WEIRD NEWS
Great Name for New Cockroach at Atlanta Zoo
The Atlanta Zoo has a new addition - a baby Madagascar hissing cockroach and guess what they've named it - Tom Brady! Zoo Atlanta made the announcement with a picture this week. Tom Brady is one of the largest species of cockroach, growing up to about three inches long. Madagascar hissing cockroaches are found inside of rotting logs and some people keep them as pets. (Reuters)
American Girl Dolls Goes American Boy Dolls
Have you heard about Logan Everett yet? You will. He's the very first American Girl doll - who's a boy! Yep, Logan gets released today (Thursday) and a PR director for the company says a boy doll has been a top request from parents and kids "for a very, very, very long time." A little bit about Logan: He plays the drums, lives in Nashville, and wears a plaid button shirt. American Girl thinks he'll be popular with both boys and girls and they say is part of a "notably diverse collection" of American Girl dolls being released this year. The company plans to roll out a Korean-American doll and Hawaiian doll, among others. And as long as your rich, he'll provide hours and hours of fun. (CBS News)
Let's Go on a Cruise
A Georgia man has reportedly fallen overboard from the Carnival Elation cruise ship. The wife of 24-year-old Kevin Wellons told ship officials around 8:30 am Monday that her husband was missing; the ship's closed circuit TV system revealed he'd gone overboard from the 11th deck at around 2:45 am. The ship had set off from Jacksonville and was en route to Nassau when Wellons' wife discovered him missing. The Coast Guard is now searching for Wellons who is estimated to have gone overboard about 15 miles southwest of Abaco, Bahamas. (Sun Sentinel)
A Lot of Our Japanese Friends Are Not Having Sex
It can happen to any marriage, but according to a new study, a staggering number of married couples in Japan are not having sex. Per a new survey by the Japan Family Planning Association, 47.2 percent of all married couples in the Land of the Sun haven't had sex for over a month (and didn't expect to be getting between the sheets anytime soon), which is the group's textbook definition of a "sexless marriage." That's a record number and some of the possible reasons could be Japan's workaholic culture (more than 35% of the men surveyed said they were too exhausted to engage in sexual interludes) and even people opting instead for virtual partners. One psychologist said that many Japanese men "think of their wives as substitute mothers, not as women with emotional and sexual needs." This lack of libido has been partly blamed for the country's low birth rate, which is making some nervous due to a decreasing population and workforce. (Guardian)
Don't Elope in Afghanistan
A young Afghanistan couple fell in love, then eloped, then were killed by an angry mob! The woman was said to have been married to someone else against her will and eloped with her lover. Police caught the couple Saturday and held them on suspicion of adultery, and the mob descended on the police station within hours, eventually dragging the couple away and killing them as well as injuring three police officers, one seriously, in the process. The 250- to 300-person mob was said to have been made up mostly of the woman's legal husband's family, but it also reportedly included her own brothers and cousins. Witnesses say her brothers were the ones to shoot her, while her husband was the one to kill her lover. (New York Times)
Too Bad Lance
Lance Armstrong's woes aren't going to be over anytime soon. A federal judge has refused to block the government's $100 million lawsuit against the infamous cyclist putting Armstrong on course for trial in a 2010 case stemming from his performance-enhancing drug use. The lawsuit was filed by Armstrong's former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis. The federal government joined in 2013 after Armstrong publicly admitted he cheated to win the Tour de France seven times from 1999-2005. Armstrong was stripped of those titles and banned from competition. Armstrong has also taken huge hits financially, losing all his major sponsors and being forced to pay more than $10 million in damages and settlements in a series of lawsuits. The Landis lawsuit would be the biggest by far, and the ruling from US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington was a major setback for Armstrong with a trial most likely in the fall. Landis, himself a former doping cheat who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title, sued Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act, alleging Armstrong and his team committed fraud against the government when they cheated while riding under the Postal Service banner. According to court records, the contract paid the team, which was operated by Tailwind Sports Corp., about $32 million from 2000 to 2004. Armstrong got nearly $13.5 million. The law allows Landis and the government to sue to get that money back and for "treble" damages, or triple the amount, and Armstrong could be forced to pay all of it. Landis stands to receive up to 25% of any damages awarded. Landis attorney Paul D. Scott said he was "delighted" to see the case move toward trial. (Newser)
Tragic Death for Dad in Front of Daughters
In North Carolina, 47-year-old father Lance Healy plunged about 100 feet to his death from a lookout rock near Big Bradley Falls while hiking with his children. Saluda Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Zach Pace said the man tripped and fell after turning around to make sure his daughters were making it down the trail OK. Capt. BJ Bayne says Healy was hiking with two daughters, ages 9 and 12. Big Bradley Falls is a 75-foot waterfall in a gorge on Cove Creek near Saluda, North Carolina. (Newser)
What the What?
Over in London, 38-year-old Lucy Brown had only just started dating again after a three-year relationship came to a painful end. One man she went out with asked her for a second date which she declined. So he sent her a bill for $52 saying it was a "contribution for the drinks I spent on you." Even weirder - somehow she ended up taking his watch home by mistake but he told her not to send it back because "it'd be too painful to receive the watch in the post and remind me of you." Lucy sent him the money, along with a note that said she's also sent the same amount to a donkey sanctuary and had never laughed so hard in her life. She noted, "Everyone in my office has been snorting and crying with laughter at the text too."(Metro)
The Atlanta Zoo has a new addition - a baby Madagascar hissing cockroach and guess what they've named it - Tom Brady! Zoo Atlanta made the announcement with a picture this week. Tom Brady is one of the largest species of cockroach, growing up to about three inches long. Madagascar hissing cockroaches are found inside of rotting logs and some people keep them as pets. (Reuters)
American Girl Dolls Goes American Boy Dolls
Have you heard about Logan Everett yet? You will. He's the very first American Girl doll - who's a boy! Yep, Logan gets released today (Thursday) and a PR director for the company says a boy doll has been a top request from parents and kids "for a very, very, very long time." A little bit about Logan: He plays the drums, lives in Nashville, and wears a plaid button shirt. American Girl thinks he'll be popular with both boys and girls and they say is part of a "notably diverse collection" of American Girl dolls being released this year. The company plans to roll out a Korean-American doll and Hawaiian doll, among others. And as long as your rich, he'll provide hours and hours of fun. (CBS News)
Let's Go on a Cruise
A Georgia man has reportedly fallen overboard from the Carnival Elation cruise ship. The wife of 24-year-old Kevin Wellons told ship officials around 8:30 am Monday that her husband was missing; the ship's closed circuit TV system revealed he'd gone overboard from the 11th deck at around 2:45 am. The ship had set off from Jacksonville and was en route to Nassau when Wellons' wife discovered him missing. The Coast Guard is now searching for Wellons who is estimated to have gone overboard about 15 miles southwest of Abaco, Bahamas. (Sun Sentinel)
A Lot of Our Japanese Friends Are Not Having Sex
It can happen to any marriage, but according to a new study, a staggering number of married couples in Japan are not having sex. Per a new survey by the Japan Family Planning Association, 47.2 percent of all married couples in the Land of the Sun haven't had sex for over a month (and didn't expect to be getting between the sheets anytime soon), which is the group's textbook definition of a "sexless marriage." That's a record number and some of the possible reasons could be Japan's workaholic culture (more than 35% of the men surveyed said they were too exhausted to engage in sexual interludes) and even people opting instead for virtual partners. One psychologist said that many Japanese men "think of their wives as substitute mothers, not as women with emotional and sexual needs." This lack of libido has been partly blamed for the country's low birth rate, which is making some nervous due to a decreasing population and workforce. (Guardian)
Don't Elope in Afghanistan
A young Afghanistan couple fell in love, then eloped, then were killed by an angry mob! The woman was said to have been married to someone else against her will and eloped with her lover. Police caught the couple Saturday and held them on suspicion of adultery, and the mob descended on the police station within hours, eventually dragging the couple away and killing them as well as injuring three police officers, one seriously, in the process. The 250- to 300-person mob was said to have been made up mostly of the woman's legal husband's family, but it also reportedly included her own brothers and cousins. Witnesses say her brothers were the ones to shoot her, while her husband was the one to kill her lover. (New York Times)
Too Bad Lance
Lance Armstrong's woes aren't going to be over anytime soon. A federal judge has refused to block the government's $100 million lawsuit against the infamous cyclist putting Armstrong on course for trial in a 2010 case stemming from his performance-enhancing drug use. The lawsuit was filed by Armstrong's former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis. The federal government joined in 2013 after Armstrong publicly admitted he cheated to win the Tour de France seven times from 1999-2005. Armstrong was stripped of those titles and banned from competition. Armstrong has also taken huge hits financially, losing all his major sponsors and being forced to pay more than $10 million in damages and settlements in a series of lawsuits. The Landis lawsuit would be the biggest by far, and the ruling from US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington was a major setback for Armstrong with a trial most likely in the fall. Landis, himself a former doping cheat who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title, sued Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act, alleging Armstrong and his team committed fraud against the government when they cheated while riding under the Postal Service banner. According to court records, the contract paid the team, which was operated by Tailwind Sports Corp., about $32 million from 2000 to 2004. Armstrong got nearly $13.5 million. The law allows Landis and the government to sue to get that money back and for "treble" damages, or triple the amount, and Armstrong could be forced to pay all of it. Landis stands to receive up to 25% of any damages awarded. Landis attorney Paul D. Scott said he was "delighted" to see the case move toward trial. (Newser)
Tragic Death for Dad in Front of Daughters
In North Carolina, 47-year-old father Lance Healy plunged about 100 feet to his death from a lookout rock near Big Bradley Falls while hiking with his children. Saluda Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Zach Pace said the man tripped and fell after turning around to make sure his daughters were making it down the trail OK. Capt. BJ Bayne says Healy was hiking with two daughters, ages 9 and 12. Big Bradley Falls is a 75-foot waterfall in a gorge on Cove Creek near Saluda, North Carolina. (Newser)
What the What?
Over in London, 38-year-old Lucy Brown had only just started dating again after a three-year relationship came to a painful end. One man she went out with asked her for a second date which she declined. So he sent her a bill for $52 saying it was a "contribution for the drinks I spent on you." Even weirder - somehow she ended up taking his watch home by mistake but he told her not to send it back because "it'd be too painful to receive the watch in the post and remind me of you." Lucy sent him the money, along with a note that said she's also sent the same amount to a donkey sanctuary and had never laughed so hard in her life. She noted, "Everyone in my office has been snorting and crying with laughter at the text too."(Metro)
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