Author Topic: The Lighter Side of the News  (Read 46695 times)

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Offline Geo

Re: A Horse Walked Into a Police Station...
« Reply #90 on: October 12, 2014, 09:44:19 PM »
"We were somewhat saddled with our unexpected guest, who in the early hours of the morning quickly became the mane event of the night shift. ... At neigh point did the horse pose a risk to security."

That is probably the best example of British humor we have seen in a while.

How would a US midwest police officer phrase a statement like that? :whistle:

Besides, looks more like a pony.

Offline Rusty Edge

Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #91 on: October 13, 2014, 06:20:14 AM »
The horse video reminds me of a family of wild ducks I once saw walk into the Contemporary Resort Hotel in Orlando ( which had similar glass automatic doors) , when it was only a few degrees above freezing.

Maybe the Ducks over at The Peabody told them hotel lobbies were a good gig?

Offline Rusty Edge

Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #92 on: October 14, 2014, 04:19:04 AM »
The research also supported previous findings that hedgehogs are more likely to be present in areas where there were no badgers. But the reasons for this are unclear.

Maybe it's because they compete for the same food? Maybe the badgers eat the hedgehogs? Maybe the hedgehogs hog the hedge and don't share?


Seriously, tigers don't tolerate leopards in their territory because they compete for the deer. Foxes don't tolerate feral cats. Coyotes don't tolerate foxes. Wolves don't tolerate coyotes.
It doesn't sound like rocket science.

I'll allow that the species are similar enough that Badgers might tolerate a disease or parasite that hedgehogs are vulnerable to, and there could be a vector between them, such as lice.

Offline gwillybj

Greek Bakers Encircle Monument With Ring Bread
« Reply #93 on: October 22, 2014, 05:38:55 PM »
BBC News
Greek Bakers Encircle Monument With Ring Bread
Associated Press, Modified: October 20, 2014 14:39 IST



Greek bakers in the northern city of Thessaloniki have made a giant "koulouri," a ring bread similar to a bagel, around the city's most visible monument, the medieval White Tower.
 
The bread, 165 meters (540 feet) in diameter, weighed 1.35 tons before baking.
 
A "koulouri" is a staple snack, sold mostly by street vendors. Of Turkish provenance, it can be found throughout the Balkans under different names.



Elsa Koukoumeria, president of the Thessaloniki Bakers Association, said they would try to list Sunday's feat with the Guinness Book of Records, adding that they would soon bake a much bigger one to encircle the burial mound of Amphipolis, northeast of Thessaloniki.

The bread itself is already gone, distributed to bystanders.

http://cooks.ndtv.com/article/show/greek-bakers-encircle-monument-with-ring-bread-609488
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline gwillybj

be careful with instant coffee
« Reply #94 on: October 23, 2014, 12:36:49 PM »
Not normal news but -- be careful with instant coffee. My drip coffee maker conked out, and I have to wait a couple of weeks to get a new one. In the interim I've turned to instant -- something I haven't used in the last 15 years or so. Now, I like my coffee with a kick, not a punch. I'm learning how much to use, but I'm feeling the effects, for sure. I think if someone bumps the back of my head, my eyes will pop out. And the headache in the morning before that first cup -- wow! Have fun with instant coffee, but go easy on the heaping teaspoon.
Wide awake in dreamland,
gwilly
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline gwillybj

102 Snakes Found in Home in Canada
« Reply #95 on: October 23, 2014, 12:48:22 PM »
Yahoo! News
102 Snakes Found in Home in Canada
By Emily Scharnhorst
October 22, 2014
Odd News

[see video at site, if you really want to :-\]

One hundred and two snakes were found in a home in Canada and they filled up five pillowcases.

Apparently, these were "just" garter snakes, and it was in a rural area of Canada, and the snakes were just preparing to hibernate for the winter.

But how does this happen? How do that many snakes get into a home?

Recently a family in Regina, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, discovered a few small snakes in their basement and called the local wildlife rehab agency.

Megan Lawrence, the agency director, said, "The family contacted us when they found a few garter snakes in their basement. ... They were finding more and more and ... they were finding them in their kitchen and their bedrooms, and they decided it wasn't a good idea to have them there anymore."

Oh, really?

So Lawrence and her partner used about five pillowcases to collect the serpents, and then moved the snakes into a bucket to count them. They then separated the snakes by size. She said the longest snake was nearly one meter, or a little over 3 feet, and the shortest was approximately 22 centimeters, or about 8 inches.

A snake expert at the local museum, Ray Poulin, says nothing about this story is too unusual for folks in Regina.

"That is about a normal amount," Poulin said. A hundred "garter snakes in a basement is about a normal amount. ... Usually snakes at this time are going down ... getting up to your house and going straight down."

If the wildlife rehab agency keeps the snakes for the winter, Lawrence says she will be seeking donations for things like fish, earthworms, and minnows for feed.

Personally, we are willing to donate whatever she needs to keep these things off the streets.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/102-snakes-found-in-home-in-canada-174932974.html
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline gwillybj

Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #96 on: October 23, 2014, 01:02:17 PM »
BBC News
17 October 2014 Last updated at 10:58 ET
Tourist locked inside Waterstones bookshop uses Twitter to be freed

An American tourist found himself locked inside a London Waterstones bookshop for two hours after it closed while he was still browsing.

David Willis, from Texas, got trapped in the branch in Trafalgar Square, on Thursday night.

Police were called after he let people know of his situation on Twitter and someone came to let him out.

When he was finally released, he tweeted: "I'm free." Branch manager Matt Atkins said they were "mortified".

'Please let me out'

Mr Willis said he had been upstairs in the shop for 15 minutes and when he came down all the lights were out and the doors locked.

He posted a picture of himself on Instagram behind shutters with the message: "This is me locked inside a Waterstones bookstore in London."

In a later post, which by Friday afternoon had been retweeted by more than 12,000 people, he tweeted: "Hi Waterstones, I've been locked inside of your Trafalgar Square bookstore for two hours now. Please let me out."

He received hundreds of replies, with many people asking him if he was taking the opportunity to read some books, others saying they would love to be locked in a bookshop and more than one suggesting he should build a fort out of books.

Eventually Waterstones posted a message on its Twitter feed saying: "We're pleased to announce that Mr Willis is a free man once more. Thanks for your concern and tweets."

Mr Atkins later told the BBC they had received many messages from people saying they did not think it would be such a bad place to be locked in.

"We're mortified that this has happened," he said.

"This is not the sort of thing that we want to happen and obviously we'll investigate and deal with it.

"But, there are definitely worse places that you could be stuck in all night."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said police were called at about 21:35 BST "by a man claiming to be locked inside a shop".

He added: "Officers attended and following the arrival of a keyholder the man left the building shortly after 11pm."

A graph produced by Twitter Reverb shows the volume of tweets on Thursday night about Mr Willis's escapades, reaching a peak of 227 per minute at 00:16.

Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline gwillybj

Legal Fight Begins to Save Family of Beavers in Devon
« Reply #97 on: October 26, 2014, 12:55:42 PM »
BBCNews | UK | England
Legal Fight Begins to Save Family of Beavers in Devon
24 October 2014 Last updated at 05:48 ET

Campaigners have begun legal action to prevent the government from capturing a family of wild beavers in Devon.



Friends of the Earth said because groups already live in the wild in Scotland, the beavers are protected in England under EU laws.

The River Otter beavers are believed to be the only wild ones living in England.

The government said they could be carrying disease and wants to test and re-home them in captivity.

The three beavers, thought to be two adults and a juvenile, were first reported to be living on the river in the summer of 2013 and no date has been set for trapping them.





The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the beavers could be carrying a disease "not currently present in the UK".

Friends of the Earth has filed papers at the High Court in London requesting a judicial review into whether Natural England followed the correct procedures in issuing licences for capturing the beavers.

Spokesman Alasdair Cameron said: "You cannot just capture a population without considering its conservation status.

"They are entitled to protection as a legally protected species under European law.

"We know that beavers can bring many benefits, such as boosting fish stocks, improving biodiversity and helping to prevent flooding - as well as injecting a little more joy into our landscape."

A Defra spokesperson said: "Beavers have not been an established part of our wildlife for the last 500 years and their presence could have a negative impact on the surrounding environment and wildlife.

"These animals may also carry a disease which could pose a risk to human health.

"Once captured and tested, we intend to rehome them in a suitable location, and all decisions will be made with the welfare of the beavers in mind."

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-29754247
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline gwillybj

Dubai: Gold Prizes Offered for Public Transport Users
« Reply #98 on: October 26, 2014, 01:04:49 PM »
BBCNews
Dubai: Gold Prizes Offered for Public Transport Users
By News from Elsewhere...
...media reports from around the world, found by BBC Monitoring
24 October 2014 Last updated at 05:36 ET


Win gold on public transport, or sit in a traffic jam like this.

Commuters in Dubai are being offered the chance to win lavish prizes if they take public transport, it's reported.

The emirate's transport authority is giving away 4kg (8.8lb) of gold as part of celebrations for Public Transport Day on 1 November, to try and lure people out of their cars and into mass transit, the Gulf News website reports. The prizes will be handed out through "raffle draws and other surprises" over the course of a week, it says. The event is aimed at encouraging people to "shun reliance on private vehicles and switch to using public transport," says Dr Yousuf Al Ali of the Roads and Transport Authority. Car ownership rates in Dubai are among the highest in the world, with an average of 2.3 cars per family, Gulf News reported in September, while only 13% of people use public transport.

It's not just precious metal up for grabs in the bonanza. In total, prizes worth one million dirham ($272,000; £170,000) will be handed out, including at a street-ball tournament where the first prize is 10,000 dirham ($2,700; £1,700). There's even a celebrity guest; retired basketball star Kareem Abdul Jabbar will be in attendance during a basketball match at a bus station. But only those committed to using public transport are in with a chance, because commuters have to own a Dubai travel card to enter the competitions.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-29746778
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline Geo

Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #99 on: October 26, 2014, 03:37:22 PM »
There's public transport in Dubai? :scratch:

Offline gwillybj

Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #100 on: October 26, 2014, 03:41:02 PM »
There's public transport in Dubai? :scratch:
And wild beavers in England!
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline Buster's Uncle

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Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #101 on: October 26, 2014, 04:44:43 PM »
And talents on the forum!

Offline gwillybj

Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #102 on: October 26, 2014, 05:13:03 PM »
that's a keeper!
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ― Arthur C. Clarke
I am on a mission to see how much coffee it takes to actually achieve time travel. :wave:

Offline Buster's Uncle

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Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #103 on: October 26, 2014, 05:16:14 PM »
:D

Offline Buster's Uncle

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Re: The Lighter Side of the News
« Reply #104 on: October 27, 2014, 05:55:48 AM »
...

 

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