Man, 92, Still Working At Post Office

A New York state man who began working for the U.S. Postal Service when he was 70 is now 92 and the oldest postal worker in a district including eight states. Officials said Charles Cook, of Pittsford, who works as a supervisor at the mail processing center in Henrietta, is the oldest employee in a district including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Delaware, and portions of New York, West Virginia and New Jersey. Cook said. “I’m going to be here for another 25 years.” More

Escaped Pet Birds Are Teaching Wild Birds to Speak

Across parts of Australia, reports have been pouring in of strange voices chattering high in the treetops — mysterious, non-sensical conversations in English. It turns out that escaped pet birds, namely parrots and cockatoos, have begun teaching their wild bird counterparts a bit of the language they picked up from their time in captivity — and, according to witnesses, that includes more than a few expletives. Jaynia Sladek, an ornithologist from the Australian Museum, says that some birds are just natural mimickers, able to acquire new sounds based on things they hear around them. More

Girl, 8, made to wear sign as punishment

An Illinois school district sent a letter to parents after a father made his 8-year-old daughter stand outside a school with a sign saying she likes “to steal.” Superintendent Mike Brink of High Mount School District 116 said he sent the letter home after Montrail White forced his third-grade daughter to hold a sign reading “I like to steal from others and lie about it” outside of High Mount School in Swansea and reportedly used profanity about 15 times in front of young students during the punishment. More

City bans mention of dinosaurs, dancing, birthdays

In a bizarre case of political correctness run wild, New York educrats banned references to “dinosaurs,” “birthdays,” “Halloween” and dozens of other topics on city-issued tests. That is because they fear such topics “could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students.” Dinosaurs, for example, call to mind evolution, which might upset fundamentalists; birthdays are not celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses; and Halloween suggests paganism. Even “dancing” is taboo, because some sects object. But the city did make an exception for ballet. More

Hamster gets stuck to cage after eating magnet

Four-month-old Smurf was found hanging from the outside of her cage by her mouth after owner Kate Meech returned from a day out with her family. After being stuck there for eight hours, the rodent was freed by the mother of four, who then saw the outline of the magnet in Smurf’s cheek pouch. The metal disc had fallen off the foot of a Spider-Man action figure belonging to Mrs Meech’s ten-year-old son. More

Man attacked by lion, saved by a bear

Robert Biggs, 69, often hikes in the Bean Soup Flat area. He came across a mother bear, a yearling and a newborn, which were about 40 feet from where he was standing. He decided to leave them be and turned to walk back up the trail. As he turned, a mountain lion pounced on him grabbing hold of his backpack with all four paws. He wrestled with the cat, striking it in the head with a rock pick. The cat screamed when it was hit with the pick, but didn’t let go. Before he knew it, the mother bear came from behind and pounced on the cat, tearing its grip from the backpack. More

Donkeys lost jobs – Ranchers used them to guard their herds

With pastures withered from a lingering drought, farmers in Texas and northwest Louisiana have abandoned donkeys by the hundreds, turning them into wandering refugees that have severely tested animal rescue groups. A rescue group said since March 2011, it has taken in nearly 800 donkeys abandoned in Texas, where ranchers mainly used the animals to guard their herds. Many of the cattle and goats have been sold off. Donkeys are instinctively hostile to dogs and their cousins: wolves and coyotes. They will bray, bare their teeth, run and chase, and attempt to bite and kick an intruder. More

King Tut’s stomach bacteria might cure for obesity

Researchers have recently discovered that modern use of antibiotics has wreaked havoc on the health and content of our gut bacteria. In turn, these changes have altered how our metabolisms work, possibly making us more prone to getting fat. Scientists from the University of Oklahoma have proposed an unexpected solution: Why not replenish our gut flora using fecal bacteria from ancient mummies as a guide? More

Robot Shuts Down Dallas Airport

A robotic device accidentally left aboard a Southwest Airlines jet shut down Dallas’ Love Field and resulted in law officers detaining 11 passengers. Crews prepping a jet after Southwest Flight #157 from Amarillo to Dallas, found the device on a plane behind the cockpit around 4:00 p.m. It was determined that the device was not dangerous and was a student’s science project. The student told authorities the robot was accidentally left on the plane. More

Jetforced to land – two children refused to fasten seatbelts

Alaska Airlines jet departing from Long Beach was forced to make an unscheduled landing when two children refused to fasten their seatbelts. The Alaska Airlines flight was bound for Vancouver, Canada, but was forced to land in Portland, Ore., when the children, ages 3 and 8, became unruly. An airline supervisor escorted the family to another flight from Portland to Seattle after discussing federal air regulations with them. More