Odd Truth April 15-30

As it turns out, British Royal Marine Eric Walderman didn't have a near brush with death after all. British papers reported that four bullets had ripped through his helmet during a firefight, but as it turns out the story of the 'miracle marine' was a hoax. Walderman says he simply posed in a helmet accidentally shot up while it sat on the ground.

Wonder Dog

Louise Hyzer holds Yipyip, her 11-pound toy poodle, as her husband Morris looks on, , April 15, in Yakima, Wash. Yipyip can pull his weight and then some. Next week, Yipyip is headed for Loveland, Colo., where the little guy will compete in the 2003 International Weight Pull Association championships. In previous competitions, Yipyip has pulled as much as 180 pounds.

Colossal Colon

Deborah Erwin, a medical anthropologist at the University of Arkansas medical school. laughs as she crawls out of a lifelike 40-foot-long, 4-foot high replica of the human colon during the "Colossal Colon" tour at the Little Rock RiverMarket on April 16. The tour stopped in Little Rock to bring awareness of colorectal cancer.

Long, Strange Trip

Butch Lockey of Aumillers Cameron Street Body Shop gets a nip from a Florida cattle egret on April 16 while removing the bird from the bumper of a minivan at the shop in Harrisburg, Pa. The 20-inch bird, newly named "Butch," after his rescuer, has a new home after it survived being struck and then spent six days on an 850-mile road trip in the hollow of a minivan bumper.

Bin Laden Meets Barbie

Emil Vicale holds action figures of Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, left, and Osama bin Laden, in a pink dress, Friday, April 18, 2003, in Danbury, Conn. Vicale's Danbury-based company, Herobuilders.com, makes the action figures. The doll of the information minister spews propaganda when a button is pushed on his back.

Hawking For A Living

Falconer Thomas Cullen releases Starbuck, a Harris Hawk, into the trees of Bryant Park in Manhattan, New York, Friday, April 18. Starbuck is part of a new project by park officials to deter pigeons from frequenting the park.

Happy Birthday Rome!

A man dressed as a gladiator raises his arms during a procession to celebrate the foundation of the city of Rome, 2,756 years ago, Monday, April 21. Hundreds of people dressed as gladiators sporting chain-mail, wolf-skins and swinging grappling nets marched through crowds of applauding tourists and "modern" Romans.

Missing Monkey

Tracie Cornelius is hoping there will be a happy ending to the disappearance over the weekend in Green Bay, Wis., of her Capuchin monkey named Jasper. Lt. Mark Hellmann said Monday Jasper fled a Green Bay tavern's back door during a trip there with his owner. Hellmann said Jasper is small, dark and hairy, but he doesn't know exactly what species he is.

A Run To Remember

Marathon runner Michael Welsch of Burlington, Mass., stands near the famous Citgo sign landmark in Boston's Kenmore Square, Friday, April 18, as he shows-off his new "Citgo Sign" tattoo. Welsch, 44, who will be participating in his eighth Boston Marathon, said he wanted to do something to mark this year's run.

Mower Man Clipped

Brad Hauter glides across the lawn at the Alamo April 21, on a new lawn mower donated by Wal-Mart after his mower was stolen from a hotel parking lot. Hauter had driven for a month from California to raise money for the Keep America Beautiful campaign. He started out in San Francisco in March and is expected to finish in New York June 5.

Bootleg Crackdown

A steamroller destroys a pile of illegally copied CDs in Lima, Peru, April 22. Peru's intellectual property protection agency, Indecopi, destroyed some 50,000 CDs as part of a crackdown campaign against Peru's bootleg market. Counterfeit CDs sell for about two U.S. dollars in informal shops across the capital. Legal copies cost ten times as much.

Prescribed Burn

A Hamilton County Parks Department worker patrols a prescribed burn of MetroPark's Forest Run Wild Life Preserve in Ross Township, Ohio, Monday April 14. About 17 acres were burned to revitalize the prairie to provide more benefits to area wildlife.

'Miracle' Dog

An x-ray shows a bullet lodged in the skull of a dog named Dosha. She was shot by a police officer after an April 15 car accident, apparently, to save her the pain of her injuries. Presumed dead, she was taken to Animal Control, and put in a freezer. About two hours later, Dosha was found alive but cold. She had hypothermia and a gunshot wound, but no broken bones from the car accident.

Gas Mask, Inverted

Frank Morosky, president of Flat-D Innovations Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, uses a mannequin Feb. 5, as part of a promotion for the company's activated charcoal cloth device to absorb flatulence odor. Since late last year, Morosky and his business partner, Brian Conant, have been selling a flatulence deodorizer, the first of its kind, to customers across the country.

Goldfish Geezer

Dick, a 17-year-old goldfish, rests in a sling in his aquarium at the Sky Port Restaurant in Scotia, N.Y. Wednesday, April 23. The fish is suffering from a swim bladder disorder. Customers at the diner near Schenectady came up with the idea of a creating a fish sling after the goldfish fell ill in November and had difficulty swimming.

Hollywood Chimp

Dan Westfall, left, with Cheeta, Tuesday, April 8, in Palm Springs, Calif. The last actor to have played the lead chimpanzee role in the Tarzan movies of the 1930s and '40s, Cheeta is 71 now, the oldest chimp in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Westfall adopted Cheeta from his uncle, an animal trainer who worked in Hollywood.

Day Of Animals

Homeless man Juan Carlos pets his dog Tom in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, April 29. The Day of Animals is conmemorated in Argentina Tuesday.

Two-Wheel Wedding

Newlyweds Lee and Andrea Venteicher of Iowa City ride on a tandem bicycle following their wedding ceremony between bicycle races of the Old Capitol Criterium event in Iowa City, Iowa Sunday, April 27. The couple, who met at a Waterloo, Iowa, bike shop, took part in three races.

Laughing Contest

A male prisoner laughs in front of other prisoners who are spectators during a laughter contest at a prison in Pathum Thani province, Thailand, April 30. The Thai Corrections Department held the contest for convicts as part of a program to ease stress in overcrowded prisons. The project, called "A Little Laugh A Day Brightens Your Day," is held in every three months.

Swastika-Bot

Two Nazi-like swastikas are seen on the chest of Japanese robot-like "Robowaru" April 30. A figurine of the "Robocon" character is part of a Coca-Cola promotion in Hong Kong. A rabbi from a Hong Kong synagogue says the toy is unacceptable and stores should stop selling them. Coca-Cola says the symbol has nothing to do with any organization or religion.