Weird News Compilation

[strangerep]

Cockatoo caught on video dropping pot plants from Melbourne apartment, council warns residents​

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-30/cockatoo-video-dropping-pot-plants-melbourne/101710478

I've heard cockatoos can be pesky critters.

Not only that, cockatoos are a f~~!@$@%@%*ing da%$#$#ed pest.

I wonder if cockatoos in Sydney are as critical of pottery or potted plants.

The antics of cockatoos can be hilarious, but they are really destructive.

At my mother's home, ages ago, she tried to grow a flowering vine over a cyclone wire fence (to obscure the unsightly vista on the neighbour's side). She could never get it to grow higher than about 200mm from the top -- because the neighbour's pet cockatoo liked to strut along the top of the fence and destroy every piece of green that was within reach. I.e., 200mm was about as far as the bird could reach downward.

Similarly, I know of a stunningly beautiful holiday apartment on Hamilton Island which had bougainvillea growing along and below its balcony railing. Cockatoos would not let it grow within about 200mm of the railing -- even though bougainvillea has thorns. Moreover, when any cockatoo had finished destroying a bit of vegetation, it would inevitably turn to face outward and drop a poo on the inside of the balcony, rather than on the lawn below (which would have been just as easy to do).

I wish wild birds could evolve to know where not to drop poo. They'd be far more welcome if they knew to go away and poop elsewhere before returning.

 

[berkeman]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/army-navy-football-2022-spirit-mission/index.html

CNN —

It was a crisp December afternoon as three small planes circled above their objective, making 12 total passes overhead as they dropped leaflets from the aircraft, watching as they fluttered softly to the ground.

A form of psychological warfare, leaflet drops can be used to persuade or intimidate an enemy force or attempt to communicate with a population under enemy control. This most recent mission was like those one might see in a time of war – except for the fact that it was conducted over the US Military Academy at West Point, and the propaganda in question was, well, this:

“Beat Army,” read the leaflets, which were accompanied by a colorful array of ping pong balls. “Fly Navy,” others proclaimed.

The “air-to-ground spirit mission” that occurred just before noon on Monday is the latest in a long tradition of rivalry and pranks the US Naval Academy and West Point launch against one another on this hallowed week each year for each institution: The week of the Army-Navy football game. On Saturday afternoon, the future of the US military’s officer corps will face off in Philadelphia at the 123rd such game, which always draws crowds of students as well as top military brass.

A news release from the Naval Academy confirmed that at 11:59 a.m. on Monday, five midshipmen led three flight crews for the Piper PA-28 Cherokee Warriors to New York for Operation Black Knight Falling, which ultimately dropped an unknown number of ping pong balls and leaflets.

“Twelve delivery passes dropped ‘Beat Army’ and ‘Fly Navy’ leaflets, along with ping pong balls, over Army West Point’s ‘The Apron,’” the USNA release says. “Army cadets could be seen breaking formation and running for cover.”

 

[berkeman]

I do wonder how they got clearance to fly small aircraft over West Point. I'm guessing that a certain General and Admiral were in on the prank...

 

[berkeman]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/asia/south-korea-international-age-law-intl-hnk/index.html

Seoul, South Korea CNN —

South Koreans are about to get a year or two younger, thanks to a new law passed on Thursday that aims to standardize how age is calculated in the country.

At present it’s common for South Koreans to have not just one age, but three – an “international age,” a “Korean age” and a “calendar age.”

But to end confusion, the country’s parliament has decreed that from June 2023 all official documents must use the standard “international age.”

That move, which follows a long-running debate over the issue, will bring the country into line with most of the rest of the world and cut down on legal discrepancies that arise from the use of three different systems.

In South Korea, a person’s “international age” refers to the number of years since they were born, and starts at zero – the same system used in most other countries.

But when asked their age in informal settings, most South Koreans will answer with their “Korean age,” which could be one or even two years older than their “international age.”

Under this system, babies are considered a year old on the day they’re born, with a year added every January 1.

In some circumstances, South Koreans also use their “calendar age” – a kind of mash-up between international and Korean age – which consider babies as zero years old the day they’re born and adds a year to their age every January 1.

 

[collinsmark]

View attachment 318508
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/asia/south-korea-international-age-law-intl-hnk/index.html

And in many areas of Asia it's the Chinese New Year (not just in China, btw), rather than Jan. 1st, where one's age is incremented. That's one reason Chinese New Year is so widely celebrated: In a sense it's everybody's birthday.

There's also some cultural differences involving ordinal and cardinal numbers. In most English speaking locations, we count "one, two, three, four," while in some locations, particularly in Asia, while there's no exact translation (languages vary), it would be akin to more commonly counting, "first, second, third, fourth." Hence why age in these regions commonly start with 1: it's one's "first" year.

 

[nsaspook]

https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/12...mas-tree-who-slashed-tires-at-meat-warehouse/

Police in Poland seek man dressed like Christmas tree who slashed tires at meat warehouse​

 

[nsaspook]

der #Fischtank explodiert

 

[Borg]

der #Fischtank explodiert

Massive aquarium explodes in Berlin hotel

 

[strangerep]

Massive aquarium explodes in Berlin hotel

The "Free Willy" slogans nearby are disturbingly pertinent.

 

[mfb]

This was the tank, people for scale
They got really lucky that it burst so early in the morning.

Edit: 20 cm thick acrylic glass, here is a video of it from the time they built it.

 

[berkeman]

"Ding-Dong"

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Yeah, we were working on your roof, and we kind of accidentally set it on fire..."

A group of Richmond firefighters assigned to Station 8 were left homeless after a fire on the roof of the station earlier this week.

Roofers began working on the Williamsburg Road fire station Monday and just after noon on Wednesday a fire broke out around 1 p.m.

"Construction workers knocked on the door of Fire Station 8 to report the fire," the department shared in a statement on Facebook.

Firefighters from Station 8 and other stations extinguished the fire, which was placed under control in 30 minutes.

 

[Rive]

"Yeah, we were working on your roof, and we kind of accidentally set it on fire..."

Likely that was the shortest deploy time ever

 

[berkeman]

Likely that was the shortest deploy time ever

Yeah, I've been at the fire station several times when an accident happened in the street right in front of the station. Engine was on-scene in like 30 seconds, even before the tones dropped.

 

[Borg]

As a volunteer, I had a run in my apartment complex. I just put on my shirt and walked to the apartment. Fortunately it wasn't a working fire - just a stuffed animal placed on top of a floor lamp. They noticed the smell and called us before they realized what it was.

 

[Ibix]

"Ding-Dong"

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Yeah, we were working on your roof, and we kind of accidentally set it on fire..."

I heard an anecdote from a guy who used to work in the telephone exchange when some functions were still manual - in particular, emergency services calls triggered an alarm, and you dropped what you were doing to answer the call and route it to the requested service. One night he was on his own on the night shift, and at midnight went to make himself some toast. Unfortunately the toaster caught fire, so he grabbed the phone and dialled 999... triggering the "incoming emergency call" alarm from the switchboard. So he had to run to it and connect his own emergency services call.

 

[berkeman]

at midnight went to make himself some toast. Unfortunately the toaster caught fire, so he grabbed the phone and dialled 999...

Public Service Announcement for any folks reading this thread in the future -- Unplug the toaster and throw a wet dishrag/towel over it. Then call Emergency Services if they are still needed.

 

[Astronuc]

When David Glasheen lost his fortune in the 1980s stock crash, he packed a small suitcase and moved to a remote island. He’s been there ever since.

https://thehustle.co/the-millionaire-who-lost-it-all-and-became-a-castaway/

Just watch our for sharks, salt water crocodiles and poisonous snakes.

 

[strangerep]

https://thehustle.co/the-millionaire-who-lost-it-all-and-became-a-castaway/

Just watch our for sharks, salt water crocodiles and poisonous snakes.

... not to mention the cyclones.

I'm very surprised he's not dead already from melanoma (skin cancer), walking around with minimal clothing under the tropical Australian sun all the time.

 

[Hornbein]

https://thehustle.co/the-millionaire-who-lost-it-all-and-became-a-castaway/

Just watch our for sharks, salt water crocodiles and poisonous snakes.

In 2003 I packed two bags and moved to a tropical island. Best thing I have ever done. Civilized though.

 

[Jarvis323]

A St Petersburg politician has asked prosecutors to investigate Russian President Vladimir Putin for using the word "war" to describe the conflict in Ukraine, accusing the Kremlin chief of breaking his own law.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...over-putins-reference-ukraine-war-2022-12-23/

 

[DaveE]

In case you thought Portugal was just like Spain, or Norway was like Sweden...
https://www.qssupplies.co.uk/world-toilet-paper-consumed-visualised.html

 

[berkeman]

Martinez oil refinery says raccoon caused recent flaring​

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/martinez-oil-refinery-says-raccoon-caused-recent-flaring/

MARTINEZ (CBS SF/BCN) - A raccoon allegedly broke into the Martinez Refining Company and caused a power interruption that resulted in last week's flaring at the refinery.

The company said in an incident report to the Contra Costa Health Services' Hazardous Materials Programs that the masked marauder got into a refinery substation on Dec. 22, causing the substation to suffer a three-phase fault in a capacitor bank and a breaker to open "that resulted in a loss of equipment across the refinery."

The power interruption resulted in seven minutes of flaring.

<snip>

The report didn't say what happened to the raccoon.

 

[BillTre]

Someone has a time machine!
Yesterday I got a first edition of a book published in 2023!

 

[Rive]

Yesterday I got a first edition of a book published in 2023!

You should have just have it stamped - or at least, keep the bill
One more day and your proof will be rendered invalid by temporal mechanics

 

[Borg]

Not a well thought-out escape but at least there was video on both ends of it.
Driver falls 21 feet into house while fleeing police

 

[nsaspook]

 

[Borg]

C-Span Gone Wild!
Be sure to see the bad lip reading at the end.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I saw recently that some young people think this is a "woke" symbol.

 

[hmmm27]

Timothy Leary would agree.

 

[gmax137]

Timothy Leary would agree.

 

[hmmm27]

Well, he wouldn't disagree.

 

[nsaspook]

I saw recently that some young people think this is a "woke" symbol.

View attachment 320119

What do they think about the other side?

 

[pinball1970]

View attachment 320141
What do they think about the other side?

Awoke

 

[BillTre]

Maybe dewoked.

 

[Hornbein]

View attachment 320141
What do they think about the other side?

White supremacist.