Freak accidents:
A construction worker down in Phoenix, Arizona, has succeeded in the challenging task of finding a new way to injure himself with a skid-steer loader. He used the machine to stretch out a roll of "nail line" - a nylon tape with nails inserted at regular intervals. But he pulled it just a little too far, with the result that the end of the tape snapped back, like the tip of a cracked whip, and launched one of the five-inch nails straight at his head. It entered his face just below the left eye and buried itself completely in his skull. The subsequent X-ray showed that the nail had miraculously failed to strike anything vital. (Another possible explanation, suggested by the accident facts, is that there was nothing vital in the man's skull, but it would be unkind to mention this.)

It was bound to happen:
A woman in Michigan was stopped by police when she was spotted walking down the street in what appeared to be a state of intoxication. She assured the officer that she was fine. As soon as the police car was out of sight, she headed for a parking lot, retrieved her car and promptly had an accident in which she was slightly injured. So, modern jurisprudence being what it is, what did she do? Why, she sued the officer, of course, for failing to arrest her when he had the chance! She claimed that the officer was negligent in accepting her assurances that she would not drive. But the suit was thrown out.



First published November 2001