38% of Florida voters believe Cruz might be Zodiac Killer
A poll by Public Policy Polling found that a surprising number of Florida voters believe Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz could be the zodiac killer. While a 62 per cent majority of voters answered “no” when asked if they believed Cruz was responsible for the string of murders in the early 70s, 10 per cent answered “yes” and an additional 28 per cent said they were unsure.
Several reports say the rumor stems from a speech Cruz delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2013 titled “This is the Zodiac Speaking” and has become popular again since he began his presidential campaign.
Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling firm, asked the question relating to the bizarre Internet rumour after dedicating its inclusion “weird Twitter”, when asked if it would appear on their latest round of voter polls. The polling company was also responsible for a December poll that found 30 per cent of Republican voters would support bombing the fictional city of Agrabah from Disney’s Aladdin.
(UPI)
Blue ice spotted near Bridge in Michigan
large piles of blue ice have appeared near Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, catching the eyes of several photographers. Kelly Alvesteffer shared photos of the strange phenomenon to Facebook after passing by the bridge in Mackinac City with her fiance Rob lalone. “We instantly saw it. It was like, ‘look at the blue ice,” she said.
Mackinac City resident liza Signor said she’d witnessed the blue colour before in similarly sized piles of snow. “Usually you don’t see it until it becomes dammed up like that, she said. “A week ago, it was all open water in front of our house. It changes that fast.”
According to glaciologists at Carleton College, the colour of snow is a result of air bubbles found within the ice. “Snow is white because full spectrum, or white light is scattered and reflected at the boundary between ice and air,” they wrote. “The white colour of bubbles at the top of a dark beer work the same way — small pockets of air reflect and scatter visible light.”
The blue snow Alvesteffer and lalone photographed is caused by a reaction between light and the crystal molecules in the ice. As the ice becomes more dense it begins to absorb less red light, causing it to reflect a blue colour.
“Ice only appears blue when it is sufficiently consolidated that bubbles do not interfere with the passage of light,” Carleton College said. “Without the scattering effect of air bubbles, light can penetrate ice undisturbed.”
(UPI)
Dognapping is on the rise in Brazil
While Brazil’s economy is in the doghouse, one underground business is bucking the trend — dognapping. Bosco, a black and white Boston Terrier stolen in November from outside a grocery store in Sao Paulo’s posh Jardins neighbourhood, became the poster-pup for the rise of dognappings.
His owner, screenwriter Fernando Pedrosa, unleashed a storm of comment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram under the tag #cadeobosco, which translates as “where is Bosco”.
Raul Rocha, one of a team of six investigators at DetetivePet in Sao Paulo that helped broker Bosco’s return, said that in the past, thieves were mostly in it for quick cash, selling the pilfered pooch at informal sidewalk fairs or to black market puppy mills. “These days, more of our cases involve ransom,” Rocha said in his office, adding he has seen a sharp increase in stolen dogs in the past year. “Criminals are using the owner’s attachment to the dog to ensure payment.”
Pedroso declined to comment on his ordeal, saying he and Bosco wanted time to recover, but his postings have encouraged others to post about stolen pets.
(Reuters)
Pony in unicorn get-up caught after 3 hours
The calls coming into a California Highway Patrol office were alarming: A tiny unicorn was running down a road. KSEE-TV reports more than three hours later the suspect was taken into custody.
A not-so-mythical white pony named Juliette who wears a fake horn for photo sessions was illuminated by a CHP helicopter last Wednesday in an orchard, and Madera Ranchos resident Renee Pardy used another horse to lead it out. The ersatz unicorn’s owner, five-year-old Tatum Boos, says Juliette was given a timeout for being a bad pony.
(AP)
Become a ‘political junkie’ with these cat scratching posts
A Canadian company is seeking crowdfunding to develop a line of scratching posts designed to resemble various political figures. Kickstarter campaign, Politikats, offers designer scratching posts resembling Donald Trump and Barack Obama.
“Politikats is here to help save your belongings, make your home look stylish but most importantly turn you from crazy cat person to political junkie with a taste for the finer things in life,” the Kickstarter page read.
Each scratching post is composed of sisal rope and stands about 26 inches tall. The campaign is seeking $36,318 to produce the Obama and Trump models and has promised posts designed after Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.
They have also promised a life-sized Sepp Blatter post if the campaign reaches $300,000.
(UPI)