Odds & Sodds

Since I have long been a fan of the strange, the bizarre, the unexplainable (I Want To Believe), I thought I’d have a little fun with this column. So, here is a collection of recent strange happenings.

This week tongues started wagging when Tom Biscardi, a known Bigfoot hunter, claimed to have in his possession a dead Bigfoot. He is keeping the remains in a freezer at an undisclosed location. He states that the creature is 7’7’ tall, his feet are 15”+ long while his palm measures 11"+ in length and 6”+ across. He has no fangs which Mr. Biscardi feels prohibits Bigfoot from being a meat eater. He claims he was alerted to the body by two hunters in Georgia who found the already dead body. Mr. Biscardi claims he will let the media examine the body; but, hasn’t set a definite place for the encounter.

It is now official. The drunker you are the better everyone around you begins to look. A study was done at the University of Bristol in England by researcher Marcus Munafo, an experimental psychologist. At the end of the study Mr. Munafo declared that both men and women who drank found faces more attractive. “A roughly 10% increase in ratings of attractiveness, “ he claims.

There is a monk named Brother Cesare Bonizzi who resides in a Capuchin Friars monastery near Milan, Italy. The 62-year-old brother has a very bizarre sideline. He is the lead singer for a successful heavy-metal band that recently performed at the “Gods of Metal” festival headlined by Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

The world’s smallest snake has been discovered. The snake could easily be mistaken for a worm as it is only about 10 centimeters long (>4” long) and can fit on a quarter with room to spare. This reptile was discovered on Barbados – a Caribbean island.

A sweetshop owner in Aviles, Spain has discovered a 5-cent euro coin that had been altered somewhat. The head of King Juan-Carlos which usually decorates this piece had been morphed into the profile of Homer Simpson. Jose Martinez, the owner of the shop says, “the coin must have been done by a professional.”

Joseph Marine III, a fourth-generation candy maker, is making a fortune at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk seaside amusement park. And he isn’t the only one – Famous Dave’s at the Minnesota State Fair is making his own brand of this confection. The only difference being that Famous Dave's sprinkles theirs with sea salt. “It was a good combination of sweet and salty”, says the fair’s spokeswoman Brienna Schuette after trying one herself. What is that has everyone wanting more? Crispy bacon coated in dark chocolate.

Cash, a female German Shepard, has been in the news lately. She has demonstrated beyond doubt that a dog is man’s (or woman’s) best friend. Her owner Jake Baysinger, 25, took her into a deserted area where he committed suicide. Cash stayed by her dead master’s side for six weeks living on rats, rabbits and other small prey as she kept her beloved owners body safe from the coyotes. When found, she was thinner and dehydrated; but, alive. She received veterinary care and has gone home to with her master’s widow and their son.

What will they think of next? Kitchen Craft in the United Kingdom has come up with a rotating ice cream cone which rotates the scoop of ice cream in a gentle counter-clockwise motion. This is so no one need be forced to actually have to lick the ice cream – they just have to stick out their tongue and let the cone do the rest.

I can’t believe someone has enough time on their hands to come up with something like this!! Bellevue, Wash. Designer Britta Bacon (no relation to the snack mentioned previously) has come up with stilettos for toddlers. They have started selling recently in Toronto for $39.95 a pair. It should be noted (for the safety conscious) that the stilettos are plastic. I can’t help but wonder where it will all end.

The US Transportation Security Adminstration announced June 10, 2008, that security scanners with amazing capabilities were being installed in 10 US airports. These scanners emit “millimeter waves” that can literally see through clothes in an attempt to identify metal, plastics, ceramics, chemical materials and explosives. Security screeners, who sit in a separate room, can clearly see the passengers’ sexual organs and other details of the body. The Transportation Security Administration reassures (?) us by stating that the passengers’ faces are blurred out to maintain the passengers' anonymity. Wow!! I sure feel better.