Coke Phone Use a Real Hang-up

The Sanitation and Fleet Maintenance building in Fayetteville, N.C., was supposed to be closed and empty at nights and on weekends, but switchboard computer records showed that hundreds of calls, some within seconds of each other and all to the same number, were being placed from two telephone extensions. Switchboard operator Robbie Butler said: “I thought it was two people picking on somebody. You know, one would call and hang up and then the other one would call.” Police were called in to trace who was doing all the reaching out and trying to touch someone and they found that the number being dialed was the local Coca-Cola Bottling Co. The trail led to two Coke dispensers. Bob Johnson of Coca-Cola Bottling said the machines were outfitted with a computer system that automatically called another computer at the company each night, reporting how many bottles of soda had been sold. If they got a busy signal, they would disconnect and call again--and again. Johnson said the system was discontinued after it was discovered that the machines had a “manufacturer’s flaw.”

--Although Myrna Loy has acted in more than 120 films, the movie star has never been nominated for an Oscar. However, the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences finally honored the actress, 79, with a tribute at Carnegie Hall in New York. During the evening, the long-lost “The Animal Kingdom,” a movie she made with Leslie Howard in 1932, was shown.

--Ford Motor Co. Chairman Philip Caldwell showed up in Louisville, Ky., to watch assembly plant workers put the finishing touches on a belated Christmas present--the Ranger pickup truck that is a mutual gift between President and Nancy Reagan. The bright red compact truck cost about $9,200 and included a 2.8-liter V-6 engine, a five-speed manual stick shift and AM-FM radio.

--Artist Bill Harding, who made his mark by growing grass, mainly on unusual objects, now is in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, for lectures, performances and a show at an art gallery. Harding once wore a grass suit and had someone chase him with a lawn mower in Kansas City. The process of growing a grass suit is simple, Harding says. He buys clothes from a thrift store and sprays adhesive on them. He attaches seeds, waters the clothes and keeps them covered. In 11 or 12 days, he has a grass suit. “I have noticed a lot that there’s a certain feeling that I get with the grass suit on,” he said. “The grass suit is the only instance of being in something that’s living other than the womb.”