Legend has it that Celtic warriors once charged into battle naked. Things aren't that bad in the modern Irish army, but its union chief says soldiers must wage a daily battle for uniforms.

Mark Scally says the difficulty of finding clothes that fit has become so dire that, before the state funeral of a former prime minister this year, soldiers had to scramble to borrow colleagues' uniforms, switching labels and rank badges to assemble an honor guard. He says some soldiers wait more than a year to receive a properly tailored "No. 1" uniform for ceremonial duties.

From afar, they look like ants crawling up a tower into the sky.

Dozens of members of the Czech Union of Chimney Climbers scaled the 60-meter- (200-foot-) tall chimney of a former textile factory one recent Saturday — a hobby they do for thrills and incomparable views.

Japan's upper house of parliament, often called the chamber of wisdom, has been rocked by a dress code row after a minister appeared sporting a red scarf.

Buckingham Palace has revealed a sticky reality -- Queen Elizabeth II is looking for a cleaner who can oversee the removal of chewing gum left by visitors to a royal residence.

Among the duties for the job at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is: "To arrange for the removal of chewing gum from the Historic and State Apartments by the porters", the palace said on its website.

Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters are getting creative after four days out on the streets. Here's a round-up of Wednesday's quirkiest goings-on at the so-called "umbrella revolution":

LOVE IN THE TIME OF PROTEST

New Mexico transportation officials are hoping a "singing road" along historic Route 66 will curb speeding.

Tigress Productions is creating the road between Albuquerque and the mountain community of Tijeras for a new National Geographic Channel series dubbed "Crowd Control" that will debut in November.

A New York supermarket employee has been accused of leaving the store with $1,200 worth of meat hidden in his pants.

State police say Gregory Rodriguez, of Ossining, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny.

An inmate's escape from a jail in Washington state went undetected for two days last week until the man's defense lawyer stopped for a visit and he couldn't be found.

Rhyan Vasquez, 19, was back in custody in Marysville City Jail, north of Seattle, facing a possible escape charge along with a previous robbery allegation, The Daily Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1rqrM8S ).

The life of a pirate is not an easy one, as a Florida man dressed in a "Pirates of the Caribbean" costume discovered when he was attacked by two armed neighbors.

Larry Harcar, a fan of the hit film franchise starring Johnny Depp as pirate Jack Sparrow, was walking in his neighborhood in full costume -- toy gun and sword included -- when two spooked neighbors mistook him for a thief, the SunSentinel newspaper reported Monday.

A German city is set to start a controversial project Wednesday to employ alcohol and drug addicts to clean the streets in return for beer, tobacco, food and small amounts of cash.

Social workers will closely oversee the project, dubbed "Pick Up," in a dilapidated area around the central railway station of the industrial western city of Essen.