News of the Weird - this just in!

[pharvey]

Short Back & Sides Required.....?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... llion.html

[Nereus]

Groundskeeper drowns in golf course pond

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/795644 ... ourse-pond

A teenage groundskeeper has drowned in a golf course water hazard after driving a mower into it.

Greg Misodoulakis, 18, was riding a lawnmover at the Back Nine Club in Lakeville, in the US state of Massachusetts, when it plunged into the man-made water hazard, the Boston Globe reports.

The local district attorney's office said Mr Misodoulakis became trapped under the mower in about 1.5m of water on Friday morning local time.

He was pulled from the water about 20 minutes later and rescue workers performed CPR before transporting him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

"It appears to be an accidental drowning," a spokeswoman the Plymouth district attorney’s office, Bridget Norton Middleton, told the Boston Globe.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of Mr Misodoulakis's death.

[Spitfire]

Guinness Word Records have just declared a new "World's shortest man." A Colombian man just 27 inches tall, 10 kilos and stopped growing at two years old, now 24.

Bizarrely, he's expected to lose his title soon when a guy from Nepal turns 18 shortly, he's only 22 inches tall.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11196709

[Khundon1975]

That has to be a HUGE gator to have a whole deer in its mouth!
The deer was later found to be a mature Stag and was measured at 11 feet! This Picture was taken by a helicopter flying over Lake Wiess about 90 miles north of Birmingham , Alabama ...

The helicopter pilot and the game warden were in communication via radios. Here is a transcript of their conversation.

'Air1 have you a visual on the gator?, over'

'Approaching inlet now, over'

'Roger Air1'

'Gator sighted.. Looks like it has a small animal in its mouth.. moving in, over'

'Roger Air1'

'Holy Crap it's a Deer!'

'Confirm Air1.. did you say Deer?, Over'

'Roger.. a Deer in its mouth.. looks like a full sized buck.. that's a big gator, we are going to need more men, Over'

'Roger Air1.. can you give me a idea on size of animal, over'

'Its big 25 feet at least, please advise Gator is heading to inlet.. do I pursue?, over'

This alligator was found between Centre and Leesburg , Alabama , near a house ! Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator
Anita and Charlie Rogers could hear the bellowing in the night.

Their neighbors had been telling them that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house, but they dismissed the stories as exaggerations.

'I didn't believe it,' Charles Rogers said, but they realized the stories were, if anything, understated.

Alabama Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast.

Joe Goff, 6'5' tall, a game warden, walks past the 28 foot, 1 inch alligator 8.5 metres he shot and killed in their back yard.

Gator1.jpg (52.59 KiB) Viewed 711 times

[Nereus]

We could use this in Bangkok:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/of ... -for-that/

Czech taxi ripping you off? There's an App for that.

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Thousands of visitors have fond memories of the medieval Czech capital Prague, with one exception: getting ripped off by a taxi driver.

But a Czech firm, Et netera, said on Tuesday it had developed a weapon to eradicate the long-lasting problem, a mobile phone application using the global positioning system that measures the distance and calculates the proper fare.

"Everyone will be able to verify right in the taxi whether the driver is trying to rob him," the company said in a statement introducing the service, called "virtual meter."

Some dishonest drivers have been using "turbo" meters charging illegal higher fares, taking passengers via the longest possible routes, refusing to produce receipts, and there has even been a case of a driver who had wired up the seats so he could deliver an electric shock to any troublesome passengers.

The city of Prague has for years fought to clean up the taxi service, with some success, but hailing down an unknown cab on the street is still risky. Several years ago, the Prague mayor was himself overcharged during an inspection ride.

Et netera said it was offering its system to the city, with the capability to directly report dishonest drivers to the regulator. Downloading the application should be free.

The firm said it decided to offer the system to city hall after one of its foreign business partners fell prey to an overcharging driver.

[Nereus]

West Aussie licks world record (see link for photo)

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/7954186

Baldivis "Tongue Boy" Jay Sloot can balance a can of Coke or a pint of beer on his world record-breaking tongue.

The 25-year-old’s ludicrously wide tongue, measuring an astounding 7.9cm, was announced as the new world record holder this morning, has landed him a spot in the 2011 Guinness Book of World Records.

Mr Sloot’s tongue is so strong it can lift entire 375ml cans of soft drink.

He first realised he was a bit different five years ago and said there were some perks attached to his status.

Mr Sloot enjoyed a free trip to Rome earlier this year for the filming of a television show for the famous record book.

But the West Aussie, who works at his family-owned business at the WA Water Ski Park in Perth’s southern outskirts, said he had to be on his best behaviour in Italy.

"I lost my licence just before I flew out and I got my mum to drive me to the airport," he said. "She lectured me and said: ’Now you behave yourself, I don’t want you to get locked up’," he laughed.

None of his family members have his extraordinarily wide tongue and Mr Sloot described himself as “just a freak in life” on 6PR radio this morning.

As for challengers to his record, Mr Sloot reckons he has his rivals licked even after five years on top.

"I reckon I have them covered for a few more years," he said.

Last month proud mum Julie Sloot said her son’s tongue was "huge".

"He can rest a can of cool drink on it."

Mr Sloot said his extra-wide tongue was a bit embarrassing with the fairer sex.

"I don’t use it as a pick-up line," he said.

[Nereus]

Man stung by 1200 bees

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/of ... 1200-bees/

A 65-year-old man is recovering from a bee attack that left him with more than 1200 stings and his body still bruised two weeks later.

Lamar LaCaze, from Texas in the United States, thought he was going to die during the August 31 attack as he was mowing a field.

He managed to get off a tractor and used his mobile phone to call his son for help.

It is believed the bees had been living in an old water heater in the field.

His son, Trey LaCaze, told the San Marcos Daily Record that when he reached his father, it "looked like a beehive on his head".

Emergency room staff pulled more than 1200 stingers from his body.

Bees had made their way into his ears, nose and mouth.

[PeteC]

Maybe not so weird? Did you know London was an earthquake zone? Pete

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11327433

Quakes 'are an issue for London'
By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Birmingham

The earthquake hazard to London has been under-appreciated, say scientists at the British Geological Survey.

They have looked at the history of tremors in the UK and have come to the conclusion that the vulnerability of its capital is far greater than many people recognise.

The South East of England is unlikely to be hit by the type of devastating event seen elsewhere in the world, but planners still need to prepare for quakes that will produce damaging shaking, the researchers argue.

They made their remarks at the British Science Festival, which is hosted this year at Aston University in Birmingham.

The biggest UK quake on record occurred out in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast, in 1931.

The Magnitude 6.1 event shook the eastern side of England all the way down to London, where the waxwork head of the infamous murderer Dr Crippen in Madam Tussauds was reported to have tumbled to the floor.

A quake of Magnitude 5 or bigger will occur every 100 years or so in Britain.

In April 1580, a tremor centred on the Dover Strait damaged large numbers of buildings in London and killed two people.

Even though the Dover Strait is some distance from the capital, the city's clay soils have a tendency to amplify any shaking.

A similar earthquake is almost certain to happen again sometime in the future. Scientists say they can be fairly sure about that because the earthquake of 1580 was itself a repeat of a previous tremor that occurred in 1382 with almost the same epicentre, size and effects.

"In the years since 1580 the exposure of society to earthquakes has increased enormously," explained Dr Roger Musson.

"The same earthquake happening tomorrow will impact far more people than was the case in the 16th Century.

"The size of London in terms of population is about 50 times more today than it was then. So if two people were killed in London in 1580, you can imagine for yourself what sort of scaling up that could mean for a contemporary earthquake of the same size."

No-one is suggesting London's authorities instigate the kind of earthquake disaster planning seen in cities like Tokyo or San Francisco; and the UK capital's modern skyscrapers should easily handle a Magnitude 5.5 quake.

But the researchers believe the condition of some of London's oldest buildings should be reviewed.

"If you go round the streets of London today and just look up at the roofline, you will probably see a lot of weak, old ornaments and chimneys that it is surprising didn't come down in the last gale," said Dr Musson

"Those are the things that are most likely to be damaged. It may not sound very dramatic compared to buildings collapsing, but if you are walking in the street and a chimney falls on you - that's bad news."

This year, scientists across Europe completed the Archive of Historical Earthquake Data. This is a database that details all the recorded major tremors across the continent. It is aimed at planners, politicians, insurers - or just anybody interested in earthquake risk.

"With this resource, it is possible for people to look and see what has gone before in the past and therefore understand what sort of earthquake scenarios are to be expected at sometime in the future," said Dr Musson.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

[Nereus]

Agent showed buyers house as owner lay dead

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/796280 ... r-lay-dead

A real estate agent showed prospective buyers around a house in London while a woman lay dead on the couch, an inquest has heard.

Samuel Alfort saw the body of the 55-year-old owner Katherine Frame on the couch but merely assumed she was asleep, the Telegraph newspaper reports.

Mr Alfort took the prospective buyers around all the rooms in the house, saving the living room until last in the hope that she would wake up.

After seeing Ms Frame had turned a "yellow-ish colour", Mr Alfort went in for a closer look after the house-hunters had left, the inquest heard.

"After finishing the viewing I went outside with the applicants to say goodbye," Mr Alfort said.

"I then went back into the property because something didn't seem right."

Ms Frame had asked the real estate agent to sell her Notting Hill home in anticipation of a move to the United States, where she was born and raised.

A coroner's report concluded Mrs Frame had died of natural causes stemming from long-term excessive alcohol consumption.

[Khundon1975]

The Rambo Granny of Melbourne , Australia

Gun toting granny..jpg (11.77 KiB) Viewed 645 times

Gun-toting granny Ava Estelle, 81, was so ticked-off when two thugs raped her 18-year-old granddaughter that she tracked the unsuspecting ex-cons down... and shot off their testicles.

The old lady spent a week hunting those men down -and, when she found them, she took revenge on them in her own special way, said Melbourne police investigator Evan Delp.

Then she took a taxi to the nearest police station, laid the gun on the sergeant's desk and told him as calm as could be: 'Those bastards will never rape anybody again, by God.'

Cops say convicted rapist and robber Davis Furth, 33, lost both his penis and his testicles when outraged Ava opened fire with a 9-mm pistol in the hotel room where he and former prison cell mate Stanley Thomas, 29, were holed up..

The wrinkled avenger also blew Thomas' testicles to kingdom come, but doctors managed to save his mangled penis, police said. 'The one guy, Thomas, didn't lose his manhood, 'but the doctor I talked to said he won't be using it the way he used to,' Detective Delp told reporters. 'Both men are still in pretty bad shape, 'but I think they're just happy to be alive after what they've been through.'

The Rambo Granny swung into action August 21 after her granddaughter Debbie was carjacked and raped in broad daylight by two knife-wielding creeps in a section of town bordering on skid row... 'When I saw the look on my Debbie's face that night in the hospital, 'I decided I was going to go out and get those bastards myself ''cause I figured the Law would go easy on them,' recalled the retired library worker.. 'And I wasn't scared of them, either - because I've got me a gun and I've been shootin' all my life. 'And I wasn't dumb enough to turn it in when the law changed about owning one.'

So, using a police artist's sketch of the suspects and Debbie's description of the sickos, tough-as-nails Ava spent seven days prowling the wino-infested neighborhood where the crime took place till she spotted the ill-fated rapists entering their flophouse hotel. 'I knew it was them the minute I saw 'em, but I shot a picture of 'em anyway' and took it back to Debbie and she said sure as hell, it was them,' the oldster recalled...


'So I went back to that hotel and found their room and knocked on the door, 'and the minute the big one opened the door, I shot 'em right square between the legs,'right where it would really hurt 'em most, you know. 'Then I went in and shot the other one 'as he backed up pleading to me to spare him.' Then I went down to the police station and turned myself in..'

Now, baffled lawmen are trying to figure out exactly how to deal with the vigilante granny. 'What she did was wrong, and she broke the law, but it is difficult to throw an 81-year-old woman in prison,' Det. Delp said, 'especially when 3 million people in the city want to nominate her for Mayor.'

[Nereus]

The Rambo Granny of Melbourne , Australia[/b

Gun-toting granny Ava Estelle, 81, was so ticked-off when two thugs raped her 18-year-old granddaughter that she tracked the unsuspecting ex-cons down... and shot off their testicles.

.'

Don`t want to steal your thunder there Khundon, but that's been doing the rounds for about 10 years!

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/b ... granny.htm

[Khundon1975]

New to me Nereus. Still a funny UL tho, even after 10 years.

[PeteC]

An excerpt from a story in The Nation newspaper today:

"Police in Ayutthaya arrested a shoe vendor for violating the state of emergency by selling flip-flops with the images of Abhisit and Suthep on each side. Shop owner Amornwal Jaroenkit said she bought 300 pairs during the red-shirt protests in May. She was charged with distributing a statement deemed detrimental to state security."

It's sad, but damn it makes you laugh loud and long! Pete

[pharvey]

It's not April yet is it?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ondes.html

[STEVE G]

(Reuters) - Soccer-loving Bolivian leader Evo Morales ditched all presidential niceties during a friendly weekend match, kneeing a rival player in the groin after he was tackled so heavily it left cuts and bruises on his leg.

The game in La Paz got rough after Morales clashed with Daniel Gustavo Cartagena, who works for the mayor's office in the high-altitude capital, just five minutes after kick-off.

The referee sent off four players, including Cartagena, and gave out four yellow cards, La Razon newspaper reported.

Television images captured Cartagena rolling in agony on the pitch after Morales, 50, retaliated with a knee to the groin. After the game ended in a 4-4 draw, several policemen tried to arrest Cartagena over his foul against Morales but then changed their minds, local media said.

"It was never my intention to hurt the president," Cartagena told La Razon after the match that pitted Morales and a group of presidential aides against staff from the La Paz mayor's office.

Morales, whose government has funded the construction of dozens of soccer pitches throughout the impoverished Andean country, continued playing after the clash and scored a goal.

But he limped off the pitch and a doctor's report said the leftist leader had bruises and cuts on his right calf.