It does a trucker good to laugh sometimes, and no one knows that more than the people here at Truck News.

So – purely for your entertainment – Truck News brings you the international findings of Harold Fiske, former tabloid reporter and CBC regular (on Basic Black) – with wacky trucking items from around the globe.

Hotel Chain Offers Towel Amnesty

ATLANTA, Ga. – Truckers who stay in Holiday Inns and steal towels will be pleased to know the hotel chain is offering an “amnesty” to those who swipe about 500,000 towels from its 2,600 hotels across North America.

But the hotel doesn’t want its towels back – instead it’s looking for goofy stories from former guests on how they’ve used the stolen towels over the years.

For every story shared, Holiday Inn will donate $1 to a charity that helps children with life-threatening illnesses.

Holiday Inn vice president Mark Snyder says the lighthearted contest “is just a way for people to come and tell us their story and relieve any lingering guilt they might have about having a Holiday Inn towel in their closet.”

One trucker said he took a towel from a Holiday Inn hotel in Monterey, Mexico, as a memento of his honeymoon night.

He later lost the woman, but he’s still got the towel.

Apparently Holiday Inn doesn’t mind that much if you nick the towels – they cost about $3 each.

Snyder says most guests feel the towels are part of the cost of their stay.

Cops put the bite on trucker – literally

CALCUTTA, India – Two local policemen have been suspended after one of them allegedly bit the hand of a trucker who refused to pay a bribe.

The two police officers apparently pulled over the trucker for a routine check.

“It seems the police vehicle driver was desperate to extract money from the truck driver,” says Deputy Commissioner of Calcutta Police Harman Prit Singh.

“The policeman went berserk when the truck driver didn’t cooperate and they got into scuffle. That’s when the truck driver’s hand was bitten.”

The truck driver complained to senior police officials.

Singh said the other officer was suspended because he did not do enough to restrain his “huge” junior colleague.

– Harold Fiske is a Toronto reporter who specializes in the unusual. He can be reached at hfiske@ilap.com.

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