STORY:
Strange New Year Events

From sewing mouth shut to digging bunkers - the Year 2000 celebrated in strange ways

With the dawn of a new century and the Y2K computer bug lurking in the wings many people around the world celebrated in unusual ways. From a man who sewed his mouth shut to a cult who dug holes to hide from the apocalypse here's a look at some strange findings.

In a New Hampshire prison a man sewed his eyes and lips shut with dental floss because he was afraid of the New Year. Prison guards found the man in his cell with a Bible in his arms and he was covered with baby powder. The man was cleaned up and his mouth opened again, he had been serving time on drug charges.

Some Philippine cult members were ready for the end of the world. The 80-year old leader of the group thought an "all-consuming rain of fire" would burn on New Year's Eve killing everyone. The group stockpiled food and dug tunnels to prepare. Many even quit their jobs so they could spend hours digging those tunnels. When Year 2000 came and went without the eternal fire, cult members went back home quite disappointed.

Y2K may not have killed anyone, terrorists didn't strike the United States and kill anyone, but two men in Cambodia died. They killed each other over a debate about the Y2K bug. One man felt the other should eat a custard, rice and lard cake wrapped in a banana leaf so he wouldn't die from Y2K. When the man refused a fight ensued and the two men ended up killing each other. Both died of wounds inflicted in the fight.

Then there's the Y2K stories of money found and money owed. In Germany a man found 3.9 billion deutsche marks in his account on New Year's day. ( That's $2 billion U.S. dollars) The man had logged on to his banks web site when he discovered all the money in his account. The Cologne savings bank said it was a banking mistake, and didn't let the man keep the money. In New York, a customer was told to pay $91,250 in late fees for a video rental. The records showed that the movie was 100 years late. The store manager knew what had happened right away and let the customer rent a movie for free. No, the customer didn't have to pay the fee, it was crossed off his record the old fashioned way- with a a ball point pen.

DATE: 1/6/2000

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