Hard to Believe: Weird Around the World

According to police in Warsaw, Poland, novelist Krystian Bala might have gotten away with torturing and murdering a businessman in 2000 if only he had resisted writing about his crime in his 2003 novel, "Amok." The trail for the killer had been cold for several years until a tipster informed police of the book. In the plot, which authorities say bore a distinct resemblance to the 2000 murder, were details that police say could only have been known by the killer. After investigating, police found several other ties Bala had to the crime, including the fact that the victim was Bala's ex-wife's lover. Bala was sentenced in September to 25 years in prison.

Sweden's army turned down 600 draftees in July, claiming that it did not have enough officers to supervise them, but about 350 of the conscripts launched a formal protest, demanding to serve. Said one, "I was upset. What was I going to do for a year?" The National Service Administration arranged for 100 of the draftees to get into the army, anyway, with 160 others re-registering to be taken in the next round.

Sweden's army turned down 600 draftees in July, claiming that it did not have enough officers to supervise them, but about 350 of the conscripts launched a formal protest, demanding to serve. Said one, "I was upset. What was I going to do for a year?" The National Service Administration arranged for 100 of the draftees to get into the army anyway, with 160 others re-registering for the next round.

In August, the Discovery Channel reported on the equipping of Bushmen (indigenous to Africa's Kalahari Desert) with handheld Palm Pilot personal digital assistants to track animals and locate plants via special software. The illiterate hunters can tap screen icons representing various animals, the activities they're engaging in, and how many they see, with a global positioning satellite automatically recording the location.

Spaniard Manuel Gozalo organizes bus trips of women from Madrid to isolated rural villages, which most of the native females have long since abandoned for cities, leaving lonely single men. His "caravanas de amor" (caravans of love) have made 32 day-trips since 1995, promising the ladies some fun and dancing (and possible romance) and the men perhaps a last chance at finding a companion (and Gozalo told London's Independent in July that his caravans have produced at least 40 marriages).

Spaniard Manuel Gozalo organizes bus trips of women from Madrid to isolated rural villages, which most of the native females have long since abandoned for cities, leaving lonely single men. His "caravanas de amor" (caravans of love) have made 32 day-trips since 1995, promising the ladies some fun and dancing (and possible romance) and the men perhaps a last chance at finding a companion (and Gozalo told London's Independent in July that his caravans have produced at least 40 marriages).

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