44 snakes and lizards almost smuggled on a plane

by Jamie Rhein on

Not that I’ve thought much about smuggling lizards and snakes on a plane, but reading about this Australian guy who was nabbed a couple days ago trying to smuggle 44 snakes and lizards from Australia to Bangkok got me thinking. Why 44?

Seems to me that’s overshooting one’s luck. Wouldn’t it have been better to stop at 10, perhaps? Not that I want to give anyone smuggling advice since I think animals and plants should be left where they’re found unless it’s legal to transport them and a person has a permit to do so, but I’m flummoxed that this guy thought he could get by with it.

Look at the X-ray. A snake looks like a snake in an X-ray, and a lizard looks like a lizard. Not long ago a woman was apprehended trying to smuggle three banana plants in her underwear. If that didn’t work, considering that plants are inanimate objects, it seems three black headed pythons might attract some attention.

Along with those three he had an Albino Carpet Python, 24 Shingleback Lizards and 16 Blue Tongue Lizards. He must not have seen Catherine’s post from 2007 when a snake smuggling culprit was caught in Cairo. Or maybe when he saw that the Cairo guy was trying to transport 700 snakes, 4 snakes and 44 reptiles didn’t seem like all that many.

For his efforts, he could spend 10 years in jail and be fined a hefty sum. [via Buzz Feed]

Against the law to be annoying in public

by Jamie Rhein on

In Brighton, Michigan an ordinace was recently adopted to make it illegal to be annoying in public either by “word of mouth, sign or motions.” That’s the only piece of information I read about the ordinance in a snipet of News of the Weird in the Dispatch. Such a slim missive has me wondering about what’s annoying exactly?

I would guess you couldn’t flip a person off or stick out your tongue at someone. Probably you can’t put your thumbs at the side of your head at temple height and wag your fingers while saying, “Na, naa, na, na, nuh.” That’s what came to mind first. Or, what about someone standing in the middle of a grocery aisle talking loudly on a cell phone? That’s kind of annoying. There are all sorts of items one might put on a laundry list of annoying behaviors. My personal favorite is when someone comes to an event that’s quiet and starts rustling a plastic bag–and rustling, and rustling and rustling it. Give the person a citation, I say.

Then I went snooping on the City of Brighton Web site to see what’s what. I discovered that Brighton is the fastest growing town in Livingston County which is the fastest growing county in Michigan. I thought perhaps that all the extra people were making Brighton citizens unnerved and easily annoyed. Nope, that wasn’t it.

As it turns out, the old ordinace wasn’t clear about teenage bullying, neighbors repeatedly vexing neighbors, repeated unwanted text messages, these sorts of things.

As a statement by the mayor clarifies, the following do not fit under the new ordinace:

  • “The screaming child in the grocery line
  • The spouse that leaves dirty socks on the floor
  • The person that fails to use the left turn signal
  • You get the picture. . .”

This photo was taken at a park in GwinnettCounty, Georgia by Barely Fitz. You can’t be annoying there either.

Airport workers push plane off of runway

by Jamie Rhein on

In a demonstration of physical prowess and the power of team work–slightly reminiscent of the Chinese display of can-do power at the Beijing Olympics, 30 airport workers pushed a CRG7 airplane off to a side lane at the Zhengzou Airport in China.

Whew! As one pusher said, “Thank God, it was only a 20 tonne medium-sized airplane. If it had been a big plane, it would have knocked us out.”

The reason for this particular great leap forward was because of the plane’s mechanical failure that began while it was landing. No one was hurt, but once on the ground, the plane was through working. It’s hydraulic system was toast. According to airport officials, a tow truck wouldn’t work without the hydraulic system. The plane is where the workers left it since technicians have yet to fix it.

How long does it take to move a medium-sized plane a little less than half a mile off a runway if you have 30 able-bodied people? About two hours.

According to the Ananova article, there were 69 passengers and 7 crew on board. I’m wondering why were they allowed to stay on the airplane?

Thanks to Gadling reader Bob for sending along the link to this story.

L.A. Hires Goats to Help with Development Project

by Josh Lew on

If you pay a visit to downtown Los Angeles in the near future, you might expect to see the usual assortment of tall buildings and expensive retail shops. But what about farm animals? No, there isn’t going to be a new zoo located in city’s main commercial center. And there are no movies being filmed that are set in a post-apocalyptic world where wildlife runs free through urban areas . City officials have merely hired a herd of goats to clear shrubs on a plot of land where a new skyscraper is slated to be built.

Apparently goats are cheaper than people when it comes to clearing growth from an area. No wages, no gas-powered weed whackers, no overtime pay, no unions…what’s not to like? The goats have even become a bit of an attraction, with locals stopping by to look and snap photos. It should take about a week for the animals to eat their way through the lot’s undergrowth. I wonder if they’ll have to hire people to clean up all the goat poop before the construction crews move in. See a BBC report about the goats here.

Penis enlargement devices can be confiscated at the border says U.S. officials

by Jamie Rhein on

I once knew someone who had a penis ring. I never saw it, but I was told it was there. A friend of his told me. I won’t say who, but this friend is a trustworthy sort.

The kind of penis ring this fellow had, however, was not mentioned in this article about what sort of penis implements CAN be taken away at the U.S. border. At first, when I read the title of the article posted at Star-Telegram.com, I thought it might.

The penis ring that my friend’s friend sported was a piece of jewelry–like an earring, but different. The type of penis devices that are no nos are those that promise to enlarge the penis by constricting it with rings or stretching it using vacuums or weights.

There are not enough warning labels on the packaging or directions on how to use such devices says the FDA. The results that can happen because of misuse do not sound fun. Gangrene, for example. For this reason, these items can be confiscated if someone tries to bring them into the U.S.

I’m sure the FDA would frown on the antics of the guy who pulls a car with his penis.

I wonder how big the collection of such devices will be as border officials scoop them up? Another friend of mine once had an idea to make artwork with all the nail clippers that TSA once confiscated. Artwork out of penis devices would be real conversation starters.

This article also reminds me of that old Mae West joke, “Is that a pistol in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

Or that Austin Powers scene where he is going through customs with Elizabeth Hurley. What does he have in his bag? A Swedish penis enlarger. Here’s the scene. (Thanks, Scott for sending it to me.) If you want to read the FDA guidelines for yourself, here they are.