A homeless man who hopped into a trash bin to escape rain and fell asleep there woke up screaming after sanitation workers in West Palm Beach dumped his bin into the truck and started the compacter. However, despite being compressed several times the man managed to survive the pressure from the trash compactor. "I screamed one last breath," Robert Baswell, 44, told the Palm Beach Post, adding that he once tried to cushion himself from the pressure of the compressor with a dead opossum.

BBC viewers in Scotland have created a storm over a weatherman's alleged description of their town as "nowheresville" during a television broadcast. During two separate weather bulletins, Tomasz Schafenaker said there would be rain in the northwest of Scotland, adding that it would be "mainly in the Western Isles, mainly in nowheresville. " Scottish BBC viewers were not too kind in responding to Schafenaker's description of their hometown. According to Ananova, Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil said he has been overwhelmed with angry complaints following the weatherman's remarks. He said one complainer described Schafernaker's comment as "insulting, ignorant and self-satisfied. "

Raindrops can fall at 20 miles per hour causing what is called "splash erosion" of soil. Soil erosion caused by rain is a major problem that costs businesses, individuals and governments money every year. In agriculture alone water erosion causes an estimated $27 billion in on-site losses, and frequently causes economic losses downstream as well.

Polar Bear Club officials blamed the rain for a poor turn out to splash around in the 48 degree waves on New Year's Day. Every year the club sponsors a New Year's Day charity swim on Coney Island in New York. This year 200 people came to celebrate and swim with the 90 member Polar Bear Club, who swim the icy waters weekly from October to April. This year the swim benefited Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children suffering from life-threatening illnesses. The club raised $25,000 Monday, half of their $50,000 goal. About 500 people showed last year for the swim. Club spokesman Louie Scarcella said, "It's psychological, I think. Some people don't like the rain. "

The reason behind a large number of power failures in Texas is not storms, thunder or rain. To the surprise of many people, it is the seemingly harmless squirrel. According to a report from the Austin Energy power company in Texas, almost 20 percent of all its power outages are caused by squirrels. The news, published in the Austin American-Statesman, says that the squirrels apparently come into contact with sensitive electrical equipment on utility poles, which can cause 700 area outages a year.