Odds and Ends

MADRID, Spain - Tickets bought in a town whose name means "Luck" shared the top prize Wednesday in Spain's El Gordo Christmas lottery, the biggest pot in the world.

The winning coupon number - known as El Gordo, or the Fat One - was 54600 and was picked from the golden drums by school children who sang it out in a time-honored cadence.

The Gordo uses a complex system of shared numbers that divides wealth among millions of people holding numbers that go from 00001 to 66,000. Complicating matters further, each of those 66,000 numbers is repeated 195 times with different serial numbers.

All 195 tickets bearing this year's winning number were sold in the Catalan town of Sort, whose name means luck in the northeastern region's language.

The tickets, carrying a total of $2.8 million in prize money, were sold in the town's single lottery outlet, named the "The Golden Witch."

The standard coupon costs $28 and can earn its holder a maximum $280,000.

Sort has sold many winning tickets over the years, including many of the top-prize tickets in last year's Gordo. As a result, thousands of people from all over Spain flock each year to the town to try their luck.

Billed as the world's richest, the Dec. 22 lottery gives out $2.4 billion in winnings.

The lottery, broadcast nationally, has Spaniards across the country glued to radio and TV sets for some three hours in the hope some of the wealth falls on them. An estimated three-quarters of the country's population of just over 40 million take part in the lottery.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. - Jared Williams ruffled a few feathers while driving on Interstate 64.

A wild turkey flew into the truck's windshield on Tuesday. Williams was traveling about 70 mph at the time, but managed to pull safely to the side of the road.

"It looked like someone stuffed the turkey in the windshield," said Dave Creager of Creager Automotive Repair Service. "It didn't look real."

Williams, 22, had been driving a company truck for Appalachian Laboratories during the collision, and endured turkey jokes from his co-workers the rest of the day.

He has no interest in the bird's remains - minus one small piece.

"I only wanted a feather for my scrapbook," he said. "I guess I have a good story to tell when I'm an old man."

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HONG KONG - Some "[filtered word] Bomb" toys are producing more than a bad smell.

Officials are pulling the toys from shelves because the gag gift - a metallic bag that gives off a stench - produces a dangerous chemical reaction, the government said.

Customs officers have seized 263 bags and are urging parents to hand in any of the unused toys to a consumer protection bureau, a government statement said Tuesday.

The toy includes a silver-colored bag labeled "[filtered word] Bomb." The bag contains sulfur compound powder and an inner plastic bag of diluted acid, the government said.

"When players press the package to break the inner plastic bag, the sulfur compound powder will then come in contact with the acid," the statement said.

"The package will be inflated and then burst, giving off a disgusting smell," it said. The sulfur-acid mixture produces hydrogen sulfide, which can cause nausea, headaches and eye irritation, the government said.

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SHAMOKIN, Pa. - Santa definitely knows one boy was not nice this year.

A 17-year-old is accused of firing a pellet gun from a second-story window, hitting a man dressed as Santa Claus on Monday night. Police said the boy confessed.

Scott Slodysko, a volunteer fireman, was riding atop a fire truck when he heard a popping sound at an intersection.

"It felt like a bee stung me - like a very bad bee sting."

Slodysko said he knew immediately that somebody with a pellet gun was to blame.

He described the wound as "a black-and-blue mark about the size of a silver dollar" and said the attack won't stop him from portraying Santa next year.

"We do this for the kids," Slodysko said. "I just can't believe someone would do something like that."