| February 28th 2010 Donkey In A Well Photo A donkey named Eeyore found himself in an especially gloomy place after tumbling into a well - but just like Winnie-the-Pooh's beloved pal, he had plenty of helping hands to get him out of trouble. A passer-by noticed the unlucky donkey peeking up from the ground and called the fire department in Orton, England. They raised the alarm, summoning three fire engines, two rescue vehicles, an animal control officer, a vet and an inspector from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, all with one goal - to get Eeyore out of the well. It took two hours - and a small dose of donkey sedative - but the rescue team eventually hauled Eeyore up from the neck-deep water and back onto dry land. "He was just relieved to be out," says a fire department spokesman. Eeyore was quickly wrapped in a warm blanket and soon, his grateful owner escorted him home next to his regular stablemate, a chestnut pony. |
| February 27th 2010 Donkey Arrested In Mexico Photo A bucking burro wound up behind bars after being nabbed for ass-ault and battery! Officials in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, tossed the mule-headed thug in the drunk tank after it bit and kicked two men near a ranch. The two-legged victims accused the donkey of biting one of them square in the chest. When the other man came to his aid, the beast kicked the rescuer, fracturing his ankle. It took six hombres to subdue one donkey and bring it to the local jail. And police say that's where it will stay until the owner coughs up enough dough to pay the $400 in medical expenses. "Around here, if someone commits a crime, they are jailed," explains Officer Sinar Gomez. "No matter who they are." This isn't the first time an animal has gotten on the wrong side of the law in Chiapas. Previously, police jailed a bull who had broken two market stalls and devoured crops of corn. And in 2006, a dog was imprisoned for 12 days for biting someone. |
| February 26th 2010 Cosmic Ghost Video An amateur astronomer has discovered an eerie deep-space phenomenon scientists are calling a "cosmic ghost." "It's a glowing green cloud that looks for all the world like Slimer from the Ghostbusters movies," explains astrophysicist Edward Miller, of Tucson, Arizona. "But as it turns out, this object is even stranger than any movie spirit." Hanny van Arkel, a young Dutch schoolteacher, was one of hundreds of volunteers with the Galaxy Zoo, a project organized by scientists at Yale and Oxford University that invited members of the public to help analyze photographs of the night sky and catalogue distant galaxies. But van Arkel found something completely new - a mysterious green blob that soon became known as "Hanny's Voorwerp," Dutch for "Hanny's Object." Astronomers from around the world aimed their telescopes at the circular, starless mass and tried to determine what it was. "What we saw was really a mystery," explains Kevin Schawinski, of Yale University. "At first, we had no idea what it was." "It could have been in our solar system, or at the edge of the universe." Experts soon decided that the ghostly object was being lit up by a super-hot star, known as a luminous quasar, that was once located somewhere in the dying galaxy IC 2497. "The quasar shut down sometime in the past 100,000 years, and the galaxy's black hole itself has gone quiet," explains Schawinski. That means the green object is somehow reflecting a "light echo" from a source that's long gone - and Slimer's dark bellybutton is more than 16,000 light years across. Now, astronomers are rallying to aim the world's most powerful observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope, at the ghost, hoping to find out what it's made of and where it came from. "It was a fantastic present to find out on my 25th birthday that we will get observational time on the Hubble to follow up this discovery," says van Arkel. |
| February 25th 2010 Wedding In The Sky Video A bride and groom went 500 feet in the air to take the plunge together - literally - with the world's first wedding on an airplane wing! Katie odgson, a 23-year-old letter carrier and self-professed daredevil, exchanged vows with Darren NcWalters, a 24-year-old fitness instructor, as part of an all-expenses-paid wdding organized by a group of wing-walking stunt pilots and barnstorming Reverend George Bingham. After their out-of-this-world nuptials over Rendcombe, England, the couple headed for an equally adventurous safari honeymoon in the Afrrican nation of Tanzania! |
| February 24th 2010 Arabs Angry Over Nissan Tiida Ad Video A new car ad has Arabs seeing red - because it shows a group of enraged sheiks attacking a fuel-efficient automobile. The commercial for the Nissan Tiida, airing in Israel, shows actors in traditional Arabic garb complaining about the way the car company is costing them millions of dollars in lost revenue. One of the stereotypical sheiks says the Tiida "destroyed my home," and others join in, physically assaulting the car and hurling exaggerated curses like, "May hawks poke at you day and night!" and "May the sun melt you and God take you!" The comedic commerical concludes with a narrator saying, "When you consume the least fuel, it's obvious they won't like you in the oil emirates." Nissan is working with Israel's Project Better Place to develop an even more fuel-efficient car - one the runs on electricity. But Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing nations in the Persian Gulf are threatening to boycott the car manufacturer unless the company apologizes. |
| February 23rd 2010 Tourists Meet Elephant Photo Two tourists in a nature reserve drove a bit too close to a herd of wild elephants and got a crumpled car roof for their trouble. "My sister Angela and I started taking photos when we saw the elephant head our way," says Rico Beltrame, 27. "A game warden shouted that I must turn the car off, which I did." The terrified couple watched helplessly as the curious Dumbo at South Africa's Hluhluwe Umfolozi park lumbered up to their vehicle for a closer look. "We got very scared when he stood by us and put his foot on the hood of the car," Beltrame recalls. "We waited a tense five or six minutes, sitting without moving, before he walked away." The massive bull did $1,000 worth of damage by resting his humungous trunk on the roof of the tiny compact. "It was an unbelievable experience," Beltrame says. |
| February 22nd 2010 Reliving The 30s, 40s and 50s Photo Married couples disgusted with today's loose morals, terrifying crimes and soaring divorce rates are creating fantasy lives set in bygone eras. "In our marriage, I am very much the lady and he is the breadwinner and my protector," declares Joanne Massey, 35, whose home is straight out of the Eisenhower era. Joanne and Kevin have shared a passion for the past since they met at a 1950s convention. Their house is decorated with 50s furnishings, Joanne wears nothing but garments from the 50s and she and Kevin only socialize with like-minded friends. "I admit I'm in retreat from the 21st century," Joanne says. "I don't want to live in that world." Debbie Cleulow, 34, and her hubby, Martin, 38, of Staffordshire, England, have transported themselves back to the 1940s. "We have a far happier marriage than many other people," says Debbie., who wears World War II fashions, uses a Bakelite phone and a retro Swan kettle in the kitchen. "Martin is the breadwinner and loves coming home to a wife who looks pretty and has his meal ready in an immaculate house." Diane and Martin Rowlands looks to the 1930s for inspiration. "Women were these amazingly glamorous creatures back tehn, with their perfect hair and makeup," says Diane, 38. "They were treated with such respect by men." "I try to escape from where we are now and rarely read newspapers because I find today's world so depressing." |
| February 21st 2010 Future Of Reproduction Video Science is taking the guesswork - and the fun - out of having babies. A panel of genticists, gynecologists and pediatricians examined emerging techonologies and concluded that 30 years from now, most infants will get their start in the lab and not the bedroom. In the most startling prediction, the scientists declared that both sperm and eggs will be generated from stem cells, fertilization will take place in a test tube and the baby will come to term in an artificial womb filled with fluid. The infant's umbilical cord will be attached to a machine the will provide the embryo with nutrition. The new techniques will make infertility a thing of the past. In fact, everyone, from a newborn to a centenarian, will be able to have children! All the technicians will need is a couple of stem cells - the type of cell that can grow into the various different kinds of tissue that make up a complete human body. As the embyro develops in its artificial womb, doctors will monitor its progress and correct any defects simply by removing or adding genes. All of this sounds expensive, but experts insist that three decades from now, the technology will be commonplace and the price will have dropped to about $100. Still, they acknowledge that many would-be moms and dads will choose to bypass the hi-tech route to parenthood. "The old-fashioned way is more fun," admits Dr. Susannah Baruch, director of reproductive genetics at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. |
| February 20th 2010 Cellulose Nano Fibers Video Paper, made from cellulose fibers derived from wood, is one of the flimsiest materials around, but a new process will give it the strength of steel - and a whole new range of uses. Lars Berglund, from the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, is weaving nano fibers of cellulose into a web so tight the paper that results is almost as strong as the structural steel used to construct buildings and bridges. Nano fibers are so small they can only be seen under a microscope. Their tiny size makes them extremely strong, yet flexible when they are blended together to make paper. Amazingly, the new product weighs no more than the ordinary paper on which books and magazines are now printed. The super-paper will make for longer-lasting printed material. It can also be used to make machinery and other structures that now require steel, which is heavy, expensive, bulky and difficult to transport and work with. |
| February 19th 2010 Retirement? Yeah Right! Photo As retirement approaches, you may be thinking of buying yourself a new fishing rod or set of golf clubs. Forget about it! A leading futurologist says changes in medicine and the economy are going to make it very difficult for you to stop working - ever! First, we're living longer, says Maddy Dychtwald, author of the new book Cycles: How We Will Live, Work and Buy. The lifespan of the average American has increased by 30 years over the last century and medical science all but guarantees that we'll soon be chugging along well past the age of 100. Second, the birth rate is falling, which means there will be fewer young people available to take our place in the workforce. Finally, global economic trends, including a move to lower wages and fewer job benefits, mean that many of us won't be able to afford retirement. In the near future, people will have two, three or more careers during their lifetimes, Dychtwald says. And they'll have to return to school periodically to prepare for new endeavors. So stop looking lovingly at that rocking chair. You aren't going to need it. |
| February 18th 2010 A Giant Solar Storm - The Cosmic Katrina Video A solar storm of unprecedented scale is about to unleash a massive surge of atomic particles - and Earth is right in the path of this cosmic "hurricane." Solar storms are regular occurrences. Nuclear activity inside the sun causes surface eruptions that propel ionized atomic particles throughout the solar system at the speed of light. The disturbances normally disrupt satellite communication for a few minutes or hours, but the big one that's due to strike next month will have devastating consequences. "What Hurrican Katrina did to New Orleans, this mega solar storm will do on a cosmic scale," says astrophysicist Otto Birnbaum. "Expert all telephone and computer communication to be knocked out for days, if not weeks. Since the world's economy is based on such transmissions, the consequences will be severe." "Banking will be disrupted, both globally and individually. Some people will have their bank balances wiped out, for example. It will take months to repair the damage and during that time, a lot of people will suffer grievous financial harm." |
| February 17th 2010 Ghost In The Pool Photo A business traveler was terrified during an eerie night to remember at a roadside motel with a haunted swimming pool! Adam Ford, a pharmaceutical sales rep from Tifton, Georgia, was visiting hospitals in the Florida Panhandle when he checked into Dave's Sunset Inn in Niceville, a small city near Pensacola. "In the early evening, I was leaving my room to get some dinner when I saw a woman floating stiffly in the middle of the pool," Ford recalls. "At first, I thought it was someone holding her breath, but as I walked toward the pool, I got more and more worried." "I'd taken my cell phone out of my pocket and was stripping off my shirt to dive in after her when I saw her eyes open under the water." "She seemed to shout without making any bubbles, and then she vanished." Badly shaken by his encounter, Ford walked to a neighboring diner for a meal. "He looked as white as a sheet, so I asked him what was wrong," recalls waitress Esther Hawkins, 63. "All he had to say was, 'I was walking by the hotel pool,' and I told him, 'You saw Debbie, didn't you!'" "That poor girl shows up every so often and has for years." In 1976, college student Deborah Musselman, 19, suffered an allergic reaction while swimming laps in the motel pool, passed out and drowned within minutes. Although the motel has been renovated twice since then - including an expansion of the pool - long-time staffers say her spirit still appears under the water. Guests in poolside rooms often find their doors opening and closing by themselves late at night, and small objects disappear from the night stands, only to reappear in the closets or at the back of dresser drawers. After dinner, Ford was walking back past the pool when he again saw the female figure floating under the surface. He quickly snapped a picture with his cell phone camera as the woman fadded from sight. "I knew nobody was going to believe me, but now I have proof," Ford explains. "I only wish someone could have saved that girl 30 years ago." Paranormal researchers say ghosts are often attracted to bodies of water like riverbanks or remote beaches. "For one reason or another, water can almost glue ghosts to a specific place, even something as ordinary as a swimming pool," explains parapsychologist Jeanne Weber, of Fairhope, Alabama. "Deborah's ghost at the Sunset Inn is probably going to be startling guests there for years to come." |
| February 16th 2010 Yoda The Four Eared Cat Video Yoda the cat may look like he's wearing a Batman costume for kitties, but he was actually born with an extra pair of ears! In 2006, Valerie and Ted Rock, of Chicago, stopped at a bar for a drink just as a litter of abandoned 8-week-old kittens was being passed around for inspection by customers. It took just one look for the Rocks to lose their hearts to the oddball orphan. And they've never regretted their decision to adopt him. "People do a double take when they see him or his picture," Valerie says. "It's great fun showing him off." Veterinarian Jacob Howell says the extra set of ears is an indication that Yoda was one of a pair of twins. "Obviously, the brother or sister was genetically inferior in some way," Howell explains. "The rest of its body was absorbed into Yoda during gestation, while the empty ear flaps ended up on the outside of his head." "They apparently don't have any effect on his hearing ability." |
| February 15th 2010 Spuds Finds Home Thanks To Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Photo Abandoned in the wilderness, Spuds the pit bull was found by a Good Samaritan and brought to Best Friends animal sanctuary. Although unscrupulous owners have given his breed a bad reputation, he showed everyone that he's a big friendly, kiss-happy dog. He won over two visitors in particular - Dale and Jennifer McKeel, of Florida. Although they went home without adopting Spuds, Dale couldn't stop thinking about him. He even used a picture of Spuds as his computer wallpaper. Finally, Jennifer decided to adopt Spuds as a surprise for her husband. Dale was ecstatic - and Spuds will never again have to worry about being ditched! For more information, please visit www.bestfriends.org . |
| February 14th 2010 Ray Edwards' Amazing i-Limb Video One of the world's first bionic hand recipients is reaching for the sky - by learning how to fly a plane! In 1980, Ray Edwards ran a successful construction business, but fell victim to Hodgkin's disease. As part of his treatment, doctors removed his spleen, which left him more vulnerable to infection. His body was nearly defenseless when he cut his hand while doing a minor plumbing repair in 1987. Within weeks, gangrene had set into all four limbs and surgeons had to amputate both his arms and legs. "I didn't feel like I was a man," recalls Edwards, now 53. "I didn't feel like anything." "I was full of rage, angry with life, unable to understand why it had happened to me." He was able to get around with prosthetic limbs, but was gripped by despair - until, in 2007, Edwards read about the i-Limb hand created by the Touch Bionics company. Unlike ordinary prosthetics, this electronic limb senses electronic impulses sent to the muscles that normally control hand movement. The rotating thumb and articulated fingers respond just like normal flesh and bone. In May 2008, Edwards had an i-Limb implanted by his doctors inBerkshire, England. "I tried to think about how my hand opened when I still had one, and suddenly the i-Limbhand opened," he recalls. "I was literally speechless." "I'd used more basic motorized arms, but now I had a hand where the fingers moved." "I just sat there opening and closing my new hand, transfixed." "It was the first time I'd been able to do that in 20 years. I think I just gave out a big gulp and a tear ran down my cheek." The electronic limb has such a light and precise touch, Edwards decided to take flying lessons. He's completed six of the 40 hours needed to earn his license. When he succeeds. he'll be the first quadruple amputee to become a certified pilot. "It's something I've always dreamed of, but never imagined I'd do," Edwards declares. "After losing my limbs, simply walking seemed like an impossible challenge." |
| February 13th 2010 The Grave Of Flowers Photo An ancient grave has proved to researchers that 5,000 years ago, the dusty Sahara desert was a lush paradise - and witnesses are crediting the skeletons with a wave of miraculous blessings. "There has been a definite change for the better in our lives after working at this burial site," says archaeological aide Michael Kurzomarou. "You may have heard of the curse of the mummies - this is like the opposite!" Laborers and scholars alike have reported miraculous healings, windfalls of money and other strokes of luck after excavating a long-forgotten cemetery in the Gobero region of the African nation of Niger. Their attention centers on the so-called Grave of Flowers - the bones of a petite woman and her two children who were laid to rest on a bed of flowers 3,000 years beforethe birth of Christ. The area is so dry and barren, local Tuareg nomads call it "the desert within the desert." But one of the skeletons, that of an 11-year-old girl, was wearing jewelry carved from the tusks of a hippopotamus, and scientists found the ancient remains of turtles and other water dwelling animals nearby. Paul Sereno, of the University of Chicago, was leading a dinosaur hunting mission when his team stumbled across the triple burial and other relics. "Everywhere you turned, there were bones belonging to animals that don't live in the desert," explains Sereno. "I realized we were in the green Sahara." Between 7,000 and 4,500 years ago, the lush land was home to the Tenerians, small-boned people who relied on cattle farming as well as hunting and fishing to make ends meet. Their burial sites were marked by ritual artifacts and grains of pollen - signs that they engaged in elaborate funerals, laying loved ones to rest under blankets of flowers. But eventually the desert returned to claim their homeland. "The bones in the Grave of Flowers may have belonged to a priestess, a wise woman who was associated with prosperity and good health," explains graduate student Helena Markham. "You can't help but feel a little awed looking at her." Markham says that days after she handled the bones, she received a birthday card from home that contained a winning lottery ticket. Kurzomarou explains that he touched the bones and, the next day, his grandmother's arthritis vanished and his grandfather spontaneously regained hearing in his left ear. Others working on the site have reported similar stories of good fortune. "There is a positive energy that you see on people's faces," explains translator Mahmoud Sankara. "There is something special here that goes beyond explanation." |
| February 12th 2010 Nooria Nodrat - A True Hero Photo A woman blinded in a vicious mugging did more than turn the other cheek - she dedicated the rest of her life to helping others! Nooria Nodrat was riding the New York City subway in 1997 when she was attacked by a mentally ill, drug-addicted woman. Nodrat lost her eyesight, but refused to seek revenge. "When I lost my sight because of the attack, that influenced me to see the need for therapy and counseling and social work," she explains. "I want to work with people with mental disabilities." In 2007, Nodrat won a Freedom Liberty Medal, and in 2008, the 47-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan earned a college degree in psychology. The big-hearted heroine plans to continue her studies until she can help people as a psychologist. |
| February 11th 2010 Manuel Uribe's Big Day Outside Video Tragic Manuel Uribe, confined to bed because of his gigantic girth, has finally escaped his home to enjoy a day at the shore. Uribe, formerly the world's fattest man, slimmed down over the last two years from a staggering 1,235 pounds to 700 by sticking to a low-carb diet. His first attempt to leave his house in five years - to go on a date with finacee Claudia Solis - ended in chaos. As reported before on ThePapNews, the platform carrying his bed collapsed after smacking into a highway overpass. "My fiancee and I were going to celebrate that I'd been losing weight, and that it was her birthday," Uribe recalls. "The saddest part was that I couldn't fulfill my dream of taking my girlfriend out to eat." However, his pals got everything right this time. After using a forklift to load Uribe and his specially designed iron bed onto a platform truck, they drove him to a lake north of his Monterrey, Mexico, home. The blistering summer heat couldn't dampen his joy at finally being outdoors with Solis by his side. The 43-year-old giant even joked with a local boat operator about taking a ride in his craft. "Too bad I can't get on it," Uribe teased. "It would sink!" The former mechanic and auto parts dealer admits his weight ballooned out of control when he lived in the U.S. in the late '80s and stuffed himself with junk food and soft drinks. Eventually, he became a prisoner of his bedroom because he was too large to stand or walk. His humongous size is also the source of many health problems as well as an obstacle to his romance with Solis. The 38-year-old widow says her family fears their love story will end in sorrow just like with her first husband, who was obese and died of respiratory failure. But Solis refuses to worry and maintains a positive attitude about her future with Uribe. "We get along ver well," she says. "What we have is real." Meanwhile, Uribe continues to work toward two goals - winning the Guinness World Records title as the biggest loser and walking down the aisle with Solis. |
| February 10th 2010 Lottery Winner Waits A Year On $3.6 Million Photo A lottery winner waited nearly a year to claim his $3.6-million prize while he contemplated the impact of his stupendous win! "I felt that was the best way to go," explains realtor Peter Dushop. "I needed some time to reflect on it." The lucky 24-year-old did confide in his mother, but gave his girlfriend nothing but baffling clues. 'I told her something exciting was going to happen within the year," Dushop recalls. "That was basically my way of telling her." Allowing the ticket to languish in a safety deposit box cost him $100,000 in interest, but he believes the long delay will prevent him from making the mistakes of other lottery winners. He says the best part of finally accepting his winnings was the look on his sweetheart's face as she learned the news from a TV broadcast. "She just watched it in disbelief," says Dushop, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. |
| February 9th 2010 More Earth Dangers Video Unfriendly visitors from Gliese 581 aren't the only potential threats from space facing Earth. Sources within Project Black Book, the top-secret probe into the UFO phenomenon, and other government agencies have discovered several new dangers from beyond our small, blue planet. - Jupiter and its giant moon Callisto are both threatening to explode with enough violence to wipe out life on Earth. Jupiter has a furious thermonuclear reaction burning it to its core, and astronomers recently spotted two new red spots, both five times bigger than Earth, boiling up to the surface - disturbances that could signal a massive meltdown. Callisto faces a similar fate due to hydrogen and oxygen stored in its icy shell. - Aliens may have marked a ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with strange, geometric patterns. Unlike traditional crop circles, these 20-foot-wide, 2-inch-tall rings appeared inside a well-used horse arena late on a Saturday night in June. The arena bears tire tracks from a manure spreader, but Black Book sources say the circles are raised over the tracks and could only have been made from the air. - A trio of deadly asteroids have our planet behind the 8-ball, says space scientists who fear a planet-destroying "bank shot" collision off the Moon or Mars. "All our sky-watching efforts have focused on asteroids hurtling straight toward us," explains astrophysicist Ben Cooper, of Boston. "But we've overlooked the deadly possibility of a planet-killer asteroid slamming into our nearest neighbors and either ricocheting into us or showering us with debris, which has happened in the distant past." Cooper has isolated three potential threats zooming towards the Moon and Mars with enough mass and velocity to threaten Earth. |
| February 8th 2010 Message To Gliese 581 Video A publicity stunt aimed at contacting intelligent aliens could imperil Earth - because no one checked to see if the ETs were friendly! In a bid to attract attention to our planet, the documentary company RDF and Bebo, an Internet site for teenagers, commissioned a Ukranian radio telescope to beam 500 messages from the public into outer space. The beam will be aimed at Gliese 581, a star 20 light years away recently found to have at least one Earth-like planet orbiting around it. "To the best of our scientific knowledge, this is the likeliest place for us to make contact with extraterrestrial life," explains astrophysicist John Vlarkesdale, of Boston. "On an astronomical scale it's practically next door." "But there's no guarantee that our neighbors are friendly - or that they know we're here." Our planet has been sending out radio waves ever since the first wireless transmissions at the beginning of the 20th century. And the amount of signals rising into space has steadily increased since the TVs became commonplace in the 1950s. But experts point out that these signals dissipate the farther away you get from Earth. "By the time an I Love Lucy rerun reached Gliese 581, it would be like a weak, fuzzy whisper, drowned out by other radio sources in space," explains Clarksdale. "But the message from RDF and Bebo isn't like an ordinary TV signal." "It's focused into a narrow, ultra-powerful beam that's designed to be heard." "If anyone on one of the planets around Gliese 581 is listening, they're going to know exactly where we are." "And there's a good chance they won't like what they hear." Clarkesdale and other astronomers believe that if a technologically advanced civilization does recieve the powerful signal, they'll start looking for the faint transmissions from our regular TV broadcasts. And the first large-scale TV transmissions our planet ever made - the first ones curious aliens are likely to locate - are Adolf Hitler's appearances at the Nuremburg rallies in Nazi Germany. "It's foolish to believe we are alone in space," explains Solomon Meir, an astronomer in Hawaii. "There are more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy, which is one of billions of galaxies in the universe." "So far, we've pinpointed 250 planets capable of sustaining life - the so-called 'Goldilocks worlds' that aren't too hot or too cold, too big or too small to support the evolution of life." "But even here on our home planet, we know that just because it's alive doesn't mean it's friendly or wants the best for us." "Jungle explorers don't march into the Congo shouting, 'Hello! Here we are! Come get us!'" "They advance cautiously and quietly. Why should space be any different?" |
| February 7th 2010 Princess Chunk The 44 Pound Cat Video A gigantic cat found wandering the streets became a victim of the housing crisis when her owner lost their home to foreclosure! The colossal kitty weighed in at a startling 44 pounds and was named Captain Chunk by workers at the Camden County Animal Shelter in Blackwood, New Jersey. Days after his discovery, there was some confusion over the sex of the cat - some shelter staffers thought the animal was actually a she and began calling it Princess Chunk! Even more puzzling than its gender was how a kitty so obese that it needed a bathtub for a litter box could have eluded its owner. The humungous animal quickly became a media darling and was featured on the daytime talk show Live With Regis & Kelly, where a veterinarian confirmed the beast was absolutely male. His appearance prompted the heartbroken former owner to come forward to say because of the foreclosure she no longer had a home for the kitty she called powder. Once the mega-cat received a clean bill of health, except that he's "weigh" too big, nearly 500 adoption applications from as far away as London, England, were reviewed. Catherine Harr, president of the animal shelter's board, says the snow white pussy was eventually awarded to an American couple who had raised several cats in the past and could prove financial stability. The shelter won't disclose the new owners' identity, but Harr does say they plan to build a castle over Powder's giant litter box. "He's laid-back and friendly," says shetler volunteer Deborah Wright. "We're just glad someone loving has adopted him." Unfortunately, none of the people eager to own Powder were interested in the 200 other cats and kittens in the shelter's care. Harr says the facility was forced to euthanize nearly 1,000 unwanted felines last year. |
| February 6th 2010 Audrey Toguchi, The Cure And Father Damien Video A dying woman prayed to a Catholic missionary and was miraculously cured - and now the priest could become a saint! Udrey Toguchi, of Aiea, Hawaii, was given six months to live after doctors discovered malignant tumors in her lungs. So the retired schoolteacher turned to the spirit of Father Damien, a courageous priest who died more than a century ago. "Prayers are nice and it's probably very helpful, but you still need chemotherapy," Dr. Walter Y.M. Chang recalls telling his patient. Instead, Toguchi hopped on a plane and flew to the remote island of Molokai, where Father Damien had ministered to victims of leprosy before dying of the disease himself in 1889. "Dear Lord, you're the one who created my body, so I know you can fix it," Toguchi prayed at Damien's shrine. "I put my whole faith in you. Father Damien, please pray for me, too, because I need your help." Her fervent prayers were answered six months later when a group of cancer specialists discovered the deadly disease had disappeared without a trace! The Vatican conducted a thorough investigation before announcing that Toguchi's cure defied medical explanation. On July 3, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI declared the case was Damien's second miracle and placed the belgian priest on the path to sainthood. Two confirmed miracles are required by the Catholic Church before a candidate can be canonized, and Father Damien recieved credit for his first in 1992. In that instance, Sister Simplicia Hue of France nearly died of a gastrointestinal disease before recovering overnight in 1895 after praying to Damien. Chang says Toguchi was in similarly dire straits before turning to the deceased friar for help. "Chemotherapy may have delayed her demise, probably slowed the cancer down, but eventually, she would have succumbed to this vicious cancer," says Chang. "For the doctor and scientist, we call it complete spontaneous regression of cancer. For the true believer or faithful, this is a miracle." As for Toguchi, she and her husband of 50 years, Yukio, are simply thankful to be sharing their golden years together. And the deeply religious 80-year-old grandmother scoffs at the title "miracle woman" that some people call her. "I'm just a regular Joe Blow," she insists. "I still don't know why this happened to me." |
| February 5th 2010 Fatima And UFOs Photo The apparition of the Virgin of Fatima may have been caused by UFOs, says a panel of the world's top scientists and researchers. Internationally renowned scholars Fernando Fernandes, Joaquim Fernandes and Raul Berenguel have compiled findings from a vast array of experts in the controversial new book Fatima Revisited: The Apparition Phenomenon in Ufology, Psychology and Science (Anomalist Books). They conclude that the visions at Fatima correspond so closely to modern UFO reports that the two phenomena must be related. The visions took place over several months in 1917, when three sheperd children from Fatima, Portugal, reported seeing the Virgin Mary. During some visitations, she revealed prophetic secrets and sometimes whisked the children into the air to show them distant sights. At the final apparition on October13, hundreds of people gathered and watched a multicolored globe as bright as the sun dancing through the afternoon sky. The scientists pored over approximately 100 eyewitness reports and the official interrogations of the three children. They contrasted this data with accounts of 50 years of close encounter experiences with otherworldly visitors. They point out numerous facts that link the Fatima apparitions to modern UFO sightings. - The Lady was wrapped in a spherical, bling light. One of the three children described her as holding a glowing ball in her hands, and as rising into the sky inside a cone of "solid light." - She never moved her face or lips while "talking," and never bent her legs while moving. UFO abductees report similarly robotic aliens who communicate using telepathy. - The apparitions were accompanied by a deep buzzing sound, like the buildup of electric energy heard by UFO contactees. - In the final vision, when the glowing disk danced across the sky, witnesses saw three figures aboard it. The pilgrims referred to them as the Holy Family, but researchers have compared them to aliens seen aboard flying saucers. Some of the experts are quick to point out that even if a UFO caused the miracle at Fatima, that doesn't mean it wasn't a sacred event. It could even be that ETs are messengers from God! "In innumerable reports, encounters with God always trigger similar reactions," explains psychotherapist Gilda Moura, one of the contributing scholars. "The issue is not whether Fatima involved an encounter with an ET rather than with Mary, Mother of Jesus. "It is to what extent an encounter with alleged extraterrestrial beings is another way that the superior entities guide our evolution." |
| February 4th 2010 Redneck Stonehenge Video Annoyed by his uppity neighbors, a farmer used three derelict cars to creat an ugly backyard fence between them. Rhett Davis, of Hooper, Utah, built the outlandish barrier after residents from a housing development adjacent to his property began complaining about his hayfield. "This is just a fun way for me to say, 'Hey, boys, I'm still here,'" says the lifelong farmer. "This is my redneck Stonehenge." 'The people who bought the homes say, 'Well, we love looking into your yard and seeing the horses and the cattle, but we don't like the flies and masquitoes.'" "And when I cut my field to bale it, they say, 'We don't like the dust in the air.'" In an attempt to keep the peace, Davis offered to pay 50 percent of the cost of a fence between his farm and the houses and even build the darn thing. But his neighbors refused, saying a fence would block the view! That's when Davis decided to interject a bit of humor into the situation by using his backhoe to dig three huge holes on his property. Then he planted three wrecked cars that had competed in demolition derbies nose-first and side-by-side in the holes. "I respect that they're here and spent a lot on their homes," he says. "But on the other hand, give me a little bit, too. I've been here since I was 7 years old." Davis also emphasized that he has no intention of keeping the bizarre barricade up for very long. "These cars can come out just as easy as they went in," he explains. |
| February 3rd 2010 5 Keys To Happiness Photo Happiness can be fleeting, but not if you follow these tips - they're guaranteed to keep the sunshine in your smile! 1. Purge Clutter. "It's amazing how much happier you feel once you've gotten rid of extra stuff," explains New York psychiatrist Carrie Bonder. "If you haven't used something in six months, get rid of it!" 2. Dependable Friends. Your happiness is directly related to your ability to share life's ups and downs. "Share your private thoughts with your friends and fight the blues as a team," Bonder explains. 3. Give In To Little Temptations. You want to be perfect - stick to a diet, keep a clean home, get to work on time and remember everyone's birthdays - but no one can do it all. Give yourself permission to splurge just a little - like a slice of fudge after Sunday dinner - and you'll be happier than ever. 4. Don't Give In To Regret. Stop second-guessing your decisions. "Whenever you face an important decision, pick two and only two requirements your choice needs to fill," recommends Bonder. "For example, if you're buying a car and you pick good mileage and a big back-seat as your requirements, then your choice becomes clear." "You won't waste time later worrying about the tiny sports car that got away!" 5. Balance Hard Work And Relaxation. Lazing around on the couch all day makes you just as miserable as keeping your nose to the grindstone. "The secret is to alternate between things you need to get done - like balancing your checkbook - and things you just like doing - like watching TV," explains Bonder. |
| February 2nd 2010 Belly Button Festival Video Thousands of revelers sporting colorfully-painted tummies danced in the streets at Japan's annual festival dedicated to the belly button. "Because the naval is located in the middle of the body, it's believed to be the most important part," says Kazuo Yamada, organizer of the weekend celebration. "Our town, Shibukawa, is also called the belly button of Japan, and that is how this festival began." The only thing participants take seriously is the dancing, which is conducted throughout the streets of the town for hours, despite sweltering temperatures. "It's about everyone doing something together," explains Hironori Kanou, a 26-year-old city hall employee with a painted midriff. "But it's essentially pretty silly, so it's just about having fun and going with the flow." |
| February 1st 2010 Mom Welcoms 18th Child Photo After having 18 kids, Livia Ionce can single-handely field two baseball teams! The prolific mother and her hubby, Alexandru, recently welcomed their youngest child, Abigail, who joins her 17 siblings in their seven-bedroom home in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. "We never planned how many children to have," confesses Alexandru, 51. "We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life come from God and that's why we did not stop the life." The couple, who immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990, have the largest family in Bitish Columbia, with 10 girls and eight boys, ranging in age from 8 weeks to 23 years old. "We would have liked a boy to be even," says Alexandru, a construction worker. "But we thank God all of them are healthy and happy." The proud papa also claims that Abigail's birth on July 16 wasn't difficult for his 44-year-old wife, who delivered the 7-pound, 12-ounce girl naturally. In fact, all of their children were single births delivered naturally except for her 4-year-old son Filip, who was born by Caesarian section. Livia has now been crowned the province's most fertile mom, but she's still far behind the most fecund female in history. According to the Guinness World Records, a Russian woman in the 18th century, known only as "the wife of Feodor Vassilyev," produced 69 children from 27 pregnancies! |
