A penny saved is not necessarily a mere penny earned

A California man’s collection of rare American cents turned into a $10.7 million windfall at a Long Beach auction.

The collection of 301 cents featured some of the rarest and earliest examples of the American penny, including one that was minted for two weeks in 1793 but was abandoned because Congress thought the figure on it looked frightened.

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Prostitutes who hope to set up a legal brothel in time for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver say they have been granted approval to incorporate themselves.

The provincial government’s designation of the group as a business co-operative is the first step in what organizers say will create a safer working environment for the city’s working girls.

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A German woman who became pregnant after an online sex auction has won a court battle to force the Web site that held the sale to reveal the winners’ names – so she can find out who the father is.

Six men last spring won Internet auctions to have sex with the woman, who lives in Stuttgart. They were only known to her by their online names.

The court ruled her child has the right to know: Who’s your daddy?

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A British man’s life was saved by a chance handshake with a doctor who diagnosed a life-threatening tumor.

Mark Gurrieri, 36, was working at a restaurant when a friend introduced him to his dinner companion, Dr. Chris Britt.

The two men shook hands and Britt noticed Gurrieri’s huge, spongy-feeling hand and his large facial features as symptoms of acromegaly, a tumor at the base of the brain that can be fatal.

“My mum thinks Chris is my guardian angel,” Gurrieri said. “I owe my life to Chris.”

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A license plate with nothing but the number “1” on it fetched a record $14 million at a charity auction in the United Arab Emirates.

The successful bidder wouldn’t say how many cars he owns or which might carry the plate.

The UAE began auctioning off vanity license plates last May.