Record-Breaking to Some Amounts to Daily Life on Hollywood Boulevard

Just another reason to be proud you live in Southern California: Among those honored in the 2003 Guinness Book of Records is Joe Hermann, who lifted two standard 2-pound, 4.8-ounce steam irons with his earlobes, picked up a 9-pound battery with his tongue and “supported the weight of a 15-pound, 11.2-ounce cinder block with his nipples ... in Los Angeles.”

And if he was on Hollywood Boulevard, I bet no one noticed.

A commuter who forgot something? The Huntington Beach Independent said that “a man was reported to be driving a pickup truck completely naked at 8:43 a.m.”

Grow up! I’ve heard the phrase “career student,” but the concept was taken to an extreme in an ad spotted by Emily Schroeder of Camarillo (see accompanying).

Today’s Daring Dining Special: Not sure whether it’s a typo or a term that doesn’t translate so well into English. But whatever the bean dish is, S. Moore of Long Beach decided against trying it (see accompanying).

Fuel for thought: Rosemary LeForte of Huntington Beach saw an offer that wouldn’t appeal to parents unless they read the small print (see photo).

It’s a joke, I think: I came across a gift catalog for lawyers -- no, really, there is such a thing -- and it included one item that would be in keeping with the profession’s image (see accompanying).

Names that fit the job: Bob Abrahams of L.A. points out that David Poltrack is an audience research executive at CBS.

Names that DON’T fit the job: Don Barrett’s laradio.com Web site says that the radio broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants is Joe Angel.

Role-playing? I have no idea whether it’s true that alleged shoplifter Winona Ryder told a store official she was researching a role on that subject when she was arrested. But I was reminded of an experience of a chum of mine in college.

He persuaded an acquaintance to take a placement exam for him to fulfill his foreign language requirement, only to have the ruse discovered by test officials. My chum explained that he was not trying to cheat -- he was researching a campus newspaper piece on how easy it was to hire subs for such tests.

The school levied some penalties against him -- I think he was forbidden from running for homecoming king, etc. -- but at least he wasn’t expelled.

He did write the article. And he went on to become a successful comedy writer in Holly- wood.

MiscelLAny: Comic Craig Kilborn said that Angel fans greeted Edison Field spectator John Travolta with a huge ovation during the World Series because they realized that every minute he was at a game he was “not making ‘Battlefield Earth 2.’ ”

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012.