Residents of a tiny Wisconsin town were flushed with pride as they celebrated 2004.

People in Hustisford rang in the new year with the 39th annual Hustisford Toilet Bowl Parade.

Spectators flung toilet paper in the air as the Toilet Bowl Queen and King, carrying toilet plunger scepters and sitting on a giant toilet throne, made their way along the parade route.

Lou Dinarde, 68, has a nice trust fund in the bank, but he lives on the streets.

And the San Francisco man wouldn’t have it any other way. The deep-pockets drifter with a booze problem has slept on the streets for 30 years, by choice.

“I’m rich, but I like it out” on the street, said Dinarde.

“I ain’t sleeping inside.”

An Indian taxi driver and his wife said they’ve finally found their comfort zone behind the wheel – driving backward.

Harpreet Devi, from Bhatinda, and wife Krishna began the bizarre road ritual after his car got stuck in reverse, yet still managed to drive 35 miles home flawlessly. He has since covered 7,500 miles in two years.

“It gave me the confidence that I could really do it,” Harpreet told Asian News International.

The NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a miserable season, going 7-9 after winning the Super Bowl last year.

And now they’re seeing red after 50,000 seats at Raymond James Stadium have faded from red to pink under the hot Florida sun.

The stadium came with red and pewter seats – to match the Bucs’ team colors – when it opened in 1998.

A Malaysian man made a killing – by killing 1,175 rats in three months with a homemade slingshot.

Ismail Hamzah, 43, earned $1,350 and the title of best rat catcher after presenting the local council in Kota Bahru with the carcasses.

Hamzah’s haul represented the majority of the 1,922 rat carcasses handed in. The council offered residents money per rat as part of a three-month campaign to eradicate the rascally rodents.