The Other Side of Life 24/7: Reuters Oddly Enough Report

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Reuters Oddly Enough Report

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08/23/2012

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Gibbons on helium sing like opera stars

LONDON (Reuters) - Gibbons are jungle divas. The small apes use the same technique to project their songs through the forests of southeast Asia as top sopranos singing at the New York Metropolitan Opera or La Scala in Milan.

Nepali man bites snake to death in revenge attack

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A Nepali man who was bitten by a cobra snake bit it back and killed the reptile in a tit-for-tat attack, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Finn throws Olympic distance with old Nokia

SAVONLINNA, Finland (Reuters) - A Finnish teenager won a mobile phone throwing contest on Saturday by hurling his old Nokia phone 101.46 meters.

Obama finally beats Bieber as Klout score admits real world

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Until recently, Justin Bieber was more influential than Barack Obama -- at least in the world of Klout, the controversial Web startup that claims to measure people's online influence using an algorithm.

Smoke, donkey mascot for U.S. Marines in Iraq, dies in Nebraska

(Reuters) - Smoke, the Iraqi donkey whose journey from a desert battleground to a peaceful retirement in the United States captured the attention of the world, has died in Nebraska.

Brooklyn bar owner accuses police of draining his liquor stock

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The owner of a Brooklyn bar is suing New York City after police emptied the bar's entire stock of alcohol down the drain in a liquor license dispute, according to court papers.

Inmate mails own severed finger to French minister

PARIS (Reuters) - An inmate in a French jail has mailed part of his own severed finger to the justice minister hoping the desperate gesture would help his plea to be moved to another prison, officials said on Thursday.

Driver swerves to avoid moose, hits bear instead

OSLO (Reuters) - A Norwegian driver who swerved his car on a rural road to avoid running into a moose hit a bear instead, authorities said on Thursday.

Pigs and squatters threaten Peru's Nazca lines

LIMA (Reuters) - Squatters have started raising pigs on the site of Peru's Nazca lines - the giant designs best seen from an airplane that were mysteriously etched into the desert more than 1,500 years ago.

South Africa goes big on birth control for elephants

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African province home to thousands of elephants is planning a birth control campaign for the pachyderms to prevent a population explosion that could threaten plants and wildlife.