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Vol.5. NO.4...........................................................Pages14-15 WEIRD NEWS
Art Comes to Life In a 1999 episode of TV’s “The
Simpsons,” Homer became a temporary multibillionaire by accidentally
inventing a “tomacco” plant that sprouted tobacco-bred tomatoes that
were hopelessly addictive from even a single bite. Inspired (and hoping
to draw attention to the show’s anti-smoking message), Rob Baur of Lake
Oswego, Ore., tried to grow such a plant and has somewhat succeeded,
although a forensic researcher believes that only the plant itself, and
not the fruit, contains nicotine. In February, he announced that he
would auction off the golf-ball-sized fruit. [New York Post,
2004Feb07; Wired, 2003Nov07] Not So Smart Robber Ronald Paul McAllister, 43, allegedly robbed a Bank of America branch in Tulsa, Okla., in January, during which incident he was quoted as advising a teller, “Don’t do anything stupid, lady.” Moments later, as McAllister fled with his loot, he forgot to take his holdup note, which was a pre-printed withdrawal slip with his name on it. He was easily tracked down, and police now say McAllister had robbed another bank in October. [Tulsa World, 2004Jan24] Got Dignity Ariel Alonso, who lives near Roanoke, Va., was indignant when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration wrongly accused him of setting up a methamphetamine lab, and asked rhetorically, after the charges were dropped in January, “How do I get my ... dignity back?” The laboratory of Alonso (and his then-partner Jonathan Conrad) was in reality making the so-called “fluid of life,” which they goaded customers into buying (at $20 to $40 a dose) by claiming that it is the component of human cells and can cleanse people internally and build new tissue, even though it was just potassium chloride and white grape juice. (That, apparently, is the business plan that gave Alonso “dignity.”) [Roanoke Times, 2004Jan25] Cleaning Up Convicted murderer Robert Ivey continued to tell a court in Montreal, Quebec, in December that (contrary to a jury’s finding) he is not guilty of killing the 42-year-old victim and that if only he had enough money to challenge the conclusive DNA tests (which showed that his blood was all over the victim’s apartment), he would be a free man. A few moments later during his recitation to the court, Ivey asked the judge for credit toward his sentencing because of his conscientiousness in having spent “seven hours” cleaning up the crime scene and the victim’s body. [Montreal Gazette, 2003Dec24]
Geologist David J. Siveter of Leicester University (England) wrote in the journal Science in December that he and his team had found a fossil 425 million years old that is probably the oldest record of an unambiguously male animal. They named the half-inch-long shellfish Colymbosathon ecplecticos, which they said means “swimmer with a large penis,” referring to its organ that is one-fifth of its body length. [New York Times, 2003Feb04]
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Inside This Issue
2004 Bumper Stickers Arab Nightmare...............13 Azi Comes to Life ...........14 BioDemocracy ..................2 Book Reviews .................15 "Check This Out".......... 5 Cleaning Up.................. 14
Colymbosathon Country Western Titles... 11 Darwin Awards........... 5, 11 Digital Shoot Out............ 12 Got Dignity ....................14 Grandparents................. 10 Human Glow Light .........11
Important Action For Your Lara's Theme .................. 9 Letters to the Editor......... 12
Movie Making in New No Child Left Behind....... 1 North Central NM Events . 3 Not So Smart Robber ...... 14 Pass The Mustard..............8 Smart Blonde................ 10
Smarter Than The Old Unclassified.....................11 Weird News ....................14
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vast
and powerful alliance of thousands of farming hamlets and nearly 100
spectacular towns integrated the region through economic and religious
ties, and the whole system was interconnected with hundreds of miles of
roads. It took these Anasazi farmers more than seven centuries to lay
the agricultural, organizational, and technological groundwork for the
creation of classic Chacoan civilization, which lasted about 200
years—only to collapse spectacularly in a mere 40.
and
economic links and the eventual lapse of political allegiance is
perceptively reinterpreted from the Mexican perspective by Professor
Weber.
inspirational
positive thinking, self-help, and recovery classic.
has
been excitedly exploring the computer’s capabilities to process and
produce images that can better reflect what he saw, what he perceives as
the emotions of the earth itself.
to
adding kitchen cabinets and finishing the interior. The Owner-Built
Adobe House details every aspect of various types of adobe houses and
includes information on plumbing, electricity, heating and cooling,
fireplaces, flooring, and the framing of windows, doors, and roofs.
