BOB'S EXTRA BAGGAGE #1

My work--to the limited extent that I have, or do, work--brings me into contact with a steady stream of odd Actual Reality glimpses, presented in either journalistic, anecdotal, or statistical form. To my knowledge, everything here is factual. At least, I have media sources for every item, for whatever that’s worth.

CRIME SCENES
Among the items recently discovered to have been stolen from the Memphis, Tennessee police department evidence room are 116 kilos of cocaine, 559 pounds of pot, 66 guns, and $147,000 in cash.
Asia Securitex 2004, a trade show for security companies selling anti-crime technology, was held in Hong Kong last summer. In the first 48 hours, two laptops worth $2,500 and a $260 mobile phone had been stolen from the show.

GETTING BAGGED IN BAGHDAD
In Baghdad's walled-off Green Zone, the maximum security enclave for Coalition officials and western contractors, there are at least 7 bars, including taverns run by GE, Bechtel, and the CIA.

WHAT WOULD JOHN LENNON SAY?
According to Premiere magazine, Jesus ranked as the 100th most powerful personage in the film industry in 2004. Mel Gibson, who made around $450 million off of Jesus, ranked 10th.

OWWW
Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web but who insisted it never be patented, was honored with the Millennium Technology Prize last year, worth $1,200,000--an amount that, had he patented the Web and charged users 1/10th of a cent per hit, he would now be banking roughly every 4 days.

COMMON LAW MEN
The town of Hildade, Utah has 13 police officers. Seven of them are polygamists, with more than one wife.

AUTO-CHECKOUT EXPLAINED
If you spend less than $15 at the supermarket, you don't cover the cost of having a live cashier ring up your purchase.

SKIN TRADE
“Pole pox” is a rare but documented malady afflicting pole dancers, an allergy to the nickel used in the chrome poles that produces seriously painful skin inflammation and unsightly red rashes, not to mention some colorful worker's comp claims. OSHA should jump on this, so to speak.