Etc...

Oh, sure, blame the computer

While other residents of Bergen, Norway, were putting the finishing touches on Christmas Eve plans late last Sunday, Arvid Andreas Fosse was making the rounds of the neighborhood, knocking on doors to apologize for his own. He was especially solicitous of Vidar Aarhus, who lives 100 yards from Salhus Church, where Fosse is the rector. But, wait, why would a clergyman be out making apologies to people on – of all occasions – Christmas Eve? Well, because of the bells. You see, as he was closing up the church at 5 o'clock, Fosse pushed the button that starts a computerized ringing program. And then he went home, assuming they would peal for an hour as they're programmed to do. But 6 o'clock came and went. So did 7, and 8, and 9, and still the bells rang. At first, Aarhus assumed this was a local tradition that no one had told him about, since he'd moved to the city only six months before. But as the hours rolled by, he grew more annoyed because his children were not falling asleep. So he asked around and discovered that "something was wrong." Ultimately, neighbors phoned the Bergens Tidende newspaper, which reached Fosse, who hurried back and finally stopped the noise a few minutes before 10 p.m.