Friday, February 29, 2008

Secret Polar Bear

It's just so darn cute - no wonder they kept it a secret!

clipped from news.yahoo.com


BERLIN (AFP) -
After Cute Knut and Flocke, Germany on Friday got a new polar bear cub to ooh and aah over -- and this time one which hasn't been rejected or eaten by its mother.

This handout photo made available by Wilhelma Zoologisch-Botanischer Garten(WZBG) on February 28, 2008 shows a baby polar bear named


Wilbaer is the name of the new fluffy white arrival, a play on words combining Wilhelma and Eisbaer -- German for polar bear -- and although he was born on December 10 his existence has been kept secret until now.

Wilbaer's mother Corinna appears to have decided to do her maternal duty and not abandon her progeny while still in cubhood, Stuttgart zoo director Dieter Jauch in southern Germany said.

The zoo hopes to avoid the intense media interest that Knut attracted last year when the cub was abandoned by his mother and had to be reared by keepers at Berlin zoo.

Images of Knut were beamed around the world and "Knut mania" brought the zoo a windfall of almost five million euros (7.6 million dollars) from extra visitors and associated merchandising.

"Wilbaer will not be a commercial success," Jauch said.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Python Eats Dog

It's like some sort of cartoon! The dog's legs were sticking out the snake's mouth!

clipped from news.yahoo.com


BRISBANE, Australia - A 16-foot python stalked a family dog for days before swallowing the pet whole in front of horrified children in the Australian tropics, animal experts said Wednesday.

In this photo released by the Australian Venom Zoo, a five-meter (16-foot) python swallows a pet dog whole in Kuranda, Australia, Monday night, Feb. 25, 2008.  The python stalked the family dog for days before swallowing the pet whole in front of horrified children in the Australian tropics, animal experts said Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008.   (AP Photo/Australian Venom Zoo, Stuart Douglas)

The boy and girl, ages 5 and 7, watched as the scrub python devoured their silky terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed Monday at their home near Kuranda in Queensland state.

Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo in Kuranda, said scrub pythons typically eat wild animals such as wallabies, a smaller relative of the kangaroo, but sometimes turn to pets in urban areas.

"The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it," he added.

"They should have called me then, but (the snake) got away and three or four days later, I was called and went around and removed it" after the dog had been killed, Douglas said.

By the time Douglas arrived, all that could be seen of the dog was its hind legs and tail.

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Monday, February 25, 2008

Ireland's Entry a Turkey


Whatever happens, it'll still be a turkey!
clipped from news.yahoo.com


DUBLIN (Reuters) -
Ireland's rich musical tradition has acquired an unlikely ambassador for the 2008 Eurovision song contest: glove puppet Dustin the Turkey, renowned for his burps and thick Dublin accent.

The choice of Dustin's song "Irelande Douze Pointe" (Ireland 12 points) played to mixed reviews on Saturday, with applause and boos from the audience.

"Shake your feathers and pop your beak/ Shake it to the West and to the East," Dustin sings as he makes fun of Riverdance, a hugely successful Irish dance show.

Irish rock star Bob Geldof, who has released a duet with Dustin, denied he was unfit to represent the country just because he is a turkey.

"The mere fact of his being a turkey should give Ireland the edge," Geldof told the Irish Times.

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Oddest Book Titles 2008

I think the shopping cart book is addressing a major issue in our society!
clipped from news.yahoo.com


LONDON (AFP) -
British industry magazine The Bookseller has announced this year's shortlist for the oddest book title of the year, with a typical mix of the quirky and eclectic.

A man balances a pile of books. British industry magazine The Bookseller has announced this year's shortlist for the oddest book title of the year, with a typical mix of the quirky and eclectic.(AFP/DPA/File/Katja Lenz)


The nominees for The Diagram Prize are:

-- "I Was Tortured by the Pygmy Love Queen" by Jasper McCutcheon;

-- "How to Write a How to Write Book" by Brian Paddock;

-- "Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues" by Catharine A. MacKinnon;

-- "Cheese Problems Solved" by P.L.H McSweeney;

-- "If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs" by Big Boom;

-- "People who Mattered in Southend and Beyond: From King Canute to Doctor Feelgood" by Dee Gordon.


Last year's winner was "The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification", by Julian Montague.

The Diagram Prize has been running since 1978, when the winner was "Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice".

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Australian Postal Workers Allowed to be Fatter

I can't believe there is a maximum weight limit!

clipped from news.yahoo.com


SYDNEY (AFP) -
Australia's postal service has increased the maximum weight for its delivery staff after struggling to attract applicants weighing less than 90 kilogrammes (198 pounds), local media reported Tuesday.

Passers-by walk in front of Australia Post boxes in central Sydney. Australia's postal service has increased the maximum weight for its delivery staff after struggling to attract applicants weighing less than 90 kilogrammes (198 pounds), local media reported Tuesday.(AFP/File/Greg Wood)


The old limit was designed to allow "posties", as they are known here, to carry 40 kilogrammes of mail on their small motorcycles for a total load of 130 kilogrammes, the Daily Telegraph said.


"How many people weigh 90 kilogrammes? Not many. They lifted the limit to 105 kilogrammes after Honda gave them permission," said union organiser Michael Etue.

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

Escaped Hamster

Maybe the hamster really liked Alvin and was looking for him. These fans will go to any length!

clipped from www.ananova.com

A hamster escaped after his five-year-old owner took him to the cinema to see Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Sarah Stokes, of Pangbourne, Berks, thought her pet, called Hamish, would love to see the cartoon movie, reports the Daily Mirror.

So she smuggled him out of his cage and carried him with her on an outing with gran Bernadette Bedford, sister Rachel, 10, and brother James, four.

But Hamish popped out and disappeared under hundreds of seats - and Sarah was too scared to own up.

Sarah finally plucked up courage to admit what happened. And after a flurry of phone calls, cinema staff eventually found Hamish beneath the screen.

Igor Geyer, duty manager at the Showcase Cinema, said: "I'm glad we were able to reunite him with his owners."

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Body-builders Rescue Car

I guess one should always crash near a gym!
clipped from news.yahoo.com


BERLIN (Reuters) -
A group of 10 body-builders from a German gym took a break from their normal training routine to help a driver whose car was stuck in a ditch, police said on
Monday.

Bodybuilding competitors in a file photo. A group of 10 body-builders from a German gym took a break from their normal training routine to help a driver whose car was stuck in a ditch, police said on Monday. (Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)

The men were training at the Explosives fitness studio in Bad Zwischenahn near the western city of Oldenburg when the 38-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle, veered into a meadow and plunged the front of his car into the two-meter (6
feet) deep ditch.

"They dropped their sweat towels and water bottles and ran over the road to the crash site," a police spokesman told Reuters. "They then heaved the car out. It only took them a few minutes."

The grateful driver joined the men at the fitness studio bar and treated them to a round of energy drinks, the police spokesman said.

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Friday, February 8, 2008

Turtle Goes 13,000 Miles to Breed

I've been desperate in the past, but not THAT desperate!

clipped from news.yahoo.com


BANGKOK, Thailand - A leatherback turtle has been tracked swimming from the coast of the Papua province in Indonesia to Oregon, researchers said, in what may be the longest trip for marine vertebrae between breeding and feeding sites.

In this photo released by World Wildlife Fund, a leatherback turtle fitted with a satellite tracking device heads for the sea on July 25, 2003, on a remote beach in Indonesia's Papua province.   Scientists tracked a leatherback turtle that swam from Indonesia to the U.S. in an epic 20,000-kilometer (13,000-mile) journey as it searched for food, research they hope will boost international efforts to save the endangered species. (AP Photo/World Wildlife Fund, N.J.Tangkepayung)

"This is an animal perfectly suited for doing this kind of journey," said Scott Benson, research fishery biologist for the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, who helped track the turtle and presented details of the journey at a sea turtle symposium last month.

The longest distance of nine turtles tagged in 2003, Benson said, was the leatherback that reached Oregon and then headed to Hawaii before the battery on the satellite transmitter gave out. The 12,774-mile journey took 647 days, he said.

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Thursday, February 7, 2008

Pilots on Viagra

There are so many jokes that could be put here - joystick related, mile high, fly hard. But my internal censor has kicked in so I'll leave it to the reader to supply their own schoolboy humor.

clipped from news.yahoo.com


JERUSALEM (AFP) -
It might harm their reputation, but Israel's air force is considering giving its combat pilots Viagra to improve their performance -- in the air.

An Israeli F16C Jet fighter returns back from a bombing mission over Lebanon. It might harm their reputation, but Israel's air force is considering giving its combat pilots Viagra to improve their performance -- in the air.(AFP/Menahem Kahana)


A recent study conducted by Israeli doctors among mountain climbers in Africa found a link between erectile dysfunction drugs and improved performance in high altitudes, the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot reported on Thursday.


This has led army doctors to consider giving jet fighter pilots -- who can fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (15,000 metres) -- the same drug, the report said.

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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Grandma Hides Cocaine in Bra

She has not yet been charged for the two stolen TVs, stolen DVR and illegal immigrant also found in the bra.

clipped from news.yahoo.com


OAKLAND PARK, Fla. - Broward County authorities said a grandmother was arrested for hiding cocaine in her bra during a drug raid in Oakland Park. Eight others were also arrested Friday at or near the home of Henrietta Corvin Daise, 62. Many of them were her grandchildren.

In this undated police photo provided by the Broward Sheriff's Office, Henrietta Corvin Daise is shown. Authorities say the 62-year-old  grandmother was arrested for hiding cocaine in her bra during a drug raid in Oakland Park, Fla. Eight others were also arrested Friday, Feb. 1, 2008 at or near Daise's  home, many of them were her grandchildren. (AP Photo/Broward Sheriff's Office, HO)

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said deputies conducted a search warrant on her home and found Daise with powder cocaine stuffed in her bra. Deputies also found 20 crack cocaine rocks, four grams of powder cocaine, marijuana and $1,000 in cash.

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Monday, February 4, 2008

Holmes Discovers Churchill is a Fake

There are a number of people I wished were fictitious but this is a bit bad.
clipped from news.yahoo.com


LONDON (AFP) -
Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real.

Undated picture of Sir Winston Churchill making the victory sign.  Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real.(AFP/OFF/File)


The survey found that 47 percent thought the 12th century English king Richard the Lionheart was a myth.


And 23 percent thought World War II prime minister Churchill was made up. The same percentage thought Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale did not actually exist.


Meanwhile, 58 percent thought Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Holmes actually existed; 33 percent thought the same of W. E. Johns' fictional pilot and adventurer Biggles.

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