A Hurricane Hits Canada

by Josh Lew on

When television reporters try for their moment of glory by standing outside in the midst of a hurricane, there is usually a palm tree being whipped by the wind in the background. Hurricanes are known mainly as a tropical phenomenon. But not always. Hurricane Kyle battered Nova Scotia yesterday. Meanwhile, the neighboring US state of Maine issued the first hurricane warning in 17 years. Winds of 96 miles per hour were reported when the category one storm made landfall.

While rare, hurricanes in Canada are not unheard of. Hurricane Juan caused two fatalities when it hit Canada’s Atlantic coast 5 years ago. No deaths have been reported during Kyle. However, trees and power lines were downed.

The worst-ever storm to hit Canada was Hurricane Hazel, which killed 85 people in 1954 and left large parts of Toronto flooded. Kyle is the 6th hurricane and 11th tropical storm of the season. Storms this year have been particularly bad for Caribbean nations.

Do You Have Any Jaffa Cake, Dear Chap?

by Iva Skoch on

Two British rowers, Stuart Turnbull and Edward Bayliss, somehow got it in their heads that rowing across the Atlantic Ocean was a good idea. It didn’t turn out to be so great when, after nearly being hit by tankers, losing their speargun, being pounded by gales and 40 ft. waves, they had to be rescued by some Dutch rowers short of their destination.

The two set off from Tenerife, hoping to break the record (40 days) for rowing across the ocean the fastest. To cut down on weight, they gave themselves only 50 days of food rations. 56 days into their adventure, they were down to 1,000 calories a day rations and had to be given more food by a Dutch crew, who were out there doing the same thing.

Now, it was all for a good cause, Cancer Research UK, but they themselves turned out to be the charity cases. You can find out more about their continuing adventures at this Daily Mail site. (Oh, and if you’ve never tried a Jaffa cake…)