(UPI) A social studies textbook in Saudi Arabia was recalled for including a photo depicting a Star Wars character next to a king.

The black and white photo, by Saudi artist Abdullah Al Shehri, features the small, green Jedi Yoda seated next to King Faisal as he signed the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945.

Saudi education ...Read more

(UPI) Commuters stranded on a British highway for more than six hours when police found a suspicious object found a way to pass the time -- playing soccer in the empty road.

A video recorded Tuesday on the M1 highway between Junctions 15 and 14 -- near Milton Keynes, England -- shows a long line of stopped cars filling the southbound lanes of ...Read more

(UPI) Firefighters in a Chinese city responded to a residential area to capture an escaped alligator found wandering in front of someone's home.

A video filmed Tuesday in Bozhou, Anhui Province, shows firefighters approaching the reptile as it walks in front of a house in a residential neighborhood.

Authorities said they were called to the ...Read more

(UPI) A mischievous pigeon caused trouble for employees at a British department store when it flew into a clothing section and evaded capture.

A video filmed Wednesday shows the "feathered customer" flying around he Marks & Spencer store near London's Marble Arch while a worker chases it with an umbrella.

The pigeon perches on a display ...Read more

(UPI) Authorities in Arkansas are seeking a pair of toilet paper bandits caught on camera taking rolls of tissue from a public restroom in a park.

The Cullman County Sheriff's Office posted a video to Facebook showing the two men pulling up in a red or maroon GMC Envoy and walking into the men's room at Sportsman Lake Park in Cullman.

The ...Read more

(UPI) A wildlife sanctuary in South Africa shared video of an unusual friendship struck up between two orphans -- a baby rhino and a baby hippo.

The video, filmed at the Helping Rhinos sanctuary, shows 6-month-old rhinoceros Ntoto and 18-month-old hippopotamus Charlie rubbing their noses together affectionately.

The sanctuary said Ntoto and ...Read more

(UPI) A basketball-playing bunny in California showed off its hops on its way to setting a world record for slam dunks in a minute.

Bini, the Holland Lop rabbit, claimed the Guinness World Record for most basketball slam dunks in one minute by a rabbit by dropping a tiny ball through a miniature hoop seven times within the time limit.

"Having ...Read more

(UPI) A Massachusetts library said a local resident recently returned a book that was last checked out 78 years and 10 months ago.

The Attleboro Public Library said in a Facebook post that the book, The Young Lady at Home by T.S. Arthur, was brought in this week, well after the due date of Nov. 21, 1938.

"A gentleman was cleaning out a friend'...Read more

(UPI) Fans of pumpkin spice can now enjoy the seasonal favorite flavor in the form of a sweet slice of pizza.

Villa Italian Kitchen released a pumpkin spice pizza on Friday to celebrate the first day of fall.

"We know you crave that warm pumpkin spice flavor at this time of year," the pizza chain said. So we've created a delicious marriage ...Read more

(UPI) A pet owner captured video of a confused dog exploring her new home and encountering the stairs for the first time -- to disastrous results.

A video posted to Instagram this week by user notwhatrunessay shows Emma, an American Eskimo dog, and Stacy, a husky, enthusiastically exploring their family's new home.

The video, which went viral ...Read more

(UPI) A California man who won $1,000 from a scratch-off lottery ticket had another bit of luck to brag about on the same day -- a $1 million jackpot.

Mario Martinez visited the California Lottery's",nw} Santa Fe Springs District Office recently to cash in a pair of winning scratch-offs: a Twisted Scratchers ticket worth $1,000, and a 50X the ...Read more

(UPI) A Michigan man gathered some friends to help rescue a deer that had nearly its entire body trapped in a muddy pond.

Robert Langewicz told WOOD-TV he was driving Thursday in Kentwood when he spotted a deer stuck in the mud off 44th Street. He said the mud was so deep that it nearly reached the top of the animal's back.

Langewicz said ...Read more

(UPI) Many residents in a Tennessee neighborhood mistook an early Halloween decoration for the scene of a gruesome murder.

Greene County sheriff's office shared a photo Wednesday of the dummy body face down in front of a garage door marked with bloody handprints that prompted several concerned 911 calls.

"For those of you driving on Chuckey ...Read more

(UPI) Residents in Virginia are perplexed by the presence of an elusive white pig in their neighborhood.

Neighbors said the pig suddenly appeared in the Glen Allen neighborhood a few days ago and is difficult to track down.

"I was driving home from church and the pig ran right out in front of my car," resident Jessica Howard told WRIC. I ...Read more

(UPI) A New York state road was littered with frozen treats after a Hershey's ice cream truck collided with a box truck passing through a wildlife refuge.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office said the ice cream truck and the box truck collided about 7:30 a.m. Thursday on Route 77 in Alabama's Iroquois Wildlife Refuge, {link:WHAM reported.

The ...Read more

(UPI) A Colorado police officer was "pawsitively surprised" when a raccoon jumped onto the hood of his moving patrol car while he was en route to an accident scene.

The Colorado Springs Police Department said in a Facebook post that Officer Frabbiele was driving to the scene of an accident Wednesday night when the freeloading trash panda ...Read more

(UPI) A group of four baby elephants were rescued from a deep well in Sri Lanka after they slipped down the muddy sides of the hole.

A video filmed Wednesday in Karandagaswewa, Horowpathana, shows food being dumped into the hole for the four elephant calves after a farmer discovered them while working in the early morning.

The elephants are ...Read more

(UPI) An Australian boat crew attempting to tag some blue marlin captured the moment one of the massive fish jumped over the boat and nearly took out a crew member.

The video, recorded Sept. 10 off Australia's Gold Coast, shows the crew members struggling to reel in a hooked blue marlin as part of a tagging initiative.

The fish repeatedly ...Read more