An American Airlines flight was brought to an unexpected stop Monday due to an excess of gas … and not the kind used for fuel.
A woman on board a flight bound for Dallas/Fort Worth apparently struck several matches in an attempt to hide a flatulent faux pas, reported the Tennessean.
The flight was brought in for an emergency landing after passengers reported a burning smell. After investigators began questioning people, the woman admitted to striking the matches while trying to hide her "body odor." She is from the Dallas area and reportedly has a medical condition.
When reports of the smells were heard, the plane landed in Nashville and all passengers and crew members were brought off board. Bomb-sniffing dogs were then called to the scene and they tracked down the used matches.
The flight took off again after the incident, but the woman was not allowed back on board. American Airlines has reportedly banned her for a long time. Although it is illegal to strike a match on a plane, the woman was not charged with any crime.
So Much for Jolly Old St. Nick...
Being jolly can't be easy for men playing Santa this season. A new study reveals the gross realities that Christmastime Kringles face at work each day, Reuters reported.
Santas get sneezed on, urinated on and have to deal with their beards and glasses being pulled at by many of the little present-seekers they take onto their laps daily, according to the survey.
The survey was conducted online for Auntie Anne's Inc. by 339 members of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas.
More than 60 percent of the jolly fellows reported being sneezed or coughed upon up to 10 times every day, and 75 percent said up to 10 kids cry while sitting on their laps each day. A third of all respondents also said they have been urinated on by a child.
Not only that, Santas can face various maladies including back injuries from lifting children, exposure to various illnesses and overheating inside the thick costumes, according to Timothy Connaghan, head of the Santa association.
"There is more to it than just sitting in a chair. There is more to it than just a red suit," said Connaghan, who has worked as a Santa for 38 years. "Children can really put the wear and tear on you."
The survey also mentioned that more than 75 percent of children say they have been good throughout the year, but only half of the Santas who responded actually believe the children are being honest.
Someone Overdid It With the Eggnog
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A man accused of speeding down Main Street in Anderson has been charged with drunken driving. What was unusual was that he was driving a float in a Christmas parade at the time.
When officers caught up to 42-year-old David Allen Rodgers, he had an open container of alcohol in the truck he used to haul the children and adults on a float for the Steppin' Out Dance Studio, Anderson Police spokeswoman Linda Dudley said.
Witnesses said Rodgers was driving in line in Sunday's parade when he pulled out to pass a tractor in the float. Rodgers sped down Main Street and ran a red light, while a witness on the float called 911 on a cell phone, police said.
Officers started chasing Rodgers, who didn't stop for three miles. Once he pulled over, he tried to attack an officer, Dudley said.
Rodgers, whose child was on the float, faces more than three dozen charges, including DUI, 18 counts of kidnapping and assaulting an officer, authorities said.
A woman who answered the phone at Rodgers' home would not talk to a reporter and a message left at the dance studio was not returned Monday.
Driving While Nude Is Still a Crime
SOUTHBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Sherman man has been arrested for indecent exposure for driving in the nude.
Scott Kravics, 41, was accused Monday of pulling up alongside a woman driving a truck on Interstate 84 and exposing himself. The trucker called 911 on her cell phone.
Police said the trucker first saw Kravics allegedly exposing himself in Danbury, then followed him through Newtown, Southbury and Middlebury before he got on Route 8 in Waterbury.
Kravics was stopped by State police Master Sgt. David Coyle who was off-duty.
Police said that when Kravics saw Coyle's cruiser in his rear-view mirror, he quickly put on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt.
Police have charged Kravics with indecent exposure and breach of peace.
The Holiday Season Could Make Anyone Batty
NIPOMO, Calif. (AP) — A Nipomo woman's holiday season is getting off to a batty start.
Sheila Kearns had a Christmas tree delivered to her home on Sunday. She says she thought she had been pricked by pine needles when she reached into the tree while decorating it.
But the next morning, she found a bat hanging upside down in her home.
It turns out that the Christmas tree farm Kearns bought from keeps bats around for pest control and that one unwittingly hitched a ride to her home.
Animal control officials picked up the bat, which tested negative for rabies.
Kearns got a tetanus shot and some antibiotics, but says she's not fazed. She says she'll keep buying her trees from the same farm.
Newest Take on 'Got Milk?'
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Five-year-old Gabby Supapo stuck her nose up in the air and sniffed. "Oreos," she declared.
Not exactly what the California Milk Processor Board had in mind when it outfitted five San Francisco bus shelters with ads embedded with the smell of just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies.
The scented bus shelter advertisements made their U.S. debut Monday, according Louis Zafonte, spokesman for New York-based Arcade Marketing, which designed the ads to encourage milk drinking.
"Scent is a primary driver of memory," Zafonte said. "When you smell baby powder or chocolate chip cookies, everyone feels good."
To overcome the frequent blasts of exhaust and the funky whiffs that often permeate a big-city bus shelter, scented oils were sandwiched between cardboard cards emblazoned with "Got Milk?" and affixed to shelter walls.
It costs about $30 per shelter, Zafonte said, and the smell should last one to two weeks depending on the location. The displays will last about a month.
Critics have complained the ads could be offensive to the poor and homeless who can't afford to buy sweet treats.
But shoppers near the Union Square shelter simply thought the ads were cute.
"It makes me want to go to Starbucks," said Gabby's mother, Ihrene Supapo, 25.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Hannah Sentenac.
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