Heart-shaped pizzas hot for Valentine's Day

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:08:34 GMT

Candy, flowers and bling may dominate Valentine's Day gifts, but this year, one more item is likely to be among the love offerings: heart-shaped pizzas.

Searches on Google for "heart-shaped pizzas" have soared 230 percent since January, according to Google's research tool Insights for Search.

And the highest number of searches for heart-shaped pizzas over the past few weeks is coming from Illinois, Texas and California, according to Google.

The novelty pizza has easily been around for decades but lately, pizza sellers -- large and small -- have been rushing to capitalize on this quirky trend, especially around Valentine's Day.

Pizza chain Papa John's sold 60,000 heart-shaped pizzas in 2010, and a little bit more than 60,000 last year. It expects to sell 75,000 this year.

"We first offered them nationally three years ago, and they've become widely popular," said Papa John's spokeswoman Tish Muldoon, adding that the company debuted them again last week.

"They're popular with families who celebrate Valentine's Day together," she said.

The traditional deep-dish pizzas at Lou Malnati's, a family-run pizzeria chain in Chicago, already sell well on any given day.

But weeks before Valentine's Day, their heart-shaped pizza becomes the favorite with Chicagoans and consumers nationwide.

"Valentine's Day is now our second-busiest event behind the holiday season," said Meggie Eck, marketing manager for the 41-year-old family-owned Lou Malnati's.

She credits Rick Malnati, the founder's son, with coming up with the idea 22 years ago.

Rick, a basketball coach at Loyola University, thought it would be clever to create a heart-shaped pizza and initially tried to make it with a cookie cutter, said Eck. Eventually, he found a heart-shaped pan, and those pans are still used today.

People "eating in the restaurants quickly grew to look forward to the heart-shaped pizzas each year," said Eck.

Now, 22 years later, Lou Malnati's heart-shaped pizza has a loyal following in Chicago and nationwide. Google said searches for the pizza chain's novelty pizza are up 95 percent over the past two years.

All of Lou Malnati's 33 locations in Chicago serve the $9.45 special 9-inch plain cheese heart-shaped deep-dish pizza on Feb. 14.

The company's also been shipping the frozen variety since 1991.

Today, a single frozen Lou Malnati's heart-shaped pizza costs $42.99, including shipping. A "2 pack," one frozen heart-shaped pizza and one frozen original pizza, is $57.99 with shipping.

"Last Valentine's Day, we saw a 10 percent growth in (heart-shaped) pizza sales from 2010," said Eck. The company expects to see similar growth this year.

This year, Lou Malnati's had its heart-shaped pizzas ready for shipping on Feb. 1, although it expects to ship the majority of its "love" pizzas between Feb. 6 and Feb. 13.

Looking at the orders coming in, Eck thinks the heart-shaped pizzas will outnumber their other pies, such as cheese and pepperoni, which will also be shipped this month.

So far this year, "51 percent of all our pizzas we've shipped have been heart-shaped pizzas," she said. The most orders for them are coming from customers in California, Texas, Florida and California.

And most deliveries are being made to addresses in California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Arizona, she said.

"We will be able to ship (on) Monday for Valentine's Day delivery on Tuesday, which we hope (will) boost sales," she said.

Chicago sticker changed over possible gang signs

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:44:14 GMT

Art may be in the eye of the beholder, but the city of Chicago said the design on its new vehicle stickers is just too controversial to be appreciated by area residents.

Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza said the sticker, designed by a 15-year-old area student, depicting hands above a heart reaching up toward symbols representing first responders, received the most votes -- 18,000 -- in an art contest that was open to the city's high school students.

However, the winning design was pulled from the printers after complaints surfaced that the image may contain signs used by the Maniac Latin Disciples street gang, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The image was replaced with a runner-up entry depicting super heroes.

According to the publication, the theme of the image contest was to honor the city's firefighters, police and paramedics.

In a statement, Mendoza said, "Every artist has a back story and oftentimes artwork is controversial. However, the artwork on Chicago's city stickers should not be controversial. I cannot ask drivers to put a sticker on their cars that may be misconstrued as containing gang symbols. Communities suffer as a result of gang violence.”

Mendoza went on to add that no decision has been made on whether the teen artist would be asked to return his prize: a $1,000 savings bond.

Sewage plant to offer Valentine's Day tours

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:44:29 GMT

A New York City sewage plant is giving new meaning to the phrase "love stinks" by offering tours for lovers this Valentine's Day.

Jim Pynn, tour host and superintendent of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, told the New York Daily News it will be a unique date your sweetheart will never forget.

The treatment plant sits on one of the most fetid waterways in the country -- Newtown Creek -- and boasts gigantic, state-of-the-art "digester eggs," which break down the noxious waste into harmless sludge and gas.

Each Valentine's Day visitor will get a Hershey kiss at the conclusion of the tour.

15-pound baby born in China

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:03:24 GMT

A mother in central China has given birth to a 15.5-pound baby boy -- possibly making him the heaviest newborn in the country's history.

The 29-year-old mother in Henan province gave birth to Chun Chun on Saturday by cesarean section, the state-run Tianjin Post reported.

The procedure took just 20 minutes and mother and baby are doing fine, according to the Post.

Chun Chun's parents are average size and there was nothing unusual about his mother's diet while pregnant. It wasn't immediately clear whether the baby had made China's record books, the Post reported.

The heaviest newborn ever recorded was born to an Ohio woman in 1879 and weighed 23.7 pounds, according to Guinness World Records.

102-Year-old sisters named world's oldest twins

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:28:05 GMT

Guinness World Records announced that after an exhaustive search, Edith Ritchie and Evelyn "Evie" Middleton have officially been recognized as the world's oldest living twins.

In a news release, GWR said the pair, from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, celebrated their 102nd birthday in November 2011.

The twins, whose maiden name was Rennie, were born on a farm near Newburgh on Nov. 15, 1909, when King Edward VII was on the throne.

Although not identical, their mother always dressed them exactly the same. After leaving school, they worked on farms before leaving to start their own families, according to the release.

Evelyn married William Middleton and had four children, 12 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.

Edith married Nathaniel Ritchie and had four children, nine grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, and three-great-great grandchildren.

GWR said the sisters have remained close throughout their life and now live together at Bonnyton House care home in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Neither of the pair has ever traveled out of the UK.

When asked her secret to a long life, Edith said "simple living, hard work and a good husband."

The sisters were verified as being the new holders of the record after providing the necessary birth certificate and supplementary evidence needed by GWR for verification.

They succeed previous holders Lily Millward and Ena Pugh who were born on Jan. 4, 1910.

Cops: Man attempts heist with shorts on head

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:45:13 GMT

A 43-year-old Florida man has been charged with attempting to rob a bank -- wearing shorts on his head.

Eli Escalera walked into the Key West bank Friday afternoon with the shorts on his noggin -- though not covering his face -- and handed a teller a note that said: "Give me what are 20s and 50s," according to the Miami Herald.

Confused, the teller asked "What do you want?"and Escalera replied "never mind" and walked out, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Escalera was spotted by sheriff's deputies on a nearby street, and arrested after attempting to flee on a bicycle, sheriff's officials said.

It wasn't clear whether police recovered the shorts, and why exactly Escalera had them on his head.

Man accidentally shoots his leg at gun show

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:42:11 GMT

Authorities said a man visiting a gun show in Savannah, Ga., this weekend accidentally shot himself in the leg.

Police said Charles Lake, 26, of Rincon, was leaving the gun show at the Savannah Civic Center when he mistakenly fired a round from his pistol while reloading it, The Augusta Chronicle reported.

According to the publication, Lake was taken to an area hospital for treatment, but his wounds were considered to be non-life-threatening

Investigators said Lake had purchased the handgun a day prior at the event, and had returned to buy another weapon.

Sheep-herding bunny a YouTube hit

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:08:41 GMT

A Swedish rabbit has hopped into the hearts of YouTube viewers worldwide courtesy of a video displaying his impressive sheep-herding skills.

The five-year old pet bunny from the small village of Kal in northern Sweden shot to online fame last week, garnering more than 700,000 YouTube hits, after a clip of him chasing after sheep surfaced on a blog, The Associated Press reported.

Watch the video here

The video dating back to June shows a persistent Champis running back and forth on the farm, trying to keep Nils-Erik and Greta Vigren’s sheep together.

Dan Westman, a sheepdog breeder who shot and posted the video, said his friends' bunny does a better job than most dogs.

“It’s really incredible, it’s a herding rabbit,” he said. “He rounds them up, and if they get close to escaping through the gate he sometimes stops them."

Westman told the AP the beige-colored bunny seems to have learned the sheep-herding ropes on his own.

"He's probably picked some of it up from watching the dogs, I mean he's doing what they do, but then again, he's a bit of a boss out there and lives with the other animals so maybe he just wants to keep them together," Westman said.

Disney employees now allowed to grow beards

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:18:06 GMT

Mickey Mouse can finally grow that goatee he's always wanted. Until now, Disney parks and resort employees had been prohibited from growing beards and goatees. Starting Friday they may do so, so long as they're a quarter-inch or shorter.

Separately, the company has instituted a "casual Friday" dress policy for Disney staff members that don't deal with guests. "Disney Look guidelines are periodically reviewed in relation to industry standards, as well as the unique environment of our theme parks and resorts," Disney spokeswoman Betsy Sanchez said in an email. "While we are careful to maintain our heritage and the integrity of our brand, a recent review of our guidelines led to a decision that an update was appropriate at this time." The lift of the beard ban follows earlier fashion reforms at the Happiest Place on Earth. In 2000 the company moved to allow mustaches, and in 2010 it decreed that women were no longer required to wear pantyhose with skirts.

There are still some fashion restrictions on Disney "cast members," as staff who deal with guests are called. Visible tattoos and body piercings are verboten, as is unnatural hair coloring.

"The Disney Look is a classic look that is clean, natural, polished and professional, and avoids 'cutting edge' trends or extreme styles," the company says on its website.

Zamboni driver accused of DUI

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:13:01 GMT

A Zamboni driver in Minnesota is on thin ice after picking up a DUI -- on the job.

A PeeWee hockey coach called 911 on Monday after players, parents, and spectators noticed 34-year-old Joel Buss weaving and running into the boards, taking 25 minutes to do a 10-minute ice resurfacing job, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

By the time the police arrived, Buss had managed to maneuver the Zamboni into the garage, where he failed sobriety tests.

Before the game, coach Bryan Dornstreich had noticed the man's eyes were red and he smelled like Red Bull, but he didn't think anything of it until after the game, when a parent told him Buss was "weaving all over, slurring his words."

Buss was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Court records show he has three prior DUI convictions.

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