Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii the Latest in Bizarre Baby Name Bans

The Associated Press on July 24, 2008, and other news outlets, have reported that a judge in Australia overseeing a custody case ordered a name change for a 9-year-old girl whose custody was contested. The name given to her by her parents was Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii. The girl in that case, Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii, was so embarrassed by her given name that she refused to use it.

The AP story cited several other baby names in addition to Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii that have been rejected by Australian courts including Fish and Chips, Sex Fruit, and Yeah Detroit. Inexplicably, the names Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence escaped scrutiny in this country where the law precludes names that would cause offense to the reasonable person.

Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii and the other banned Australian names are just a sampling of bizarre names parents have attempted to name, and in some cases succeeded in naming, babies in recent years.

A New Zealand court last year forbid a family from naming their baby 4Real. That name choice was said to be motivated by the parents’ amazement on seeing their baby’s ultrscan.

In 2006, Malaysia published a list of forbidden baby names in an effort to discourage parental choices such as Hitler, Smelly Dog, and 007. Among the names banned by Malaysian authorities: Khiow Khoo (Hunchback), Chow Tow (Smelly Head), Sor Chai (Insane), and Woti (sexual intercourse).

Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii, Violence, Smelly Dog… what are parents thinking when they choose these names?

No Tulula Does the Hula from Hawaii in These Countries

Many countries have naming laws that are designed to prevent lifelong embarrassment to the baby. Such countries often attempt to forestall the use of aliases by requiring that people use only their given names. In France, Germany, Hungary, Spain and Argentina, among other countries, parents of newborns are required to choose names from a government-approved list. In Denmark, the government list includes 7,000 names. Denmark parents wishing to name their baby any name not listed require church approval.

U.S. Names More Bizarre than Tulula Does the Hula from Hawaii?

Two children in the United States have been named ESPN after the sports network.

But some of the most bizarre names given to babies in the United States have been given to children of celebrities. Four decades ago, musician Frank Zappa drew attention when he named his first two babies Moon Unit and Dweezil. The hospital refused to put the name Dweezil on the Dweezil’s birth certificate, something the family did not discover until Dweezil was 5 years old. At that point, they petitioned a court to legally change the boy’s name from Ian to Dweezil. Since then other celebrities have chosen bizarre names for their babies including: Comedian Penn Jillette who named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter. Shannyn Sossamon chose to name a child Audio Science. Jermaine Jackson named a daughter Jermajesty.

The British musician David Bowie named his baby Zowie.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/902997/talula_does_the_hula_from_hawaii_the.html?cat=8

‘Dead’ Man Awakens Before Autopsy, Shocks Doctors by Asking for Glass of Water

An Indian man who was knocked unconscious during a stampede of thousands of religious pilgrims on a steep Himalayan mountain path woke up as doctors were preparing to perform his autopsy, the Times of India reported.

Mange Ram, 19, lost consciousness in the stampede that killed 150 people and was triggered by rumors of a landslide leading to a Hindu temple devoted to the goddess Naina Devi.

Ram awoke in the hospital morgue Sunday in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

“When I woke up, I was in the middle of a row of bodies waiting for post mortem,” he told the Times. “My throat was parched and I asked for water. Towering over me the doctors and nursing staff at Anandpur Sahib Civil Hospital looked dazed. They must have been surprised to see a dead man come alive like that.”

Sat Pal Aggarwal, a doctor on the pilgrimage, said little was done to see if victims of the stampede were still alive.

“People were dumped quite haphazardly into trucks without following any procedure or checking if they were alive,” he told the Times.

Despite the huge loss of life, the pilgrimage continued only hours after the corpses had been cleared, according to the newspaper.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,398661,00.html

Man calls 911 after Subway left sauce off sandwich

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Jacksonville police say Reginald Peterson needs to learn that 911 is not the appropriate place to complain that Subway left the sauce off a spicy Italian sandwich.Police said the 42-year-old man dialed 911 twice last week so he could have his sub made correctly. The second call was to complain that officers weren’t arriving fast enough.

Subway workers told police Peterson became belligerent and yelled when they were fixing his order. They locked him out of the store after he left to call police.

When officers arrived, they tried to calm Peterson and explain the proper use of 911. Those efforts failed, and he was arrested on a charge of making false 911 calls.

Peterson did not have a listed phone number.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D92BL5FO0

Praise Cheesus – The Jesus Cheeto!

Yes, we’ve found Mother Teresa in a cinnamon bun (until it was stolen) and of course the Virgin Mary everywhere (check out this gallery).

Now we have Jesus in a Cheeto, found by a Texas woman, and via the Dallas Morning News blog. According to the DMN, the pastor of the local Kirkwood United Methodist Church does not see anything theologically special about the Cheeto, but thinks some good could come from it. Pastor David Bennett says, “If people can find Jesus, somehow, in each of us like she’s found in this object, that would be a wonderful thing.”

http://blog.beliefnet.com/pontifications/2008/07/praise-cheesus.html