WEIRD NEWS
A Super Food That Could Feed the Planet?
Mike and Julie Bennet died of cancer five days apart but the British couple's three children have released a bittersweet photo of their parents holding hands from their individual hospital beds - a photo take just before 57-year-old Mike Bennet, 57 died last Monday. His wife, Julie Bennet, 50, died on Saturday, leaving behind Luke, 21; Hannah, 18; and Oliver, 13. Family friend Heather Gallagher says the "down-to-earth" clan was "known to all for their generosity." That generosity is being returned to them as a crowdfunding campaign begun to help the kids has raised over $175,000. Julie had been keeping the family going and in a normal routine while dealing with Mike's illness over the past few years. But then in May, she got her own devastating diagnosis of her own. Her dear friend Sue Wright made Julie Bennet a bedside promise: "I told her the community would come together to help look after her kids -- and she opened her eyes and smiled." She adds that their aunts and uncles plan to look after the children and that the money will help them get through college. (BBC)
The Federal Government Sucks at Proofreading
The feds apparently have problems in their proofreading department. The Library of Congress had to yank an inauguration poster from its online shop Sunday night after social media users spotted a typo in a quote from President Trump. The quote: "No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for the future is beyond our reach." But lots of people were happy to point out that the "to" in "to great" needed a second "o" on the $16.95 print. It's not clear how many posters were sold that way but you can bet they'll be big collector's items now! The Library of Congress pointed out that the design was credited to an outside graphic design company. The mistake came right after the Department of Education made one embarrassing typo in a tweet Sunday, then messed up its apology. (The Hill)
A True Hero Police Officer
A hearty Vancouver police officer is being hailed as a hero after plunging into a freezing lake to save a dog! The pooch became trapped after he chased a ball onto Lost Lagoon on Friday afternoon and plunged through thin ice. By the time cops arrived, the dog was struggling to stay above water. Constable Peter Colenutt pulled off his coat and shoes and plunged into the frigid lake in short sleeves. He took hold of one end of a rescue rope, and with his co-workers holding the other end, he made his way to the dog. Photos posted on Twitter show Colenutt grabbing the black shaggy dog by the scruff and easing him through blocks of ice to the shore. Others show him running in his bare feet in the snow to a squad car. Later the police department Tweeted: "The dog and our officer were both pretty chilly, but thankfully okay!" Photos of the latest heroics unleashed a flood of praise for Colenutt on Twitter. "An officer AND a gentleman," tweeted one user. (CBC)
Whos the Most Generous People in the World?
So ever wonder who the most generous people in the world are when it comes to Valentine's Day giving? Apparently it's Filipinos in Germany! Money transfer company WorldRemit analyzed remittances from Filipinos abroad and found those in Germany were the most generous, sending home on average $32.5 more than usual around Valentine's Day last year. Following closely were Filipinos in Norway who sent on average $24 more, and in New Zealand, who remitted on average $12.5 more during the week around Valentine's Day, compared to the amount they sent in the previous week. Central bank statistics show Filipinos in the U.S. send the most money home overall, followed by those in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. According to World Bank, migrants' remittances to the Philippines in 2015 reached $28.48 billion, the third highest next to India and China. Millions of Filipinos live and work abroad, sending home money that make up about 10 percent of the Philippines' gross domestic product. (Yahoo News)
Maybe You Should Have Tried "My Fat Foods!"
My Fit Foods, a store founded on providing healthy eating choices, has sadly announced that nobody's really interested so they're closing all their stores in the U.S. The company opened its doors in 2006 with "a mission to make healthy eating easy and accessible for everyone." A statement on their website read: "It is with a heavy heart that we announces the closure of all our stores. We know that you have depended upon us to support your healthy habits, and we are deeply sorry for any inconvenience our closure may have caused you." Meanwhile, a new company called My Fat Foods is thriving! (CBS News)
What the What?
Several people in Huntington, West Virginia are behind bars after getting into a standoff with police and firing bottle rockets at a vehicle and a police officer. Officers responded to a shots fired call on the 300 block of 5th Avenue just before 11 on Saturday morning. As one of the officers approached the scene, they stopped a man who was driving a white 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix. He told officers that several people were firing bottle rockets at his car. According to the criminal complaint, several officers then surrounded the house and started calling out everybody in the house with their weapons drawn. While that was happening, a bottle rocket was shot towards one of the officers. After the brief standoff, all five people in the house came out. Two of them told officers that they weren't firing the bottle rockets and told the other three to stop several times. Those three were arrested and charged with attempt to commit a felony. The man driving the car was also arrested and charged with second offense DUI, driving with a revoked license and obstructing an officer. (WSAZ News)
It has been hailed as a super food, a nutrient-packed, gluten-free dish that even carb counters can get behind. But could quinoa feed a hungry planet? That's the hope behind a new effort by scientists who have unlocked the humble grain's genome. Lead researcher Mark Tester says, "Quinoa has great potential to enhance global food security. " Because the plant has a high tolerance for salt, it can be grown in lower-quality soil such as that in Saudi Arabia, where the team is based. The problem with mass-producing quinoa has been that the ancient staple is time-consuming to get from the field to the table. Plus the fragile plant's small heads and long stalks make it vulnerable to high winds and rain. But researchers hope the newly identified genes could be tweaked, such as those that control the production of saponins, which give quinoa a bitter, toxic coating unless washed away -- a tedious process. They say the discovery is "an important first step" to producing a heartier form of quinoa. A favorite with foodies, the price of quinoa has skyrocketed in recent years as demand has increased. The US imported 70 million pounds in 2013, up from 7 million six years earlier. Increased production would drive down the price, which could make quinoa a contender to boost the world's food supply. (Guardian)
Kids Share Amazing Picture of Their Parents
Kids Share Amazing Picture of Their Parents
Mike and Julie Bennet died of cancer five days apart but the British couple's three children have released a bittersweet photo of their parents holding hands from their individual hospital beds - a photo take just before 57-year-old Mike Bennet, 57 died last Monday. His wife, Julie Bennet, 50, died on Saturday, leaving behind Luke, 21; Hannah, 18; and Oliver, 13. Family friend Heather Gallagher says the "down-to-earth" clan was "known to all for their generosity." That generosity is being returned to them as a crowdfunding campaign begun to help the kids has raised over $175,000. Julie had been keeping the family going and in a normal routine while dealing with Mike's illness over the past few years. But then in May, she got her own devastating diagnosis of her own. Her dear friend Sue Wright made Julie Bennet a bedside promise: "I told her the community would come together to help look after her kids -- and she opened her eyes and smiled." She adds that their aunts and uncles plan to look after the children and that the money will help them get through college. (BBC)
The Federal Government Sucks at Proofreading
The feds apparently have problems in their proofreading department. The Library of Congress had to yank an inauguration poster from its online shop Sunday night after social media users spotted a typo in a quote from President Trump. The quote: "No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for the future is beyond our reach." But lots of people were happy to point out that the "to" in "to great" needed a second "o" on the $16.95 print. It's not clear how many posters were sold that way but you can bet they'll be big collector's items now! The Library of Congress pointed out that the design was credited to an outside graphic design company. The mistake came right after the Department of Education made one embarrassing typo in a tweet Sunday, then messed up its apology. (The Hill)
A True Hero Police Officer
A hearty Vancouver police officer is being hailed as a hero after plunging into a freezing lake to save a dog! The pooch became trapped after he chased a ball onto Lost Lagoon on Friday afternoon and plunged through thin ice. By the time cops arrived, the dog was struggling to stay above water. Constable Peter Colenutt pulled off his coat and shoes and plunged into the frigid lake in short sleeves. He took hold of one end of a rescue rope, and with his co-workers holding the other end, he made his way to the dog. Photos posted on Twitter show Colenutt grabbing the black shaggy dog by the scruff and easing him through blocks of ice to the shore. Others show him running in his bare feet in the snow to a squad car. Later the police department Tweeted: "The dog and our officer were both pretty chilly, but thankfully okay!" Photos of the latest heroics unleashed a flood of praise for Colenutt on Twitter. "An officer AND a gentleman," tweeted one user. (CBC)
Whos the Most Generous People in the World?
So ever wonder who the most generous people in the world are when it comes to Valentine's Day giving? Apparently it's Filipinos in Germany! Money transfer company WorldRemit analyzed remittances from Filipinos abroad and found those in Germany were the most generous, sending home on average $32.5 more than usual around Valentine's Day last year. Following closely were Filipinos in Norway who sent on average $24 more, and in New Zealand, who remitted on average $12.5 more during the week around Valentine's Day, compared to the amount they sent in the previous week. Central bank statistics show Filipinos in the U.S. send the most money home overall, followed by those in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. According to World Bank, migrants' remittances to the Philippines in 2015 reached $28.48 billion, the third highest next to India and China. Millions of Filipinos live and work abroad, sending home money that make up about 10 percent of the Philippines' gross domestic product. (Yahoo News)
Maybe You Should Have Tried "My Fat Foods!"
My Fit Foods, a store founded on providing healthy eating choices, has sadly announced that nobody's really interested so they're closing all their stores in the U.S. The company opened its doors in 2006 with "a mission to make healthy eating easy and accessible for everyone." A statement on their website read: "It is with a heavy heart that we announces the closure of all our stores. We know that you have depended upon us to support your healthy habits, and we are deeply sorry for any inconvenience our closure may have caused you." Meanwhile, a new company called My Fat Foods is thriving! (CBS News)
What the What?
Several people in Huntington, West Virginia are behind bars after getting into a standoff with police and firing bottle rockets at a vehicle and a police officer. Officers responded to a shots fired call on the 300 block of 5th Avenue just before 11 on Saturday morning. As one of the officers approached the scene, they stopped a man who was driving a white 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix. He told officers that several people were firing bottle rockets at his car. According to the criminal complaint, several officers then surrounded the house and started calling out everybody in the house with their weapons drawn. While that was happening, a bottle rocket was shot towards one of the officers. After the brief standoff, all five people in the house came out. Two of them told officers that they weren't firing the bottle rockets and told the other three to stop several times. Those three were arrested and charged with attempt to commit a felony. The man driving the car was also arrested and charged with second offense DUI, driving with a revoked license and obstructing an officer. (WSAZ News)
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