The Daily Drift

Science Humor - wingnuts will not understand it ...!

 

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Today in History

1643   Queen Anne, the widow of Louis XIII, is granted sole and absolute power as regent by the Paris parliament, overriding the late king's will.  
1652   A law is passed in Rhode Island banning slavery in the colonies but it causes little stir and seems unlikely to be enforced.  
1792   Russian troops invade Poland.  
1802   Britain declares war on France.  
1804   Napoleon Bonaparte becomes the Emperor of France.  
1828   The Battle of Las Piedras, between Uruguay and Brazil, ends.  
1860   Abraham Lincoln is nominated for president.  
1864   The fighting at Spotsylvania in Virginia, reaches its peak at the Bloody Angle.
1896   The Supreme Court's decision on Plessy v. Ferguson upholds the "separate but equal" policy in the United States.
1904   Brigand Raizuli kidnaps American Ion H. Perdicaris in Morocco.  
1917   The U.S. Congress passes the Selective Service act, calling up soldiers to fight World War I.  
1931   Japanese pilot Seiji Yoshihara crashes his plane in the Pacific Ocean while trying to be the first to cross the ocean nonstop. He is picked up seven hours later by a passing ship.  
1933   President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Tennessee Valley Authority Act.
1942   New York ends night baseball games for the rest of World War II.  
1944   The Allies finally capture Monte Cassino in Italy.  
1951   The United Nations moves its headquarters to New York city.
1969   Two battalions of the 101st Airborne Division assault Hill 937 but cannot reach the top because of muddy conditions.
1974   India becomes sixth nation to explode an atomic bomb.  
1980   After rumbling for two months, Mount Saint Helens, in Washington, erupts 3 times in 24 hours.

NASA Says This Antarctic Ice Sheet Could Melt By 2020

Every day climate change continues to be a more severe threat to our planet. Yet, politicians in the United States and around the globe seem completely..

Antarctic Ice Shelf Melt

Intruder thought to be looking for teenage girl accidentally fondled her dad

A man from Dickson, Tennessee, woke up with an intruder’s hand down his pants and scared him away. The father-of-two believes the culprit was looking for his teenage daughter, but went into the wrong bedroom. Corey Huddleston, 52, has since been charged with aggravated burglary and sexual battery. Huddleston allegedly went to the home of Bret and Elizabeth Cutrell early on Tuesday morning.

Irish business owner foiled robbery with umbrella

Pat Keller, who owns an off license in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland, was forced to defend his business after finding a thief trying to steal beer kegs from him. Pat took a call saying there was banging in the yard of his Carry Out off license at around 10.20am on Sunday morning and rushed over to confront the robber. Pat's weapon of choice was rather unusual however, as the only item he could find to defend himself was an umbrella. The hammer-wielding thief quickly ran away in fear of Pat and his umbrella, making his getaway over a wall.

Pat, who is also a local funeral director, said his reaction was in the heat of the moment. "One of the tenants in the building above my Carry Out rang me to say there was someone trying to break into the cage (where the kegs are kept)." "I was on my way to a funeral and had to fly over there in the hearse. When I got there, the only thing I could find to defend myself was a Keller's Funeral Directors umbrella in the back of the hearse." Pat said the thief had been banging on the lock with a hammer for a good 10 minutes when he arrived.
"I went up to him and asked him 'Hi, what's your story' and thankfully he put away his hammer. He then mumbled something at me and as he tried to get away I gave him a crack of the umbrella," he said. "He managed to get over the wall, but took a right good fall over it as he tried to get away." After telling his friend James Williams about the incident, Pat and James decided to add the video to Facebook, YouTube and the website James runs thefinest.ie. Pat says the video paid dividends almost immediately.

YouTube link.

"You know what, I'm blown away by the power of social media," exclaimed Pat. "Within a half an hour of putting the video up on Facebook I had the nickname of the lad that tried to rob me and an hour or so later I had his name, which I passed onto the guards. I have to say the gardaí were very good and were on the scene about two or three minutes after they were called." Pat closed by saying he believes the robber had an accomplice waiting in a car for him and that the gardaí now have a definite line of inquiry to follow.

Man charged with breaking into police station

A 36-year-old man from Murwillumbah in New South Wales, Australia, has been charged with breaking and entering and committing malicious damage after smashing down the door of Murwillumbah police station on Tuesday afternoon.

Police allege that at about 5.30pm the man entered the police station, which was at the time unattended. The man is then accused of using force to cause damage to the front door which allowed him to gain entry to the station.
It's alleged he tipped the contents of a number of drawers on the floor at the inquiry counter before leaving the station. No property was taken. The damage was discovered by an off duty police officer later, who was alerted by a member of the public about the incident.
The man was arrested on Wednesday morning at a home and taken to Murwillumbah Police Station where he was charged in relation to the matter. He was given bail and will reappear at Murwillumbah Local Court on May 27.

Patient police waited 23 days for drug dealer to use toilet

Patient police officers waited 23 days for nature to take its course after a drug dealer stopped in Colchester, Essex, hid 44 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine in his bottom. Sy Allen, 30, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs on March 31 after police stopped the blue Mercedes hire car he was driving.

He was detained for a drugs search but officers became suspicious that he was hiding something in his body. Officers taking part in Operation Saturn, an Essex Police task force tackling London-based gangs and drugs operating in north Essex, had telephone evidence suggesting Allen was involved in drugs offences. Allen, of Wood Green, London, initially objected to medical examinations and refused to eat or drink for three days, though by April 5 he began eating and drinking fresh food and snacks.
He remained under constant supervision throughout the whole time and was visited by a doctor every day, but refused to accept medical help or go to the toilet until he became unwell. Colchester magistrates three times gave police permission to keep Allen in custody for eight days at a time to allow him to pass what he was hiding. Eventually Allen was taken to hospital on April 22 when became unwell. Doctors retrieved 24 wraps of heroin and 20 wraps of crack cocaine from his body, valued at about £980, at which point Allen was charged.
He pleaded guilty to both charges at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday and was jailed for 32 months. Detective Sergeant Andrew Stott, from the Op Saturn team, said: “Allen’s behaviour showed the lengths some criminals will go to to conceal evidence, putting themselves at risk of serious health implications. This case demonstrated patience and excellent evidence gathering by the Saturn team and sends a strong message to those seeking to bring drugs into Essex, that we will do whatever is necessary to ensure that we catch and convict them.”

Police search for inept would-be ATM thief

A would-be burglar's two bungled attempts to steal an ATM from a service station in northern Queensland, Australia, were caught on camera.

A video released by the Queensland Police Service shows the man breaking his way into the Townsville business on Tuesday night with a brick and sledgehammer before tying the chain around the ATM inside.
"The only problem for the offender was that he had not realised that his chain wasn't attached and when he attempted to drive off he left the ATM behind," Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Hicks said. He returned a short time later, attempting to reconnect the chain to his vehicle, but did not park close enough to hook it up.

YouTube link. LiveLeak link.

After a half-hearted attempt to continue with the crime, the offender gave up and drove off. The vehicle, a 1997 while Holden Rodeo Ute with the words NQ Springs written on the side, was stolen from a business earlier in the night. "Anyone with any information about the vehicle or the male should contact Crime Stoppers," Detective Senior Sergeant Hicks said.

Man charged with murdering stepfather by way of atomic wedgie pleads guilty to manslaughter

A man from McLoud, Oklahoma, accused of fighting with his stepfather and giving him an “atomic wedgie” that led to his asphyxiation death has pleaded guilty to an amended charge. Brad Lee Davis, 34, was scheduled for a jury trial on a charge of muder on Monday in Pottawatomie County District Court.

Instead, he entered a guilty plea to the charge of first-degree manslaughter, heat of passion, court records show. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered and formal sentencing is now scheduled for July 16. Davis was accused of causing the death of his stepfather, Denver St. Clair, 58, by striking him about the face and head with force and violence on Dec. 21, 2013.

Charges alleged Davis asphyxiated St. Clair by pulling the elastic band from St. Clair’s underwear over his head while the two were involved in an altercation. During a preliminary hearing early on in the case, investigators described the crime scene and how the waistband of the victim’s underwear was stretched around the victim’s neck.

News report from time of the initial incident.

YouTube link.

Investigators also testified that Davis, by his own words, told authorities he gave St. Clair the “atomic wedgie” when St. Clair was unconscious. Another investigator also testified about cell phone photographs Davis allegedly took on his cell phone, some before the “atomic wedgie” had occurred and others after, with the testimony indicating there was evidence of the crime scene being altered. Davis remains jailed without bond in the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center.

Woman assaulted boyfriend during disagreement over rescheduling of dog's haircut

An argument involving a “haircut appointment” for a dog turned into a physical altercation that left a 22-year-old Florida woman in jail, according to statements in an arrest affidavit.

Police were sent to an area of Port St. Lucie to a report of a man and woman yelling at each other.A woman identified as Soel Melissa Gonzalez looked to be crying and upset. She wouldn’t answer a police officer’s questions, but eventually said she and her boyfriend argued.
The man identified as the victim said he and Gonzalez have dated for three years. He said they had a verbal dispute, and that he wished “to change the dog’s haircut appointment but Soel did not.” He said Gonzalez refused to reschedule the appointment and slapped and scratched his face.
He said he pushed Gonzalez away when she left. As she left, he said, she started ripping down the front door curtains. The victim said they kept arguing outside before he went inside and locked the door. Police again spoke with Gonzalez who refused to answer questions. Gonzalez was arrested on a battery charge and taken to jail.

Man jailed for attempting to kill his wife with frozen milk

A 48-year-old man from the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark, was jailed on Monday for trying to kill his wife with a liter of frozen milk.

In the early morning hours of March 29th, the man from Lyngby took a frozen liter of milk out of the freezer, put it in a pillowcase and went in to his sleeping wife.
He laid a sheet over her and then struck her on the head with the milk-laden pillowcase several times. His wife screamed and woke up the couple’s two sleeping boys. As the boys tried to get in to their parents’ bedroom, the wife managed to fight off her husband’s attacks and escape.
While in court on Monday the man claimed to have no recollection of the incident, which he said happened while he was sleepwalking. The judge and 12-person jury disagreed with that line of defense and he was sentenced to six years in prison for attempted murder.

School called in police after 9-year-old boy’s playground game with broken ruler

A mother burst into tears after police were called into school to speak to her nine-year-old son about a playground game involving a broken ruler. Natasha Bradley, of Orpington, was shocked when she heard the headteacher at St George’s Bickley CE Primary School in Bromley, Kent, had asked police to have a word with her son Kyron Simms. Two days earlier, the 27-year-old had gone into school to meet with the headteacher following complaints Kyron was using half a ruler in the playground as a weapon.

During the meeting, Ms Bradley said her son explained he had been playing a chasing game with two other boys involving pretend swords. She said: "We explained to my son it was a stupid game to play as he could have fallen with the ruler. He cried but he understood." Ms Bradley said she thought the matter was closed following the initial meeting with the headteacher until she was told the police had been asked to speak with Kyron on April 29.
She added: "I had already dealt with him myself. Why the police were involved I haven’t a clue? I was so disgusted with the way he was being dealt with I burst out crying. I am quite a strict parent. I am not saying my child is an angel but he has never been in trouble for anything more than being a bit chatty." Ms Bradley said she has made a formal complaint to the school following the incident. Headteacher Geraldine Shackleton said: "I am expected to use my judgement and act appropriately to ensure children and staff in my school are safe.

"It would not be appropriate to discuss individual situations but in general terms schools work closely with local police as a matter of routine to gain help and guidance in these matters. Officers from the local Safer Neighborhoods teams engage with educational establishments and young people in their area. The work these officers do plays an integral part in helping to keep young people safe and build on community relationships. Sometimes having a gentle conversation with children, with parents or guardians present, can help young people fully understand possible consequences of actions they have taken or have indicated they may take in the future. The whole school takes the responsibility to keep children safe very seriously."

Teenagers lost in trees after taking drugs found 'silently staring off into the sky' following 911 call

Police in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, descended on a park on Tuesday in search of two panicked teenagers who took drugs, got lost and called 911 for help. When a police dispatcher asked one of the young men if there were any landmarks around, he responded that he saw trees.

So the dispatcher tried asking him to shout “Help” to alert the searchers, according to Acting Sgt. Adam Morris. Instead, the man said “Yeah,” in a quiet voice. “Our dispatcher was able to determine they were on something,” Morris said.
The 50-acre wood, called Lackie’s Bush, is thinned by heavy foot traffic from students at a nearby high school. And a noisy road runs beside the park. So it’s “near impossible to get lost in,” Morris said, especially when the sun is up. It was 6pm when the teens’ distress call came in.
The search team, three officers and a dog, made quick work of finding the pair. They were “silently staring off into the sky,” police said. The two refused to tell police which drugs they were using. “They wouldn’t tell us. They said they didn’t know. They just didn’t want to tell us,” Morris said. “I guess they thought they would get in trouble.” The two were taken to hospital as a precaution. No charges will be laid.

Authorities seek thief who rode out of shopping mall on Pooh bear-type children's ride-on toy

Authorities in Belarus are appealing for help to identify a young man who stole a yellow Pooh-bear-type children's electric ride-on toy from a shopping mall in Minsk.
In a statement Minsk Police, who also released surveillance footage from the incident, said: On May 6, at around 22:30pm, in the mall down the street of Kamennogorsk, an unknown young man kidnapped a children's zoomobil worth about 15 million (Belarusian) Rubles (£675, $1,050).
Surveillance cameras captured the man in a blue tracksuit talking on a cell phone before sitting down on a children's electric car. He straddled the bear and pushed his way down the foyer, and then proceeded to the exit from the shopping center and after on the street.

YouTube link. LiveLeak link.

Riding the same vehicle, the attacker fled towards an unknown direction. If you know the man in the video or have information about his whereabouts, the Frunze district police department of Minsk would like to hear from you.

Breastfeeding mother arrested for driving drunk

Police in Florida have arrested a 33-year-old mother after they say she was driving drunk with four small children in her car. Volusia County Sheriff's deputies say she was in her car breastfeeding her 2-month old child right before she failed their field sobriety tests.
This happened early on Tuesday morning in New Smyrna Beach. Deputies said they were pulling over Cateria Thomas for an altered temporary tag and a child unrestrained. According to Thomas' arrest report, deputies said the driver was sitting in the vehicle breastfeeding a small child after they pulled her over.
Deputies said she had red watery and glassy eyes, her speech was slow and slurred, and in the back seat were three children ages 1, 3 and 4. Deputies said during a field sobriety test, she was swaying and not steady. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office arrest report said Thomas would not agree to a breath test, but did advise she had four hamburgers with whiskey on them.
The Florida Department of Children and Families is doing background checks on relatives to find a place for the children, they said. Thomas is still in the Volusia County jail facing cahrges of unlawful alteration to her tag, operating with a suspended licence, a child act that could result in physical or mental injury and DUI.

Police found 50 people traveling in six-seater van

A police traffic stop in China's Guizhou Province on Sunday revealed 50 people crammed inside a a six-seater van.

An officer counted the passengers as they streamed out of the van at midnight.
The passengers were workers at a local construction site and the driver is their boss who asked them to cram in to reduce commuting time.

YouTube link.

Police arranged vehicles to transfer the workers and fined the driver. They did not elaborate on the fine the driver received.

Apology after body fell from hearse at busy intersection

A funeral home in New Zealand has apologized after a body strapped to a gurney fell from a hearse in pouring rain at a busy intersection. The body fell from the hearse at the intersection in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe on Tuesday. Motorists and nearby workers saw the corpse, strapped to the gurney and covered in a sheet, lying on the road in the rain. It was then loaded back into the hearse by the driver and bystanders. Pacific Memorials co-owner Carina Zhang said the body had fallen out as it was being transported by the firm.

The corpse had been inspected immediately and was unharmed, said Ms Zhang. She said the incident was "unfortunate" but the company had done everything it could to prevent it recurring. "It was a really bad accident. The driver involved really was shocked. The body was okay; nothing happened to it. It was really a very unfortunate accident. We do feel so bad." The hearse had now been repaired, Ms Zhang said. "It was the latch on the back, they said." Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand chief executive Katrina Shanks said Pacific Memorials was not one of its 100-plus accredited members.
"Unfortunately, there are operational failures on occasion and it sounds like this is one of those situations. It's extremely upsetting for the family for something like this to happen and my expectation will be that the funeral director is doing everything it can to make it easier for the family." Ms Shanks said the industry was not currently regulated, but a report by the Law Commission was due to be completed in October that might introduce legal operational standards. The incident was not reported to the police. Ms Zhang said that she contacted the family of the body, that was being transferred from a hospital to the funeral home.
"We have contacted the family and apologized and they have been really wonderful. They expressed their understanding and they accepted our apology. We also contacted some families that we are going to serve in this coming week whose funeral might under the influence of this news. So far all our families are very generous and understanding. We also want to apologize to the public, especially those people involved on the scene. I believe it might be a horrible scene for them to see and also to the general public who might be offended by something like this." Ms Zhang said the hearse's driver was very upset by the incident and was being supported by the company.

Motorist chased by police after taking his car for a wash in city center fountain

A motorist was chased by police after he took his car for a wash in a city center fountain.

The silver Vauxhall Insignia drove under the jets of the fountain in The Bullring in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
But as he was trying to clean his car a police patrol pulled up and the driver tried to escape by heading off through the city center.

YouTube link. Alternative video.

The incident happened at around 8pm on Thursday. Police are aware of the incident but have yet to comment.

Snake needed surgery after swallowing metal barbecue tongs

A delicate operation has been performed on Winston the python to remove barbecue tongs the reptile had swallowed. The python's owner Aaron Rouse from Adelaide in Australia, was using the tongs to feed a rat to his pet when it latched onto them. "I tried to pry him off the tongs but we didn't have any hope of that at all," he said. Mr Rouse left the tongs with his python but was horrified when he later came back and found Winston had swallowed them entirely. "I was dumbfounded," he said. The distraught python owner rang a veterinary expert from Adelaide University, Dr Oliver Funnell, to work out what to do next.

"He said the snake had swallowed some tongs and initially I was imagining some small forceps or tweezers or something like that," Dr Funnell said. "When Aaron arrived, the snake was in a box and I said 'are you sure he swallowed the tongs?' and Aaron just laughed because when you opened the box it was obvious what the problem was. You could basically see the shape of the tongs, and there's a small clip that you slide forward to lock them and you could actually see the outline of that through the snake. You could even see the bumps on the end of the tongs."
The veterinary expert weighed up the options of how to save the python. "Snakes do have an ability to regurgitate food if they change their mind, but I was not sure if Winston was going to be able to regurgitate these [tongs] even if he tried," Dr Funnell said. "These are made out of a pressed metal, the edges are relatively sharp. [I decided] endoscopy was probably not a way to go because dragging the tongs out could have caused [internal] damage. The only sensible option was to do surgery." Dr Funnell wasted no time removing the tongs.
"With reptiles you have to make an incision between the scales and we just made it over the big end [of the tongs] because that was further away from some of the vital organs like the heart and the lungs," he explained. "The clip was at the other end so these tongs would have been trying to expand the whole time, which would have been quite uncomfortable. We were able to remove them quite easily once we got the big end out." Winston is now recovering and his owner will be much more cautious with feeding the python in future.

Animal Pictures