The Chapter arts centre in Canton, Cardiff, Wales, has paid Japanese artist Tomoko Takahashi £5000 to drink “48 bottles of beer” and walk across a beam wearing high heels until she falls off.

Unfortunately, some see her one-woman performance art show as less a comment “on the availability and use of mass-produced products”, as she claims, and more an exhortation to binge drink.

“This is stupid and dangerous and sends out the message that binge drinking is OK,” said Ramesh Patel, a local councillor, who called for an inquiry. He demanded to know why taxpayers’ money “is being wasted on trash like this”.

An Alcohol Concern spokesman said: “We’re always concerned when someone puts their health and safety at risk by drinking to excess like this.”

David Davies, a Tory member of the Welsh Assembly, said: “If anyone is daft enough to want to see a young woman getting plastered and tottering around in high heels, they can do it in just about every city centre most nights of the week. The show is probably the biggest waste of money in the world. The worrying thing is people are deciding to hand out taxpayers’ money like this when they are sober.” — Telegraph Online

I really need a job like this. Most of us have to pay to get drunk.

A woman in Marina, Calif., put her 2 year old son onto railroad tracks in an apparent attempt to kill the toddler, but the attempt failed when the train stopped about 25 feet short.

Then she did it again.

Officers arrested the woman, 22, on suspicion of attempted murder and child endangerment. The boy was placed into protective custody.

Trolley security guards first saw the woman and child standing on the tracks at Front Street and Harbor Drive about 7:20 p.m. as a freight train approached slowly, San Diego police Lt. Shelley Zimmerman said.

The train engineer saw the pair and was able to stop within 25 feet of the them. He and the security guard told the woman to get off the tracks and she did, taking the boy with her, Zimmerman said.

But about 15 minutes later, as another slow-speed train neared the intersection, a security guard saw the woman push the boy onto the tracks, Zimmerman said. Again the train engineer stopped 25 feet short of hitting the boy. — San Diego Union-Tribune

Police had not released the name of today’s Stupid Person of the Day as they weren’t sure of her identity. She carried no identification.

Here’s a hint to you would-be car thieves: Steal a car which isn’t full of people.

A Hummer limo filled with people celebrating a birthday party turned into a wild ride early Sunday after a man attempted to steal it, San Antonio Police said. What the suspect did not realize was there were 15 people in the back of the limo.

Twenty-one-year-old Noe Ochoa was arrested, police said. He was held down by people in the limo until officers arrived. . . .

“The Hummer starts to move and everybody’s like, ‘What’s going on?’” Kenneth Thornton said. His friends had rented the limo for Kenneth’s 28th birthday.

The limo driver was apparently in the back talking to one of the 15 the passengers when Ochoa jumped in to the Hummer, police said.

Thorton crawled through the privacy window to stop the suspected carjacker.

“I flip the park on the Hummer, and it screeches us to a halt,” Thorton said. “Then, I put him in a choke hold until they can get out and pull him out.” — WOAI

Ochoa, today’s Stupid Person of the Day, said he stole the limo because his friends ditched him and he needed a ride.

In Oklahoma City, Okla., on Tuesday, a man being sentenced asked for a longer prison sentence than he had been given.

The lawyers reached a plea agreement Tuesday for a 30-year term for a man accused of shooting with an intent to kill and robbery. But Eric James Torpy wanted his prison term to match Bird’s jersey number 33.

“He said if he was going to go down, he was going to go down in Larry Bird’s jersey,” Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliott said Wednesday. “We accommodated his request and he was just as happy as he could be.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in 26 years in the courthouse. But, I know the DA is happy about it.” — Associated Press

An unnamed suspect in St. Petersburg, Fla., is in custody after allegedly hitting and killing a homeless man, and driving several miles with the man’s body impaled on his windshield.

The driver was stopped at the southbound Interstate 275 tollbooth of the Sunshine Skyway, police said.

The man had been hit more than three miles away at 46th Avenue South and 34th Street South, police said. He apparently was struck by the car while crossing 34th Street. The impact severed one leg and wedged him through the windshield.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m., [Wednesday] the car pulled into a middle tollbooth lane where motorists pay $1 to cross the bridge.

Police said the driver was detained and an a ambulance was called. The driver, identified only as an elderly man, was taken to a hospital. — Tampa Tribune

Today’s unnamed Stupid Person of the Day had not yet been charged with a crime at the time this article was published.

The Jawa Report let us know about an unnamed suspect who was caught in front of the police station in Omaha, Neb., with methamphetamine after parking in a handicapped space.

An Omaha police lieutenant and an officer said they were working at the front desk of police headquarters Monday night when they noticed people sitting a car parked in a handicap parking space.

When the pair walked up to the car, they smelled what they believed to be methamphetamine.

A search proved them right.

The suspect was taken to Creighton University Medical Center, where he agreed to have two small plastic bags of meth removed from his stomach, according to a police report. — KETV

Unfortunately, today’s Stupid Person of the Day was not named in the news report. No word, either, on the other “people” in the car.

A couple in Van Buren, Arkansas who were supposed to be watching a two-year-old child were arrested after the child was found wandering a busy street.

A resident called police Sunday morning after she found the boy, who was wearing a diaper and shirt, police said. The boy was unharmed.

Police said they knocked on 150 doors in the neighborhood while looking for his caregivers, but no one recognized the boy. They said they were about to hand him over to the state Department of Human Services when the sitters called.

“We got a phone call from the people watching the little boy, real nonchalantly said, ‘Did you find a child? We’re missing one,’” Van Buren police Cpl. Chris Hoffsommer said.

Jeremy Ruehle, 21, and his wife, Meghan Ruehle, 19, both of Van Buren, started to watch the boy on Friday. Police said the Ruehles were still asleep when he wandered off. Both face misdemeanor child endangerment charges.

The child’s mother, Ashley Ruehle, 37, of Alma, came to the station and told police it was her first night out in two years. But police said she was arrested when officers discovered outstanding arrest warrants on charges of writing bad checks and theft of a lease property.

Police did not say whether the baby sitters and mother were related. The boy was turned over to his grandparents. — Associated Press

Wow, we’ve got three Stupid People of the Day today.

Verizon Communications, Inc., has received the first Quills Corporate Literacy Award for its work in promoting literacy.

The Quills Corporate Literacy Award was presented to Patrick Gaston, President, Verizon Foundation, in recognition of Verizon’s support of literacy programs. Verizon Reads, the umbrella organization for Verizon’s national literacy platform, supports programs to create awareness, raise funds, and encourage collaboration among literacy providers. Specifically, the Verizon Literacy Network connects the leading literacy organizations to serve as a resource for all literacy inquiries and link providers to the general public via the Internet.

“Verizon’s mission has been to be the leader in America’s campaign to raise literacy levels by orchestrating a national platform that will increase community awareness and support a wide diversity of literacy programs,” said Gerry Byrne, chairman of the Quills Literacy Foundation. “Through its programs and its employees, Verizon has been a uniquely enthusiastic and committed leader that truly celebrates the written word and is making a difference. This is a well-deserved award.” — Phone Watch

The awards program will be seen on the NBC Universal network on Saturday, Oct. 22, between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. U.S. Eastern time.

Reading is only the first step. Next comes comprehension, understanding, analysis, critical thinking, and development of judgment. Still, it’s a good first step in the fight to make stupidity history.

Sarah Sevick, 19, a freshman at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Tex., has filed an Americans with Disabilities Act complaint with the federal government because the university refused to allow her to keep her ferret in her dorm room.

Sevick said she has been diagnosed with psychiatric problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder. She takes medication for depression and anxiety, she said. . . .

Sevick requested to keep the ferret at her dormitory and in class before she moved onto campus in August, but was denied. . . .

Sevick said she’s had many attacks since she’s been on campus without the ferret.

She discovered Lilly’s calming effects when she received the ferret as a gift about a year ago.

“Pretty quickly, we realized it was very responsive to her,” said Sevick’s mother, Kay, who now cares for Lilly. “When (Sarah’s) anxiety goes up, (Lilly) climbs on her and nuzzles her, and will stay for hours with her until she’s better.”

Sarah Sevick said university officials feared the ferret was a threat to other students and wasn’t trained as a service animal. . . .

Meanwhile Sevick said she’s not doing well in class.

“It’s almost like I’m being jinxed,” she said. “Because of that, I stay in my room.” — Associated Press

Whoa, being depressed is a disability? I’m terribly depressed! Excuse me while I go file for some nice government benefits. As for Sarah Sevick, I hear she needs a boyfriend. Any of you eligible bachelors out there want to go out with her?

Peggy Jo Conner, 38, of Ford City, Pa. has charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assult for kidnapping a pregnant woman and trying to cut her unborn child out of her.

District Attorney Scott Andreassi said the baby appears to be healthy, but the condition of the mother, Valerie Lynn Oskin, is unknown.

Oskin, 30, of Ford City, who was 8 months pregnant, is being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Police said Conner hit Oskin in the head with a baseball bat on Wednesday, then drove her to a dirt road off Route 1037 in a wooded area of Wayne Township and cut Oskin’s abdomen with a razor.

Someone riding an all-terrain vehicle found Oskin and Conner on the dirt road at about 5 p.m. Wednesday and called for help, police said.

Conner was arrested and taken to the county jail. She is being held without bond.

Police say that a statement from Conner indicates that her goal was to get the victim’s unborn child and take it as her own.

In an interview with WTAE Channel 4’s Bob Mayo, Conner’s husband said that his wife is pregnant.

Andreassi said Conner claims to be pregnant but is not. — WTAE

[Editor's note: Peggy Jo Conner, you're today's Stupid Person of the Day. And if anybody knows what's up with the recent rash of women trying to steal others' unborn babies, please let me know.]

Police shot and wounded a man who jumped a train and tried to take it over using a bow and arrow.

Juventino Vallejo-Camerena boarded the Union Pacific train Sunday night as it was stopped for a signal and threatened the engineer and conductor, the only people on board, police Capt. Keith Jones said.

The crew members escaped and disabled the train by turning off fuel switches, then used a cell phone to call police, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said.

“The employees did an outstanding job,” Davis said. “Their instincts took over and they did the proper thing by disabling the train.”

Vallejo-Camerena was aboard the train in western San Bernardino County when officers arrived. The man cocked the bow and pointed the arrow at officers, who opened fire, Jones said.

Vallejo-Camerena suffered gunshot wounds to the left wrist and forearm that were not life-threatening, Jones said.

He was treated at a hospital, then booked into jail for investigation of train robbery, assault and resisting arrest. It wasn’t known when he would make his first court appearance.

The locomotive, en route to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City, was hauling 71 cars with ocean-bound containers. No hazardous materials were on board, Davis said. — Associated Press

Juventino Vallejo-Camerena, it’s not 1855, it’s 2005, and you’re today’s Stupid Person of the Day.

A candidate for public office in upstate New York was arrested twice in three hours for driving while intoxicated, authorities said Monday.

Brian E. Karst, 34, who is running for Oneida Common Council as an independent candidate was arrested Friday night by Oneida County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Chrysler and ticketed for numerous traffic violations. Sobriety tests revealed his blood alcohol content was 0.14 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08, deputies said.

After his arrest, Karst was released to a third party.

Less than three hours later, Chrysler pulled Karst over again — driving the same car as before. This time, Karst’s blood alcohol content was 0.11, deputies said.

Deputies said Karst also was arrested for driving while intoxicated on Sept. 9. — Associated Press

You’re supposed to drink after you’re elected to office, not before. Brian Karst, you qualify as today’s Stupid Person of the Day.

A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that football players suffer an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairments later in life as a result of repeated head injuries sustained while playing football.

“In this unique study, we had some very interesting findings,” [Dr. Kevin] Guskiewicz [professor of exercise and sport science in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences] said. “Our data suggest that a history of recurrent concussions and probably sub-concussive contacts to the head may be risk factors for the expression of late-life memory impairment, mild cognitive impairment and earlier expression of Alzheimer’s disease. Research like this is important since more than 300,000 sport-related concussions, many of which are recurrent injuries, occur annually in the U.S. and more than 1.2 million Americans suffer head injury each year.”

The study involved surveying by mail 3,683 retired professional football players who belonged to the NFL Retired Player’s Association about their overall health and analyzing the results.

Of those, 2,552 returned questionnaires or had their spouses or other close relatives do so for about a 70 percent response rate. Players averaged almost 54 years old and had an average professional career spanning 6.6 years.

Researchers then surveyed a subset of 758 players aged 50 and older and asked more detailed questions about concussions and diagnosed dementia-related impairments. Spouses and close relatives also participated and assisted in confirming responses provided by the retired players. — Science Blog

Oh, and this little gem suggests the results may be understated: “The study’s chief limitation was that it was based on self-reported answers to the health questions, and the accuracy of remembering memory problems could not be verified completely.”

A sixth grader at Warsaw Middle School in Pittsfield, Maine, was sent home for medical reasons and was given a three day suspension after picking up a dead skunk on the way to school and chasing down students with it.

Authorities are seeking charges against the boy for disorderly conduct.

The 12-year-old boy came across the dead animal on his way to school Friday and told police he brought it “just to show my friends,” Officer Jeff Vanadestine said.

“I got four or five phone calls from upset parents,” said Kane, who was already aware of the problem because the boy had been sent to his office because of the skunk smell.

Kane said the boy apparently had gotten desensitized to the stench.

“He came in and sat in the principal’s office, and I said, ‘Oh no. Outside.’”

The boy was sent home on a medical discharge because of the odor and then was given a three-day suspension.

The parents of two girls chased with the whirling skunk want to press charges of disorderly conduct against the boy.

“We are looking into that,” Vanadestine said. -Associated Press

And yes, his parents bathed him in tomato juice in an attempt to rid him of the smell.

Today’s unnamed Stupid Person of the Day is a real stinker!

Nearly 100,000 California high school students in the class of 2006 have failed the state’s graduation exam, according to researchers at the Human Resources Research Organization.

The group conducted a review of the test results as part of a report ordered by the California Legislature when it instituted the exit exam several years ago.

Among its findings: 63% of African Americans students, and 68% of Latinos in the class of 2006 have passed both parts of the exam.

By comparison, 89% of Asian students, and 90% of whites, have passed.

Despite remedial classes, after-school tutoring and other academic help, tens of thousands of students — particularly those in special education and others who speak English as a second language — may still fail the test by the end of their senior year, the group said.

The report recommended that the state keep the exam in place but consider several alternatives for students who can’t pass.

“Clearly, we need to have some options for these students,” said Lauress L. Wise, the firm’s president, in a telephone interview with reporters.

Seniors could be allowed to submit portfolios of work that demonstrate mastery of English and math, the report’s authors suggested. Or, schools could allow students to spend an extra year in high school, or earn diplomas for completing special summer school programs in lieu of the exam, the report proposed.

The state also could establish alternate diplomas or graduation certificates for students who pass part of the exit exam, the group offered.

But California Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said he opposed any change that would diminish the worth of a high school diploma.

“It’s important to keep one core principal front and center: awarding a student a diploma without the skills and knowledge to back it up does the student a disservice” said O’Connell, who added that his staff would study the options spelled out in the new report. — Los Angeles Times

Now the stupid part is that the test covers mastery of an eighth grade level of math and a ninth to tenth grade level of English. Twenty percent of students can’t demonstrate mastery of these basic levels, in their senior year of high school!

But this is not news. Public schools aren’t designed to give children an education. Instead, they’re designed to make them dumb. Anyone managing to get an education in public school has done so despite the best efforts of the school system to prevent them from getting one.