Etc...

It could make Munch scream

"It's obviously a very macabre piece of work ... but I never expected it to get this reaction," said British conceptual artist Richard Morrison, who returned home to his apartment near Liverpool, northern England, to find local police had battered down the door. The reason? A burglar called for help after seeing what he mistook for a human head in a pickle jar. The work in question actually was made of bacon strips wrapped around a wire frame. "I gather the police were bracing themselves for a 'Silence of the Lambs' moment," Morrison told The Times (London) newspaper. They've apologized and pledged to replace the door. And the thief? "He had a crisis of confidence and confessed his crimes to his mother," Morrison said.

Remember Ma Lihua, who was trying to set a new solo world record for toppling dominoes, as reported in this space Aug. 14? She succeeded four days later in a Singapore exhibition hall, bettering the old mark by 22,040, even though seven tiles didn't fall. After spending 45 10-hour days setting up her dominoes, she said: "I feel very relieved."

With an average of 148 "bad air" days each year, Riverside, Calif., leads the US in terms of air pollution, according to a new list by the Surface Transportation Policy Project. The Washington-based research group advocates spending on noncar modes of travel. California cities, in fact, occupy first through fifth place, and the capital, Sacramento, is among them. The 10 cities the group rates worst for air quality:

1. Riverside, Calif.
2. Fresno, Calif.
3. Bakersfield, Calif.
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach
5. Sacramento, Calif.
6. Pittsburgh
7. Knoxville, Tenn.
8. Birmingham, Ala.
9. Houston
10. Baltimore
- Associated Press