eing stingy cost an Iranian man more after he was ordered by the court to buy his neglected wife 124,000 red roses worth a total of $265,000. Local newspaper Etemad reported that a woman named Hengameh claimed her mahr, or dowry after being married for ten years to her husband Shahin who according to her is so stingy that he cannot even pay for her coffee.

n average worker wastes almost one year of his or her working life puffing away on cigarettes, a new poll revealed. Three 15-minute smoking breaks a day cost employers 195 working hours a year for each worker. That is equivalent to 8,677 hours in an average 44-year working lifetime or simply put, nearly a whole year smoking instead of working.

Doctors in England restored the eyesight of a blind man by inserting his son's tooth into his eye. Bob McNichol, 57, was blinded two years ago at an aluminum explosion. "I thought that I was going to be blind for the rest of my life," McNichol told RTE state radio, AFP reported.

The latest look at shopping comes from Shermans Travel, which has put together its list of the top spots for "shopaholics. " The Thai capital Bangkok topped the list for its reputation as one of the best shopping destinations in Asia. Good finds in the city are high-quality silk, jewelry, and traditional crafts for a reasonable amount of money. Buenos Aires in Argentina is cited for its low cost leather products. Denmark's Copenhagen is among the top five for its wide-range of merchandise especially home accessories and glassware such as Holmegaard and Royal Copenhagen Porcelain.

An Oregon town mayor has been kicked out from her post after posing on a fire truck in her black bra and underwear. According to city officials, Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist narrowly lost in Monday's recall election, 142-139, in a town with 500 registered voters. The recall is effective Tuesday.