Americans curious about chads, the by-now infamous pieces of paper supposed to be punched out of Florida ballot papers, have been deluging the website of an English church, its spokesman said Tuesday.
A spokesman for St Chad's church in Lichfield, central England, which dates from the 12th century, said it registered more than 400 visits Monday.
Normally it gets only a handful a day, but since the disputed presidential elections in the United States, the number has soared to several hundred, most of them from Americans.
And if surfers care to read about the life of St Chad, they may also see a parallel for the electoral battle between Vice President Al Gore and George W. Bush.
St Chad was a seventh century cleric who in 665 was elected "Bishop of the Northumbrians," replacing the Abbot of Ripon, who had gone missing.
But two years later, the abbot turned up. Chad's consecration was declared invalid in 669 and he had to concede his post.
He died in Lichfield three years later of the plague -- LONDON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
