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

The Daily Drift

Then there's other kinds of neighbors ...!

 

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Today in History

1540   Afgan chief Sher Khan defeats Mongul Emperor Humayun at Kanauj.  
1630   Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi sees the belts on Jupiter's surface.  
1681   Louis XIV sends and expedition to aid James II in Ireland. As a result, England declares war on France.  
1756   Britain declares war on France.  
1792   Merchants form the New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street.
1814   Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden.  
1863   Union General Ulysses Grant continues his push towards Vicksburg at the Battle of the Big Black River Bridge.  
1875   The first Kentucky Derby is run in Louisville.
1881   Frederick Douglass is appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C.  
1940   Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium and begins the invasion of France.
1954   The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules for school integration in Brown v. Board of Education.  
1973   The Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings.

This painting just sold for $179,300,000

There are a lot of things a person could do with 179 million dollars.

Swedish peace society deploys Singing Sailor defense system to scare off Russian submarines

A Swedish peace society has come up with a new way of fighting off Russian submarines in the Stockholm archipelago: a subsurface sonar system called 'The Singing Sailor', which sends out Morse code and features the message "Welcome to Sweden. Gay since 1944". Sweden hit international headlines in October last year when it launched the biggest military underwater operation in recent years after it spotted a foreign submarine in Swedish waters. The vessel was widely thought to be Russian, although the Swedish military was unable to confirm where it came from – or indeed locate it.

The country's ability to defend itself should Russia increase military activity in the Baltic remains a hot topic, after the center-left government announced a new 10.2 billion kronor defense deal designed to increase the country's capabilities. Just last week a British defense expert said that a Russian attack on the Nordic nation "could come soon". But the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society (SPAS) believes there are more efficient ways to fend off Russians than military force. Their new 'Singing Sailor Underwater Defense System', was lowered into the sea east of Stockholm on April 27th.

Any submarines lurking in the capital's waters will now come across an animated neon sign of a dancing sailor wearing underpants along with the message "Sweden – gay since 1944" (referring to when Sweden legalized homosexuality). The sign also sends out the Morse code: "This way if you are gay". The tongue-in-cheek move is designed to scare off military vessels from Russia, which does not share Sweden's tolerant attitude to homosexuality. Russia recently sparked an outcry in the Nordic nation when it approved controversial legislation outlawing 'propaganda' directed at minors about 'non-traditional sexual relations'. "If there is a submarine down there beneath the Baltic waves and the crew should happen to see or hear the Singing Sailor they are welcome to join us in the Stockholm Pride Parade on August 1st," Daniel Holking, SPAS communications and fundraising manager, said in a statement.

YouTube link.

"In times of unrest, love and peace across boundaries is more important than ever. We want to break up with the violence. Our invitation is also extended to Swedish subs and military personnel and all others that want to join us," he added. On a more serious note, the organization, which believes that military rearmament is a contributing cause of conflict, added that 'The Singing Sailor' is also a call for Sweden to shift its military resources into 'development and rethinking security'. If military actions and weapons had functioned as conflict resolution methods there would be peace in the world a long time ago," Anna Ek, SPAS president said. In March, Sweden's Security Service Säpo said that the biggest intelligence threat against Sweden came from Russia in 2014. Its annual report described Russian espionage against Sweden as "extensive".

Lower caste groom wore crash helmet to guard against stone-throwing upper caste villagers

A groom in Madhya Pradesh, India, traded his orange safaa or turban for a sturdy helmet as upper caste men in his village attacked him with stones - all because he dared to ride a horse to his wedding. Late on Sunday night, Pawan Malviya's baraat or wedding procession slowly made its way through his village in Ratlam district.
Pawan wore a dark suit, a long necklace and carried a sword as he sat on the horse. Along with a helmet, he cut an unusual figure. A short while before that, around half a dozen members of Pawan's family were injured as stones were hurled at them. Pawan belongs to the Dalit or unprivileged caste and was told by upper caste villagers that members of his caste are not allowed to sit on a horse or take out grand processions.
The family, worried that it would be attacked, asked for police protection. As part of what district officials described as a compromise between the two sides, the upper caste families agreed to keep their doors shut so they would not have to watch a Dalit groom on a horse. Despite this, Pawan's procession was attacked with stones when it reached the village square, and blocked. "They are not letting us go. They keep threatening us and trying to drive us away.

YouTube link.

"We will carry on with help from the police," Pawan, still wearing the safaa, said. When the group resumed its journey, the groom was wearing a helmet and policemen in riot gear had joined his procession. Around 30 villagers have been arrested and scores more have been booked under a law that bans caste-based atrocities. "It is a dispute between two groups in the Nirun village. The procession was finally allowed to move peacefully and without incident. We have registered a case against around 70 people," said a senior police officer.

Vegetarian man offended by the smell of meat threatened fellow train passengers with knife

A vegetarian man on a train traveling from Traunstein to Munich in Germany went berserk on Sunday, threatening fellow passengers with a knife when he smelt meat wafting from their table.

Eight young revelers between 18 and 20 years old were traveling back from the Traunsteiner Spring festival at around midnight. Two of them had decided to soak up the days frivolities with a kebab bought for the journey home.
But a vegetarian who was also traveling on the train took personal offense at the smell of the meat and immediately started an argument with the young group. The 29-year-old vegetarian at first insulted the young men and women, then threatened them with a knife.
He then slapped the two men who were eating the meat around the head. This was when it became too much for the young group, who then got off the train at Bad Endorf and reported the incident to the police. The indignant vegetarian was arrested by the police in Rosenheim. He will now face charges of bodily harm and threatening behavior.

Trail of macaroni salad led police investigators to three suspected burglars

A trail of macaroni salad led police investigators in Livingston County, New York, to three suspected burglars on Sunday. Deputies of the Livingston County Sheriff's Office responded to a burglary at Build-A-Burger Restaurant in Mt. Morris at 6:30am, after the owners reported their surveillance system and cash register were missing.

The investigation led police to the Greenway Trail, a hiking and biking path, where they found cash register parts, surveillance system parts, rubber gloves, loose change and "a steady trail of macaroni salad," according to a news release issued by the office. "It was later discovered that the suspects stole a large bowl of macaroni salad, which they took turns eating, along their escape route," the statement read.
The suspects were in custody by early afternoon. Matthew P. Sapetko, 34, of Mt. Morris; James P. Marullo, 35, of Mt. Morris, and Timothy S. Walker Jr., 23, from Idaho, were charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree grand larceny.
Walker also faces charges for criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument. They were arraigned and committed to Livingston County Jail. Walker's and Sapetko's bail were set at $7,500 cash and $15,000 bond, respectively. Marullo is being held on no bail, due to prior felony convictions.
There's a news video here.

Woman accused of committing three bank robberies within 25 minutes

Police in Florida are investigating three bank robberies that happened in Brandon on Monday afternoon, just minutes apart. Hillsborough County detectives say one woman is behind all of them. Cindy Carabeo, 50, is accused of robbing the BB&T Bank on Brandon Boulevard, the nearby Wells Fargo on S. Kings Avenue and the Florida Central Credit Union on Oakfield Drive.

The World's Oldest Full Deck Of Playing Cards Was Almost Lost To History

In 1983, The Metropolitan Museum of Art bought a 52-card deck of South Netherlandish playing cards. The cards dated from the 15th century and were in incredible condition - but they were almost lost to history.
They were said to be a unique pack of tarot cards from the 16th century. But an Amsterdam antique dealer was skeptical. He thought they might be even older. After five years of research, he was able to successfully date the playing cards to between 1465 and 1480 thanks to the style of the paintings, watermarks on the pasteboard, as well as the costumes and hairdos worn by the Burgundian court figures on the cards.

Real astrology

Birth month really does affect personality

People’s personalities tend to vary somewhat depending on the season in which they are born, and astrological signs may have developed as a useful system for remembering these patterns, according […]

Scientists unravel the mystery of the tubulin code

Scientists unravel the mystery of the tubulin code

Driving down the highway, you encounter ever-changing signs — speed limits, exits, food and gas options. Seeing these roadside markers may cause you to slow down, change lanes or start […]

Liquid mercury under a Mexican pyramid

As reported in The Guardian:

An archaeologist has discovered liquid mercury at the end of a tunnel beneath a Mexican pyramid, a finding that could suggest the existence of a king’s tomb or a ritual chamber far below one of the most ancient cities of the Americas...
Rosemary Joyce, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, said that archaeologists have found mercury at three other sites around Central America... Joyce said the ancient Mesoamericans could produce liquid mercury by heating mercury ore, known as cinnabar, which they also used for its blood-red pigment. The Maya used cinnabar to decorate jade objects.

I was fascinated by this report because it reminded me of the reports that the first Chinese emporer's tomb contains lakes and rivers of liquid mercury.    There is an extended discussion of this at ChemistryWorld.

Most enticing of all is a detail relayed by Qian: ‘Mercury was used to fashion the hundred rivers, the Yellow river and the Yangtze river, and the seas in such a way that they flowed’. This idea that the main chamber contains a kind of microcosm of all of China (as it was then recognised) with rivers, lakes and seas of shimmering mercury had long seemed too fantastic for modern historians to grant it credence...

In the 1980s Chinese researchers found that the soil in the burial mound above the tomb contains mercury concentrations way above those elsewhere in the vicinity. Now some archaeologists working on the site believe that the body of the First Emperor may indeed lie amidst vast puddles of the liquid metal.

Human security at risk as depletion of soil accelerates, scientists warn

Human security at risk as depletion of soil accelerates, scientists warn

Steadily and alarmingly, humans have been depleting Earth’s soil resources faster than the nutrients can be replenished. If this trajectory does not change, soil erosion, combined with the effects of […]

The Earthquake House Of Comrie

The United Kingdom is not generally associated with earthquakes, however, these islands are still rocked by a few hundred jolts a year, although only 20 or 30 of them could be felt by the population.
Yet, the world's first seismometer was built and installed in Scotland at a place called Comrie. A functional replica of it is still housed in the 'Earthquake House,' built on the grassy slopes of The Ross.

The 5 Coolest NASA Missions That Never Happened

NASA is full of ambitious dreamers. But those dreams cost money. Ever since the end of the Apollo program, this tension has meant that many of NASA's ideas are killed before they ever progress much beyond concept drawings.
These ideas have ranged from far-fetched fantasies to financially prudent missions. Some were just sketches and equations on paper, while others materialized into models and test materials. Here are some of the most fascinating ideas that never happened.

Four drunk goats taken to hospital after falling unconscious from drinking illicit liquor

Ramesh Patni, a cattle breeder from Kheralu in the Mehsana district of Gujarat, western India, was a desperate man on Thursday morning. Four of his herd of 40 goats who had become tipsy after drinking seized liquor bottles that had been destroyed by the police, were still unconscious nearly 40 hours of their drinking binge. However, when he took the drunk goats to the local veterinary clinic, they slowly came back to their senses.

Patni's woes began on Tuesday evening when he found that many of his goats, who had been grazing on gauchar land in Kheralu, had become unconscious or were behaving strangely. Frantic inquiries revealed that just hours ago, Kheralu police had destroyed 11,500 bottles of liquor that were seized in the morning in the presence of police personnel. While police presence at the spot was removed three hours after the bottles were flattened by a roller, nearly 60% of the liquor was absorbed in the earth.
The goats had apparently drunk the liquor that had collected in puddles on the uneven land or seeped into the crevices of the earth. "I called for a handcart and took the unconscious goats home. Later, most regained consciousness but they were unusually boisterous. I rarely pack them in a cattle pen but that night I had no option. I lock them up for the night and kept them locked for the whole of Wednesday," said Patni.
On Thursday morning, four goats had still not recovered from the hangover and had to be taken to hospital. Kheralu police inspector S H Bawa said they had come to know that goats had become tipsy after drinking liquor that had collected on the gauchar land. "We had left the place only after most of the liquor was absorbed in the ground but some of it must have seeped into the land," said a bemused Bawa. In the past, cows had got drunk after drinking from liquor destroyed by the police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Police Ask That You Not Chase Bears through the Woods with a Hatchet

In rather blunt terms, the police of North Adams, Massachusetts ask that you not get drunk, then chase bears through the woods while waving a dull hatchet:

**Chasing bears through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet is strongly not advised**
The North Adams Police Department is urging everyone to NOT chase bears through the woods with a dull hatchet, drunk. Yes that really did happen tonight. We understand there are bears in the area. If you see a bear, LEAVE IT ALONE and call us. We certainly don’t need anyone going all Davy Crockett chasing it through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet. It is just a bad idea and not going to end well. It will however, certainly end you up in jail…which it did. The hatchet man was taken into protective custody due to his incapacitation from the consumption of alcoholic beverage. We are still trying to figure out what his end game was. Any thoughts on what he was going to do if he did locate it? We would certainly like to hear because we have no idea.

In recent weeks, residents have spotted bears in the vicinity of town. Most people heeded police warnings to leave them alone. One chemically enhanced gentleman decided on another course of action. He apparently survived the encounter.

German Names For Animals Literally Translated Into English

German seems like a difficult language to learn, but when you discover how easy it is to create names for things in German by simply stringing words together it doesn't seem so hard to learn after all.For instance, which two words would you put together to describe a sloth?

If your answer was "lazy animal" you nailed it!
Now a hippopotamus may seem harder to describe in two words, but if you combine their favorite river with a similar animal type you've got a rather apt description of a hippo (although I would have added "pig" in there somewhere)

And then there's the virtually inexplicable platypus- a strange hybrid creature that could be described as an otter duck or a duck billed beaver or simply a plate full of platy, but the German language streamlines the description quite a bit

See more of these amazingly accurate English translations of German names for animals here

Sid The Beagle Enjoys Posing With Food In His Mouth Without Ever Eating It

You know your dog is well trained when you can get them to sit still with a treat on their nose awaiting permission to gobble it up, but is a dog that holds food in his mouth without ever eating it well trained or just crazy?

Sid the beagle is extremely fond of people food, but he doesn’t enjoy eating people food, he’d rather just hold it in his mouth and pose for the most deliciously adorable pictures ever taken.
Crazy or not, Sid is one precious pooch, and his owner Alex Hopes loves sharing Sid's food modeling moments with the world via his Instagram account @myregalbeagle. Check it out and see all the different foods Sid has refused to eat!

(YouTube Link)

Animal Pictures