The weekly weird

Published July 27, 2019

Kitten with 24 toes

A Texas couple adopted a stray kitten found outside a barn and quickly discovered a unique feature — the feline had 24 toes.

Heather Lehman of China Spring said her husband found the kitten, which they dubbed Titus Pullo, hanging around a barn in Valley Mills and sent her a photo.

“My husband had sent me a photo saying ‘Check out this guy’s feet!’” Lehman told.

“I said, ‘ohhh that’s a polydactyl cat!’ I’ve never had one, always wanted one.”

Cats typically have 18 toes, but a genetic mutation called polydactylism sometimes causes them to have extra toes.

A Minnesota woman revealed last year that her cat, named Paws, has 28 toes — tying the Guinness World Record.


Albino porcupine

A mystery animal that sparked online speculation after being spotted outside a Maine museum was identified as an albino porcupine.

The Seashore Trolley Museum said in a Facebook post that the all-white animal spotted outside the Kennebunkport facility this week appeared to be an albino skunk or groundhog.

Experts reviewed photos of the mystery beast and determined it was a baby albino porcupine. Only one in about 10,000 porcupines is born albino, a genetic mutation where the body does not produce pigment.


Meet the man who identifies as being from 1820

Zack Pinsent, burnt his last pair of jeans when he was 14 and has dressed as a gentleman from the Regency era ever since. He is often seen shopping in a top hat in his hometown of Brighton and now designs clothes for other history fans too. Zack says it is the only way he feels comfortable in the 21st century.

He said: “It’s hard for men, we can’t show exuberance but I love what I do and I’m only doing it for my own enjoyment.”

He added: “At 14 I made the symbolic decision to burn my only pair of jeans in a bonfire, it was a real turning point. On non-school uniform days I would dress in three piece suits, but when I got to sixth form I started to dress in historical clothing every single day. I was quite surprised that in the leaver’s book I was voted as the best dressed.”


Live tick found in woman’s ear

A doctor at a hospital in Thailand shared video of the unusual discovery inside the ear of a woman complaining of tinnitus — a tick.

Dr Piradee Chanmonthon, an otolaryngologist at Buddhachinaraj Hospital in Phitsanulok, said the 50-year-old woman came into the hospital complaining of a ringing sound that had been in her left ear for weeks.

Piradee looked inside the woman’s ear and discovered a tick had bitten the inside of her ear repeatedly. The doctor said the tick was deep in the woman’s ear canal and was removed via suction.

“Luckily, the tick didn’t lay eggs or hadn’t embedded in her ear,” the doctor said. “I’d like to warn all animal lovers to regularly shower your pets, especially in this rainy season, before playing and taking them to bed with you.”

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 27th, 2019

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