The Daily Drift

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Today in History

858		Benedict III ends his reign as catholic pope.
1492		Christopher Columbus signs a contract with Spain to find a western route to the Indies.
1521		Martin Luther is excommunicated from the Roman catholic cult.
1524		Present-day New York Harbor is discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano.
1535		Antonio Mendoza is appointed first viceroy of New Spain.
1758		Frances Williams, the first African-American to graduate for a college in the western hemisphere, publishes a collection of Latin poems.
1808		Bayonne Decree by Napoleon Bonaparte of France orders seizure of U.S. ships.
1824		Russia abandons all North American claims south of 54′ 40′.
1861		Virginia become eighth state to secede from the Union.
1864		General Ulysses Grant bans the trading of prisoners.
1865		Mary Surratt is arrested as a conspirator in the Lincoln assassination.
1875		The game “snooker” is invented by Sir Neville Chamberlain.
1895		China and Japan sign peace treaty of Shimonoseki.
1929		Baseball player Babe Ruth and Claire Hodgson, a former member of the Ziegfeld Follies, get married.
1946		The last French troops leave Syria.
1947		Jackie Robinson bunts for his first major league hit.
1961		Some 1,400 Cuban exiles attack the Bay of Pigs in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.
1964		Jerrie Mock becomes first woman to fly solo around the world.
1969		Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
1970		Apollo 13–originally scheduled to land on the moon–lands back safely on Earth after an accident.
1975		Khmer Rouge forces capture the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.
1983		In Warsaw, police rout 1,000 Solidarity supporters.

Ancient remains found in mass graves near Athens could be followers of would-be tyrant Cylon

Ancient remains found in mass graves near Athens could be followers of would-be tyrant Cylon

We Just Crushed The Global Record For Hottest Start Of Any Year

NASA reports this was the hottest 3-month start (January to March) of any year on record. It beat the previous record set in 2015 by a stunning 0.7°F. Normally, such records are measured in the hundredths of a degree.

9 Ways Global Warming Is Making Us Sick

9 Ways Global Warming Is Making Us Sick

Why the Internet isn’t making us smarter – and how to fight back

Why the Internet isn’t making us smarter – and how to fight back

You should listen to Mark Twain, who, according to a dozen different websites, warned us, “Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”

There's a Huge Desire to Revamp Our Exploitative Economy, Bubbling in the Collective Unconscious

Noam Chomsky: There's a Huge Desire to Revamp Our Exploitative Economy, Bubbling in the Collective Unconscious 

Bill Maher calls for taxes on all religions

Bill Maher calls for taxes on all religions: Why should I subsidize ‘a homophobic magic act’?

Journalist shreds wingnut myths about universal income

Journalist shreds wingnut myths about universal income: It’s a ‘more natural fit’ for US than Europe

"It would meet the left’s demands for fairness," Rutger Bregman said. "And where the whole welfare regime of interference and humiliation is concerned, it would give the right more personal freedom and a more limited government than ever."

Mother banned from naming daughter Cyanide by court

A mother has been banned from naming her baby Cyanide after the poison. The woman, from Powys, Wales, also chose the name Preacher for the girl's twin brother, saying she had a human right to name her own children. She said Cyanide was a "lovely, pretty name" with positive connotations as it was taken by Hitler before he shot himself. The Court of Appeal ruled the "unusual" choices might harm the children. The infant twins, as well as the mother's other children, have been taken from her care. When Powys council social workers learned of the names the mother had chosen for the twins, they took the case to court. In June, a judge issued an injunction against the mother, forbidding her from formally registering the twins' forenames.
Lawyers appealed, claiming a violation of the woman's right to respect for family life. But Lady Justice King said naming a little girl after a "notorious poison" was simply unacceptable. Although there was nothing seriously objectionable about the name Preacher, she ruled both twins' names should be chosen by their older half-siblings.
Lady Justice King said "even allowing for changes in taste, fashion and developing individual perception", Cyanide was a very odd name to give to a baby girl. The mother said Cyanide was linked with flowers and plants and was "responsible for killing Hitler and Goebbels and I consider that this was a good thing". Lady Justice King said the courts would intervene to prevent a parent naming a child "in only the most extreme cases".

Man hospitalized after being hit on head by brick he'd thrown at window

A man is in hospital after a brick bounced back and hit him when he allegedly threw it at the office of a charity in north Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The front windows of the the Public Initiative for Prevention of Suicide (PIPS) property were smashed in the incident on Wednesday evening.
A number of people were in the premises at the time but were not injured. The man, who is in his 40s, reportedly threw a brick at the window but it bounced back and hit him on the head.
He was arrested at the scene and is currently being treated in hospital for a head injury. Police said they are investigating criminal damage at the property and inquiries are continuing.

Homeowners ran for cover after wild cassowary wandered into their living room

A wild cassowary wandered into a family home in far north Queensland, Australia, sending its occupants running for cover. Sue and Peter Leach said they were preparing dinner when a male cassowary wandered into their home at Wongaling Beach, south of Cairns.

"He has been walking past our place, through our yard and into the rainforest for almost four years now - I think he made a wrong turn," Mrs Leach said, adding that they had named the cassowary Peanut. "He wandered in very casually, he wasn't spooked at all, looked around, thought this wasn't for him and just walked straight out the front door."
She said their encounter with one of the world's most dangerous birds sent her running for cover. "My husband was in the dining room and said, 'Oh, we've got a visitor'," she said. "So he crouched down behind the dining room table and I took off into the front yard, out on the driveway, and as I was running out I was saying, 'take some pictures', which he did." Mrs Leach said Peanut was the perfect dinner guest.

"He didn't damage anything or knock anything over, he walked around without spotting the fruit bowl or without doing a poo, which was great," she said. "Because of the berries they eat, their poo is quite purple and could stain your tiles." Southern cassowaries are endangered and found only in small pockets of far north Queensland and Papua New Guinea. They grow up to two meters tall, can run at speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour and are equipped with three sharp claws on each leg.

Man in trouble for shooting man he was paying with meth for pooing in his yard

Sheriff's deputies say a man from South Valley, New Mexico, went too far when he hauled out a pistol and pulled the trigger after catching a man he was paying with meth using his yard as a toilet.

Intoxicated lady arrested for allegedly pretending to be a bull and charged at passing cars

A woman from Brownwood, Texas, was arrested on Wednesday after police say she pretended to be a bull and charged at passing cars. Police received a 911 call at around 8:30pm. The caller said an intoxicated woman was charging passing cars in the street, like she was a bull.

By the time police arrived Erika Lenz, 39, had been dragged inside by her sister and teenage son. The report says her teenage son told police his mother had “consumed large quantities of tequila.” The officer warned Lenz to stay inside. According to the report, Lenz “smugly” replied she would.
But a short time later, she ran into the driveway. After her sister dragged her back inside, Lenz ran out a second time, but was stopped by the officer. Worried that Lenz was a danger to herself or others, police arrested and charged her with public intoxication and assault family violence.
Lenz disputes what police said in their report. She said that she was drinking vodka, not tequila. She also said she was not charging cars like a bull. Lenz said she stepped into traffic without looking. It wasn’t her first alcohol-related run-in with police. Jail records show she was arrested last month for DWI.

81-Year-Old Cuban Run Over By Racist Asshole

81-Year-Old Cuban Run Over By Racist Asshole

They took away his guns in March so he ran over an old man instead.

UC Berkeley Student Ejected From Southwest Airlines Flight After Speaking Arabic

UC Berkeley Student Ejected From Southwest Airlines Flight After Speaking Arabic

Thanks for that, Islamophobes.

Anti-Muslim hysteria hides the true threat of homegrown wingnut terrorism

Reza Aslan: Anti-Muslim hysteria hides the true threat of homegrown wingnut terrorism

Grieving dad sues quack who treated dying son’s cancer with fungi and alcohol instead of medicine

Grieving dad sues quack who treated dying son’s cancer with fungi and alcohol instead of medicine

Mario Rodríguez was a 21-year-old physics student when he was diagnosed with leukemia, and physicians recommended a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy treatment.

Cirque du Soleil cancels North Carolina shows over transgender law

Cirque du Soleil cancels North Carolina shows over transgender law

Cults are discriminating against job seekers for being sex abuse victims — and it’s legal

Cults are discriminating against job seekers for being sex abuse victims — and it’s legal

"If a predator is looking for a way to get to kids, he would very likely lie and say never abused. So all it would really do is screen out people, who through no fault of their own, are victims of horrific crimes."

Kidnapped? Raped? Enslaved By ISIL? Heritage Foundation Says No Abortion For You

Anti-abortion extremism from a "mainstream" wingnut organization.

Trying, and failing, to forget has lasting effects

Trying, and failing, to forget has lasting effects

Listening to a traffic report before leaving for work or school may be part of your daily routine. But how does your brain sort through the entire report and only recall the fastest route to your destination, and then forget that information the next day when...

How the Brain Consolidates Memory During Deep Sleep

How the Brain Consolidates Memory During Deep Sleep

Research strongly suggests that sleep, which constitutes about a third of our lives, is crucial for learning and forming long-term memories. But exactly how such memory is formed is not well understood and remains, despite considerable research, a central question of...

DNA storage could make data centers obsolete

How DNA storage could make data centers obsolete

How Mind-Controlling Parasites Can Get Inside Your Head

How Mind-Controlling Parasites Can Get Inside Your Head

The Battle Over the Sea-Monkey Fortune

Remember when you ordered the Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys from an ad in the back of a comic book? When the enclosed brine shrimp were reanimated, you were quite disappointed that they did not resemble the picture in the ad, and they were awfully tiny. But still, there was something compelling about the idea of reanimating dried animals sent through the mail, and you cared for the little shrimp for as long as you could. Harold von Braunhut was the master of marketing who developed Sea-Monkeys, among many other ventures that weren’t quite as successful. When he died, he left the business to his wife, Yolanda Signorelli von Braunhut. For the last few years, Signorelli von Braunhut has been embroiled in a lawsuit against Big Time Toys, the distributor of Sea-Monkeys.

A few years after her husband’s death in 2003, Signorelli von Braunhut licensed out part of the labor of his multimillion dollar Sea-Monkey enterprise, mostly packaging and distribution, to Big Time. If you’ve ever been 8 years old, then you know that Sea-Monkeys arrive in a small plastic aquarium with several small packets that include the tiny brine-shrimp critters, which reanimate once you add water — by way of a secret formula that Signorelli von Braunhut keeps locked in a vault in Manhattan.
The original deal held that Big Time would supply everything except the specially engineered critters — and the accompanying packets, which von Braunhut would manufacture and sell separately to Big Time, which would then bundle the full kits and handle the sales. Also in the contract was a second deal — to buy the company, including the secret formula. It allowed Big Time to pay a straight-up $5 million fee and then $5 million more in installments. Three winters ago, Big Time called up the widow and announced that it considered its previous payments for the packets to be a kind of layaway deal for the company and that, as far as Big Time was concerned, it now owned the Sea-Monkey franchise.

On top of all that, court documents revealed that Big Time is now purchasing brine shrimp from China instead of using Braunhut’s proprietary breed of shrimp. An article at the New York Times looks deeper into the lawsuit, the lives of Harold and Yolanda von Braunhut, the history of Sea-Monkeys, and how the new knockoffs compare to the original Sea-Monkeys.

Bundy cattle may be starving after overgrazing

Bundy cattle may be starving after overgrazing: ‘Cliven’s management practices leave a lot to be desired’

The Nevada rancher and some of his sons have been jailed for their roles in armed standoffs with federal authorities two years ago at the family’s Bunkerville ranch and earlier this year at an Oregon nature preserve.

Zoo staff shocked by unexpected joey after wallaby secretly impregnated herself

Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, have welcomed a surprise new wallaby more than a year after the only male of the species was moved away. Mica, an endangered brush-tailed rock wallaby, was due for a well-earned rest after giving birth to a joey in March last year and carrying it her pouch for more than six months. However, when staff were caring for Mica, who is almost six, and her youngster in recent months they noticed there was more movement in her pouch.

Wallaby keeper Tony-Britt Lewis said the zoo wasn't planning for another joey, so for Mica to have one was "quite a shock". Recently, the surprise (but welcome) addition made its first appearance, poking its head out of Mica's pouch and appearing to smile happily in the sunlight. It is in great health and appears to be around six months old, meaning it will soon venture out of the pouch and allow staff to discover its gender.
Keepers believe Mica mated with the only male wallaby, Sam, shortly after she gave birth to her first joey in around March last year. She then stored the fertilized embryo away while she raised her existing joey, in a phenomena known as embyronic diapause. Tony Britt-Lewis said the process, which gives marsupials the ability to keep an embryo for several months before it is implanted, is useful in the wild. Keepers aren't yet sure of the joey's gender.

YouTube link.

"It's an interesting survival mechanism that allows the mother to delay the development of the embryo in drought conditions or if she already has a joey in the pouch," Mr Britt-Lewis said. The joey adds to five brush-tailed rock wallabies that live at Taronga Zoo as part of a breeding program. The species is considered endangered in NSW as a result of hunting in the 1900s and the destruction of their habitat. Under the tutelage of Mica, it's expected the joey will begin to explore its enclosure any day now. "It shouldn't be long before we start to see it venturing out of the pouch to take its first wobbly steps," Mr Britt-Lewis said. "Mica is a confident and attentive mum and her joey looks to be very strong."

Chimpanzee sparked alert after electrifying escape from zoo

A chimpanzee embarked on a daring escape from Yagiyama zoo in northern Japan, climbing a tall electricity pole before being hit with a sedative arrow and plunging from the wires into a blanket held by a dozen workers. Chacha, a male chimp, survived the fall with minor bruises and cuts, a zoo official said. Japanese viewers were glued to their screens on Thursday afternoon as Chacha evaded capture, swung from power lines and scampered around in a state of agitation.

The chimpanzee was on the loose for nearly two hours after it disappeared from the Yagiyama zoological park in Sendai, the city that is hosting finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations in May. Electricity was lost in 1,848 homes for a brief period during the incident, according to Tohoku Electric Power Co. A witness at the zoo said the chimp had managed to climb over the wall of its enclosure before darting up a telephone pole and making a getaway on power lines.
The primate managed to get 250 meters from the zoo before his great escape was brought to an end. TV footage showed Chacha perched atop a pole, agitated and screaming at zoo workers below. A worker in a cherry picker then shot the chimpanzee in the back with the arrow, sending it scampering along the wires. Chacha pulled out the arrow but, dangling from an electric line, appeared to lose its grip as the sedative took effect, and suddenly fell head down into the blanket.

YouTube link.

On the way down, Chacha struck another wire before being awkwardly caught by authorities. At 24, or middle age in human terms, the chimpanzee would be slow for a few days as it recovered from the sedative, zoo official Takashi Ito said. Japanese viewers got to witness the entire escape. The zoo was closed on Friday as officials investigated how it escaped. Zoo officials have spotted a hole in the fence, through which the chimpanzee apparently made his breakout.

Animal Pictures