Farmer herds 5,000 ducks through town

China – A Chinese farmer caused traffic chaos when he attempted to herd 5,000 ducks through a town.

People watched in amazement as the man and his helpers drove the ducks through the streets of Taizhou city in east China’s Zhejiang province.
Traffic ground to a halt as the mass of feathered animals were driven across the city in an effort to reach a pond in the search for food. Meanwhile, pedestrians were forced to scramble out of the way of the duck migration. More

Trainee hypnotist forced to call in help after girls are locked in a trance

Girls at a private school in Canada were locked into a trance for several hours after a trainee hypnotherapist could not snap them out of it. 

Maxime Nadeau (Picture), 20, hypnotized a group of 12 to 13-year-old students at College du Sacre-Coeur in Sherbooke, Quebec, for an end of year show.

But five students – most of whom were merely watching in the audience – got more than they bargained for when they remained in ‘mass hypnosis’ and could not be roused.
One student was locked into the trance for five hours, forcing the trainee hypnotist to call his mentor, Richard Whitbread, for an emergency intervention. More

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

6-year-old breaks leg, teacher says crawl back to school

Teachers at a Skokie school forced a 6-year-old with a broken leg and a concussion to crawl back to his classroom across an icy playground, then failed to call for an ambulance. Kindergartner Rahul Chandani slipped on a mound of snow and hit his head in the playground but didn’t get any medical help until his mom came to get him. His teacher told him: you’re a big boy, I can’t carry you and told him to walk back. His leg was broken so he fell again and then had to crawl at least 200-300 feet back to the school building. More

Conductor halts performance after cell phone ring

When a mobile phone went off during a New York Philharmonic performance the conductor saw red, stopping the orchestra in its tracks. Orchestra music director Alan Gilbert was so appalled by the continuing distraction during one of the most poignant parts of the performance that he brought the musicians to a standstill. The phone’s ‘marimba’ ring-tone went off from a front row seat of New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. The untimely interruption happened during the final and most moving bars of Mahler’s Ninth symphony, just 13 bars before the beginning of the last page of the score. More

Pot hole saves girl’s life

Ohio – A pothole is partially to thank for saving the life of a little girl who was being rushed to the hospital after swallowing a heart locket that lodged in her throat. When her mother drove over the hole on the way to the hospital, the rough bump made it all better. “I was trying to put my hair up and I had my locket in my mouth, and he was making me laugh so I was laughing at the same time, and when I went up like that it just went down my throat,” Laci said. “We hit a pot hole and she looked at me and said, ‘oh mom, I feel better.’ I said what do you mean you feel better and she said ‘I don’t feel it anymore,’” Amanda Cullum, Laci’s mother, said. More

Cats increasingly named after food by their owners

A survey by the Cats Protection charity discovered that owners across the UK often think of their own food tastes and are fond of naming their pets after snacks. Instead of Tiddles and Thomas, names like Pringle, Saffron, Sushi and Jellybean are increasingly popular, say the Sussex-based charity which questioned more than 1,000 people aged between five and 70. The research also found that one of the most trendy names for pet cats nowadays is Pilchard. The charity launched the survey hoping people would come up with names for the stray and abandoned cats that come into its care. More

Ketchup banned in schools

The French government said it is banning ketchup from being served with any dishes except fries in all school and college cafeterias. Officials said the ketchup ban, which also stipulates fries can be served a maximum once per week, is aimed at promoting healthy eating among the country’s youngsters. “France must be an example to the world in the quality of its food, starting with its children,” Agriculture and Food Minister Bruno Le Maire said. More

Bear with sweet tooth feasts at candy store

A bear has feasted on pecan logs, caramel apples and other treats at a candy store in the Smoky Mountains resort town Gatlinburg, Tenn. Employees reporting for work found the bear at the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen, where the animal apparently had knocked a hole in a glass front door to enter. The animal had spread candy on the floor, and wrappers and packaging were strewn throughout a back storeroom. Pecan logs had been chewed and chunks were missing out of caramel apples. More