HOW BIZARRE NEWS (06/01/09)

A CONTORTIONIST SET A WORLD RECORD . . . FOR BALANCING ON HER MOUTH???

A 28-year old British woman has set a world record for endurance . . . by supporting her entire body weight using just her mouth. Iona Luvsandorj held herself for over 30 seconds in something called the MARINELLI BEND . . . which is apparently one of the basic skills for a contortionist.

Iona bit down on a mouth piece while lying face down, then bent herself backward until her LEGS were resting on the BACK OF HER HEAD. She then held herself in that position for 33 SECONDS . . . which was 11 SECONDS LONGER than the previous record. (Telegraph)

(--Check out photos of Iona's record-breaking bend . . . and some other highlights of her career as a contortionist... Ouch!! )

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A WOMAN HAS SMOKED 171,500 CIGARETTES . . . AND JUST TURNED 101???

Five million people die each year from the effects of smoking. But a Canadian woman named Winnie Langley is not one of them . . . and she's been smoking since 1914. Winnie began smoking at age SEVEN . . . a few days after the start of WORLD WAR ONE.

She just turned 101 years old . . . and claims to smoke after EVERY MEAL. That works out to more than 171,500 cigarettes. According to Winnie, "You gotta have some vice. Some drink until it's coming out of their ears. Me, I smoke."

Winnie also calls smoking a ''bad habit'' and doesn't recommend starting. Not because of the health risk, but because, ''It's a waste of money.'' (Edmonton Sun)

(--Check out photos of Winnie using her birthday candles to light a cigarette from last year's 100th birthday. . .)

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A SQUIRREL IS STEALING FLAGS FROM DEAD WAR VETS . . . TO BUILD ITS NEST???

You know those little American flags that cemeteries place next to the graves of war veterans every Memorial Day? Apparently, they're also really useful . . . for SQUIRRELS. Listen to this. -Mount Hope Cemetery in Port Huron, Michigan placed flags on 965 graves last Monday. But by Tuesday morning, many were gone.

Cemetery superintendent Ron Ceglarek tracked down the thief who was desecrating the graves, and discovered that it was . . . a small SQUIRREL, who was using the flags to LINE HIS NEST.

The squirrel tears the cloth flags off their little wooden flagpole . . . ROLLS THEM UP . . . and carries them to the top of a 45-FOOT-TALL SPRUCE TREE . . . where his mate weaves them into the nest.

The squirrel has taken more than a dozen flags . . . and the cemetery is considering removing the rest of the flags before the squirrel can take them. (Times Herald)

(--Check out photos of the grave-desecrating squirrels and their patriotic nest . . .)