Giant Hailstone Found in South Dakota Smashes US Record
A giant hailstone that fell in South Dakota has been, ahem, hailed as the biggest ever. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared that the hailstone, found in the town of Vivian, SD on July 23, measures a whopping eight inches in diameter and weighs a hefty one pound, 15 ounces. The committee says the South Dakota ice chunk breaks records set by hailstones discovered in Nebraska and Kansas.
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Rare Albino Raccoon Captured in Tennessee
knoxnews - The masked bandits of the great outdoors may be donning a new disguise.
Randy Wolfe, owner of Varmint Busters Wildlife Management Services, trapped a male albino raccoon Thursday near Nubbin Ridge in West Knox County.
Wolfe estimated the raccoon to be about a year old.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife biologist David Brandenburg said finding an albino raccoon is very uncommon.
"You don't see more of them because natural selection usually takes care of that," he said. "White is not a good color for a wildlife creature."
Wolfe, who has caught four albino raccoons in his 22-year career, said the white animal's look is very "striking."
"It's so unusual looking," he said. "At first I thought it was a possum because of the long snout, but then I noticed it had a big, bushy tail, not a thin, rat-like tail. It's a unique creature."
Bradenburg said albino animals have a rare gene that "just shows up" and that almost any wildlife creature, including squirrels, rabbits and deer, can be albino.
Wolfe said because of an overpopulation of raccoons and the presence of raccoon-strain rabies in East Tennessee, TWRA regulations forced him to euthanize the albino raccoon. Raccoons can carry diseases harmful to humans and other mammals, including rabies, parvo and raccoon roundworm.
Exceptions to this policy include raccoon mothers and the young, which may be sent to licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers, Wolfe said.
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Garbage Threatens to Jam China's Three Gorges Hydro-Electric Dam
abc.net - Layers of trash floating in the Yangtze river are threatening to jam China's massive Three Gorges hydro-electric dam.
Chinese state media reports the garbage is so thick in parts of the river that people can walk on the surface.
China Daily says nearly three tonnes of refuse are collected from the dam every day, but operators are struggling with inadequate manpower and equipment as rubbish accumulates more quickly due to rain-triggered floods.
"The large amount of waste in the dam area could jam the mitre gate of the Three Gorges Dam," China Three Gorges corporation official Chen Lei said in the newspaper.
More than 150 million people live upstream from the dam.
In several nearby cities, household garbage is dumped directly into the river - China's longest - because municipalities are not equipped for trash disposal.
Mr Lei said 160,000 cubic metres of trash was collected from the dam last year.
The newspaper says the China Three Gorges corporation spends about 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) per year to clear floating waste.
According to state newspaper Hubei Daily, a 60-centimetre thick layer of garbage covering an area of more than 50,000 square metres began to form in front of the dam when the rainy season started in early July.
China considers the $22 billion Three Gorges Dam a modern wonder.
Since its completion in 2008, it has pumped out much-needed hydro-electricity, increased shipping on the Yangtze and helped reduce flooding.
But critics say the world's largest dam has caused ecological damage and increased landslides in the area.
About 1.4 million people were displaced when the dam was built and several heritage sites have been put deep underwater.
NOTE: More proof that China is an ecological time bomb...that the West will end up being forced to help clean up! Not that we don't have our own problems...Lon
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Benny Hinn and His Miraculous Magic Jacket!
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Witness the almighty healing power of televangelist Benny Hinn (and his magic jacket)! Hinn claims to have the “anointing”, a special power given to him by God to heal the sick. At Hinn’s Miracle Crusades, he has allegedly healed attendees of blindness, deafness, cancer, AIDS, and severe physical injuries through his powers. Apparently these super-human powers extend to his jacket, which he uses as an instrument of God to cure the sick during his events.**********
Armed Robber Calls To Complain About Loot Amount
Police say a man who robbed a fast-food restaurant with a gun was so mad about the amount of loot that he called back twice to complain.
The man walked up to the drive-through window of an Atlanta Wendy's late Saturday night, wearing a ski mask and holding a gun.
He demanded the cash drawer, grabbed it and ran away.
But police say he later called the fast food restaurant to complain about the amount of cash.
Police say in one call he said that "next time there better be more than $586."
He called again with a similar complaint.
Fortean / Oddball News - 8/2/2010