AP
Odd News - AP

UK university holds artificial intelligence test

Sun Oct 12, 2:24 PM ET

READING, England - Computers argued, cracked jokes and parried trick questions Sunday, all part of an annual test of artificial intelligence carried out at the University of Reading.

  • Playing cards from the 1830s are displayed at Columbia University in New York, Tuesday, May 20, 2008. The university has a playing card collection that spans four centuries and 50 countries and is among the biggest of its kind in the world. Scholars say cards can be useful records of social history, depicting how political figures and historical events were seen in their times. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
    Counting cards: NY collection includes 6,356 decks Sun Oct 12, 10:43 AM ET

    NEW YORK - The collection spans 50 countries and four centuries and touches on subjects ranging from beer marketing to 19th-century Portuguese politics.

  • Kimani, a huge bull elephant, can be seen with his collar containing a sim card, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008 in the Ol Pejeta conservancy near Mt. Kenya. Save the Elephants has set up a project where they placed a mobile phone SIM card in an elephants collar, then set up a virtual 'geofence' using a global positioning system that mirrored the conservatory's boundaries. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)
    Kenya's elephants send text messages to rangers Sat Oct 11, 7:10 PM ET

    OL PEJETA, Kenya - The text message from the elephant flashed across Richard Lesowapir's screen: Kimani was heading for neighboring farms.

  • A general election absentee ballot from Rensselaer County, N.Y. misspelling the name of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is seen, Friday, Oct. 10, 2008 in Sand Lake, N.Y. The absentee ballots sent to voters in Rensselaer County identified the two presidential candidates as 'Barack Osama' and 'John McCain.' In the United States, the best-known individual named Osama is Osama bin Laden, leader of the al Qaida terrorist group behind the 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City. (AP Photo/The Albany Times Union, Michael P. Farrell)
    NY election mix-up: 'Osama' on the ballot Fri Oct 10, 8:21 PM ET

    TROY, N.Y. - Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama."

  • Santas coming early to Indiana town to sign oath Sun Oct 12, 10:41 AM ET

    SANTA CLAUS, Ind. - The grandsons of Santa Claus are coming to town.

  • Woman, 72, moves after finding snakes in apartment Fri Oct 10, 8:21 PM ET

    MIDDLETOWN, Del. - When 72-year-old Gladys Dressner first saw two snakes last in her new apartment last month, she froze. Days later, when an eight-inch snake crawled across her bed, she screamed. Finally, after stepping on a baby black rat snake, she moved.

  • Woman accused of serving pot-laced cake to guest Fri Oct 10, 8:21 PM ET

    WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - West Hartford police said they charged a 51-year-old woman with assault, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence after she allegedly served a marijuana-tainted ginger cake to her real estate agent.

  • What happens after you flush? RI offers new tour Fri Oct 10, 8:22 PM ET

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Ever wonder what happens after you yank the chain on the old commode? Rhode Island is offering tours of several wastewater treatment facilities during what its dubbed the first annual "Rhode Island Water Infrastructure Month."

  • Dog dies after saving man in Trinidad from fire Fri Oct 10, 8:26 PM ET

    PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - A man whose dog rescued him from a house fire in Trinidad said the animal died after running back into the burning building. Trinidad & Tobago Express newspaper quoted Anderson Marcano as saying that he woke up because the dog kept barking and tugging at his pants. Marcano said he smelled the smoke and was shocked to find his house on fire.

  • This handout from the Phnom Penh Post shwos a house sawed cut in half by a Cambodian couple as they were hoping to avoid the country's convoluted divorce process inPrey Veng province near Phnom Penh.(AFP/PHNOM PENH POST-HO)
    Cambodian couple saw house in half in divorce Fri Oct 10, 2:23 PM ET

    PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the wooden house they once shared, villagers said Friday. The husband, 42-year-old Moeun Sarim, has taken away with him all the bits and pieces of his half a house, said his 35-year-old wife, Vat Navy.

  • Man wins $200K in Powerball twice in same year Fri Oct 10, 3:23 PM ET

    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - For a Kansas City man, 2008 has been a great year when it comes to playing the Missouri Lottery. Arthur Watkins, 53, has won slightly more than $400,000 in two Powerball drawings within a four-month period.

  • Woman allegedly pours hot water on husband's groin Fri Oct 10, 3:19 PM ET

    BRADENTON, Fla. - Authorities say a woman has been arrested in west Florida after pouring scalding hot water on her husband's groin. Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a 52-year-old woman on Wednesday on a charge of aggravated battery with great bodily harm.

  • Cops nab pair in same vehicle for drunken driving Fri Oct 10, 3:19 PM ET

    FARGO, N.D. - Fargo police said two men were arrested for drunken driving in the same vehicle. Police Lt. Pat Claus said an officer pulled over a 23-year-old man early Thursday morning. Claus said while that man was taking a sobriety test, a 24-year-old passenger got behind the wheel and tried to drive off.

  • Rat-hunting woman causes NC school lockdown Fri Oct 10, 2:15 PM ET

    HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. - Police in North Carolina say a woman hunting rats on her property caused a scare at a neighboring public school. The Times-News of Hendersonville reported Friday that a bus driver saw the woman and officials thought she was an armed student on school property.

  • Strong-arm robber in Mich. ends up $30 in the hole Thu Oct 9, 8:33 PM ET

    WARREN, Mich. - Police said a strong-arm robber got locked in a chokehold by his intended victim and ended up $30 in the hole. Police in the Detroit suburb of Warren said the robber approached a 36-year-old man and demanded money on Tuesday night.

  • Man to hold 'I was stupid' sign outside Wis. plant Thu Oct 9, 8:33 PM ET

    EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - A man who caused damage at a waste water treatment plant in Eau Claire has decided to pick public humiliation over jail time to pay for his crime.

  • Ice chunk falls through roof, hits woman in bed Thu Oct 9, 8:33 PM ET

    YORK, Pa. - A woman was slightly injured on Wednesday after a six-pound chunk of ice fell from the sky through her roof as she slept. The source of the ice wasn't immediately known, but experts said it might have fallen from an airplane or rocket.

  • Judge sentences rap music fan to Bach, Beethoven Thu Oct 9, 3:34 PM ET

    URBANA, Ohio - A defendant had a hard time facing the music. Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin.

  • Leaping dolphin gives Fla. boaters cuts, bruises Thu Oct 9, 11:28 PM ET

    EDGEWATER, Fla. - A woman is recovering in Florida after a dolphin hit her when it leaped aboard the boat she was in.