oddly enough

oddly enough

Black Widow eats 183 chicken wings in 12 minutes in contest

BUFFALO, N.Y.

The Black Widow of eating contests has scarfed down 183 chicken wings in 12 minutes to break her own world record set last year in Buffalo.

Sonya Thomas took home first place Sunday at the 10th annual National Buffalo Wings Festival. She beat eating marvel Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, who came in second with 174 wings.

The two won titles at the July Fourth hot-dog-eating contest on Coney Island.

The 100-pound Thomas of Alexandria, Va., is the reigning wing-eating champion. She downed 181 wings to win the 2010 contest. Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., settled for second with 169 wings.

The winner gets $1,500. The runner-up wins $750, and third place gets $300.

Thomas is called the Black Widow because she often beats male competitors in eating contests.

Transylvanian classroom invaded by dozens of bats

BUCHAREST, Romania

There was no sign of Dracula, but students in Transylvania did get a visit from dozens of bats that flapped through their classroom.

The students at Csiky Gergely high school in the western Romanian city of Arad were about to take an exam Friday morning when they found bats flying around the room. Others appeared to be sleeping with their wings spread out on the floor.

School official Mirela Aldescu told Romanian daily Adevarul that the creatures probably had flown in overnight through open windows. She says that rather than disturb them, they took the exam in another classroom.

Transylvania was home to Vlad the Impaler, the 15th-century ruler who inspired Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” which has spawned dozens of movies and superstitions about garlic, holy water — and vampire bats.

Toy poodle helps rescue man from burning home

WEST JORDAN, Utah

Authorities say a toy poodle saved a life in Utah by leading firefighters through his owner’s smoke-filled home to a man asleep in the basement.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the dog named Ted was spotted by paramedics responding to the fire in West Jordan early Friday.

Officials say that when they tried to catch Ted to bring him outside, he headed downstairs instead. They say he waited until they caught up with him, then led them to a 19-year-old man who was sleeping on a couch in the basement.

Authorities say the man was treated for smoke inhalation and the dog was not injured. A woman and two children already had escaped the fire, which was possibly caused by a gas leak.

Associated Press