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.  

French Bus Drivers Protest Tight Pants

Bus drivers in Marseilles, France, are planning to go on strike this weekend. The drivers have threatened a one day walkout, because the trousers of their new uniform are "just too tight." A walkout like this can cause a bus company to potentially lose thousands of dollars in profits, especially if participation is high enough. Though it may seem like a minor issue, some of the employees are becoming quite frustrated. In response to the reports of discomfort, the designer of the new uniform  sneered, saying that, "That was already the case with the old outfits." Tensions are high, and it's anyone's guess what will happen.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/04/19/Bus-drivers-to-strike-because-uniform-pants-are-too-tight/UPI-59041366394339/

New App Aims to Prevent Icelandic Incest

A team of Icelandic software designers have recently released an app called "IslendigaApp." The apps slogan? "Bump the app before you bump in bed." The app allows users to bump phones with a potential sexual partner, which triggers a search of an ancestry website to confirm that the two consenting adults are not too closely related. If the users are, say, first cousins, an "incest alarm" will loudly sound. The app currently has very positive reviews on the Apple Store. Especially in Iceland, where there are only 300,000 people, inadvertent incest is a problem that is all too real. This app aims to use innovative technology to prevent such awkward occurrences.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/04/17/islendingaapp_icelanders_bump_phones_before_sex_to_check_anti_incest_app.html

Man Breaks World Record for Most Eggs Cracked With Head in One Minute

A week ago, Scott Damerow was nothing more than a freshman at the Georgia Institute of Technology. But after he broke the previous world record for eggs broken with head in one minute, Scott was quickly elevated to super-stardom. Scott crushed a whopping 142 eggs in 60 seconds, using only his cranium. A soccer superstar in high school Scott thinks that his mad soccer skillz may have helped him with cracking the eggs. "I'm used to heading soccer balls in, I figured I might as well use my hard head to break a world record." However, this is not an endeavor for the faint of heart. Scott's noggin took quite a beating, and afterwards he said,

"My head felt pretty numb after than. I didn't even realize I got cut by an egg shell because I had so much adrenaline."

Watch the video at the link below. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/scott-damerow-cracks-142-eggs-world-record_n_3039296.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Top Secret Government Plan: "Project UPS" Leaked

Earlier this week, an infamous hacker going by the handle  "Nude-By-Marmot" released top secret documents from the United States Pentagon. These documents apparently document the Pentagon's plan to deal with the volatile nation of North Korea. Code named "Project UPS," the plan involves three B-52 stealth bombers, and copious amounts of a dangerous drug known as brown-brown. According to the 16 page document, over the last 6 months, the United States government has been purchasing and stockpiling large amounts of cocaine and gunpowder. These narcotic purchases have been facilitated by famous author Ishmael Beah, who has strong connections to the Sierra Leone brown-brown trade. Several top-secret facilities may already be in the process of purifying the drug, on US soil. At Area 51, B-52 stealth bombers have been outfitted with an air-to-ground dispersal system to allow the narcotic to be evenly distributed over North Korea from the air. The plan seems to suggest that the plan, known as "B-Day," will be set into motion next year on Kim Jong Un's birthday. The plan is reminiscent of the Opium Wars, where the UK debilitated China's economy through opium addiction. The bombers will release close to a thousand kilos over North Korea over 5 months, where it will be ingested daily by the unwitting citizens below. For a few weeks, there will be little discernible difference. The light dusting of brown-brown will be just enough to unconsciously addict the people of North Korea. After 5 months of biweekly stealth dispersal, the United States plans to present North Korea with the following ultimatum,

"Surrender your nukes, and in exchange the United States will keep you supplied with brown-brown."

At the time this went to print, neither the Pentagon nor Dennis Rodman had responded to the leak.

Known to have connections to Brown-Brown trade

Brown-brown, in it's purest form 

The B-52 stealth bomber, the plane that will be used to dust North Korea with Brown-Brown

Dog Injures Man With Car

In what seems to be linked to an early story about dogs learning how to drive in New Zealand, (http://thesweatycowboy.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-zealand-spca-to-teach-dogs-how-to.html) the first casualties from this development have arisen. A man in West York, Pennsylvania, was struck by a car that was being driven by a dog on Tuesday. The dog was apparently left in the car while the owner ran some errands, and the vengeful animal somehow managed to knock the car into gear. The slow moving car trapped the unfortunate passerby between the hood of the car and the tail of a nearby truck. The man was knocked unconscious, and taken to the local hospital where his injuries were treated.
http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_22876161/west-york-police-dog-pushes-car-into-drive

Russian Bears Addicted to Jet Fuel

In Russia, scientists are beginning to notice a frightening trend in brown bears. At the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, bears have been observed taking long sniffs of discarded barrels of jet fuel, often until they pass out. Researchers have noticed that some of the bears are beginning to display addict behaviors, a  truly frightening trend. Some of the bears have even been known to approach landing helicopters, perhaps expecting some of that succulent jet fuel. The habit of inhaling kerosene and gasoline is not a particularly healthy one, and scientists will continue to observe this phenomenon, and perhaps intervene for the sake of the bears' well-being. However, these are some of the largest bears in the world, weighing up to 1,200 lbs, and it is still unknown whether their addiction will make them more aggressive towards humans.

Iran Deploy's Snipers to Deal with Rodent Problem in Tehran

There are an estimated 25 million rats in Iran's capital, Tehran. They outnumber people 2 to 1. Previous attempts to control the rat population using poison have only proved semi successful  so Iran is rolling it's next best plan: snipers. Ten teams of sharpshooters have been deployed throughout the city, tasked with killing as many of the "cat-sized-rodents" as they can. They are armed with rifles equipped with infra-red sights. According to reports, the squads have bagged close to 2,000 rodents in the past week.

"It's become a 24/7 war," says Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, the head of Tehran's environmental agency. 

News reports have stated that some of these pesky rodents weigh up to 11 pounds. The rodents present health problems to the capital's 12 million residents, especially as spring approaches. As snow melts and the city's water rises, the rodents are forced into close quarters with the humans. The city council of Tehran has found this method of action so effective that they are considering implementing 30 more squads.

"Turbaned Torpedo" Runs His Last Race

Fauja Singh, the world's oldest marathon runner, has just run his last race at the ripe old age of 101. Singh ran a 10k marathon in Hong Kong in 1 hour and 32 minutes. Fauja, a Sikh, is known for his saffron colored turban that he wears, hence the nickname; "The Turbaned Torpedo." Singh became the oldest man to run a marathon in 2011. He originally began running as a way to cope with his son's unfortunate demise (he was decapitated by a piece of scrap metal blowing in the wind).
"I am feeling a bit of happiness and a bit of sadness mixed together..." said Singh, before the race.

Mississippi Finally Gets Around to Outlawing Slavery

147 years later, Mississippi has finally ratified the 13th Amendment. Ranhan Batra, the associate professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, noticed that while Mississippi had ratified the amendment locally, the local government had never formally notified the U.S. archivist. Apparently, the bill had never been sent to the Office of the Federal Register, thus leaving the amendment unlawful in Mississippi for close to 150 years. Technically, slave ownership has been legal in Mississippi for the last 150 years. The state finally received notification on Feb. 7 from the Federal Register that they had officially ratified the 13th Amendment. 

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/19/mississippi-finally-ratifies-the-amendment-to-ban-slavery-148-years-later/

Emu Heist in Austrailia

Zookeepers at an Australian wildlife are reeling for answers after they discovered one of their emus has gone missing, quite possibly stolen. The bird was found to be missing from the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney on Tuesday morning. Investigators suspect theft because of the large amount of feathers in the bird's enclosure, which may indicate a struggle. However, park management are confused as to why the thieves chose to steal the emu. Chad Staples, the senior curator at Featherdale said,
"Emus don't really have a monetary value because of how common they are."

For the amount of effort and planning the theft would require, it seems unlikely that the thieves stand to make enough money to make this endeavor worth their while. Investigators suspect that more than one person is involved, considering the size and vigor of the large flightless bird in question. Adult emus can grow to be almost 2 meters tall, up to 100 pounds, and in situations of danger they can run up to 31 mph. In the wild, emus use their remarkably strong , sharp clawed feet to defend against predators.

The French Lift 200 Year Old Ban on Women Wearing Trousers in Paris

The law, put into service on the 17th of November in 1800, has now finally been overturned. According to the law, if a women wanted to wear "pantaloons, trousers, or other menswear," she would have to get permission from local police or else risk arrest. Some 100 years later, in 1909, the law was modified to allow women to wear pants if they were, "holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse." The law has mostly been ignored for the last 100 years, because it was determined that it was not a priority of the French government, and because it was considered a piece of "legal archaeology." France's minister of Women's Rights announced that the law was ,

 "incompatible with the principles of equality between men and women that are written into the constitution, as well as in France’s European engagements. It has absolutely no legal effect."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21329269

Japan Sets World Record for Most Synchronized Dancing Mascots

Last weekend, 141 mascots from all across Japan gathered in Sasebo to attempt to break the coveted world record of "Most Synchronized Dancing Mascots at One Time." After 3 tries, they had broken the record. The criteria for their attempt to count was that participants had to complete the dance with at least 95% accuracy.

Presarvationist Wants to Rid New Zealand of Cats

Gareth Morgan, a bird enthusiast with an apparent vendetta against cats, has started a new campaign to encourage NZ residents to stop having cats. New Zealand is thought to have the highest percentage of cat ownership per citizen. Morgan writes that,
"About 40% of New Zealand's native land birds are already extinct. And the rest are endangered."

That little ball of fluff you own is a natural born killer

Morgan wants people to neuter their pets and reconsider before getting another. People have not been reacting very positively. Check out the website.

http://garethsworld.com/catstogo/

Police Looking to Flush Out the Milwaukee Bathroom Bandit

Milwaukee police have reported a slew of toilet part thefts in the last 4 months. The perpetrator is believed to be a young, white male, with some basic plumbing knowledge. He is believed to be targeting automatic flush valves. Current estimates place the cumulative cost of the thefts at around $30,000. Police suspect that the parts are being resold, on a toilet parts black market of some kind. For now, all the evidence that the police have is video surveillance. The thief targets college campuses and fast food restaurants. The thefts have gotten so bad that the regional manager of Arby's has ordered locks put on all urinal valves in his restaurants. Will the police be able to slam the lid on this serial thief? Only time will tell.

VIDEO: http://www.news10.net/video/2095940244001/1/Bathroom-bandit-steals-toilet-bowl-handles

Huge Garlic Smuggling Ring Uncovered by Swedish Authorities

Swedish authorities have reportedly uncovered a large garlic smuggling ring. Yesterday, the police put out international arrest warrants for 2 British men who are suspected of smuggling 1.2 tons of Chinese garlic into Norway by boat. From there, the smugglers transported the garlic by truck to it's next destination, avoiding custom checks and all taxes. All in all, it is estimated that the suspects dodged close to $13 million (USD) in taxes by illegally smuggling the Chinese garlic into the country. China accounts for nearly 80% of the world's garlic output, and is often significantly cheaper than alternative sources. This would not be the first instance of garlic smuggling. In 2010, Polish authorities seized 6 containers with 144 tons of Chinese garlic. The police are not yet sure if these cases are related, investigations are ongoing.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/09/16431519-extra-garlic-and-hold-the-taxes-sweden-goes-after-smuggling-suspects?lite

Maple Syrup Thieves Arrested

On December 18th, Canadian authorities arrested 3 men who are suspected to be involved in a massive maple syrup heist. Over 6 million pounds of syrup were stolen from a warehouse Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Canada. The warehouse belonged to the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, a keeper of one of the largest, global strategic maple syrup reserves. The theft was only recently discovered during a routine inventory check. Police suspect that the theft occurred somewhere between August 2011 and July 2012.
The total value of the syrup in the depot is estimated at around $30 million, but the Federation has not given exact figures on how much was stolen. Close to 300 people were interviewed by the police in search for the culprits, and the police are seeking 5 more suspects. So far, the police have only recovered 2/3 of the syrup stolen. As much as 80% of the world'syrup comes from Quebec.

http://www.siropderable.ca/home.aspx

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-02/the-great-canadian-maple-syrup-heist