ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Rare foul flower spreads stench

COSTA MESA, Calif.

The stench of blue cheese and dead bodies at a Southern California college is not repelling visitors but drawing them in.

A huge, rare and famously putrid Indonesian flower bloomed over the weekend, spreading its stench across Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

The school said in a statement that the stench of the so-called corpse flower has been compared to rotting flesh, and the greenhouse where it’s unfurling its blossom is open to members of the public who want to take a whiff.

The flower uses flies instead of bees to spread its sticky pollen.

It produces two sulfurous chemicals within its leaves that the flies find attractive.

The plant at the college is about 5 feet tall and growing fast.

2 not-guilty pleas in fake kidnapping in Washington

PORT ANGELES, Wash.

Two people accused in a fake kidnapping that alarmed people at a Sequim park pleaded not guilty last week to disorderly-conduct charges.

Jason Holden and a relative, Shellie Baskins, were arraigned in Clallam County District Court in Port Angeles.

A third person, Jesse Holden, was scheduled to be arraigned, but the hearing was postponed until Thursday to allow him time to find another lawyer.

The Peninsula Daily News reported that the three could face nearly a year in jail or a $5,000 fine if convicted.

The Holdens wore ski masks and grabbed Baskins’ 4-year-old son April 13 at Carrie Blake Park, then drove off in a van.

They later said they were making a video to promote child-abduction awareness. Parents and other witnesses were outraged.

New-agers, neo-pagans gather to greet summer solstice

LONDON

Self-styled Druids, new-agers and thousands of revelers watched the sun rise above the ancient stone circle at Stonehenge to mark the summer solstice — the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

English Heritage, which manages the monument, says some 36,000 sun-watchers gathered on the Salisbury Plain about 80 miles southwest of London on Saturday. Police say the event was peaceful with only 25 arrests, mainly for drug offenses.

Couples kissed, dancers circled with hoops and revelers took part in a mass yoga practice as part of the free-form celebrations.

Stonehenge was built in three phases between 3000 B.C. and 1600 B.C. An icon of Britain, it remains one of its most-popular tourist attractions.

Associated Press