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WEEKLY UPDATE
Airbags to the rescue
London: Giant airbags could one day save the world from the disaster of a cosmic collision with a giant comet, according to a scientist in the United States.
Forget about nuclear warheads to stop a crash with a comet that could have cataclysmic effects such as the one that is believed to have triggered the demise of the dinosaurs, Hermann Burchard of Oklahoma State University told reporters.
Far better to send up a spaceship equipped with a massive airbag that could be inflated to several kilometres wide and used to gently buffet the invading solar body away from a collision course with earth. However, he admitted that there were still numerous details to be worked out including the material for the airbag which had to be light enough to cart into space yet strong enough to bounce the comet off its course to earth. — Reuters
Lost cat worth millions
Toronto: A couple who say Air Canada lost their cat on a flight from Toronto to San Francisco are seeking $5 million in compensation in the biggest ever lawsuit filed over a pet.
Newspaper reports said that Andrew Wysotski and Lori Learmont, former residents of Oshawa, are suing Air Canada and Continental Airlines, which handled baggage for the flight in San Francisco, as well as ten workers who were on duty when the animal, a 15-year-old tabby named Fu, went missing. — Reuters
Tickets to Elton John concert?
Winnipeg: A concert by pop star Elton John had music fans hopping in Canada’s farming heartland as they braved a plague of grasshoppers in an unusual quest to win a pair of tickets.
“All I kept thinking is, is this enough?” Brandy Elliott who won the radio contest for the prized tickets by capturing 38,000 grasshoppers. “Every night I went to bed all I could dream about was grasshoppers — and just bags and bags of grasshoppers,” she said. Elliott was one of more than 100 Saskatchewan residents to respond to the contest.
The rules were simple: whoever collected the most grasshoppers over a two-day period, would win the two highly coveted tickets to see Elton John at a sold-out concert. Grasshoppers have plagued Canada’s drought-stricken Prairie provinces this summer. —Reuters
Bass may not go to the Space Station
Houston: The star of the popular boy band ‘N Sync, Lance Bass (singer), was slated to fly to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in October.
However, there are now reports that he may not after all be going as his sponsors have yet to pay for his ticket, 16 million pounds. Before this news, he had said that he was thrilled and that it was the chance of a lifetime. He even promised to sing for his earthbound fans in what would be a space first.
Originally, Bass, 23, was part of a documentary and that is why a production company was to pay for his flight into space. The mission was to have lasted 10 days. — Reuters
Oops! Wrong house
Hollywood: A Florida couple’s dinner was interrupted when a bulldozer tore down part of the roof of their house as they sat inside. The bulldozer was set to demolish several homes in Hollywood, Florida, but it rammed into the wrong house.
Carlos Suarez and Yesenia Reyes were having dinner when the bulldozer came in through the back of their house. “I started yelling at him, ‘What the hell are you guys doing?’” Reyes told newspapers. Hollywood Fire Rescue officials estimated the damage between $5,000 and $10,000. — Reuters
World’s largest tomato fight
Bunol: The world’s biggest food fight painted the Spanish town of Bunol red as 35,000 revellers pelted each other with 120 tons of ripe plum tomatoes in the annual “Tomatina” festival.
In an hour-long frenzy, Spaniards and visitors from around the globe hurled tomatoes and cavorted in the shin-deep pools of puree which gives the “Tomatina” its name.
On the stroke of noon, a rocket gives the signal for a procession of six dump trucks each bearing 20 tons of tomatoes to inch through the crowds. The trucks tip huge piles of tomatoes from their backs, and waves of cheering partygoers dive into the piles of fruit, flinging them in every direction. Locals say the Tomatina, which caps a week-long festival in the eastern Spanish town some 375km from Madrid, began as a spontaneous food fight between a group of young locals having lunch in the tiny “People’s Square” in 1945. —Reuters
Cat with 28 toes
Oakland: Mooch the cat has nine lives and 28 toes. Bob and Becky DuVal, the owners of the cat, say the large yellow feline has more toes than any other cat in the world. The DuVals have submitted evidence they hope will earn Mooch a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
Those who manage to catch a glimpse of the cat before he dashes off are stunned when they see his toes. “Usually, their first remark is, ‘Oh, my God, look at that cat’s feet — what’s wrong with him?’” Becky DuVal said. She also said that Mooch has 28 claws, but two of the pads are partially fused. —AP
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