Odd Stories: Hot Tub on a Cold Rooftop

Ann Arbor - It's believed by officials that a creative group of students are responsible for the installation, and later removal, of a hot tub on top of one of the University of Michigan's buildings.

The hot tub was first noticed on the rooftop of the Bob and Betty Beyster Bubbler Building February 18th and was removed on the following Monday.  On at least one occasion the hot tub was used by a group of people.

Computer Science and Engineering building spokesman Steven Crang said about the event "People were kind of flabbergasted. It was obviously unexpected. It was pretty creative and now it's gone. It left a buzz in its wake."

Crang continued on to say it's most likely it's the doing of people with some type of connection to the department because "they were able to gain access to the building and install the tub," and said the most intriguing thing is "that it was on the fourth-floor balcony. It's a large hot tub and the doors that lead out to the balcony are not real big, so they had to do some work to get it out there."

5,000 Homeless Americans Live in Tent Cities

By Noel Brinkerhoff

 

United States - While the U.S. unemployment rate has improved slightly in recent months, the rosy news of better times ahead contrasts with the difficult reality still haunting many Americans, especially for those living in tents to survive.

 

It is estimated that at least 5,000 individuals today call “tent cities” their home. These makeshift, and unhealthy, settlements have sprung up in more than 50 cities, including Portland, Oregon; Lakewood, New Jersey; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Pinellas Park, Florida; and Bakersfield, California.

 

Some of the tent cities house a few dozen, while others provide shelter for as many as 300. Many are supported by local churches while others face eviction because of safety code violations.

 

The conditions of the encampment in Ann Arbor have been described as “unhygienic." There are no toilets and electricity is only available in the one communal tent where the campers huddle around a wood stove for warmth in the heart of winter,” according to the BBC News.