Butter sculpture promotes Pennsylvania’s dairy industry
A large sculpture carved from a half-ton of butter was created in order to promote Pennsylvania’s struggling dairy industry. The sculpture, which was unveiled Thursday at the 103rd annual Pennsylvania Farm Show, features a soldier, doctor, firefighter and football player as superheroes wearing a cape. The everyday heroes are holding a glass of milk while standing in a circle around a table that features other dairy products such as ice cream. Marie Pelton and her husband Jim Victor crafted the piece.
The phrase “Find Your Power “ is also featured on the sculpture. It will be moved to the Reinford Farm in Juniata County where it will be converted into renewable energy in the farm’s methane digester.
Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf, state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and former Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Charlie Batch attended the sculptures unveiling at the Farm Show where they helped to promote the state’s dairy industry.
“It’s more than just butter,” Wolf said at the event. “It’s a way for us to honor our dairy industry in a fun and memorable way — an industry that we work hard to promote and support year-round.” Pennsylvania has the second largest number of dairy farms in the United States next to Wisconsin. The state lost 120 dairy farms in 2016 as dairy consumption nationwide has decreased.
(UPI)
Woman in Great Britain seeks lost goldfish Dave
A woman in Great Britain is searching for leads on her missing pet, a goldfish she bought five years ago named Dave. The woman, identified in the Swindon Advertiser as Tanya, has not seen the fish since Tuesday. Dave shared his tank with three other fish and Tanya told the Advertiser she has ruled out the possibility her dogs, a shih tzu and Yorkshire terrier, ate Dave.
“Our fish tank has a lid on it,” she said. “I’ve emptied the filter, moved all the stones in the tank. I’ve checked all around the kitchen, checked under the counters.” Dave’s disappearance has inspired a Facebook page, called Finding Davo in homage of the hit 2003 animated film Finding Nemo, and a number of posters near her home in the Park North area of Swindon, west of London.
“This page is to find Davo the fish,” one of the first posts on the Facebook page says. “There he was last night, swimming around in his tank minding his own business...and then wooosh...he’s disappeared!”
(UPI)
‘Banished words’ for 2019 include ‘collusion,’ ‘yeet’
A Michigan university released its annual list of “banished” words, including “thought leader,” “POTUS” and “yeet.” Lake Superior State University said its 44th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness was chosen from a pool of submissions from a public fed up with words like “wheelhouse” to mean an area of expertise and phrases like “in the books” to mean something concluded.
The list included common words using “-OTUS” as an initialism for “of the United States,” including “POTUS” for the president and “FLOTUS” for the first lady. The list also includes “wrap my head around,” “platform,” “collusion,” “ghosting,” “litigate,” “grapple,” “eschew,” “crusty,” “optics,” “legally drunk,” “importantly,” “accouterments” and “most important election of our time.”
“We grapple, litigate, and then yeet irritating words and phrases gathered from the nominations and votes received during 2018,” the school said in a statement. “It’s the most important election of our time.”
(UPI)
Stolen purple penguin statue returned to hotel museum
A large purple penguin statue that was swiped from a hotel in Oklahoma City apparently managed to waddle back home after police released surveillance camera images of a man with the $3,000 piece of art tucked under his arm.
Oklahoma City police on Friday announced that the statue, which disappeared Sunday night from the 21c Museum Hotel, had been “returned home.” No arrests have been announced.
Hotel staff speculated that it was stolen by someone visiting a guest . Surveillance images show a man carrying the artwork by its head. The penguin is about two-thirds the height of the statue thief. A spokeswoman for the hotel said she was “thrilled the penguin has been returned to our flock .”
(AP)
Montana lawmaker proposes state rock and roll song
Montana has a state song, a state ballad and a state lullaby. And, for goodness sake, Democratic Rep. Jacob Bachmeier of Havre would like to see the 2019 Legislature declare the “Hippy Hippy Shake” Montana’s official rock and roll song. It was written in 1959 by Chan Romero when he was a 17-year-old student at Billings Senior High School.
Romero, who now lives in Southern California, tells the Great Falls Tribune his song has been featured in seven or eight movies and has been recorded by about 20 groups, including The Beatles. He says he’d be proud to have his song honored by the Legislature.
The bill’s introduction borrows from the song’s lyrics in saying: “WHEREAS, Montanans shake it to the left and shake it to the right and do everything with all of their might.”
(AP)
