Mass. Woman Says TSA Confiscated Frosted Cupcake

December 23, 2011

A woman who just flew back home from Las Vegas says an airport security officer confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought the icing on it could be a security risk.

Rebecca Hains said the Transportation Security Administration agent at McCarran International Airport took her cupcake Wednesday, telling her its frosting was enough like a gel to violate TSA restrictions on allowing liquids and gels onto flights to prevent them from being used as explosives. She said the agent told her the frosting was conforming to the jar it was inside.

"I just thought this was terrible logic," Hains said Friday.

Hains, who lives in Peabody, just north of Boston, said the agent didn't seem concerned that the cupcake could actually be explosive, just that it fit some bureaucratic definition about what was prohibited. She said he even offered to let her eat it away from the airport security area.

Hains, a 35-year-old communications professor at Salem State University, said she told the agent she had passed through security at Boston's Logan International Airport earlier in the week with two cupcakes packaged in jars, gifts from a student. But she said the agent told her that just meant TSA in Boston didn't do its job.

The TSA, which is entrusted with protecting the nation's transportation system, was reviewing the situation, agency spokesman Nico Melendez said. Passengers are allowed to take cakes and cupcakes through checkpoints, he said.

Hains ultimately surrendered the cupcake. But she said the situation highlighted a lack of common sense by the agent and the ludicrousness of TSA policies.

"It's not really about the cupcake; I can get another cupcake," she said. "It's about an encroachment on civil liberties. We're just building up a resistance and tolerance to all these things they're doing in the name of security, when it's really theater. It is not keeping us safe."

For the original article, go here.

Cat Scores 128 on Fruit Ninja for iPad

December 29, 2011

Cats are known for their love of playing with balls of string, but this technologically-minded feline shunned traditional toys for an Apple iPad, amassing a handsome score of 128 on popular fruit-swiping game Ninja Fruit.

With the internet having granted us such wonders as cats boxing, cats sneaking up on people and cats playing the keyboard, it was perhaps inevitable that a cat mastering an iPad would make an impression.

Showing off remarkable dexterity and swift reactions this golden-haired moggy attacks a game of Fruit Ninja with the concentration of a squashed commuter, swiping at the fruit before it lands and, remarkably, avoiding all the bombs.

The feline geek quickly amasses 128 points, a hardly earth-shattering score but pretty good going for a creature with no fingers or thumbs.

A bemused owner chuckles in the background as the cat proceeds to hack and slash at the fruit, presumably missing the fact that his shiny new iPad is about to be left with a series of deep claw marks in the screen.

Further iPad-based cat adventures have yet to be unearthed, but we look forward to the day this forward thinking creature turns its attention to Words With Friends.

For the original article, go here.

Your Donkey on the Beat, signing off until next week!

Grand Funk Railroad - We're An American Band

Stewie The Cat With The 'Calming Paw' Puts Crying Baby To Sleep With Strokes

December 20, 2011

A cat has become a YouTube sensation after its owner filmed it stroking his baby son to sleep.

Stewie the black cat was filmed by his owner Aaron Grant as he appeared to stroke baby Connar's head with his paw to stop him crying.

The clip shows the cat, noticeably nonchalant about his abilities, place his paw on top the crying baby and give it a number of calming strokes.

Stewie then rests his paw on the child's head for a while to maintain a soothing presence.

The video, shot in Grant's home in Canada, has attracted nearly 350,000 views.

YouTube user taliebev said: 'This is brilliant. Animals can do just as good a job as humans!'

For the original article, go here.

Hungry Frog Playing Ant Smasher Goes Viral After Bearded Dragon Hit

December 21, 2011

Last week a video of a bearded dragon enjoying a game of Ant Smasher went viral and now it’s a hungry frog's turn - but this time around the owner got a little more than he bargained for.

The video - which captures a man laughing at his frog as he tries to capture digital ants as they crawl across the screen of his smartphone -  has already raked in over 675,000 views in just a few days.

The frog's aim is well on target, and on numerous occasions he actually manages to crush the touchscreen insects.

However, the little creature soon realises that the ants are still on the screen and not in his belly.  He sits back to recalculate his plan of attack before continuing with his pursuit.

As the game winds down the man goes to touch the screen with his thumb but, in an unsuspecting twist, the frog launches an attack on his owner, causing him to yell out in pain/shock.

But the shocking scenes look worse than they are as the man is heard laughing again before the video ends.

The Ant Smasher app is a free game which allows users to crush bugs heading for a digital picnic with a squishing noise to match.

For the original article, go here.

Your Donkey on the Beat, signing off until next week!

Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht

Squirrel Struggles To Make Off With Large Piece Of Stolen Toast

December 14, 2011

A squirrel thief made off with a major haul after it stole a piece of toast that was almost the same size as the rodent itself.

This pesky squirrel was caught red-handed by Paul Hawks who took the snap at his home in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

It had already poked a hole through the middle of the bread and is seen gnawing away at the top of it.

It seemed oblivious to what was going on around it and that moment of sloppiness may ultimately of cost the squirrel.

It allowed Mr Hawks to grab his camera and take the incriminating shot.

The villainous vermin made off with a piece of toast that was nearly the same size as it.

By the looks of it though, the rodent was struggling and could have done with some help.

Sadly for him, he didn't 't have a partner in crime, so had to make the getaway by himself.

It was last seen hopping along the patios with the toasty treat in hand.

For the original article, go here.

Polite Grizzly Bear Waving Back To Little Girl Becomes YouTube Hit

December 14, 2011

Grizzly bears are not known for their politeness and have been linked with attacks in the wild, so it was a surprise when one of these large beasts waved back at a little girl in a seven-second video which has gone viral on YouTube.

A video, which shows a little girl waving to a bear and the bear waving back, has become an internet sensation, generating over 300,000 views on YouTube.

In the clip the girl first smiles at the camera before shaking her hand towards the bear, which is standing a few feet away behind a fence.

The animal then raises its head and right arm and then responds to the girl's actions by mimicking her wave.

Internet users have fallen in love with the polite bear. One YouTube user called it 'cute' and another said it was 'kick ass'.

Apparently the recording is from an animal park in Washington called the Olympic Game Farm. This animal sanctuary is known for giving former animal performers a new home.

This may explain why the bear was so comfortable with the visitors and why it politely waved back.

VIDEO: Watch the grizzly bear that waves back to a little girl.

For the original article, go here.

Your Donkey on the Beat, signing off until next week!

KPLU's 12th Annual Christmas Jam: Part 2 - Sara Gazarek

Flying Squirrel Invades New Jersey Emergency Room

November 30, 2011

Firefighters were needed stat after a flying squirrel went nuts in a New Jersey hospital's emergency room.

The squirrel kept launching itself from an 8-foot-high wall-mounted lamp into a glass wall after becoming trapped in a trauma room at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway Tuesday night.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Ted Padavano told The Star-Ledger of Newark it would climb up on a light and would jump off and glide.

A pair of firefighters threw a blanket over the squirrel and released it into a wooded area outside the hospital.

Padavano believes there may be a nest in the building because it's the second time in two weeks that a flying squirrel got in the ER.

For the original article, go here.

'Gay' Penguins Given Baby Chick To Parent In China

December 5, 2011

A 'gay' penguin couple in China have been given a baby chick to care for to help a struggling mother with twins.

The twins hatched at the Harbin Polar Land in northern China, and to give both babies the best chance in life the aquarium decided to give one of the twins to another set of parents.

The 'gay' penguin couple are notorious in the aquarium's penguin community and they have been caught many a time trying to steal eggs during the hatching season. 

Penguin males have a natural instinct for parenting, in the wild the male penguins share the duty of incubating the un-hatched eggs with the female.

Aquarium staff are hoping that the Chinese pair should be able to look after the new chick without too much of a problem.

In other 'gay' penguin news it was revealed that the two African penguins at Toronto Zoo that are to be separated will be reunited with each other in the spring.

The zoo caused an outcry when it announced that it was to separate 'gay' penguins Buddy and Pedro in order to preserve the endangered species. 

But the zoo has revealed that the couple are to be united in spring after they have attempted to mate them with females in the zoo's colony.

For the original article, go here.

Your Donkey on the Beat, signing off until next week!

O Tannenbaum

British Schoolboy Reunited With Pet Chicken Thanks To US Twitter User

November 30, 2011

An 11-year-old from Northampton has been reunited with his escaped pet chicken Ginger, thanks to a Twitter user in America.

When Tom Cowley lost his beloved pet chicken he was offered help from as far away as America. But as the age-old joke would have it, the wandering fowl was found much closer to home – after she merely ‘crossed the road’.

Animal lover Tom was devastated after Ginger escaped from his back garden. He feared he would never see the Gingernut Ranger hen again, but he hadn’t counted on Twitter.

After a frantic two-day search, the 11-year-old’s mother Louise logged on to share her distress and a US follower retweeted her post.

This was seen by Catherine Inglis, the founder of PetsLocated.com, who then contacted Louise to spread the word about missing Ginger.

In a stroke of luck, one of their posters was spotted by Emma Maloret, from Tiny Horizons nursery, who recognised the hen straight away as it was cosied up on the nursery farm.

Tiny Horizons is on the opposite side of the busy A43, where Tom lives, in Moulton, Northampton.

This meant that brave Ginger had merely walked across the road.
Louise, who runs a bakery business, said: ‘It was amazing. We did look for Ginger and asked neighbours but we’d given up.

‘It’s hilarious, really. We’re delighted to have her back.’

Tom, who also has a gecko, three fish and a dog, added: ‘Ginger has been my pet chicken for two years and when I lost her last week I couldn’t believe it.

‘How she crossed such a busy a road and survived I’ll never know.’

For the original article, go here.

Golden Retriever Walks Little Poodle Across Nanjing City Streets in China

November 29, 2011

The dog, named Duo Duo, began to walk his small poodle accomplice after the poodle's owner - a neighbouring friend - asked if Duo Duo's guardian could walk the dog.

After spending some time walking the two dogs, the owner passed the task over to his golden retriever.

A leash was tied around Duo Duo and down to the poodle, allowing the dog to walk his little companion along the streets.

However, disciplining the poodle has been Duo Duo's main success as the poodle's hyperactive behaviour has been calmed.

Duo Duo pulls on the leash whenever the poodle attempts to run out into the road or chase after people.

After 30 minutes of walking around the city, the golden retriever even walked the pooch back home.

This rare sight has left the dog's owner chuffed: 'I am really impressed with Duo Duo's sense of responsibility.'

For the original article, go here.

Your Donkey on the Beat, signing off until next week!

The Beatles - Fixing A Hole