WEIRD & BIZARRE : Archive 2002 Sick Ticks NEW YORK (UPI) -- Scientists fear hibernating ticks will harbour the West Nile encephalitis virus this winter causing the disease to return with a vengeance next spring, The New York Daily News reported. Dr. Duane Gubler, director of the federal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention lab in Colorado, said "ticks have been found infected'' with West Nile in other countries. He said, "We don't know what role they play in the transmission cycle.'' The virus is spread to humans from mosquitoes but scientists say ticks hibernate and will not be wiped out by the extensive aerial spraying of pesticides this fall in the New York City area. Birds spread the encephalitis virus and mosquitoes spread the disease to humans. However, ticks can also harbour the virus and birds may spread the ticks as they migrate south. "It's a major problem,'' said Dr. Jonathan Day, medical entomologist at the University of Florida. "It seems this virus is a lot easier to introduce to different habitats through infected ticks.'' More than 700 dead birds are being examined to determine if they died from the West Nile virus. Four people in New York City have died from the virus and more than 200 others are suspected of having contracted the disease. Originally diagnosed as St. Louis encephalitis the similar African strain has never before been found in the Western Hemisphere. However, federal officials said they are going to test samples from previous St. Louis encephalitis outbreaks to determine if the virus may have struck before. No matter which virus is responsible for the outbreak health officials said the response is the same -- the spraying of pesticides to rid the area of mosquitoes. The entire city of New York has been sprayed with the pesticide malathion at least twice. Additional rounds of pesticide spraying will continue until there is a killing frost. Whatever Happened to Toy Tops & Rub On Tattoos? MINNEAPOLIS - Apparently, your cereal isn't just for eating anymore. This Friday cereal giant General Mills delivered a public apology for including free software versions of the Bible in 12 million boxes of its cereal. The apology states, "It is the company's policy not to advanced any particular set of religious beliefs." Gregory Swann, founder of the software company Rhinesoft that aided in the production of the CD-ROM's, says that General Mills told a "flat out lie." Contrary to the claims of General Mills, Swann told the Detroit newspaper, which described him as an evangelical Christian, that he had been working for a year to include the Bible in his software marketing. Leave It To California CALIFORNIA - Al Shugart doesn't want to vote for anybody, but he still wants to vote. And he wants you to have the option to cast your vote for nobody. It's called Proposition 23, a measure on the March 7 ballot that would allow Californians to cast protest votes for "None of the Above" for all state and federal offices. It is similar to a groundbreaking law in Nevada which has had "None of These Candidates" on its ballot since 1976. Incidentally, this is the same Shugart who promoted his dog Ernest as a write-in candidate for Congress in 1996, drawing 2,001 votes Genitalia Needs Blowing Up SYDNEY, Australia - An Australian research team studying insects had trouble identifying the sex of the little creatures so they decided to do something about this nasty problem. They invented a device dubbed, The Phalloblaster. This is no ordinary machine. It actually inflates the genitalia to a size that makes identification easier. The machine costs $3,500. Computer Has A Case History for Murder OHIO - Buying something used often means getting a product with a history. In Brent Hutson's case, the computer he bought had lived a life of crime. Hutson, a computer expert, recently purchased a used computer from the City of Forest Park, Ohio. The city sold the computer because its hard drive had crashed. But Hutson was able to get into that hard drive, where he found ten years of police information, dating back to April 1988 including some on an informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency. The files sometimes contained private, personal information, like people's credit card numbers. Australian Customs Foils Lizard Smuggling Attempt CANBERRA - Australian Customs officials have foiled an attempt to smuggle 31 native lizards out of the country after searching a man at Melbourne airport. The man, who was attempting to leave the country on a flight to Vienna Monday night, was carrying 11 Leaf-tail geckos, 13 Knob-tail geckos and seven Beaked geckos. Here's where it gets really weird... some of the lizards were taped to the smuggler's skin under his clothes. 8th Graders Save Tarantula's Life with Super Glue SPRINGFIELD, Missouri - Some eighth-grade students managed to get out of a sticky situation after their classroom's pet tarantula took a fall and cracked its abdomen. The quick- thinking students decided to use a popsicle stick to stuff its organs back inside, used Super Glue to seal it up and apparently saved it's life. Felicia Daniels, who applied the glue, said, "At first I thought it was going to make me sick. But then it looked kind of cool." Man Kills Villager in Fight - Then Eats Him PORT MORESBY, New Guinea - A village dispute in Papua New Guinea ended with a man tearing out the eyes, testicles and heart of another and eating them, police said on Tuesday. Villagers watched in horror as Moropia Silkapi, 35, attacked the body of Yakamup Makatu, 55, police told Reuters on Tuesday. Police said an argument between Silkapi and Makatu earlier in the day left Makatu's house burnt to the ground. After a fight, "Silkapi caught Makatu and smashed his head with a rock, killing him. He then ate him," Simanjon said. Goldfish in Blender Sparks Outrage DENMARK - While it doesn't quite have the charm of a Virgin Mary depicted in manure, Danish artist Marco Evaristti is still very pleased with his goldfish in blenders display. A small museum in Kolding, 125 miles west of Copenhagen, is hosting the piece which features 10 goldfish, each swimming in its own blender. The artistic part is that the viewers have the option to punch puree on each appliance. Two fish were blended on the very first day. A local group, the Union for the Protection of Animals, complained to police who ordered the plugs pulled, but museum director Peter Meyer said it doesn't encourage people to blend the fish, but instead addresses ethical questions in society. For a broader appeal the artist has included a nude picture of himself. They Don't Make Shows Like That Anymore BRITAIN - The British Broadcasting Company tried once more in December to save the 1980s hit program "One Man and His Dog," whose viewer ship has fallen off. The program consists entirely of shepherds (each with his dog) competing to efficiently herd sheep into pens. But it's not surprising, what with competition like a Fall 1999 British-made documentary, "Hidden Love: Animal Passions." Reports on practitioners in Missouri's "zoophile" community (i.e., humans romantically involved with animals), included an interview with an uncloseted zoophile gushing over his "wife" Pixel, a horse; said one activist, "We are not sick at all. Zoo sexuality is (merely) an alternative lifestyle." A Little Too Quick To Bag & Tag BOSSIER CITY, La. - An 81-year-old woman who appeared to be lifeless was discovered to be still breathing after being taken to the coroner's office in a body bag. DeSoto Parish Coroner Dr. Jack Grindle said he was called to Helen Lafitte's home on Friday by a nurse who suspected her patient was dead. The nurse had called her name, shaken her and turned her over but did not get any response. When he arrived, Lafitte did not have a pulse or muscle reflexes. He said she had apparently taken some narcotics and doses of sleeping medicine. As she was being transported workers realized she was still breathing! She is now recovering at the hospital in stable condition. Driver Kills Cop To Avoid Speeding Ticket FRANKFURT - A German who killed a traffic policeman after he was caught speeding said the killing was a bid to avoid penalty points on his license. The 45-year-old unnamed assailant, who was arrested earlier this week, said he was worried that penalty points from previous speeding offences would mean he would be stripped altogether of his license. BACK TO TOP

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