Tuesday, August 21, 2007

How bizarre, how bizarre.

From thedaily.com.au

It's official, Les Stewart has done something very bizarre.
A website which tracks odd happenings around the world, Oddee, has listed Les’ entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, as the third most bizarre world record of all time.
He spent 15 years, from 1983 to 1998, typing out all of the numbers from one to one million (in letters not numerals), simply because he “wanted something to do.”
And as far as Les is concerned, his recent recognition on the Oddee website could be his ticket to the big time.
“This is going to go all around the world,” he said.
“The (latest) Guinness Book of World Records will come out in the next month or two, so there’s going to be enormous publicity.”
But why on earth would anyone want to do what he’s done?
“It just came naturally to me,” he said.
“I got the record in 1983 for typing one to one million in numerals, but I kept on typing for 15 years after that.”
He typed for 20 minutes, “every waking hour”, on the hour until the mammoth task he had set himself was done.
But perhaps more bizarre than his world record achievement, is the fact that Les threw out all but two of the 19,890 pages he typed over those fifteen years.
“I just put them in the recycling bin, we’ve got too many things in the house,” he said.
“But I kept the first and the last page.”
Les was also named in the Guinness Book of World Records for putting the most number of stamps on a single envelope, three thousand- four hundred, to be exact.
He said he would like to continue attempting world records, but said the judging regime had become much stricter than it had been in the past.
“Any athlete will tell you, they’re getting harder every year,” he said.
But as Les said, he had probably already done his bit for the Guinness Book of World Records.
“I got my first world record in 1983 for typing, which is nearly 25 years ago, and not many Australians have done that,” he said.
“I’m a bit of a one of a kind.”

Jason's snark: Get a date, dood.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Estonian Road Rules, now in braille!

From Reuters

TALLINN - Police in the Baltic state of Estonia stopped a man who was driving erratically at the weekend, only to find he was blind.
The 20-year-old was driving in the southern city of Tartu early Sunday -- helped by instructions from his 16-year-old passenger.
"At first they thought he was just drunk, but the man kept missing the tube for the breath test, then they realized he was blind" and arrested him, Tartu Police spokeswoman Marge Kohtla said Monday.

Jason's snark: Didn't the white cane hanging out of the driver's side window tip the cops off?

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

How does one shank a sea lion?

Blog entry from Ryan Sabalow, Redding Record-Searchlight


"Although I don't think anyone should be out trying to prison shank sea lions, I confess I'm rather impressed that the guy could actually stab one, and in the heart, too.
With a steak knife." - Ryan Sabalow, Redding Record-Searchlight


From the AP via CNN via Fark.com:
NEWPORT BEACH, California (AP) -- A fisherman accused of stabbing a sea lion with a steak knife after the animal stole his bait has been arrested.
The sea lion, a six-foot female weighing about 150 pounds, was stabbed in the heart and was euthanized, said Dean Gomersall, animal care supervisor at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.
"It's a horrible thing," Gomersall said. "My crew is extremely upset, and we're just glad the person was caught."
Hai Nguyen, 24, was fishing off a Newport pier about 12:30 p.m. Friday when the sea lion snatched the bait from his fishing pole.
"It was close enough so he could just reach out and stab it in the water," said Sgt. Evan Sailor, a police spokesman. "A number of people witnessed it and called police."

Jason's snark: Sabalow (one of my fave snarkers) wins with this one!

Dog accidentally shoots his owner in the back

From WMC TV

MEMPHIS - A dog and a gun combined for an unlikely scenario Wednesday morning in a house in the 3800 block of Kerwood.
Investigators said it all started while a group of friends were paying a visit to the owner of King George, a Great Dane.
The dog, excited to see the visitors, knocked a small caliber handgun off a table. The gun discharged, shooting King George's owner in the back.
The man was transported to The MED in critical condition. He is expected to be ok.
King George is not expected to face charges.
Great Danes are a breed of dog known for their giant size and gentle personality.

Jason's snark: (From the "Alternate Headline" category) Great Dane King George shoots owner despite lack of opposable thumbs -and you thought 'ol George was a Brit!

Chocoholic squirrel steals treats from Finnish shop

From Reuters via Yahoo News

HELSINKI - A Finnish squirrel with a sweet tooth heads to a Finnish grocery shop at least twice a day to steal "Kinder Surprise" chocolate-shelled eggs.
"I named it the Kinder-squirrel, after the treats. It always goes after them, other sweets do not seem to interest it as much," the manager of the store in Jyvaskyla, central Finland, told Reuters.
The confectionary, which is intended for children, has a toy inside.
"It removes the foil carefully, eats the chocolate and leaves the store with the toy," Irene Lindroos said.
Unfortunately, the bushy-tailed thief does not clean up after itself, but leaves the wrappers behind, she added.
Squirrels have a well deserved reputation for being clever and adaptable animals. Many a home owner has seen the small rodents raiding their supposedly "squirrel-proof" bird feeders.

Jason's snark: You gotta wonder where this stash of squirrel-sized toys ends up.