Weird But True

[E40FDNYL35]

September 2, 2003 The next time somebody calls you a worm, take it as a compliment.
Scientists using genetic analysis have identified a tiny worm that lives in the mud at the bottom of Swedish fjords as mankind's long-lost cousin. The Xenoturbella bocki - "strange flatform" in Latin - is the closest-known invertebrate relative of humans. "It is fascinating to think that whatever long-dead animal this simple worm evolved from, so did we," said British researcher Max Trelford.

[E40FDNYL35]

September 3, 2003 -- Lonnie Boyd was knocked unconscious, his hair burned off and his hearing and heart damaged when he was struck by lightning - and now he's paying tribute to his near-death experience.
To commemorate the near-tragedy in Madeira Beach, Fla., Boyd, 50, is getting a tattoo of a lightning bolt, with the time and date he was struck, on his right arm. "If it blew my ears off my head, I'd still be happy to be alive," he said.

[E40FDNYL35]

September 20, 2003 -- You could call it the fright of the bumblebee.
John Nunes of Winston, Ore. was driving and singing along to the Justin Timberlake song "Rock Your Body" on his car radio when a bee flew into his mouth.

Nunes, 19, panicked, swerved off the road, plunged down a 15-foot embankment and hit a tree. He suffered minor injuries. The bee's condition is not known.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

eeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww gross!

[E40FDNYL35]

September 21, 2003 -- A 9-year-old Florida girl was burned on her face, neck and arm by an exploding piece of candy. Taquandra Diggs of Starke was holding a large piece of jawbreaker candy in her hand and when she went to put it in her mouth, it popped violently.

"It hurt a bunch," said Diggs. The FDA is analyzing the candy.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Poor kid, traumatized for life over a piece of candy

[E40FDNYL35]

September 24, 2003 -- Oregon State University plans to use a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to count bugs. Researchers there say that counting insects could help protect the environment and give scientists a better understanding of their ecological role.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

F*** ME!!! You've GOT to be kidding! Send some of that money my way, I'm sure I could come up with some lameass project they can fund

[tanker5117]

Sheri, just fill out all the appropriate forms, in quadruplicate, of course, wait 5 years for the review and you just might get some of the money. Just remember to make your propsed project as silly and useless as possible.


Tanker

[E40FDNYL35]

September 25, 2003 -- Mayor Bloomberg took Russian President Vladimir Putin to Randalls Island yesterday to watch rookie members of New York's Bravest and a squad of 20 Russian firefighters work out at an FDNY training facility. Among the skills they learned was use of the famed "jaws of life" tool, which easily cuts through mangled vehicles where victims are trapped.
"In order to save other people you must be very solid inside - as they are," Putin said.
Afterward, the mayor gave Putin an FDNY shirt with "V. Putin" on the back and a battalion chief's helmet. Putin returned the favor by handing Bloomberg a silver Russian fire helmet.

[E40FDNYL35]

September 26, 2003 -- A German shrink has established herself as the world's first psychologist for chickens. Dr. Barbara Luetzeler of Bonn says one of her patients was a hen, Lucie, who always wanted to be a **** and "was so dissatisfied, she'd drive everybody out of her territory, even the cat." Eventually, Lucie settled into her masculine role and even managed a crow, which "initially sounded a little hoarse, but very proud," she said.

[E40FDNYL35]

September 27, 2003 -- Pigeon poop can pile up - just ask Ana Maria Bustos of Santiago, Chile. The roof of her house collapsed under the weight of accumulated pigeon deposits - leaving a mess of droppings, feathers and worms all over her living room.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

ewwwwwwwwwwww I just KNEW it was going to be a GROSS one

[E40FDNYL35]

September 28, 2003 -- The "in" thing among bawdy Britons these days is actually an "out" thing. The newest craze in England - "dogging" - has lascivious lads and lassies engaging in sex in public parks, often with strangers. The term apparently comes from those who claim to be "taking the dog for a walk."

[E40FDNYL35]

September 29, 2003 -- Massachusetts high-schoolers who placed a dead skunk in the trunk of a fellow student's car might now wish they hadn't pulled the prank. It turns out the skunk may be rabid and cops in Hopkinton are urging the mischievous youths to turn themselves in and get tested for the deadly virus.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

The Cubs win the pennant!

[E40FDNYL35]

September 30, 2003 -- The Coney Island hot-dog champ has nothing on Rich "The Locust" LeFevre - the Dallas man wolfed down a dozen fried franks in 10 minutes at the first World Corn Dog Eating Championship at the Texas State Fair. LeFevre already had a reputation when he entered - having once feasted on a gallon and a half of chili in 10 minutes.

[E40FDNYL35]

October 1, 2003 -- A college slam-dance party turned deadly when revelers banged into each other and started a chain reaction that propelled five of them through a third-story window.
Daniel James Martin, a 19-year-old Virginia Tech sophomore, was killed and four others injured in Blacksburg, Va. "The crowd was dancing and banging into each other . . . [They] shifted, pushing people into the window, and it gave way," Police Lt. Don Goodman told the Washington Post.

[MalahatTwo7]

OOOOHHHHH WOOOWWWWWW That's just nasty.

[E40FDNYL35]

October 2, 2003 -- For years, Anchorage, Alaska, boasted about being the largest rat-free port city in the Northern Hemisphere. Well, not anymore. State biologist Rick Sinnott caught and killed two foot-long Norway rats at a city pond after a local woman spotted them. "We were feeding the ducks. The rats came swimming out of the water, and it was so gross," Theresa Bayer said.