Chuck Amuck
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's tough working at Chuck E. Cheese's. There's all those kids to please — and then there's the parents.
A Macon, Ga., mother threw pizza at Chuck himself and threatened the teenage employee portraying the giant rodent with a beating, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Chuck's offense? Not paying enough attention to the woman's child, witnesses told police after the incident Sunday afternoon.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The peeved parent told the 17-year-old girl inside the rat costume she'd "whip" her, but — perhaps figuring the child would be traumatized by seeing Mom beat up Chuck — only after the employee had changed back into human form.
Since the promised pummeling never happened, no charges were filed, and the names of the menacing mom and terrified teen were not released.
Chuck E. Cheese's (search) is a nationwide chain of pizza restaurants that caters to small children and the parents they bring along. Its namesake, mascot and main attraction is a friendly man-sized rat wearing a baseball cap.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}— Thanks to Out There readers Erica J., Kris P., Chris M., and James A.
Incriminating Mucus Nabs Jewel Thief
WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) — Police say a man who blew his nose before stealing diamonds from a West Bend jewelry store is a DNA match with a tissue he left behind.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Store owner Marvin Husar remembered seeing the robber blow his nose and toss a tissue moments before taking the diamonds and bolting back in 2002.
DNA from the tissue was entered into a national database, but there were no matches.
Then, two months ago, police in Illinois sent a photo of a man to West Bend who was in prison for a series of jewelry store robberies.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A search warrant allowed authorities to take DNA from the man, who turned out to be a match.
Charges are pending.
Harley Hearse Lets Bikers Go Out in Style
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ALUM BANK, Pa. (AP) — Harley-Davidson fans can finally take their final ride in style.
Tombstone Hearse Co. two years ago began building hand-crafted Old West-style casket carriers that are pulled by a modified Harley-Davidson Road King (search).
"We take a regular bike and turn it into a motortrike with special gears to pull a heavier load," said company co-founder Dave Follmar. "We can accommodate most caskets, including oversized units."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Follmar, a retired cabinetmaker, came up with the idea 12 years ago. With the help of construction expert Jack Feather, Follmar has now franchised the idea and has a network of hearses in service stretching from Texas to Michigan and New Jersey.
Rental prices for the hearses range from $500 to $600. Traditional hearses range from $125 to $475.
Tombstone's hearse is designed with the traditional amenities but features a glass-enclosed carriage with curtains and tassels. Four gold lanterns adorn each corner and it's fitted with a black vinyl top.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tombstone's drivers are dressed in white tuxedo shirts, string ties, black pants and Calvary-style knee-high boots with a single spur.
"For any guy or gal who has sat their butt in a Harley seat all their lives, it doesn't seem fitting to lay them in the back of a Caddy for a farewell ride," Feather said.
Boy Becomes Unwilling Chimney Sweep
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) — An 11-year-old boy had to be rescued by firefighters after he got stuck in a chimney while trying to get into his friend's locked house.
"I wasn't Santa Claus," said Rance Hill, who spent 1½ hours in the chimney Tuesday.
The Antelope Valley (search) boy said he was trying to help a friend when he shimmied down the chimney at about 4:30 p.m. and got stuck feet-first. His friend was unable to pull him free and called Los Angeles County firefighters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They tried to get him out from below and even knocked a hole in the chimney at a point where it narrowed to about 8 inches but that didn't work, fire Inspector Mike McCormick said.
"My foot was stuck," Hill said.
Finally, they were able to haul up the sooty youngster with a rope.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It felt "like I was flying, just going up real fast," he said.
He also had some advice to other kids.
"Never go down a chimney or do something crazy like that," he said. "Not even for a thousand dollars."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mother of All Barbecue Grills Stolen, Found
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — In a town where barbecue is an art, some consider what happened to Paul Kirk a tragedy. Someone stole his grill.
"It was a slap across the face of mankind," said David Klose, the Houston man who built the giant custom-made barbecue cooker. "It's like stealing a man's Corvette; it's a cardinal sin."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Strong words, but he's not talking about the rickety grills caked in grease and collecting rust in backyards across America. Over the weekend, Kirk, of Roeland Park, Kan., was robbed of his custom-made $18,000 grill and the $8,000 van that pulled it.
The grill was recovered Tuesday after a call to Merriam, Kan., police led officers to a nearby apartment complex, where they found the cooker and the van. Roeland Park Police Chief Rex Taylor said they had no suspects and are investigating the crime as an auto theft.
For Kirk, a seven-time barbecue champion, the grill keeps food on the table. He makes a living teaching barbecue classes and catering, and is known nationally as the "Baron of Barbecue" to readers of his half-dozen barbecuing books.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The thief also got away with food intended for a catering job — at least 10 pounds of brisket, a few whole chickens and a tall stack of ribs.
The envy of any tailgate party, Kirk's 15-foot one-of-a-kind cooker could gobble up and grill 150 slabs of ribs at once. It took a trailer, equipped with dual axles and electric brakes, to make the 5,000-pound grill mobile.
"This is a custom-built pit," said Kirk's wife, Jessica. "There's not a single other one on the face of the earth like it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Since the grill was stolen, a flurry of angry messages have ignited on TheBBQForum.com Web site, one comparing the heist to someone running off with a man's wife. Messages on the competitive barbecue forum went on to discuss possible barbecue grill alarm-systems or LoJacks.
Compiled by Foxnews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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