Midnight Express: Lawyer Melvin Belli, who rode...

Midnight Express: Lawyer Melvin Belli, who rode the rails in 1933 before he became the “king of torts,” has a spot in the National Hobo Hall of Fame. Belli hopped trains for a federal project by the name of “The Scientific Basis for Transient Relief,” which led to public aid to hobos, and Santa Fe Bo, founder of a hobo’s association, just wanted to say thanks. The group has 3,800 members, including upwardly mobile types who may own stock in the rails they ride as a hobby.

Tragedy: Two Taiwan men born on the same day in the same city were killed in a traffic accident while celebrating their first meeting. Police in Taitung said Lee Hsi-lung and Lai Yun-kun, both born in Taitung on June 25, 1973, died when their car smashed into the rear of a truck late last week. Lee and Lai were introduced to each other at a party arranged by mutual friends.

Out of the Past: It’s long past, so Patricia Kluge, former wife of media tycoon John Kluge, “won’t comment on allegations of things that happened a lifetime ago,” says her spokeswoman. But the brouhaha is not stopping Penthouse magazine from publishing three small photos of Patricia topless. The shots were taken in the 1970s when she was a model for a British men’s magazine, but now “she leads a very dull and boring life,” says a Kluge agent. Her ex is listed by Forbes magazine as the richest individual in America. Former presidential candidate Doug Wilder was heavily criticized for using a state helicopter to visit Patricia’s secluded estate in 1990.

Tossed and Turned: A dwarf in France who made his living being “tossed” wants to get back in the clutches. Manuel Wackenheim, 3-foot-11, is demanding lost wages because he says he has been deprived of the freedom to work after the government banned the practice in November. Before then, participants in bars and elsewhere competed to see who could throw the human projectiles the farthest onto a mattress. The Interior Minister called the competition an “intolerable attack on human dignity.”