Odor From Office Food Cleanup Forces Evacuation, Sends 7 To Calif. Hospital, Sickens Dozens

(AP) An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill.

Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday after the fumes led someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.

What crews found was an unplugged refrigerator crammed with moldy food.

Authorities say an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess.

The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.

Authorities say the worker who cleaned the fridge didn’t need treatment _ she can’t smell because of allergies.

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Restaurant manager Brenda Martinez says more than 100 people have flocked to the small town of Calexico on the California-Mexico border to gaze at the likeness of the Virgin Mary since it was discovered as the griddle was being cleaned.

Among the awe-struck was a group of masked Mexican wrestlers who arrived Thursday for an exhibition at a nearby swap meet.

One, known as Mr. Tempest, says: “This is amazing. It’s a true miracle.”

Since the discovery, the griddle has been taken out of service and placed in a shrine in a storage room.

Woman calls 911 over lack of shrimp in fried rice

HALTOM CITY, Texas (AP) — A woman called 911 to report she didn’t get as much shrimp as she wanted in her fried rice at a Texas restaurant.

Haltom City police on Tuesday released the taped emergency call, in which the customer is heard telling the dispatcher, “to get a police officer up here, what has to happen?”

The customer also says: “He didn’t even put extra shrimp in there.”

The upset customer had left the Fort Worth-area restaurant when an officer arrived Monday afternoon.

Restaurant workers say the woman had been denied a refund after leaving with her order, then returning to complain.

Cook June Lee says nothing was wrong with the meal, and that “some customers are happy. Some are not.”

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Police say a worker at a Massachusetts Dunkin’ Donuts slashed the tires on a customer’s Jeep after the two got into an argument Tuesday.

Thirty-nine-year-old Thomas Zazulak was charged with malicious destruction of property and disturbing the peace.

Police say the dispute broke out when the customer – whose name wasn’t released – started to leave because he was tired of waiting for the cup of coffee he ordered.

Words were exchanged, then Zazulak allegedly followed him outside, pulled out a folding knife and slashed the tires.

Police said the clerk, the only worker on duty, then resumed serving customers. Zazulak did not return a telephone message left at his home in Framingham.

Information from: MetroWest Daily News

Can it be art?
Nov 21 – Food can sculptures inspire art and hearty meals for the poor in tough times in the U.S.

Forty architectural and engineering firms competed in New York for prizes in categories including Jurors’ favourite, Best Meals and Best Use of Labels. The cans will be donated to charity food banks at the end of the contest.

Neena Dhaun reports