Hot Springs Shutoff By British Columbia 7.7 Earthquake (+video)

/0 Comments/in /by

The recent West Coast earthquake appears to have shut off the water at the popular hot springs in Haida Gwaii’s national park, but there is hope they could reappear someday.

After Saturday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake, Parks Canada workers went to check the springs and found they had run dry, according to Barb Rowsell, who owns Anvil Cove Charters.

“Three people went down to check it out, and sure enough there is no hot water and the rocks are dry and cold,” said Rowsell, who has been ferrying visitors to Hotspring Island for years.

The popular natural attraction in Gwaii Haanas National Park has been a major tourist draw for decades.

The park’s superintendent Ernie Gladstone said the springs were still steaming last week, but now, to his dismay, there is not even a puddle left.

Video: This Elephant Really Speaks Korean

/1 Comment/in /by

Granted, Koshik the elephant doesn’t have a large vocabulary. But scientists have confirmed that the 5.5-ton behemoth can imitate five Korean words by speaking through his trunk.

Koshik can say “annyong” (“hello”), “anja” (“sit down”), “aniya” (“no”), “nuo” (“lie down”), and “choah” (“good”). (Don’t think that’s much? Well, how much Korean can you speak?)

The researchers, in a report posted in Current Biology, note that imitating speech is not unheard-of across species. Mockingbirds routinely mimic other creatures and mynahs and parrots can reproduce entire human phrases with enough training. (A number of apes, including a gorilla named Koko, have learned to communicate in sign language.)

Koshik, a male Asian elephant, was the only elephant living at Yongin’s Everland Zoo when his talent was discovered… Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s quick video of the elephant “speaking”:

Shock Video: Surveillance Camera Reveals Violent Assault During Hurricane Sandy

/6 Comments/in /by

Disturbing video posted online shows a man being beaten by a group of men as Hurricane Sandy struck New York City.

The incident happened Monday in the Crown Heights section of New York.

NyDailyNews.com identified the victim as 21-year-old Jeremy Furchtgott.

Furchtgott can be seen in surveillance video posted by CrownHeights.info being assaulted by at least five men.

According to the article, Furchtgott was forced to turn over his iPhone and money to the assailants. Read more from this story HERE.

See full video HERE.

Alaska Killer Whales vs. Witty Otter

/6 Comments/in , , , /by

In this extraordinary video taken this past week in Tutka Bay, Alaska, a mother otter avoids getting eaten by a group of killer whales by jumping on the back of my friend’s small boat that was in the area.

What’s not shown on the below video is one of the killer whales knocking the mother otter and her baby into the air. Unfortunately, the baby otter was eaten at that point while the mother made her escape.

The guys on the boat believe that the killer whales were training their young on how to hunt. That’s probably what allowed the mother otter to avoid being eaten herself.

As you watch this video, keep in mind that the killer whales that are swimming around and under the boat are much bigger than the boat itself.

Republicans Have Won Every November 6th Election

/3 Comments/in /by

Here’s one more historical curiosity to observe this election cycle. Since election day was standardized in 1845 there have been 6 presidential elections held on November 6th and Republicans have won all six. That means next Tuesday, the 7th Presidential election held on this date, will either break or uphold a streak that began in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln.

Starting in 1792, states had a range of dates on which to conduct presidential elections, but in 1845 Congress standardized the date so it would always be the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Since then presidential elections have been held on dates ranging from November 2nd to November 8th with each date coming up about six times in a fairly regular pattern. The date November 6th has always been a good one for Republicans.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lawsuit: Cop Tasered 10 Year Old at School’s Career Day Because He Wouldn’t Wash Patrol Car

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo credit: CeaA New Mexico police officer is accused of Tasering a 10-year-old boy because he wouldn’t wash his patrol car.

Courthouse News Service reports Motor Transportation Police Officer Chris Webb is being sued for allegedly using the weapon on the boy during a May 4 “career day” at Tularosa Intermediate School.

The complaint reportedly states that Webb asked a group of boys during the school’s career day who would like to wash his patrol car. All the boys responded they would, except when the 10-year-old identified as R.D. jokingly said he wouldn’t.

That’s when, the complaint states, Webb shot R.D. with his Taser.

“Defendant Webb responded by pointing his Taser at R.D. and saying, ‘Let me show you what happens to people who do not listen to the police,’” the complaint says, according to Courthouse News Service. “Both barbs penetrated the boy’s shirt, causing the device to deliver 50,000 volts into the boy’s body.”

Read more from this story HERE.

PETA Wants Street Sign Memorializing “Enormous Suffering” of Dead Fish

/23 Comments/in /by

Just when you thought you’ve heard or seen it all, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) shows up to astonish. In the latest screwball event, PETA is trying to get the City of Irvine, California, to put up a sign memorializing the deaths of several hundred fish from a traffic collision. Such signs are normally reserved only for human fatalities of accidents.

The Orange County Register reported that:

a truck carrying 1,600 pounds of live fish and several tanks of pure oxygen crashed with two other vehicles. The oxygen was used to keep the saltwater bass alive as the fish were being taken to market.

In the letter, Dina Kourda, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asks the city’s street-maintenance superintendent to place the sign at the site of the crash on Walnut and Yale avenues.

The sign would read, “In memory of hundreds of fish who suffered and died at this spot,” to remind tractor-trailer drivers of their responsibility to the animals who are “hauled to their deaths every day,” according to the letter, provided by PETA.

“Although such signs are traditionally reserved for human fatalities, I hope you’ll make an exception because of the enormous suffering involved in this case,” the letter read.

“Research tells us that fish use tools, tell time, sing, and have impressive long-term memories and complex social structures, yet fish used for food are routinely crushed, impaled, cut open, and gutted, all while still conscious,” the letter continued.

Gene Hackman Slaps Homeless Man in New Mexico

/6 Comments/in /by

Photo credit: trisherovertonOscar winner Gene Hackman admitted to slapping a homeless man across the face Tuesday afternoon, saying the guy approached him and his wife, Betsy, in a menacing manner and called Betsy a derogatory name, Santa Fe, N.M., police confirm to E! News.

Sgt. Andrea Dobyns told E! that the man on the receiving end of the slap called authorities at around 1:30 p.m. to report that he had been beaten up by Hackman.

Officers who responded were able to talk to both the caller and Hackman, who was still in the area after eating at a nearby restaurant.

The “Unforgiven” star told police that the man approached him and Betsy in a very aggressive manner, called his wife a nasty name and otherwise made them fear for their safety.

The man got into his face, according to Hackman, and he hit him, “more like a slap than a punch,” Dobyns said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Medical Examiner Creates Stash of 9,000 Brains – Without Families’ Permission

/1 Comment/in /by

It’s the great brain robbery.

The city Medical Examiner’s Office has kept the brains of more than 9,200 deceased New Yorkers — from the elderly to newborns — in the past eight years, records obtained by The Post show.

The stunning revelation comes as three families publicly question whether the city is yanking brains so rookie pathologists can “practice,” for scientists’ experiments, or for no good reason at all.

“Vasean’s organs were removed for ‘testing’ without any investigative or medical necessity,” charges a suit by the family of Vasean Alleyne, an 11-year-old Queens boy killed by a drunken driver. Months after his burial, his mom was shocked to read in the autopsy report that her son’s brain and spinal cord had been taken.

Brooklyn mom Cindy Bradshaw was stunned to learn she had buried her stillborn son, Gianni, without his brain. The ME kept it — though an autopsy found his death was caused by an abnormality in her umbilical cord and placenta.

Read more from this story HERE.

New Weight Loss Approach: Watch a Scary Movie!

/1 Comment/in /by

It’s the weight loss advice you never thought you’d hear: To burn as many calories as a 30-minute walk, sit on your sofa and watch a movie.

The catch? The movie has to be scary and the scarier it is the more calories you’re likely to use.

Scientists at the University of Westminster tested ten people as they watched a selection of classic horror films. They monitored the viewers’ heart rate, oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output to work out how much energy they were using.

The scientists found that on average the participants used up a third more calories watching the scary films than if they had been sitting in front of a blank screen.

Read more from this story HERE.