The Menagerie

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by Tiassa, Jun 28, 2004.

  1. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    Just Skip This One, v. (whatever)

    Just Skip This One
    What? You haven't learned by now? Fine, then. Keep reading.


    I hope you'll pardon me if I don't run out and case down the AP original, and instead just borrow David Schmader's capsule summary:

    FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12 Nothing happened today, unless you count the Associated Press story about the man accused of returning used enemas to a drugstore in Florida, which then resold the goods to unsuspecting customers. "Thirty-four-year-old Ronald Eugene Robinson, of Jacksonville, faces federal charges of tampering with consumer products," reports the Associated Press. "If convicted, Robinson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in a federal prison and a $250,000 fine." P.S.: "Authorities say the customers who purchased the used enemas have been notified."

    I've intentionally left the boldface out of that paragraph in order to offer you a fair shot at not actually reading it.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Schmader, David. "Last Days: The Week in Review". The Stranger. October 16, 2012. TheStranger.com. October 22, 2012. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/last-days/Content?oid=15029781
     
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  3. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Ouch!

    Because Voting Is That Important?
    Well, yeah, but there's a limit ....


    And I thought it was bad enough when Karen Hughes wrote, "And if another Republican man says anything about rape other than it is a horrific, violent crime, I want to personally cut out his tongue."

    I mean, we all get it, but there is an artifice of civility expected in politics. At least Tina Fey confined herself to losing her mind.

    But the word coming up from Arizona is, well ... yeah.

    Holly Solomon, 28, chased her 36-year-old husband Daniel Solomon with the family Jeep SUV on Saturday night over a political argument stemming from the fact he didn't vote, CBS station KPHO in Phoenix, Ariz. reported. She pinned him between the underside of the SUV and the curb when he tried to run for help.

    The husband told investigators that Solomon believed her family was going to face hardship from President Barack Obama's re-election.

    Witnesses told police that Solomon followed her husband in her car through a parking lot while screaming at him. He hid behind a light pole to protect himself while Solomon circled several times. She struck him as he tried to make a break for the main road.


    (CBS/AP)

    Daniel Solomon, at press time, was reported to be in critical condition.

    And, yes, for those wondering, this was in Maricopa County.

    Best wishes to Mr. Solomon in his recovery. And, you know, I'm one who believes in the importance of voting, even if you just write in a random name. But this is at least a little beyond the pale.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Hughes, Karen. "Communication lessons from the election". Politico. November 9, 2012. Politico.com. November 13, 2012. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83632.html

    CBS and Associated Press. "Cops: Ariz. woman runs over husband for not voting". November 12, 2012. CBSNews.com. November 13, 2012. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57548600/cops-ariz-woman-runs-over-husband-for-not-voting/
     
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  5. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    I herd about this last night and was debating posting it myself. Apparently the poor basted is expected to live though I'm not sure if I would want to if I was him
     
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  7. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Death in Rio

    Happiest Day Ends With Death
    Don't say a word about God's mysterious ways


    Tragedy in Brazil: A bridegroom has died at his own wedding reception.

    Let's get the obvious joke out of the way: Lucky bastard!

    Because, really, death is not a joking matter, except that sometimes humor is the best way to accommodate and assimilate tragedy:

    Media reports say a Brazilian bridegroom bled to death at his wedding reception when he tripped and fell on an empty glass of beer.

    The G1 news website says the freak accident occurred early Monday morning some six hours after navy sergeant Fabio Jefferson dos Santos Maciel and Geise Guimaraes tied the knot.


    (Associated Press)

    Apparently, Maciel was dancing at his reception, lost his balance, fell, and in doing so shattered a glass he had stuck in his pocket, which in turn severed his femoral vein, resulting in the recently-married groom's death by blood loss.

    Normally, when I need to stash a glass for a short period, I use my jacket pocket. To the other, I don't dance, so I have less reason to take my jacket off. I can't recall whether I've ever used my trousers to stash a pint glass, but, of course, with the danger now so apparent, well .... And, of course, any free-market solution will emerge too late for the deceased lucky guy and his presumably heartbroken bride.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Associated Press. "Fabio Jefferson Dos Santos Maciel, Brazil Bridegroom, Bleeds To Death At His Wedding". The Huffington Post. November 21, 2012. HuffingtonPost.com. November 23, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/21/brazil-bridegroom-bleeds-_0_n_2172863.html
     
  8. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    37,884
    File Under: Whoops!

    File Under: Whoops!
    Parade confetti included Nassau County police data


    The lede, from BBC:

    Some confetti at the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday in New York appears to have been made out of confidential police documents, a US media report says.

    A college student named Ethan Finkelstein explained to a local television station that he noticed a strip of confetti on his friend's jacket: "It landed on [his] shoulder, and it says 'SSN' and it's written like a social security number."

    The questionable confetti contained horizontally-shredded documents from the Nassau County Police Department, and included employee personal data such as social security numbers, license plates, addresses, and phone numbers. Some appear to be arrest reports. Macy's, for its part, said the confetti isn't theirs. The origin of the paper bits is still a mystery. The Nassau County Police Department said it was "very concerned" about the confetti, and will review its document disposal procedures.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    British Broadcasting Corporation. "Macy's parade: 'Shredded police papers in confetti'". November 25, 2012. BBC.co.uk. November 25, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20487235
     
  9. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    37,884
    He Didn't Think It Was Loaded

    He Didn't Think It Was Loaded
    Pennsylvania man accidentally shoots son, 7, to death


    You know, because accidents happen:

    A man's handgun went off while he was holding it as he got into his truck in the parking lot of a western Pennsylvania gun store Saturday and the shot killed his 7-year-old son, authorities said.

    Joseph V. Loughrey, 44, was getting into the truck when the 9 mm handgun discharged, wounding Craig Allen Loughrey in the chest, according to state police. The boy died at the scene at Twigs Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township, 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. Store owner Leonard Mohney said the boy was shot in the parking lot, but that he didn't see what happened.

    Investigators said Loughrey told them he didn't realize there was a bullet still in the chamber. "This happens all too often where people think the gun was empty," Lt. Eric Hermick told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.


    (Associated Press)

    The shooting is presently regarded as an accident, and that is well and fine in and of itself, but this sort of thing gets old. Apparently, knowing the lethal status of one's lethal weapon is too much to ask.

    And it is too late for the elder Loughrey to learn that lesson. He will carry the burden of his error for the rest of his life.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Associated Press. "Craig Allen Loughrey, 7, Shot To Death At Gun Store: Police". The Huffington Post. December 8, 2012. HuffingtonPost.com. December 8, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/08/craig-allen-loughrey-7-sh_n_2264183.html
     
  10. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Safety Notes

    Safety Notes
    At least the death toll was low


    Lock and lede:

    A 21-year-old Joliet man accidentally shot and killed himself while trying to demonstrate how the safety mechanism worked on his new handgun, authorities said today ....

    .... Joliet Police Cmdr. Al Roechner said today that the mishap occurred around 5 p.m. Friday as Perry was sitting in a vehicle in front of his home with two other people.

    The two witnesses said Perry was displaying his recently purchased .25-caliber handgun when "he set the safety, pointed the gun at his face, pulled the trigger and the safety didn't work," Roechner said. Perry was shot in the right side of his face near his nose.

    Sure, there's one born every minute. And they're dying every day. On the upside, the late Mr. Perry did not take anyone else with him.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Sullivan, Dennis. "Cops: Man fatally shoots himself while showing off new gun's safety". The Chicago Tribune. December 17, 2012. ChicagoTribune.com. December 17, 2012. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...t-man-shoots-himself-20121217,0,4868019.story
     
  11. GeoffP Caput gerat lupinum Valued Senior Member

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    22,087
    That's a sucker, not a fool.
     
  12. Aqueous Id flat Earth skeptic Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    6,152
    Thanks for that. I immediately ran to the tree and removed all the giftwrapped pistols I'd bought for Johnny and Sally and Gork (Tommy's assumed name in the mischievous period of teenage rebellion). But did I cave in? No sir! They can take this gun away from me when they pry my cold dead fingers from that trigger. Hell no, I went straight back to Sears and Roebuck, who not only refunded my money, they gave me a 10% discount on the better model, the one with the deluxe safety. Heh heh. Deluxe. Shoot, when it fails it probably takes out everyone in a ten foot radius. I was so glad, I rushed home, wrapped them back up and put them back under the tree. I came up with a new idea for an ad campaign I'm working on. A manly man comes out and says:

    Yessir, moh keeyudz goennuh be riced reespekkinn thuh rot ta defen thayr seff. A lotta foeks dod jess tuh giviss thayum thayur rots. Mot uz wayal eeyunJOWahyum !

    I'm thinking the camera pans to the kids unwrapping their packages under the tree with some Bing Crosby in the background, just to set the mood. Then fade to the NRA logo with a catchy message, maybe "Gun ownership: it's not just a right. It's a privilege!"
     
  13. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    Self-Defense

    Self-Defense
    Missouri: Discussion of Newtown Massacre leads to shooting


    The Associated Press explains:

    A Wentzville man is jailed after allegedly becoming agitated during a barber shop discussion of the Newtown, Conn., shooting and allegedly shooting in the direction of a patron.

    Assault, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a weapon charges were filed against 57-year-old Lester Davis of Wentzville following the shooting Tuesday at All Cuts Barber Shop in Wentzville.

    A patron made the comment that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School made him want to kill the suspect. For unknown reasons, police say Davis took the comment as a threat and asked, “You want to murder me?”

    Davis then allegedly went to his car, retrieved a pistol and fired three times in the customer’s direction. No one was hurt.

    The AP also notes that Mr. Davis turned himself in.

    You know, I get the whole thing about needing to protect oneself, but why do so many gun owners and advocates see so many threats in the world? I've had discussions with gun owners before in which I found myself wondering what in the world is so damn scary. Some of the self-reported reasons for showing off, drawing, or even shooting a gun in defense I've encountered are, well, perhaps they make sense to other gun owners.

    Still, though, even if we presume the report is unintentionally inaccurate—that there is more to the discussion than one guy simply misinterpreting another—if one has time to walk to his car, retrieve a gun, go back to the site of the original confrontation, and pop off three rounds, it is hard to argue an imminent threat.

    The phrase, "culture of violence", is often used in discussing the American firearms issue. And in many cases, people focus their blame on movies, television, video games, and even pop music. Clearly, though, that doesn't hold. While one should always be cautious of extrapolating from a sample of one, I can also say I'm not alone in my generation: I've grown up on violent movies, television, video games, and pop music, and I loathe violence. I don't own a gun; I refuse to carry one. Some of the most abstractly unsettling times I experience are when a friend who is a gun owner wants to show off his killing wares. I don't know; maybe I'm just not smart enough to get it. Yeah, I dropped ninety cops in thirty minutes the other day, playing Gay Tony, but for heaven's sake, it's a video game.

    So, no, I do not understand the "culture of violence" when all we do is point at popular media and complain. Yet, it is hard to avoid the consideration when thinking about what situations some gun owners decide warrant that kind of force.

    What did Mr. Davis allegedly hear that instilled such fear? What specific threat did he perceive? What was the point of firing those rounds? If you have time to walk to your car, get a gun, and walk back, do you not also have time to call the police and report a threat? Of course, if the answer really is to get a gun and start shooting, perhaps here we find an ingress, a point at which we might begin exploring the "culture of violence", and whatever it is people mean by the phrase.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Associated Press. "Discussion About Newtown Leads To Shooting In Wentzville Barber Shop". KMOX. December 19, 2012. StLouis.CBSlocal.com. December 19, 2012. http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/12/19/man-gets-mad-in-barber-shop-shoots-toward-patron/
     
  14. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    37,884
    Celebrating Crime?

    Today in Crime
    Not quite a money shot


    Levi Pulkkinen explains the latest strangeness out of Seattle:

    A homeless man allegedly caught “having a good time with himself” in a Capitol Hill doorway to ring in 2013 while his pockets were packed with $1,600 has been charged with bank robbery.

    King County prosecutors contend Patrick M. Higuera robbed a Broadway U.S. Bank on New Year’s Eve, and was later arrested while masturbating in an entryway to a business the following day. Higuera, 45, has been charged with robbery.

    During the Dec. 31 robbery, Higuera is alleged to have handed a teller a note demanding $3,000 and claiming he had a bomb. According to charging documents, Higuera fled the bank with $2,000 and the demand note.

    Surveillance at the bank captured clear images of Higuera’s face, which was not disguised during the robbery, a Seattle detective told the court. Those photos were distributed to police, who began searching for him.

    At 12:15 p.m. New Year’s Day, two officers patrolling Capitol Hill were flagged down by a woman who reported seeing a man masturbating in the entry of a Volvo dealership in the 1100 block of Pike Street.

    “There’s a guy over there laying down and having a good time with himself,” the woman told police, according to charging documents. The woman then walked away as police approached Higuera.

    Higuera has allegedly confessed to the robbery, and said he used some of the money to buy food and methamphetamine. Police discovered over $1,600 on Higuera, including eight hundred dollars in his shoes.

    Ah, the Emerald City!
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Pulkkinen, Levi. "Charge: Bank robber caught masturbating in Capitol Hill doorway with $800 in his shoes". Seattle PI. January 10, 2013. SeattlePI.com. January 10, 2013. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Charge-Bank-robber-caught-masturbating-in-4183486.php
     
  15. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    37,884
    The Power of Prayer?

    The Power of Prayer?
    Or, maybe, it's just the power of delusion


    Something about these stories cracks me up, though in truth it really is tragic:

    Detroit police found the body of a 93-year-old man today—stuffed inside a freezer in his son's basement—after investigators said the son stole the body and casket from a Detroit cemetery on Monday.

    The body of Clarence Bright was found in a home in the 4700 block of Eastlawn, Sgt. Eren Stephens said. It was in a new freezer in the basement, according to a police source.

    The man's 48-year-old son reportedly told family members on Monday that he stole his father's body from Gethsemane Cemetery on the city's east side that morning to resurrect him through prayer, the source said.


    (Stables Battaglia and Zaniewski; boldface accent added)

    Laughter probably is inappropriate. This is a man in mourning, unequipped to handle the emotional toll of losing his father. It is unclear, however, given that the elder Mr. Bright is still dead, whether the son's faith was insufficient, God simply doesn't exist, or police unjustly interrupted the resurrection process. Of course, perhaps there was another disaster. If I woke up from being dead and found myself locked in a freezer, I'd probably die of shock, or else freeze to death.

    Oh, right. This isn't funny.

    Okay, deep breath. Not funny.

    Neighbor Gwendolyn Coleman explained of the younger Bright, "He done lost it".

    She didn't know the elder Bright. But she attended Saturday's funeral to pay her respects to his son.

    "At the funeral, he said, 'Y'all might think I'm great, y'all might think I'm great'—everybody heard that at the funeral," explained Coleman, standing in front of the now-boarded front door of the man's home. "Then he said, 'Watch what I'm going to do, watch what I'm going to do.' Everybody heard that—the whole family, too. We didn't think he was going to do nothing like that, though."

    Police have also arrested two others, who are apparently suspected of stealing the corpse and casket from the funeral home: "Officers found the empty casket about 7 a.m. Tuesday in a van parked at a gas station, and arrested a 48-year-old man and a 38-year-old man in the vehicle."

    Remember, this isn't actually funny, no matter how much it tickles your morbidity. And, to be certain, it is nothing on the scale of the infamously Keystonesque theft and recovery of Charlie Chaplin's body, which was held for ransom (£400,000, unpaid) and, eventually, discovered in a Swedish cornfield.

    And be there a God in Heaven, He probably isn't laughing.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Stables Battaglia, Tammy and Ann Zaniewski. "Stolen body found in son's freezer; 2 found with casket in custody". Detroit Free Press. January 15, 2013. Freep.com. January 16, 2013. http://www.freep.com/article/201301...ry-found-stuffed-in-son-s-freezer-police-said
     
  16. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    37,884
    Idiocy is an international affliction

    Um ... Right
    Idiocy is an international affliction


    Let us simply check in with The Huffington Post, whose unfortunately-named (at least for this particular circumstance) Ron Dicker explains the latest in morbidly hilarious educational disasters:

    Preschool children in Normandy were left unsupervised to watch a porn film after the teacher thought she had downloaded a cartoon but clicked on the wrong file, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday. Unaware of her mistake, the teacher exited the classroom before the clip began, and the hardcore film played for several minutes, prompting the nursery schoolers to tell their parents, the news agency said.

    The teacher faces punishment for what one official deemed an "extremely regrettable accident," AFP wrote.

    The report did not say how it was that an adult movie was so easily accessible near a kids cartoon on the Internet.

    French-language news site La Dernière Heure wrote that the school's parents said their kids were shocked. So were online commenters. The site wrote that the teacher reportedly left the room to answer the phone, and readers questioned why 3- to 5-year-old nursery schoolers were unattended under any circumstances.

    No, really. Write your own punch line.

    And, of course, there is a moral to this story, but that ought to be obvious.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Dicker, Ron. "French Schoolchildren Shown Porn By Mistake As Teacher Leaves Room". The Huffington Post. January 16, 2013. HuffingtonPost.com. January 17, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/france-school-porn_n_2488912.html
     
  17. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    23,049
    the bit of that which concerns me is the very last line, why were the kids left alone? if she needed to take a phone call she should have done it in the back of the classroom while the kids watched the cartoon and then she would have seen her mistake
     
  18. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    A fine question, indeed

    Indeed. I'm uncertain, one way or another, what the French expectations—tacit or explicit—actually are, but it's entirely possible that the bulk of the disciplinary action the teacher faces considers that very question. I can imagine accidentally accessing pornography while looking for a cartoon, though it's at least a minor stretch; still, though, there remains the question, regardless of the cartoon or pornography question, of why any teacher would leave three-to-five year olds alone for any period.

    Kids are fast. Last year, working at my daughter's school, I amused several parents by jumping over a fence to chase down a preschooler. We had at least three sets of eyes on the yard, not counting the parents who had arrived early, but one of the children slipped out the side gate, down the fenced passage, through another gate, and then back up the driveway into the main parking lot before anyone noticed.

    Do angels move too fast to see?

    Blink, and you can miss it.
     
  19. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    Dangerous Liasons

    Danger[sup]3[/sup]
    Apparently, this really happened


    You would think this was straight out of The Onion:

    A ménage a trois went horribly wrong last Friday when a North Dakota man stabbed another male participant when he refused to switch positions during the tryst, according to court records ....

    .... "Hunter then asked to switch places with Orlando," according to a Fargo Police Department report. "Orlando told him no and Hunter became upset." During the ensuing argument, DeWitt called Hunter a "fucking retard," which infuriated Hunter. He yelled at DeWitt and ordered him to leave the residence.

    DeWitt, seen at left, recalled that Hunter--who threatened to "fuck him up" and "kill him"--reached into the couch and retrieved a 12-inch butcher knife. DeWitt and Leticia, both naked, fled to a bathroom. Hunter, knife in hand, subsequently forced his way into the bathroom and continued to threaten DeWitt.

    "Orlando said he decided to run for the front door," police reported. The nude DeWitt reached the home's first door, but as he "went to open the exterior door he felt the knife cutting the back of his left arm." While fleeing the home, DeWitt, who was not seriously injured, grabbed Leticia's phone, which he used to call 911 from a nearby alley.


    (The Smoking Gun)

    But, no. Apparently, this really happened.

    Safe sex: No three-ways with your prison buddies.

    Or no three-ways in North Dakota.

    Or ... um ... right. I just figure getting stabbed midway through was the last of the dangers of group sex that ever would have occurred to me.

    Wait, that's wrong. I don't think getting stabbed midway through a ménage a trois ever occurred to me as a danger of group sex.

    Really, there is no moral to this grim fable that doesn't sound fantastically stupid.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    The Smoking Gun. "Man Stabbed As Ménage A Trois Goes Wrong". February 13, 2013. TheSmokingGun.com. February 14, 2013. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/stabbing-after-threesome-578341
     
  20. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    Flapjacks

    Flapjacks
    No, really. You write a title for this one.


    The Press Association brings one of the stranger ledes you'll find these days:

    A school has banned triangular flapjacks after a pupil was injured by one.

    It's one of those things—flat, jumper, lift, lorry—that translates strangely on the west side of the Pond. It might help our European neighbors to understand why that sentence is such a jaw-dropper: In the States—and Canada, as I understand it—a flapjack is also called a pancake, a round, spongy thing poured into a skillet or onto a grill and cooked for breakfast. They go great with maple syrup and bacon.

    For my American neighbors, of course, it helps to explain that an English flapjack is something akin to a soft granola bar. And if I really push it, yes, I can see how someone could be injured by one.

    But while this isn't as stupidly obvious as, "Don't shock your nipples with standard electricle cables", there is some conventional wisdom about throwing things. And we learn as children. Don't put rocks in mudballs. Don't put ice in snowballs. And for heaven's sake, if you're going to throw food, use mashed potatoes or marshmallows or something.

    To the other, I'm assuming the flapjack was thrown, and we all know the dangers of assumption. Still, though, if you're going to go hucking flapjacks, don't headshot people. I mean, really. Standard etiquette, right?

    But, yes, I really should take a moment to cover the bases. Maybe he slipped on spilled milk, or tripped over his shoelaces. Face down on a flapjack, you know? Or that slow-motion moment as your feet slip forward, the ground abandons you, and gravity seizes hold while your jaw slacks open and your eyes bulge in horror. Fork and knife clatter to the ground. Apple juice splatters on the wall. And the flapjack twirls, twirls, arcing down to plant a hazardous vertex in your eye.

    Okay, note on vocabulary: It's not a vertex when it's an edge, right?

    Never mind. You get the picture.

    Flapjacks.

    Quote of the day:

    A spokesman for Castle View school said: "I can confirm that the texture and shape of the flapjacks were reviewed following an isolated accident last week."

    That sounds so British it's almost a bad joke unto itself.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Press Association. "Essex school bans triangular flapjacks after injury". The Guardian. March 25, 2013. Guardian.co.uk. March 25, 2013. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/25/essex-school-bans-triangular-flapjacks
     
  21. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    Toothpicks and Condoms

    Toothpicks and Condoms
    Five points if you know what the title means


    Yes, really.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!


    (I have no idea how long this one has been floating around the electronic aether, but I just came across it tonight.)
     
  22. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    Did I Step In Something?

    Did I Step In Something?
    Oh, that's your new sandals I smell ....


    Target, the mercilessly mocked retailer whose market niche fits somewhere between Wal-Mart and respectability, has been having a bad couple weeks.

    Lylah M. Alphonse explains:

    Last week, Target came under fire for describing the color of one maxi dress as "dark heather gray" while calling the plus-size version "manatee gray." This week, they're caught with another product-naming problem: Their Mossimo brand "Orina" sandals.

    While the store initially believed the word "Orina" to mean "peace" or "peaceful" in Russian, about a week ago they found out that it actually means "urine" in Spanish. The company is now in the process of relabeling all of the $19-$22.99 shoes that are still on their shelves. (The sandals had been available at Target stores and at Target.com since February, though they're no longer online. Perhaps they should consider themselves lucky that the name refers to the style and not the color!)

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!


    They're hardly alone; Alphonse notes unfortunate product names from IKEA and Kraft, among others, and notes that Dolce Vita also has "a line of cute, cutout oxford shoes with the same name" as the unfortunate sandals.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Alphonse, Lilah M. "Target Sandals Mistakenly Named After Urine". Yahoo Shine. April 11, 2013. Shine.Yahoo.com. April 12, 2013. http://shine.yahoo.com/fashion/target-sandals-mistakenly-named-after-urine---210420441.html
     
  23. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    Beaver Attack!

    Beaver Attack!
    Hunt for beaver snaps proves fatal


    Sometimes you must simply beware the beaver.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!


    Or, as Meredith Bennett-Smith explains:

    In a rare incident, a beaver bit a man to death in Belarus as he was attempting to take the animal's photograph.

    The victim was on a fishing trip with two friends when he stopped to snap a photo of a nearby beaver, according to Sky News. The beaver attacked the man, biting him on the thigh and severing an important artery, causing him to bleed to death.

    The man, whose name was not given, reached medics 30 minutes after the attack, but was pronounced dead upon arrival, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing local media reports.

    Sergei Shilinchuk, deputy head of the environmental protection committee for the city of Brest, told The Telegraph that he had never heard of a beaver killing a man before in the region.

    "People have lost fingers—that's the worst I've come across," Shilinchuk said. "The beaver is not normally aggressive, but it does have big teeth and immensely powerful jaws; it can cut down a tree three feet wide."

    Shilinchuk added that the animal could have been rabid, or perhaps young and attempting to stake its claim to new territory.

    On the other hand, the unamed fisherman-photographer has earned his chapter in legend: "What happened?" —He saw a fine beaver and died trying to get a picture.

    It's almost like a Jeff Foxworthy joke, except it's not supposed to be funny. Oh, right, neither was Foxworthy. But on that note, at least the late beaver enthusiast won't have to hear about it from his buddies at the pub. You know, unlike that guy in the Foxworthy story whose nipple was bitten off by an angry raccoon.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Bennett-Smith, Meredith. "Beaver Bites Man To Death: Animal Bit Through Fisherman's Artery As He Was Taking Its Picture In Belarus". The Huffington Post. April 12, 2013. HuffingtonPost.com. April 12, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/beaver-bites-man-to-death-belarus_n_3064822.html
     

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