Bear cub climbs ladder to escape basement in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources official captured video when he used a ladder to rescue a bear cub from an under-construction basement. The department said Warden Supervisor Dave Walz’s shift had just ended when he received a call from the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office about a bear cub that had fallen into a newly-constructed open basement.
“While the cub’s mother and siblings watched from afar, Walz, with help from the homeowner, used a ladder to help the cub escape from the basement and reunite with its family,” the DNR said in an Instagram post.
The video shows the bear cub uttering a human-like shout as it climbs the ladder under Walz’s encouragement.
(UPI)
Message in a bottle travels 2,915 miles
A girl who tossed a message in a bottle into the water at an English beach received a reply saying the message traveled 2,915 miles to Canada. Alexa Smith was visiting Cooden Beach in October 2016 with her mother, sister and three brothers when they tossed messages in bottles into the water with their contact information.
Smith, now 12, received a reply last week in the form of a letter postmarked from Canada. The letter’s author said she found the bottle in Halifax, Nova Scotia, about 2,915 miles from Cooden Beach. “It’s incredible. We never expected anything like this,” Smith’s mother, Roxanne, told the Bexhill-On-Sea Observer.
“This lady in Canada had written back, and it had Alexa’s original message in the envelope,” the mother said. “She wrote this lovely letter saying, ‘I hope you have half as much adventure as this message did.’”
Roxanne said the woman did not include her own contact information so the family could thank her. “Sadly she didn’t include a return address, I think it was just a lady wanting to do a nice thing for a young kid,” she said. “Alexa loves it. It’s her prized possession now.”
The mother said the message in a bottle thrown out to sea by her sons was previously found at a nearby Bexhill beach shortly after it was tossed. She said two more messages in bottles remain unaccounted for. “Maybe we’ll get another message in a few more years,” Roxanne said.
A Florida charter boat captain discovered a message in a bottle earlier this month off Cape Canaveral. Capt. Tyler Vollmer of Fired Up Fishing Charters said the heart-shaped bottle contained handwritten lyrics to Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” along with a personalized message from “Emily” to “Rory.” The message in Vollmer’s bottle was dated February 14, 2006, but didn’t offer any contact information for the author.
(UPI)
A big dill: Boston hosts second annual pickle fair
The Boston Pickle Fair is back and it’s kind of a big dill. The second annual event is scheduled for Saturday at the Innovation and Design Building in the city’s Seaport District. The fair is a family-oriented celebration of all things fermented — pickles, kimchi, sauerkraut and other vegetables. It’s an opportunity to sample pickle products from more than a dozen local and national vendors. The more adventurous can try pickle-flavored items including ice cream, cotton candy and beer. The event also features country fair-style games, live music, food trucks and a beer garden. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Farm Aid, the Cambridge-based nonprofit that since 1985 has been supporting family farms. The event runs from 11 am until 5.30 pm.
(AP)
Park celebrates 150 years with pink flamingo record
Parks officials in Buffalo, New York, are tickled pink over claiming a new world record for having the longest line of garden flamingos. A Guinness World Records official was on hand Thursday to certify the record — 1,500 pink flamingos — which were set up to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Buffalo’s Olmsted Parks system. landscape architect Frederick law Olmsted designed Buffalo’s citywide system of parks and parkways. Parks officials took some liberties with his initials — “F’’ “l’’ “O’’ — to come up with the “FlO-mingo” event.
The previous record for the pink, plastic lawn ornaments was held by Pledge the Pink of Callawassie Island, South Carolina, which lined up 1,058 flamingos in 2016. Buffalo residents were invited to adopt the lawn ornaments and display them at home.
(AP)
Police find cocaine hidden in replica World Cup trophies
Authorities in Argentina announced they seized marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine and cash being smuggled inside replica World Cup trophies. Buenos Aires Security Minister Cristian Ritondo tweeted photos showing the souvenir replicas of the Jules Rimet trophies that the so-called “Narcos de la Copa” were allegedly using to attempt to ship 44 pounds of marijuana, 22 pounds of cocaine, 1,800 doses of crack-cocaine and more than $14,000 cash. Police said four men and two women were arrested Friday as part of the operation. Investigators said they also seized two firearms and two vehicles.
(UPI)