Monday, June 30, 2008
Biologist rescues drowning, tranquilized bear
The bear was hit with a tranquilizer dart, but he managed to bolt into the Gulf of Mexico before he was sedated. As the tranquilizer drugs took effect, biologist Adam Warwick jumped in to keep the bear from drowning because he feared the bear couldn't swim to land.
PICTURES and More
Sunday, June 29, 2008
When Money Is Not A Problem
Do you have a large family or consider yourself extremely popular? Try the Super Shuttle, which can carry as many as 14 passengers and looks like a modern transit bus.
Antique Fire Truck Golf Cart
What happens if someone's hummer golf cart caught on fire? Call in the fire golf truck.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Boy beats asthma by playing euphonium
Ryan Harrison, was diagnosed with the condition as a baby, and would get breathless when just standing and talking.
But six months after beginning lessons on the brass instrument, which looks like a small version of a tuba, his symptoms have diminished.
His mother, Marie Johnson, 32, said: "He began playing at the beginning of the year, and within a couple of weeks his breathlessness completely disappeared. Since then he has had no wheezing at all.
"I've heard of wind instruments helping children with asthma and I think it has helped Ryan manage his breathing and strengthened the muscles in his diaphragm.
"He still has sinus problems and sounds bunged up, but the wheezing has stopped."
In the News
A second grader in Lund in southern Sweden was forced to take back his birthday party invitations because he hadn’t invited all the students in his class.Two students were left off the invitation list, prompting the boy’s teacher to confiscate all the invitations.The boy’s father has filed a complaint with Sweden’s Ombudsman of Justice (JO), which is now looking into the matter."We think it’s an interesting case," said JO’s Carl-Gustaf Tyrblom to Sydsvenskan.According to school rules, if a student plans to distribute invitations on school grounds, he or she must invite the entire class, or none at all.Alternatively, invitations can be sent to all the boys, or all the girls, but simply leaving two students out is not acceptable.
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The two-year-old boy who will only eat yoghurt
A two-year-old boy has driven his parents to despair by refusing to eat any food apart from yoghurt.
Little Bobby Glarvey eats his way through 14 pots of his favourite dairy food every day and refuses to eat anything else that his parents put in front of him.
The toddler has been diagnosed with a rare food phobia that means he can't bear to have any lumpy food in his mouth.
Parents Craig Glarvey, 28, and Sally Green 33, even have an extra fridge - just to store Bobby's mountain of yoghurts.
The couple , from Warmsworth, Doncaster, have a daughter Cameron , seven, who has always been a normal eater.
Bobby's mother, a child minder said : "We have tried all ways to get him to eat other food but he just spits it out. He's never had a hot meal in his life.
"We have had advice from a child psychologist who says we shouldn't worry and eventually he should grow out of it. In the meantime we have to let him decide what he wants to eat, so long as he eats something it doesn't matter."
Bobby's daily diet starts with five pots of yoghurt for breakfast , followed by another three for lunch and four for his evening meal. His day finishes with two or three more for his supper.
PICTURES
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Boy, 4, swaps toys for lawn mower
A boy from Cornwall is shunning trips to the toy shop in favour of regular DIY store visits to indulge his growing obsession with lawn mowers.
Samuel Buswell,four, began showing an interest in the machines a year ago.
Now every Saturday he insists on visiting B&Q at Penryn where he knows every detail of the mowers on sale.
"He can look at the display and can instantly tell which mowers are missing and have been sold and which are new," said his mother Natalie.
PICTURE
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Fake Speed Bumps Create Optical Illusion, Driver Confusion
Cathy Campbell did a double-take and tapped the brakes when she spotted what appeared to be a pointy-edged box lying in the road just ahead.
She got fooled.
It was a fake speed bump, a flat piece of blue, white and orange plastic that is designed to look like a 3-D pyramid from afar when applied to the pavement.
The optical illusion is one of the latest innovations being tested around the country to discourage speeding.
"It cautions you to slow down because you don't know what you are facing," Campbell said.
PICTURE
Friday, June 27, 2008
In the News
It seems unimaginable, but for the first time in recorded history the North Pole may be free of ice this summer, according to a published report Friday.
If climate scientists' predictions hold true, the "unique" prospect of sailing in open waters at the North Pole, before the region cools in September, may become a shocking reality.
PICTURE
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Man was refused passport because bald head is too shiny
A dad of three had his new passport photos rejected - because his bald head was too shiny.
Ian Down, 42, got the pictures taken at a photo-booth and handed them over with his documents at a passport office.
But a clerk at the Passport Service looked at the flash reflecting off Ian's head and asked: "What's that mark?"
Ian said: "I was shocked. I told them what it was but they said some countries might not let me in if they saw it."
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Sleeping Pilots Overshot Airport by 359 Miles
An Air India flight soared past its Mumbai destination on June 4 as its pilots allegedly dozed off in the cockpit, The Times of India reported Thursday.
The napping pilots flew 359 miles past the airport and were still at cruising altitude when nervous air traffic controllers woke them up.
The flight, which was on autopilot flying toward Mumbai, had about 100 passengers on board.
"The plane took off from Dubai at 1:35 a.m. Indian Standard Time and then from Jaipur at 7 a.m. After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak, and so the pilots dozed off after taking off from Jaipur."
Air India officials vehemently denied the report, saying the plane lost radio contact with air traffic control for some time, and only flew 14 miles off course.
There's a news video here.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
DOGS ATTACK GATOR IN FLORIDA!!
See the remarkable photograph below courtesy of Nature Magazine. Note that the Alpha dog has a muzzle hold on the gator preventing it from breathing, while another dog has a hold on the tail to keep it from thrashing. The third dog attacks the soft underbelly of the gator.
In the News
EASTON, Md. — A painting dropped off at an Easton Goodwill store turned out to be a work by a French Impressionist. And now, thanks to the sharp eye of a store employee, the charitable organization is $40,000 richer.
The painting of a Parisian street scene left at the store in March along with the daily donations of pots, pans, old clock radio and other items turned out to be a work by Edouard-Leon Cortes. The painting was sold for $40,600 at a Sotheby's auction a few weeks ago.
If the owner of the painting wants the money, he or she may be out of luck. Goodwill says it doesn't keep track of donors. Donations, meanwhile, are gifts that are considered legal
PICTURE
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NYC cops grab man in PJ’s chasing burglar
A burglar nearly got away clean after he yelled for help, causing two police officers to tackle the super of the building instead.
Police sources told the New York Post the Manhattan Community College officers grabbed Bobby Gardocki as Gardocki was chasing the suspect, who was screaming that a "crazy guy" was trying to kill him.
"The guy was yelling at no one in particular, 'Stop this crazy guy. He's trying to kill me!'" said Gardocki, who admitted he did look a little strange since he was chasing the guy in his pajamas.
A building tenant happened upon the scene and quickly convinced the officer they had the wrong man. The suspect, Michael Estrada of Queens, was picked up a short distance away and charged with stealing $3,000 in jewelry from an apartment.
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Computer error prices gas at $1.40 at Ohio station
A computer error caused a Cincinnati area service station to sell gas for $1.40 instead of $4.10, leading to a major traffic jam. Vehicles clogged the area around a Marathon station in suburban Sycamore Township while the bargain was available for roughly three hours on Tuesday, until Hamilton County sheriff's deputies persuaded the station to shut down.
Tiffany Smith waited in line for two hours to take advantage of the deal. She says these days, her family has to decide between buying food or buying gas, and the fuel price glitch would allow her to do both.
The store clerk didn't know how to fix the problem and was having trouble reaching his store manager.
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Bank robbery suspect tracked down by log sheet of a cab
Police say a suspect in a bank robbery on Long Island tried to get away by hailing a cab. Police say a man walked into a Washington Mutual Bank on Merrick Road in Copiague about 10:02 a.m. Tuesday and passed a note to a teller announcing a robbery and demanding cash.
The teller complied, handing over some money along with a dye pack.
Police said the pack exploded as the man fled, causing him to drop the cash - but not before his clothes were stained red.
A witness told responding officers of a man fitting the robber's description getting into a cab. Police tracked the passenger to his home where officers arrested him after noticing red dye on his clothes.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Baby crocodiles call out when ready to hatch
Writing in the journal Current Biology, Amélie Vergne and Nicolas Mathevon, at Jean Monnet University in Saint Etienne, France, describe how they divided crocodile eggs which were due to hatch within 10 days into three groups. One was played recordings of the pre-hatch calls made by baby crocodiles, a second was played random noises and a third left in silence. The researchers found that eggs played the pre-hatching calls often answered back, with many of them wobbling a little.
After 10 minutes, all of them had hatched.
Of the eggs in the other groups, only one egg that was played random noises hatched shortly afterwards, with the rest not emerging until at least five hours later.
With audio of the pre-hatch baby crocodile calls.
Baby albino wallaby goes shopping
"Millie accompanies me everywhere, she has been to the dentist, has met my bank manager and has even kept me company while eating a burger in town.""I have been looking after her practically since birth and we have become quite close - it's like having a human baby," he said.
To continue the bonding, he even hangs the bag around his bedpost so he can check on her during the night.
In the News
GUTHRIE, Okla. — A 3-year-old girl used the simple song lyrics "911 green" to call 911 and get help after her pregnant mother fainted.
Jessica Eaves taught her daughter, Madelyn, the song a week before she fainted due to a medical condition called vasovagal syncope (vayzo-vay-gal SIN'-kuh-pea).
When the 24-year-old and 3-months-pregnant Eaves fainted, Madelyn picked up her mother's BlackBerry phone.
She pressed 911 and the green button and was connected to a dispatcher.
In the recently released 911 call, Madelyn was able to answer questions about her house and cars outside that led emergency workers to the home.
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Ohio man repays borrowed gasoline after 34 years
An Ohio couple has been repaid for a liquid asset they shared 34 years ago. Violet and Harold Goff of Southington say a man showed up at their home recently and explained that he'd appeared at their door in 1974 when he was 17 and had run out of gas.
Back then, Harold Goff got a five-gallon can of gasoline for Jeffrey Hardin. Goff remembers telling the teen to make sure to pay it back.
Hardin still lives in the area and told the Goffs the debt had remained in the back of his head. So, he presented them with a plastic, five-gallon container of gas.
Harold Goff notes that he made a good investment, since the gas and container once worth about $5 are now worth $25.
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School sends note to parents who give children unhealthy pack lunches
Parents cleaning out their child's lunchbox at the end of the school day could be in for a nasty surprise — a scolding note from teacher alongside the half-eaten sandwiches and empty crisp packets.
The School Food Trust wants teachers to send out warning letters to parents who fail to comply with school healthy-eating policies. And in advice that could be seen as patronising, the government-funded body suggests further that they send congratulatory letters to those who pack healthy lunches for their children.
Schools across the country were ordered to provide healthy lunches and remove vending machines filled with chocolate and fizzy drinks after a campaign led by the television chef Jamie Oliver exposed the poor standard of meals at many schools.
Most schools also ask parents not to give children crisps, biscuits or similar items for lunch, but the guidance from School Food Trust looks to harden the approach to unhealthy lunchboxes.
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Grandmother, 46, gives birth to triplets
Grandmother Janelle Perry has given birth to naturally conceived triplet boys in a 'one in 10 million' delivery at Brisbane's Mater Mothers' Hospital.
Janelle and husband Robert's tiny trio - Cooper, Kyle and Jordan - were born at 34 weeks' gestation by caesarean section last Thursday. Doctors are "99.9per cent certain" the boys are identical.Mrs Perry, who turns 47 next week, now has eight children and is adamant that is enough.She has four children aged in their 20s from a previous marriage, a daughter, Rebecca, 4, with Robert, and two grandchildren.The Perrys, of Logan, south of Brisbane, sold all their baby things last October after trying unsuccessfully for two years to have more children. A doctor had given Mrs Perry only a 5 per cent chance of having another child naturally.
Picture
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Ball Girl Makes Incredible Catch
Monday, June 23, 2008
Early U.S. phone book sold for $170,500
The slender booklet that was the first phone directory in New Haven, Conn., went for $170,500 after some spirited bidding by six buyers Tuesday.
Auctioneer Tom Lecky told the Hartford Courant Wednesday the sale price was "beyond recognition" since Christie's had expected the 1878 volume to fetch about $30,000.
Lecky told the newspaper the New Haven book was pretty impressive for its time. It contains listings for about 400 subscribers, which is much thicker than comparable phone books printed in Chicago and San Francisco.
The level of interest in the new technology may have been higher in Connecticut since Alexander Graham Bell had invented the telephone in New Haven just two years earlier.
Charlie keeps on growing!
The bruising baby – who also measured in at 60cms long – is thought to be the second largest ever born at Pontefract General Infirmary when he came into the world on January 29.
Now aged just four months he wears clothes to fit a one-year-old – and his astronomic size shows no sign of stabilizing. His proud mom Steph Munton, of Wenthill Close, High Ackworth, said: "Charlie's birth was quite traumatic – he was born naturally after a ten-hour labor." Our midwife said he was the biggest she'd delivered in 22 years and the second largest ever born at PGI. "Now he is four months old and he weighs 24 pounds – that's about the size of a one-year-old." Charlie is the latest large addition to the family, with his sisters Bethan,12, Amber, 15, and brother Sam, nine, all weighing more than ten pounds at birth.
Steph added: "I thought the others had been large but Charlie completely overshot that. "He is just as large, proportionally, as when he was born. He's not fat but his feet are big, his arms are, everything is." "He eats three meals a day and loves loads of fruit and vegetables."
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sick rooster nursed back to health on Marmite
The nine-week-old rooster seemed to be on his last scrawny legs after developing a B1 vitamin deficiency. It made his claws curl up and he could barely walk.
Owner Sarah Oates feared he would have to be put down - until a local vet suggested giving him the savory yeast extract.
Insurance worker Sarah, 45, said: "I was a bit skeptical at first but I bought a jar of Marmite and just kept smearing it on his beak each day for him to lick off."
The results were amazing; within a week he was strutting around. They say you either love or hate Marmite and thankfully Pickle loved it. It definitely saved his life."
Sarah, who keeps nine chickens as pets to provide herself with eggs at her home in Reepham, Norfolk, now has trouble keeping pace with spiced-up Pickle. She said: "He's so frisky he's become difficult to catch - sometimes I have to throw a tea towel over him to slow him down."
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed
Turns out something may be more offensive than body odor: trying to eliminate the smell by grabbing a stick of deodorant at a store, applying it, then putting the stick back on the shelf.
Police say that’s what Timothy Boggs did at an Anderson Township Kroger on Thursday. Boggs’s effort to freshen up resulted in his arrest, a night in jail and a guilty plea.
Boggs, 19, of Anderson Township, appeared in court today, where what had been a theft charge – of $3.79, the cost of the deodorant – was reduced to a charge of unauthorized use of property. Boggs pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the night he’d already spent in jail.
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Man tries to fuel up for pennies _ 1,000 pennies
DENVER - Talk about squeezing every penny at the gas pump. Denver police say clerks at a gas station had a run-in with a man who insisted on using $10 worth of pennies to prepay for his fuel on Thursday.
The clerks said they were too busy with other customers and vendors making deliveries to accept the sackful of cents. They said the man was insistent and became offensive, so they called police and referred to him as an "unwanted person."
Police say that before they arrived, the man left without any fuel but with his pennies. Station employees say he was driving a satellite TV truck.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Ever Wonder…...
Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
Why women can’t put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why don’t you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?
When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?
Why didn’t Noah swat those two mosquitoes?
Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes?
Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!
Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains?
Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?