pickup and a Dodge Neon using about $36,000 in quarters.

Money well spent? Scotland recently spent £125,000 (U.S. $250,000) revamping its national slogan. The brand new slogan unveiled at Glasgow Airport last month? “Welcome to Scotland.” The new phrase replaces the previous slogan: “Best Small Country in the World.”

Turn right; save gas. Last year U.P.S. cut 28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, saved three million gallons of gas and reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons. Their secret? A “package flow” software program that reduced the number of left-hand turns made by U.P.S. drivers.

Creative ketchup. Toddler Freddie Linsky fooled the art world into buying his tomato ketchup paintings. “To the untrained eye, they appear to be simple daubs that could have been created by a two year old. Which is precisely what they are. But that didn’t stop the supposed experts falling over themselves to acclaim them.” Two-year-old Freddie has recently progressed from ketchup to oils on canvas.

Super-size me. Looks like somebody ate too much turkey for Thanksgiving. Meet George, an extremely fat hedgehog found by a wildlife aid group on the side of the road along with his friend Mildred, which is normal-sized.

Unclear of the concept. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to be an official observer for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. In a recent speech to his militia in Iran, Ahmadinejad said, “If the White House officials allow us to be present as an observer in their presidential election we will see whether people in their country are going to vote for them again or not.” Will someone please explain to the president of Iran that George Bush is not even allowed to run in this election?

Also unclear of the concept. The Humanist Community Center in Palo Alto, California offers Sunday School classes for the children of atheist parents. “One Sunday this fall found a dozen children up to age 6 and several parents playing percussion instruments and singing empowering anthems like I’m Unique and Unrepeatable, set to the tune of Ten Little Indians, instead of traditional Sunday-school songs like Jesus Loves Me.” (HT: Stand to Reason)

Stocking stuffer. The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto recently broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest Christmas stocking. The super-sized stocking measured 90 feet 1 inch in length and 37 feet 1 inch from heel to toe. The stocking was filled with toys to be donated to the Salvation Army.

Grand bagel. The Westin Hotel in Times Square is selling a $1,000 bagel to help raise scholarship funds. “The bagel is topped with Alba white truffle cream cheese and goji berry infused Riesling jelly with golden leaves. The white truffle … is the second most expensive food in the world … It’s grown from late autumn to winter beneath certain oak trees in the Alba region of Italy, where trained pigs and dogs are called upon to find the delicacies.”

Rich chocolate. “A New York eatery is offering a $25,000 dessert bulging with top-grade cocoa, edible gold and shavings of a luxury truffle. The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate was declared the most expensive dessert in the world on Wednesday by the Guinness World Records. The dessert is a frozen, slushy mix of cocoas from 14 countries, milk and 5 grams of 24-carat gold topped with whipped cream and shavings from a La Madeline au Truffle.” So, you can follow up your $1,000 dollar bagel for breakfast with a $25,000 chocolate dessert. Is all the food in New York this expensive?

Related post: $1,000 Pizza (in, where else, New York)

Strange update to story on $25,000 dessert:

A week after Serendipity 3 announced it had achieved the world record for the most expensive dessert, the famed Upper East Side ice-cream parlor and restaurant has been closed by the health department for a rodent and insect infestation.

Robotic goat. “Unlucky gamblers at the Edogawa Kyotei boat race course in Tokyo have a new way to ease their frustrations after botching a bet — they can feed their losing tickets to a robotic goat … The 1.6-meter tall Rocky Mountain goat, which has a thick coat of white fur and ticket-detecting sensors in its mouth, devours about 500 tickets per day — many of which would otherwise end up on the floor.” Sounds like a creative way to combat litter. I wonder how many people would be willing to feed the goat their hard-earned cash instead of their losing tickets? (same difference)

Flying cow. Imagine Charles and Linda Everson’s surprise when a cow landed on the hood of their minivan while driving down the highway. According to police, the 600-pound cow fell two hundred feet off a cliff before hitting the vehicle. The cars’ occupants were okay, the cow not so much.

Fat Santa. Santa has been told he must slim down, or face eviction from British shopping centers at Christmas. Bluewater Shopping Centre in Greenhithe, Kent, has even set-up a Santa boot camp to help with the weight loss program. Apparently some people think Santa’s round belly is setting a bad example for the kids after a medical report was released stating that by 2050 more than 50 percent of Brits will be obese.

Olympic Bible Ban. “Chinese officials have announced athletes who compete in the 2008 Beijing Games will be banned from having Bibles in their Olympic village housing, and even visitors are being warned not to bring more than a single Bible with them when they come to China.”

• Update: “The U.S. Olympic Committee received confirmation from Olympic officials Wednesday that there will be no restrictions on Bibles being brought into the Olympic village in Beijing next year.”

Google and gas on the go. Starting next month some gasoline stations will be offering Google Maps free of charge at the pump. The new Internet-enabled gas pumps will provide driving directions, local search and coupons for travelers on the go.

Larry, Darryl and Darryl. “Hi, I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.” That’s right, it looks like the Newhart show could finally be winding its way over to DVD. This was one of Rose’s and my favorite shows when we first got married.

Bob Newhart starred as “Dick Loudon,” a self-help book author who moved with his wife Joanna (Mary Frann) out to Vermont and ran a small inn. On the side, Dick also hosted a local TV show, too. Dick and Joanna were surrounded by locals who always acted strangely, including the aforementioned Larry, Darryl & Darryl, handyman George (played by Tom Poston), Dick’s TV producer Michael (played by Peter Scolari of Bosom Buddies), Minuteman Cafe owner Kirk Devane (played by Steven Kampmann) and spoiled-girl-type inn’s maid (“Leslie” in the first season, played by Jennifer Holmes, and then her cousin “Stephanie” afterward, played by Julia Duffy).

Identical strangers. “Imagine a slightly different version of you walks across the room, looks you in the eye and says ‘hello’ in your voice.” Identical twins Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein discovered each other after being separated for 35 years. They had been deliberately separated at birth as part of an ongoing study on nurture versus nature. The sisters now live in Brooklyn and have written a book about their experience.

Cheap gas. Here’s the best price on gas you will find — 7 cents a gallon! That’s right. You can fill your 20-gallon tank for less than $1.50. Here’s the hitch – you will have to drive to Venezuela to get it.

Age of the clam. A clam found off the shore of Iceland is believed to be the longest-lived animal discovered. Scientists estimate the ocean quahog clam was aged between 405-410 years. “The clam, nicknamed Ming after the Chinese dynasty in power when it was born, was in its infancy when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and Shakespeare was writing plays such as Othello and Hamlet.”

Bible at school. “Alabama has became the first state in the union to approve a textbook for a course about the Bible in its public schools. There was no opposition to the October 11 vote by the state Board of Education to include The Bible and Its Influence on the state’s list of accepted textbooks. The Board held a hearing on the issue and no-one showed up; the book was approved by a vote of 8-0.” (Source: TIME Magazine)

Change for a million? A man was arrested at a Pittsburgh supermarket after he handed a one million dollar bill to the cashier and asked for change. (Since 1969, the $100 bill is the largest note in circulation.)

Turkey invasion. Wild turkeys have made a comeback in Massachusetts and are causing trouble in neighborhoods and city streets. Hmmmm, with Thanksgiving less than a month away, this sounds like really bad timing on the part of the turkeys.

New hi-def player. There is a new player in the Hi-Definition format wars. New Medium Enterprises (“NME”) introduced the HD VMD player to America early last month as an alternative format to HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Keeps going and going . . . The Energizer bunny had better watch out. The new betavoltaic continuous power battery can go for 30 years without a single recharge. “Betavoltaic power cells are constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source. As the radioactive material decays it emits beta particles that transform into electric power capable of fueling an electrical device like a laptop for years.” The batteries do not produce any radioactive or hazardous waste.

Ducks and drakes. Russell “Rock Bottom” Byars recently broke the world record for skipping stones. Byars’ stone traveled 250 feet and skipped 51 times beating the old world record of 40. Before declaring him a record-holder, Guinness World Records experts analyzed film of Byars’ toss, checking the concentric circles in the water by each skip. Here’s the video:

Seven summits. Eighteen-year-old Samantha Larson recently climbed Mount Everest making her the youngest person on record to climb all seven of the world’s highest points. Larson started her climbing career at age 12 with a 19,000-foot hike up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Sunny cycle. Canadian Entrepreneur, Peter Sandler, has developed the first all solar electric bicycle, driven completely from power derived from the sun’s rays. The E-V Sunny Bicycle has light absorbing solar panels built right into the wheels, creating continual power from the sun’s rays, and maintaining a constant charge to the batteries. The bike travels at speeds of up to 18 mph (30 kilometers per hour) and costs $1,295.

Stealing scripture. A 53-year-old homeless man in White Plains, New York was arrested for stealing a Bible from a Barnes & Noble bookstore. I would have been glad to give him one. Perhaps he should have read Exodus 20:15 before he left the store?

STUPID CRIME EDITION

Bad break. Two California men were arrested after they broke into a building full of police officers. They were planning on stealing some copper wire, but didn’t know that the local police K-9 unit was training there.

Double jeopardy. A New York man says he stole a car to turn himself in on a different charge. He claims he was on his way to the Geneva City Police department to turn himself in on a family court warrant when he was pulled over in the stolen vehicle.

Checkmate. A Colorado man robbing a bank was caught after he wrote the holdup note on one of his own checks. “We could still make it out even though he blacked it out,” FBI agent Rene VonderHaar said.

Holy batwing! “German researchers this week showed off their Gryphon personal strap-on jet wing that lets the pilot scream through the air at about 135 mph. The Gryphon features a six-foot wing and hand-held rotary controls for the rudder. The system includes onboard oxygen and a helmet that features a heads-up display.”

Identity crisis. A man in Florida who falsely claimed to be a Red Sox pitcher died August 27. For decades Bill Henry of Florida claimed to be former Red Sox pitcher, Bill Henry. Even his wife believed him. The truth did not come out until the paper ran his obituary and someone contacted the real Bill Henry, who was very much alive.

Desperate measures. A Denver man jumped out of a moving car in order to get out of an argument with his wife. Sounds like an updated version of Proverbs 21:9.