News of the Weird

By Chuck Shepherd

America's real gun problem

Failing to get out of their own line of fire:

- Jonathan Rodriguez, 17, of Newark, Del., a home-invasion suspect who batted on a door with the butt of his handgun, which fired into his groin

- Joshua Michael Short, 18, of Houston, got up from a table at Memorial City Mall food court and bumped the gun that was in his waistband, firing a round into his buttocks

- Detroit police officer Michael Allen, 22, tried to cram his gun under the front seat of his car at a Canadian border-crossing, but it discharged into his leg.

Hogwart headaches

Ailment afflicts Potter fans

Has the latest Harry Potter fantasy cast a spell of "Hogwarts headaches" on some of its most avid readers?

A Washington pediatrician says he had three otherwise healthy children complain of headaches for two to three days last summer. It turns out all had been reading the 870-page "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in marathon sessions.

"The kids I saw were all avid Harry Potter fans who just plowed through the book," said Dr. Howard J. Bennett. "A lot of my kids would be reading six, eight hours a day. And it's a big book for a 9- or 10-year-old child."

Bennett dubbed their ailment "Hogwarts headache" after the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that the boy wizard attends. He said the youngsters' headaches were probably caused by tensing their head muscles for long periods. One of the children also had neck and wrist pain.

The brighter side

Keep kids looking up

In a world full of problems and disappointments, it's sometimes hard for families to accentuate the positive. Family Fun Magazine offers one solution: adopt a daily exercise called "Three Good Things."

At some point each day - when kids get home from school or at dinner time - take turns telling each other about your day. Each person has to think of three good things that happened during the day. It could be a good grade on a math test, a joke that made you laugh or a new recipe that turned out great.

Make it a routine, and the whole family will have a better outlook on life.

Chief or Sam?

People names are popular for pets

According to a nationwide survey by the Iams Company, 74 percent of puppy owners and 66 percent of kitten owners chose people names for their pets this year.

Among the top names are Max, Jake, Charlie and Mollie, but it depends on where these four-legged friends live.

For example:

- Midwesterners are twice as likely as Northeasterners to name their cats or dogs after food or beverages.

- Ginger, Gizmo, Buster and Lucy are popular for both dogs and cats in the Midwest but don't make it into the top 10 in any other region.

- Midwesterners are less likely to name their pets after personality characteristics, such as Cuddles or Rascal, than are pet parents in the West and South.

- Kittens in the Midwest are much more likely to be named Fatty Lump, Tuna Breath or some other so-called silly name than their feline friends in the Northwest.