I am sure you have all heard of the mysterious disappearance of honey bees over the last few years. Bee populations are disappearing at an alarming rate all around the nation. This is a crisis because bees pollinate billions of dollars worth of crops every year.  

Beekeepers call the phenomenon of disappearing bees, Colony Collapse Disorder. But they say no one seems to really know exactly why this is all happening.  

I may have a clue. They are all heading to this woman's house.  

A Georgia woman says her home has been swarmed by as many as 10 million bees. The unfortunate homeowner said she phoned a bee removal expert after she saw the insects flying into her attic and heard scratching coming from behind her walls.  

Bee wrangler Jason Rehr said he expected to find multiple hives in the attic, but instead found the bees had turned the entire structure into a giant super-hive with honeycombs on the ceiling and walls.  

Rehr gave his expert opinion of the phenomenon, "This is the mamma-jamma here. This is the biggest one I've ever seen."  

He said he plans to move the bees several miles away from the house to hives that have been prepared.

------- No sex for dentists who treat spouses ----- 

TORONTO - Some Canadian dentists want changes to an Ontario provincial law that forbids them from having sex with their spouse if he or she is also their patient. The "no sex with patients" decree is part of the 1993 Regulated Health Professions Act, which was crafted to address inappropriate relationships between psychiatrists and psychologists with their patients. However, dentists fall under the same rules, the Toronto Star reported. Orthodontist Randy Lang wrote a tongue-in-cheek article for the Oral Health Journal suggesting how dentists could avoid prosecution. "Have your spouse wear a disguise, like a moustache and beard, when she or he enters and exits your dental office," he wrote. "Also, at home, be sure to lock your bedroom door and cover all the windows with black paper." In response to growing criticism from dentists, provincial Health Minister Deb Matthews said Monday she requested a review of the law by the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council, the Star said.

------- Japanese man, 114, named world's oldest ------- 

KYODO, Japan - Guinness World Records announced a 114-year-old Japanese man has been declared the world's oldest living man following the death of the previous record holder. Guinness said Jiroemon Kimura of Kyodo celebrated his 114th birthday Tuesday and inherited the title of the world's oldest man from Walter Breuning of the United States, who died April 14. The record-keeping organization said Kimura, the last known man living to have been born prior to 1897, is now the third oldest person in Japan and the sixth oldest person in the world. He is the only man on the list of the world's 10 oldest people. Kimura said part of his secret to long life is eating meals in small portions. "With the sad passing of Walter, the world is left with the one remaining man who was alive in the 19th century," said Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness. "It's incredible to think that Kimura's life spans three centuries -- when he was born, Dracula had yet to be published, Queen Victoria was a few weeks from her Diamond Jubilee and the Wright Brothers were six years from their first successful test flight. How the world has moved on during his lifetime!"

I always thought it would be a good idea to round up the homeless people with a job offer of fruit picking. It pays above minimum wage with room and board. Work them for the season and then send them home with a few thousand dollar cheque. Maybe some of them will manage to get off the streets. It makes so much sense there must be a problem with it. -John
[The problem would be recruiting the workforce from every city country-wide and then getting them to where the work is. Plus, they might not be the most diligent or responsible work force. But interesting idea...]

I live in St. Pete and what's in the story is true.  I've seen them.  -lou
[I don't suppose you'd be willing to act as a Bizarre News undercover reporter and take a beating for you readers? You would get fifty bucks out of it!] 

Hey Lewis! I saw a story about this on World News Tonight years ago.  A man had converted his car to run on vegetable oil at a cost of about $200.  He went to fast food restaurants and asked for the oil they were throwing away that night.  He ran the oil through a paper filter to get out the bits of fries and put it in his fuel tank. Scientists who studied the emissions from the car found no toxins.  He tried to sell the plans for his car to US car manufacturers on the condition that they actually made vehicles with it.  None of them accepted.  You can draw your own conclusions from that.  Using vegetable oil to fuel cars would make our air cleaner, make life better for our farmers, and free us from dependence on the mentally unbalanced people in the middle east.  It's a no lose situation.  So why aren't we doing it? -Jody
[Two reasons...that would only work for diesel vehicles, and even if 100 percent of waste cooking oil were recycled in this fashion it would only account for 2 percent of all fuel usage. Not that it is a bad idea. It's a great idea, but it's not a large scale alternative.] 

Lewis, I like the new format. I also like your responses to the reader comments. Keep up the good work. Thank you for the entertainment. -Robin
[You should see some of the reader comments I used to get. For some reason the readers have really toned it down over the years. There is a great sampling of the older ones in the Bizarre News Book II which is advertised on this page for a discounted price of only $1.07.]

Hey, Lewis, are you in that picture of the GopherCentral staff?  You don't have to say which one you are, just tell us if you are in it and let us guess! -Chris
[We're actually working on a "Meet the Staff" page, so stay tuned!]