KITIMAT, British Columbia, Oct. 3 (UPI) - A black bear that pulled open a door to a Canadian Subway sandwich franchise sniffed its way through all the food, but ate nothing and left.The incident happened last week in Kitimat, British Columbia, and sent the lone employee, Rebecca Branton, scrambling into the washroom, where she used her cell phone to call her mother and police.She told the Kitimat Sentinel she has just opened the store at 6 a.m.

STUBBINGTON, England, Oct. 3 (UPI) - A British couple who together weighed 532 pounds said they have lost a collective 172 pounds after they were asked to move so their plane could take off.Alan Coupe, 54, and his wife Jan, 49, said they were seated in the back of a plane in April 2005 when a flight attendant asked one of them to even out the weight on the aircraft so it could take off, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday."The stewardess asked one of us to get up and move to the front, so Alan volunteered to move which I was thankful about as I was so embarrassed I just couldn't look up," "We couldn't believe that we were too heavy for the plane to take off." Jan Coupe said."It was a decent-sized plane full of holidaymakers so it was devastating to be told that even a big plane like that couldn't cope with all our weight being at the back," she said.The couple said they joined a diet club and Alan has since lost 83 pounds while Jan has lost 89 pounds."I don't feel embarrassed about getting on a plane anymore - we all feel so great we could fly around the world now without a hitch," Jan Coupe said.

BRADFORD, England, Oct. 3 (UPI) - A British designer said he was inspired to create the first fold-away bathroom by the limited space in many apartments throughout Britain.Designer Paul Hernon said after his research indicated bathroom space in homes and rentals was limited, he went about creating the world's first bathroom that can simply be folded up to save space, The Daily Telegraph said Friday."I did lots of research and it became obvious to me that bathroom space was decreasing, particularly in apartments," he told the newspaper.The 38-year-old inventor's creation is an 8-foot-tall metal column whose shower attachments, storage units and toilet all rotate out for use. Once an individual's bathroom activities are concluded, the items swivel back into place and form a unit that takes up less space than conventional bathroom units.Hernon told the Telegraph that the most alarming consumer aspect of his creation is its weight as the Vertebrae weighs in at 330 pounds, meaning the floor beneath it may need to be reinforced to support its weight.

MONTREAL, Oct. 3 (UPI) - Customers of a French-Canadian coffee shop in Montreal were more than 90 percent in favor of U.S. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama becoming the next president.The owner of the Java U franchise, Gary Brown, has two tip cups by the cash register, with one featuring a picture of the U.S.

BOSTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) - A dog eating a watermelon helped cause a Boston man to repeatedly stab himself to prove to his brother he wasn't afraid of pain, police say.A police report said the two unidentified brothers got into an argument this week after a dog belonging to one of the men consumed a watermelon owned by his brother, the Boston Herald said Thursday.Tuesday's argument over the missing watermelon escalated into a shouting match between the siblings that allegedly caused one brother to repeatedly stab himself in order to show he didn't care if he got hurt, police say.Police officer Jamie Kennealy said when police arrived at the scene to help take the injured brother to the hospital, the other brother allegedly tried to barricade himself in a room.Kennealy told the Herald the brother used a saw and hammer to place numerous pieces of wood across the door to keep police out of the room."During his barricading construction project he stated that he wasn't going to get arrested for stabbing his brother," he told the Herald, adding that police were content to leave him alone after learning the other man's wounds were self-inflicted.

WAUKESHA, Wis., Oct. 2 (UPI) - A man in Mukwonago, Wis., suffered burns to his hands after using a lighter for additional light while siphoning gas from a vehicle, police allege.Police said the unidentified suspect needed gas to travel to his home in Wauzeka, Wis., last weekend when he decided to siphon fuel from a van for his sport utility vehicle, Milwaukee's WISN-TV reported Wednesday.When he was unable to see the level of gas in a container, the man used his lighter for additional light, police allege. Police said the flame ignited the flammable materials Saturday and the man's hands were burned.Neighbors contacted the police, who arrested the man and an unidentified woman found with him.WISN-TV said the man faces charges of negligent use of burning materials and theft, while his alleged accomplice has been accused of being party to theft.

CHICAGO, Oct. 2 (UPI) - Two former Neiman Marcus department store employees in Northbrook, Ill., allege in a lawsuit they were illegally videotaped having sex on the job.Steven Chalem and Veronica Miranda have alleged in their Cook County Circuit Court lawsuit that their former manager secretly filmed them while they had sex on store grounds last year, the Chicago Tribune said Wednesday.The pair alleges in their suit that the unidentified manager then shared the tape of their sexual exploits with others and posted it on a nationwide online security personnel database.Both Chalem and Miranda lost their jobs as loss prevention investigators last October after having sex in the loss prevention office at the Northbrook store on two occasions.Citing emotional distress caused by an alleged violation of the state's eavesdropping statute, along with infliction of emotional distress and other complaints, the pair is seeking unspecified damages in the suit.The Tribune said Neiman Marcus Group Inc. had no comment on the pending litigation.

BOSTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) - The U.S. presidential candidates use their Web sites not only to promote their views but also to encourage supporters to host events such as debate parties.Both Democratic candidate Barack Obama and his Republican challenger John McCain are using their campaign sites to urge backers to open their homes to other supporters in their area - strangers who live within a certain radius who may be interested in stopping by to yell at the television and engage in political discourse, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.For example, for Thursday's debate between vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, McCain's site listed eight parties within 100 miles of Boston and Obama's named 15 parties in a 50-mile radius. the Globe said."This is an opportunity for people to listen together and kibitz about things and raise questions, a good old neighborhood parliament," Avi Fogel, who posted his Boston-area debate party on McCain's Web site, told the Globe.

GRAY SUMMIT, Mo., Oct. 1 (UPI) - A pit bull was knocked out of the running for a second straight Frisbee championship in Gray Summit, Mo., when he swallowed a plastic spatula, his owner said.The freestyle Frisbee event at the 11th Purina Incredible Dog Challenge will have to do without defending champion Wallace the pit bull, from Rochester, Minn.

SAGINAW, Mich., Oct. 1 (UPI) - A Chicago resident says she now owns a home in Saginaw, Mich., after buying the abandoned property on eBay for only $1.75.Joanne Smith said by entering the eighth and highest bid in an online auction for a Saginaw home last week, she became the legal owner of a home in a Michigan city that she has no plans to move to, The Saginaw (Mich.) News said Tuesday."I am going to try and sell it," "I don't have any plans to move to Saginaw." the 30-year-old said.Smith said the group behind the unusual real estate deal, Southern Investments LLC, have offered no details regarding the property, which is set to face a foreclosure hearing in January 2009."The people who I bought the house from, they are not giving me any information about it," Smith told the News.But Smith does know that in order to finalize her $1.75 eBay purchase, she must pay nearly $850 by March 31 for back taxes on the property and for a required trash and weed clean-up effort at the home.