oddly enough

oddly enough

Man claims kingdom so daughter can be princess

ABINGDON, Va.

A Virginia man says he has claimed a kingdom in Africa so his daughter can be a princess.

Jeremiah Heaton told the Bristol Herald Courier that he recently trekked to a small, mountainous region between Egypt and Sudan called Bir Tawil. No country claims the land.

Heaton says he planted a flag designed by his children there so that he could become a king — and more importantly, so his 7-year-old daughter, Emily, could be a princess. They named the area the Kingdom of North Sudan.

Shelia Carapico, a professor of political science and international studies at the University of Richmond, says Heaton would not have political control over the land without legal recognition from neighboring countries, the United Nations or other groups.

Heaton says he hopes to get Sudan and Egypt to recognize the kingdom.

Massachusetts store accepts gift certificate bought in 1989

WORCESTER, Mass.

A Massachusetts pop-culture store has honored a 25-year-old gift certificate.

Sierra Wales, assistant manager at That’s Entertainment in Worcester, says a longtime customer recently brought in the $10 gift certificate bought in 1989.

She tells The Republican newspaper that the gift certificate had been sitting in a drawer for years. The customer had been meaning to bring it in for some time and finally remembered over the Fourth of July weekend.

She noted that the gift certificate was older than most employees and actually had been bought at the store’s old location.

The customer used it to buy a graphic novel.

The 34-year-old business sells comic books, graphic novels, toys, sports memorabilia, music and other pop culture items.

Wales says, “When we say it never expires, we really mean it.”

Coastal California town sold for undisclosed price

HARMONY, Calif.

A small town midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway has been sold for an undisclosed price.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports the buyers plan to restore the one-block, 2.5-acre town of Harmony.

“We want to re-create the special feeling of time gone by,” Alan Vander Horst said. “I see this is an opportunity to be part of the history, to be part of something fun and quirky.”

Set in the rolling coastal hills 6 miles south of Cambria, the ranching village dates back to the mid-1800s when the region thrived on cheese and butter production. The Excelsior Cheese Factory, which built the town’s first creamery building, used to produce up to 1,200 pounds of cheese per day.

Associated Press