2005’s Strangest sewer items
Published: January 4, 2006
From crime evidence to a Civil War shell, Roto-Rooter plumbers find some strange things in pipes, toilets and sewers. The subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Chemed Corp. surveyed field technicians across North America to compile 2005’s most unusual items.
Roto-Rooter spokesman Paul Abrams said the company’s 2,400 field technicians as well as most of its 3,000 franchise workers participated in the survey, which the company began last year to chronicle some of the many unusual stories that get passed around.
Here’s the company’s picks for the top five of ‘05:
1. Vicksburg, Miss. - A crew excavating a residential sewer main on April 22 dug up a live Civil War cannon shell, believed to be left from Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s 1863 siege of the city. An Army Ordnance disposal team removed it, the company said.
2. Greensboro, N.C. - Bruce Shockley and crew rescued a cat named “Angel” from a storm sewer, after the cat jumped from her elderly owner’s arms, became disoriented and couldn’t get out 24 hours later. Roto-Rooter said the crew excavated its way through concrete and earth to reach the cat.
3. Bloomington, Ill. - On a toilet repair call, Michael Woggon found that a 3-year-old boy had apparently been trying to train his G.I. Joes for deep-water rescues. When they didn’t return, he began sending Matchbox cars after them. Woggon reported recovering 15 toys from the pipes.
4. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - Plumber John Dekker answered a call from police to recover drugs and cash that a suspect flushed down a toilet as police arrived at the front door.
5. Sacramento, Calif. - Plumbers Brek Ritzema and Scott Chapman responded to a business with a backed-up sewer main, which had caused toilers and sinks to overflow. Roto-Rooter said the clog was caused by a number of empty miniature liquor bottles, possibly from an employee sneaking drinks on the job and then flushing the evidence.
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