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31 Aug 2011 11:28

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Offbeat: Arkansas homeowner spots burglars — while flying overhead

  • Lesson of the day to burglars: Just because a homeowner isn’t home doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a killer home security system. Even if, in the case of Arkansas resident Steven Lynn, the “home security system” was totally unintentional and he was simply taking aerial photos of his home … in a plane. From a vantage point that allowed him to call 911 so the cops could arrest the two dudes attempting to steal his stuff. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Aug 2011 21:42

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Offbeat, World: Researchers found a “living fossil” eel off the coast of Palau. Cue terror.

  • Why is this fossil living?! Apparently this species of eel has DNA that dates back 200 million years. It’s more similar to an eel species from 100 million years ago than it is to the eels of today. Thanks a lot, Palau. We’re scared now. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Aug 2011 15:00

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Offbeat, U.S.: How imprisoned polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs will keep his influence

  • cause Warren Jeffs is the leader of a polygamist sect of the Mormon church who was recently sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse. Not only was he married to underage girls, but many others in the complex he ran were clearly pregnant. However, this was all part of his religion, he claimed — and everyone there has been pretty much brainwashed to believe the same.
  • effect Life in prison won’t separate those in Jeffs’ cult from him. Since he’s been in jail, his followers have continued to believe that he is a prophet and he’s continued to lead church services over the phone. “Now we can really begin to focus on liberating these people and freeing their minds from the mental shackles that Warren Jeffs has put on them,” said Elissa Wall, a former member of the church. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 14:40

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Offbeat: Animals are pretty good at escaping from zoos in New York

Yesterday, a peacock escaped from Central Park Zoo. It flew away, perched on this Fifth Avenue apartment window, and took a nap. After it woke up, it flew back to the zoo. Not exactly the next summer blockbuster, huh? source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Aug 2011 18:33

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Offbeat: Shocker: Tooth Fairy investing less in kids’ teeth due to the recession

  • $2.60 average amount the tooth fairy gives a kid for a lost tooth
  • 40¢ dip from the last survey; that’s $3, for the math-challenged source
  • » We’ve been really worried about the whole debt-ceiling mess for the past few days, but it really says something about the economy when the tooth fairy isn’t even giving as much for kids’ pearly whites. Perhaps, like Glenn Beck, she’s chosen to invest in gold instead of teeth. We hear gold’s doing pretty well nowadays.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 15:05

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Offbeat: Great Moments In Pie Throwing: Ralph Nader

  • That’s how you do it: Apologies for the low video quality, but it was the only actual footage we could find of this — when a pie-wielding troublemaker took aim at Ralph Nader in 2003, Nader knew exactly what to do. If you’re going to throw a pie, you should be able to take a pie, too. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2011 10:43

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Offbeat: Guy wins right to wear pasta strainer in drivers’ license

  • Hey, it’s religious garb, guys! After a years-long struggle that included a psychological exam, Austrian Niko Alm will finally get the right to carry around a driver’s license that honors his religion: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. “The photo was not approved on religious grounds. The only criterion for photos in driving licence applications is that the whole face must be visible,” said Vienna police spokesperson Manfred Reinthaler. In case you’ve forgotten about the Pastafarians, they’re a tongue-in-cheek religion designed to mock intelligent design. And now Niko Alm can mock it all the way to the DMV. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Jul 2011 14:43

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Offbeat: Long lost rainbow toad rediscovered in its old habitat

The rainbow toad, thought to have been extinct since the 1920s, has been rediscovered. A team of scientists found three of them in a tree in Borneo, and took the first pictures of the creatures that had been “extinct” for 90 years. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jul 2011 22:59

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Offbeat: Pea lobby agrees with Obama’s pro-pea statements

  • We know that if tasty and nutritious meals featuring peas are served more frequently in the White House and in the cafeterias of both Houses of Congress, it will contribute to a balanced diet, if not a balanced budget.
  • Pete Klaiber, director of marketing for the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council (which, surprisingly, exists) • Klaiber is reacting to the President’s comment this morning that we Americans need to “pull off the Band-Aid [and] eat our peas.” The President was being metaphorical, referring to harsh-but-necessary budget cuts and austerity measures, but you gotta give the DPLC creativity points for spotting this as an opportunity to push their pro-pea message. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jul 2011 14:28

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Offbeat: Texas woman gives birth to really big baby

  • 16 pound baby born in Texas, setting new hospital record source
  • » Welcome to the world: A Texas woman named Janet Johnson gave birth to a big time baby today, a child she named JaMichael who weighs in at the astonishing number you see above. East Texas’ Longview hospital has already verified that he’s the biggest newborn baby they’ve delivered, and they’re looking to see if this is a state record as well — Guinness World Records claim the all-time largest newborn was a 23 pound baby born in Ohio in 1879, for what that’s worth..
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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