Canberra Celebrates 100th Anniversary with Bizarre Balloon

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Australia's capital, the government commissioned sculptor Patricia Piccinini  to create an 1100-pound hot air balloon, entitled Skywhale. The balloon looks something like a prehistoric manatee with  8 nipples. The balloon has ignited some controversy, because no one can quite tell what it is, or what it has to do with Canberra. Some critical taxpayers have decried the art as a waste of tax dollars. The 34 m long balloon cost $172,000, and took 16 people seven months to construct.

“My question is what if evolution went a different way [and] we evolved a nature that could fly instead of swim. Coming from a place like Canberra where it’s a planned city that’s really tried to integrate and blend in with the natural environment, it makes a lot of sense to make this sort of huge, gigantic, but artificial and natural-looking creature.”

http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/news/in-australia/canberra-skywhale-birthday-balloon-floats-into-critical-storm.htm

Canada's Jedi Knight Population is Shrinking

In a recent survey by Statistics Canada, the Jedi Knight population was found to have dropped to less than half of what it once was. At it's peak, the Order had close to 20,000 members. Now, the number has dropped to 9,000. Analysts are stumped as to the cause of the drop-off, which has also been observed in other countries. In 2001, many English speaking countries experienced an explosion in people reporting their religion as "jediism" to national surveys. In Australia alone, 70,000 people reported that they were a part of the Jedi Order in 2001, but that number has since dropped. At its root, Jedi-ism is a heartfelt, peaceful religion that is closer to Buddhism than anything seen in the movies. In any case, this population drop is concerning.



http://www.jedichurch.org/
http://www.orderofthejedi.org/
http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/  (<---Jedi Creed)

Peanuts Recalled, Didn't Have Warning Labels for People With Allergies

The Food Standards Agency has issued an allergy alert, forcing a supermarket chain in England to recall over 300 packets of peanuts, because they didn’t have a label that warned people with peanut allergies of the presence of peanuts. The chain has 29 stores across North England, and they ended up removing 300 packets of “Whole Hearted Roasted Monkey Nuts” from their shelves. In a released statement, the supermarket apologized for not properly informing people of the presence of peanuts with a warning label. 

“If you have an allergy to peanuts, please do not consume this product and return it to your local store for a full refund.”

Just to recap, the FSA forced a recall on peanuts because they didn’t have labels warning people with peanut allergies.