World news from the SDB network.......

Seadoobuddy

Seadoobuddy

Premium Member
Premium Member
Hi all,
I thought I would start a thread on different world news.
Please post Funny, heroic, odd, weird, strange, stupid (such as stupid criminals),
Sports, weather related, etc stories.

Let's stay away from stories about murder, other deaths and "made-up" stories.

Let's keep this fun and try not to get "off-topic" for too long.

Almost like the "Ask Jake, Lou and now Crisso" thread but instead of personal daily living stuff this will be "News-worthy" junk....I mean items.
 
Can anyone tell me, what the heck is going on with this "Cricket" game. The score is 214-3 to 333??????
100th ton...is this a weigh lifting contest....
547 runs total..... and what are stumps???

Sachin Tendulkar falls short of 100th ton as Virender Sehwag leads India's response to Australia's opening innings
First Test, day two (stumps): India (214-3) trail Australia (333) by 119 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar falls short of 100th ton as Virender Sehwag leads India's response to Australia's opening innings
Sticky wicket: Sachin Tendulkar remains on 99 centuries after the Indian batsman was bowled for 73 Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Telegraph staff and agencies

4:30AM GMT 27 Dec 2011

Virender Sehwag produced an aggressive innings as India started their response to Australia's 333 before he was removed just before the tea interval on day two of the second Test in Melbourne.

The opener raced to 67 from 83 balls - passing 8,000 Test runs in the process and surviving two lives - before James Pattinson knocked over his middle stump two overs before the players left the field.

Sehwag's efforts meant India took tea on 99 for two, still 234 runs behind their hosts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Having recently set the world record one-day international score, Sehwag's confidence was always going to be sky high and so it proved as he set about dismantling the Australian bowlers.

He should not have had the chance to do so, though, with Mike Hussey shelling him in the gully off the bowling of Pattinson when he was on just 11.

Shortly after he lost opening partner Gautam Gambhir for three, the left-hander wafting at a Ben Hilfenhaus delivery and giving Brad Haddin an easy catch behind.

That brought Rahul Dravid to the crease and, with his studious approach occupying one end, Sehwag let rip, going to 50 off 59 balls with a lofted four over the head of Nathan Lyon.

He sent the next ball to the boundary too, before chipping the one after just short of David Warner. He then nicked Pattinson behind only for Haddin to put down his one-handed attempt to take the ball, before surviving a caught behind shout.

His luck would only last so long, though, with Pattinson luring him into a drive that he got wrong and the ball shot between bat and bad and rearranged his stumps.

That brought Sachin Tendulkar, chasing his 100th international hundred, to bat. Test cricket's greatest run-scorer, though, was bowled for 73 by paceman Peter Siddle with just three balls left.

The wicket sent groans around the MCG from the sizeable Indian contingent in the 53,000 crowd, denied the chance of seeing the "Little Master" reach the landmark.

"It's going to eventually happen," team-mate Ravi Ashwin said afterwards. "No point in bothering about it. We're very happy to be in the position we are presently.

"Probably one wicket less would have been nice. He played very well but eventually he got a good ball."

Tendulkar, who has been on 99 Test and ODI centuries since scoring 111 against South Africa in the World Cup in March, looked in vintage touch before he lost his stumps in an inspired final over from Siddle.

India would have to rebuild before the second new ball, "stick our heads out and bat really well tomorrow", Ashwin said.

"We know how Rahul and Sachin could really stack it up. That didn't happen, hopefully someone else, we know Laxman is there."

India, chasing their first-ever series win in Australia for 64 years, have the opportunity to press on for victory over the concluding three days of the opening Test.

"It's too far ahead to think about it, honestly," Ashwin said. "If sun beats down and wicket eases more and more, we need to bat as much possible and get as much as lead as possible.
 
To hard to explain.Just watch it and be bored.It would be easier to explain to you what women want.
 
The opener raced to 67 from 83 balls - passing 8,000 Test runs in the process and surviving two lives - before James Pattinson knocked over his middle stump.

Obviously you are watching one of those pay per view channels. Take notes, maybe you'll learn something to show the boys down at the YMCA.
 
If you want to be totally brain effed about cricket.Look up the names of the fielding positions.
 
thanks for the advice crisso, I just might do that and be really confused then.

OK last story for SDB Network for tonight.

$77 million Lotto winning ticket not turned in. Sold in Georgia.

One hundred and eighty days apparently wasn't enough time for the buyer of a winning $77 million lottery ticket to come forward.

That's if the (un)lucky buyer still has it.

The Powerball ticket from a June 29 drawing was not turned in by Monday's deadline, said J.B. Landroche, spokesman for the Georgia Lottery.
Quick Clicks

Clock runs out on $77 million lottery...



Winning numbers from the drawing were: 24-30-45-57-59. The Powerball was 26, according to the lottery.

Not that it matters now.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Pilot Travel Center in Tallapoosa, Georgia, near the Alabama line.

Unclaimed Powerball jackpot prize funds are returned proportionately to each participating state based on that state's sales for the particular drawing, officials said. Forty-two states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands participate in Powerball.

In Georgia, unclaimed prize funds go back into the prize pool to be used for future game prizes, special prize promotions and ultimately are paid out to players. The lottery in Georgia benefits education.
 
ec5a-Obit-Cheetah.jpg

Cheetah the chimp from 1930s Tarzan flicks dies


FILE - A file photo shows Johnny Weissmuller, right, as Tarzan, Maureen O'Sullivan
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — A Florida animal sanctuary says Cheetah the chimpanzee sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the early 1930s has died at age 80.

The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor announced that Cheetah died Dec. 24 of kidney failure.

Sanctuary outreach director Debbie Cobb on Wednesday told The Tampa Tribune ( http://bit.ly/rRuTeJ) that Cheetah was outgoing, loved finger painting and liked to see people laugh. She says he seemed to be tuned into human feelings.

Based on the works of author Edgar Rice Burroughs, the Tarzan stories, which have spawned scores of books and films over the years, chronicle the adventures of a man who was raised by apes in Africa.

Cheetah was the comic relief in the Tarzan films that starred American Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weissmuller. Cobb says Cheetah came to the sanctuary from Weissmuller's estate sometime around 1960.

Cobb says Cheetah wasn't a troublemaker. Still, sanctuary volunteer Ron Priest says that when the chimp didn't like what was going on, he would throw feces.
 
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Cranky croc steals Aussie zoo worker's lawn mower e947-Australia-Klepto-Crocodile.jpg

By KRISTEN GELINEAU, AP
.Australia.Klepto.Crocodile

Elvis, a giant saltwater crocodile swims next to a lawnmower in his pool at ...

SYDNEY — A giant saltwater crocodile named Elvis with an apparent affinity for household machinery charged at an Australian reptile park worker Wednesday before stealing his lawn mower.

Tim Faulkner, operations manager at the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, was one of three workers tending to the lawn in Elvis' enclosure when he heard reptile keeper Billy Collett yelp. Faulkner looked up to see the 16-foot (5-meter), 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) crocodile lunging out of its lagoon at Collett, who warded the creature off with his mower.

"Before we knew it, the croc had the mower above his head," Faulkner said. "He got his jaws around the top of the mower and picked it up and took it underwater with him."

The workers quickly left the enclosure. Elvis, meanwhile, showed no signs of relinquishing his new toy and guarded it closely all morning.

Eventually, Faulkner realized he had no other choice but to go back for the mower.

Collett lured Elvis to the opposite end of the lagoon with a heaping helping of kangaroo meat while Faulkner plunged, fully clothed, into the water. Before grabbing the mower, however, he had to search the bottom of the lagoon for two 3-inch (7-centimeter) teeth Elvis lost during the encounter. He quickly found them and escaped from the pool, unharmed and with mower in tow.

Though many may question the wisdom of going after a couple of teeth with a massive crocodile lurking just feet away, Faulkner said finding them was critical. "They clog up the filter systems," he said.

And, he said, "They're a nice souvenir."

Elvis has a history of crankiness and has lunged at staff before, though this is the first time he has stolen something from one of the workers. The croc was initially captured in the northern Australian city of Darwin, where he had been attacking fishing boats. He was then moved to a crocodile farm, where he proceeded to kill his two crocodile girlfriends.

In 2008, he was moved to the reptile park, where he has enjoyed solitary confinement in his own enclosure.

"When they are the dominant croc, they're just full of testosterone," Faulkner said. "He's got his beautiful own yard, he wants to be a solitary creature. He's happy."

Despite having to give up the lawn mower, Elvis was clearly pleased with himself, Faulkner said.

"He's beaten us today ... he's kingpin," Faulkner said. "He's going to be walking around with his chest puffed out all day."

As for the staff at the reptile park?

"I can't lie, the bosses are not going to be happy about the cost of a new lawn mower," Faulkner said with a laugh. "(But) we love it. No one's injured ... and when you get scared and it all turns out to be good, it's actually quite enjoyable."

hey Crisso - how do you get water out of a croc eaten mower motor????

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
 
Singer, actress Kaye Stevens dies in Florida
Associated PressAP – 4 hrs ago

THE VILLAGES, Fla. (AP) — Singer and actress Kaye Stevens, who performed with the Rat Pack and was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," has died at a central Florida hospital. She was 79.

Close friend Gerry Schweitzer confirmed that Stevens died Wednesday at the Villages Hospital north of Orlando following a battle with breast cancer and blood clots.

Stevens, a longtime South Florida resident, performed with Rat Pack members including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop. She also sang solo at venues like Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and the Plaza Hotel's Persian Room in New York City.

During the Vietnam War era, Stevens performed for American soldiers in the war zone with Bob Hope's USO tour.

According to a handout from friend Rhonda Glenn, Stevens was born Catherine Louise Stephens in Pittsburgh. Her family eventually moved to Cleveland, where a teenage Stevens got her start as a drummer and singer. She later married now deceased bandleader and trumpet player Tommy Amato, and the couple performed throughout the eastern U.S.

During a gig in New Jersey, Stevens was discovered by Ed McMahon, Carson's longtime sidekick, which led to new bookings. Her big break came when she was playing a lounge at The Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Debbie Reynolds became ill and was unable to perform in the main room. Stevens filled in and was an instant hit.

Besides singing, Stevens also acted in film and television. She appeared in six movies, earning a Golden Globe nomination in 1964 for "The New Interns." She was a regular celebrity player on game shows and appeared as a regular on "Days of Our Lives" from 1974-79.

During the past two decades, Stevens started her own ministry and began performing only Christian and patriotic music. She staged benefits to help build St. Vincent Catholic Church in her longtime home of Margate, Fla., where city officials named a park in her honor.
 
12 facts about the Time's Square NYE ball

Ring in 2012: 12 Facts About the New Year’s Eve Ball :cheers: :biggrinjester:

It’s almost time to ring in 2012 and for most revelers nothing says New Year’s Eve like a bottle of bubbly and watching that iconic ball drop in Times Square.

You’ve seen the New Year’s Eve ball drop year after year, but how much do you actually know about it? What’s it made of? How does it get that kaleidoscope effect?

The tradition of lowering the New Year’s Eve ball began in 1907 with a 700 pound ball, made out of iron and wood, and covered in a modest 100 25-watt light bulbs. Over the past 103 years, the world-famous ball has undergone seven transformations to today’s impressive 11,875 pound-version, with over 30,000 LED lights and thousands of Waterford Crystal adornments.

Impress your friends at your New Year’s Eve bash with these fun facts about the world famous ball and its evolution through the years from Countdown Entertainment, which produces the Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration along with the Times Square Alliance.

1. The ball is a geodesic sphere, 12 feet in diameter and weighs 11,875 pounds.

2. The ball is covered with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles, which are bolted to 672 LED modules on the aluminum frame.

3. The ball is illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LED modules. Each LED module contains 48 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs — 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white for a total of 8,064 of each color.

4. The ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns.

5. The first New Year’s Eve Ball lowering celebration atop One Times Square was in 1907. It was made of iron and wood, weighed 700 pounds, and was covered with 100 light bulbs.

6. Over the past 103 years, seven versions of the ball have been designed to ring in the New Year.

7. In 1920, a 400-pound iron Ball replaced the iron and wood Ball.

8. In 1955, a 150-pound aluminum Ball with 180 light bulbs replaced the iron Ball.

9. In 1995, the aluminum Ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, and computer controls.

10. In 1999, the crystal New Year’s Eve Ball was created to welcome the new millennium.

11. For the Ball’s 100th Anniversary in 2001, the light bulbs of the past were replaced with modern LED technology.

12. In 2008, the permanent Big Ball was unveiled atop One Times Square where it sparkles above Times Square throughout the year.
:biggrinjester::biggrinjester::biggrinjester::biggrinjester::biggrinjester::biggrinjester:
 
Panda Poo Makes a New Tea

A wildlife exert in China is gathering some special panda-made ingredients to fertilize a new type of tea that could end up being the world's most expensive. An Yashi, a lecturer at Sinchuan University, collects the valuable excrement from a giant panda breeding center in Chengdu, and said panda feces is rich in fiber and nutrients and creates a unique aroma for the tea blend, The Huffington post reported. Yashi said the panda's stomach acids and enzymatic action only absorb about 30 percent of everything they eat, which creates a unique process to fertilize the tea plants. He believes that produces the perfect ingredients for the world’s rarest tea. According to the publication, Yashi claims the tea can rake in upward of $36,000 per pound, and he's hoping to achieve a Guinness World Record with his first sale.
 
Good idea for a thread.. I'll be sure to post the crazy things I see here from now on.
 
BROCK Retires

Remember when Brock1 has this as his profile pic and had some of the forum believing he was the fighter.....

Lesnar retires after first-round loss at UFC 141 Brock UFC-141-Mixed-Martial-Arts.jpg
By GREG BEACHAM, AP
FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2010, file photo, Brock Lesnar faces Cain Velasquez ...

LAS VEGAS — Brock Lesnar took one last kick to his stomach and crumpled at the side of the cage, unable to fight back when Alistair Overeem pounced.

Lesnar had been finished by a 6-foot-5 Dutch kick boxer in the first round at UFC 141. A few minutes later, the UFC's former heavyweight champion finished his own meteoric mixed martial arts career.

Lesnar retired from the UFC after Overeem stopped him with one vicious kick to the body at 2:26 of the first round in their heavyweight bout Friday night, leaving the UFC heading into 2012 without its biggest pay-per-view star.

"This is the last time you'll see me in the octagon," Lesnar said.

Largely thanks to his fame from a career in pro wrestling, the hulking Lesnar (5-3) played a significant role in expanding the UFC's profile and fan base over the past four years. He beat Randy Couture in 2008 to win the heavyweight title, defending it twice before losing the belt to Cain Velasquez last year.

But Lesnar has fought just three times in the past 2 1/2 years while dealing with bouts of a lower-intestinal ailment that nearly killed him. The accumulation of pain and rehabilitation finally undid Lesnar, whose famed strength and stubbornness couldn't overcome diverticulitis.

"I've had a really difficult couple of years with my disease, and I'm going to officially say tonight is the last time," Lesnar said.

Lesnar's return from a 14-month injury absence was a short, one-sided beating. After taking damage from two knee blows early on, he couldn't recover from a kick to the liver from Overeem (36-11), who made a stellar UFC debut despite getting cut near his right eye by a punch from Lesnar.

The 34-year-old Lesnar's announcement stunned fans who already realized he faced a difficult matchup in the UFC's traditional end-of-the-year event in its hometown. The matchup was a classic MMA clash of styles, with Lesnar's brute wrestling contrasting sharply with Overeem's vicious striking.

"I had no idea he would do that, (but) am I surprised? No," UFC President Dana White said. "Brock Lesnar has made a lot of money in his career and has achieved a lot of things. ... He brought a lot of excitement to the heavyweight division. What he accomplished in a short amount of time is amazing, but I get it. It doesn't shock me."

Overeem is three years younger but much more experienced than Lesnar, hurting the former champion at least twice earlier in the round while Lesnar failed in his attempt at a one-legged takedown.

"I promised my wife and my kids if I won this fight, I would get a title shot, and that would be my last fight," Lesnar said. "But if I lost tonight ... you've been great."

Overeem will get the next shot at UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, who watched from a seat near the octagon.

Overeem is a champion kick boxer who has fought in multiple promotions over the past decade, winning titles in Dream and Strikeforce with nearly unbeatable striking and size. He joined the UFC in September, finally presenting his formidable skills and intimidating physique to the sport's largest audience.

"My experience in UFC was, it's huge," Overeem said. "I think it's like 100 times bigger than Strikeforce. K-1 (kick boxing) is big, but this is a lot bigger. I was a little bit blown away, still am. I loved every second of it."

White might have given an immediate title shot to Overeem if the timing had been better, but Dos Santos only claimed Velasquez's belt in early November. Overeem welcomed a debut against Lesnar, even guaranteeing a knockout in the first two rounds.

"First or second round, I promised," Overeem said.

Lesnar hadn't fought since losing his heavyweight belt to Velasquez in October 2010, cancelling a bout against Dos Santos last June in Vancouver after another flare-up of diverticulitis. The former NCAA wrestling champion and fake WWE wrestler kept his unparalleled popularity during his recovery, and Lesnar used the time off to modify both his diet and his standup game, attempting to improve his biggest weakness.

As it turned out, Lesnar couldn't improve enough to contend with the supremely skilled Overeem, who embraced Lesnar afterward.

The undercard at the MGM Grand Garden featured two upsets: Lightweight Nate Diaz won a bloody unanimous decision over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone with superior boxing, and Johny Hendricks stopped welterweight star Jon Fitch with one punch just 12 seconds into their bout.

In the co-main event, Diaz (15-7) backed up his tough talk and rude behavior in a fight that had the sellout crowd on its feet as he battered Cerrone, nearly a 3-to-1 favorite in the MGM Grand sportsbook, for most of the three-round standup fight.

Diaz, the brother of bad-boy welterweight Nick Diaz, picked apart Cerrone's defense for most of the fight, leaving Cerrone bloody after his first loss in seven fights since September 2010.

Cerrone (17-4) knocked down Diaz at least a half-dozen times with kicks and leg-whips, but Cerrone refused to fight Diaz on the ground, repeatedly allowing Diaz to get up.

The unusual strategy showed respect for Diaz's ground skills, but also minimized the importance of those knockdown shots in the eyes of the judges, who scored the bout 30-27 twice and 29-28 once, all for Diaz.

Hendricks (12-1) ascended to elite status with one sneaky left hook that caught Fitch (27-4-1) right on the button, flattening the favored San Jose fighter, whose return from a 10-month absence was stunningly brief. Hendricks, a two-time NCAA champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, completely stunned Fitch, who had lost just one fight since December 2002.

Early in the pay-per-view portion of the card, Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson (13-1) stopped veteran Vladimir Matyushenko with a perfect left hand midway through the first round.

Unbeaten featherweight Jim Hettes got new fans' attention with a comprehensive thrashing of veteran Nam Phan, repeatedly threatening to finish the fight with strikes and ground work.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 
Free AAA towing tonight!

If that champagne ends up flowing a bit too freely this New Year's Eve, AAA wants you to give them a call instead of getting behind the wheel.
That's because this New Year's, select AAA automobile clubs will offer up tow trucks as de-facto taxi cabs to provide free lifts home for people who say they've had too much to drink. And they'll tow your car home as well.
Triple A's 'Tipsy Tow' service is being rolled out in a number of communities to help prevent drunk drivers from taking to the streets on what is traditionally one of the most dangerous and deadly nights to be on the road.
The program has been offered around other booze-friendly holidays, such as July 4th, Memorial Day and even Super Bowl Sunday.
If you need to use it, just dial 1-800-AAA-Help and a truck will be sent out to your location so long as you're within 10 miles of your home.
So, you know, it's the good kind of "drunk dialing." Go ahead and program that into your phone now maybe?
The program is not available everywhere, so AAA advises checking first with your local AAA program to see if they're participating.
Some places such as North and South Carolina have actually stopped using the service because too many people were abusing it.
AAA of the Carolinas spokesman Tom Crosby said that "Unfortunately, too many young people used it as a safety net to get from party to party to get as drunk as possible and still get home."
So, as with everything else on New Year's, just be responsible with it.



http://www.hlntv.com/article/2011/12/29/aaa-tipsy-tow-new-years-eve?hpt=hp_t2
 
Hi Greg...good advice.

I read an article the other day that Detroit is not using it due to possible snow storms that will keep the trucks busy.
but today we have temps in the mid 40's and chance of rain so I don't think the trucks will be pulling people out of ditches because of snow.

Here is something I send out every July 4th..even though it doesn't make sense for Jan 1st ...I'm sure you'll get the idea behind it.

If you go forth with a fifth of the Fourth, you may not come forth on the fifth. Please don't drink and drive! ! ! ! ! !
 
hey Crisso - how do you get water out of a croc eaten mower motor????


Very Bloody carefully mate!
 
Criss, you is talkin to yurself agin. we is gonna have ta take ya ta see that doc with the sock puppets agin
 
Maybe Crisso is in here??? f41f-I-75-Crash-Snow.jpg


8 injured in 41-vehicle pileup on I-75 in Kentucky

Emergency crews work the scene after a crash along Interstate 75 (see photo)

DRY RIDGE, Ky. — Police say eight people have been injured in a 41-vehicle pileup that shut southbound Interstate 75 for hours on a day when scattered snow showers pelted northern Kentucky.

Kentucky's Kenton County police department issued a statement saying six of the injured were taken to hospitals, but none of the injuries was life-threatening. It said cars and other vehicles collided on southbound lanes at 12:22 p.m. Monday just north of Crittenden and south of Cincinnati.

Police say 23 vehicles had to be towed before southbound lanes reopened at 2:45 p.m. A news photo showed cars sprawled across several lanes and beside a shoulder with accumulated snow. Authorities say the cause is under investigation.

Meteorologist John Denman with the National Weather Service in Louisville said snow showers fell around the state Monday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
 
Criss - Here is something closer to you.

World-first hybrid shark found off Australia
shark.jpg
Related Content

This undated handout photo from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries shows a hybrid black tip shark containing both common and Australian black tip DNA in Australian waters. Scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with climate change. (AFP Photo/Pascal Geraghty)

This undated handout photo from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries …

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Scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with climate change.

The mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, was an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world, said lead researcher Jess Morgan.

"It's very surprising because no one's ever seen shark hybrids before, this is not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination," Morgan, from the University of Queensland, told AFP.

"This is evolution in action."

Colin Simpfendorfer, a partner in Morgan's research from James Cook University, said initial studies suggested the hybrid species was relatively robust, with a number of generations discovered across 57 specimens.

The find was made during cataloguing work off Australia's east coast when Morgan said genetic testing showed certain sharks to be one species when physically they looked to be another.

The Australian black-tip is slightly smaller than its common cousin and can only live in tropical waters, but its hybrid offspring have been found 2,000 kilometres down the coast, in cooler seas.

It means the Australian black-tip could be adapting to ensure its survival as sea temperatures change because of global warming.

"If it hybridises with the common species it can effectively shift its range further south into cooler waters, so the effect of this hybridising is a range expansion," Morgan said.

"It's enabled a species restricted to the tropics to move into temperate waters."

Climate change and human fishing are some of the potential triggers being investigated by the team, with further genetic mapping also planned to examine whether it was an ancient process just discovered or a more recent phenomenon.

If the hybrid was found to be stronger than its parent species -- a literal survival of the fittest -- Simpfendorfer said it may eventually outlast its so-called pure-bred predecessors.

"We don't know whether that's the case here, but certainly we know that they are viable, they reproduce and that there are multiple generations of hybrids now that we can see from the genetic roadmap that we've generated from these animals," he said.

"Certainly it appears that they are fairly fit individuals."

The hybrids were extraorindarily abundant, accounting for up to 20 percent of black-tip populations in some areas, but Morgan said that didn't appear to be at the expense of their single-breed parents, adding to the mystery.

Simpfendorfer said the study, published late last month in Conservation Genetics, could challenge traditional ideas of how sharks had and were continuing to evolve.

"We thought we understood how species of sharks have separated, but what this is telling us is that in reality we probably don't fully understand the mechanisms that keep species of shark separate," he said.

"And in fact, this may be happening in more species than these two."

Yeah - no kidding, humans do it too....so what's the big deal! ?!?!?!?!?
 
5002-ODD-Lego-Man-Found.jpgWeird news from Florida for 2011....
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, AP

FILE - This Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 file photo provided by the Sarasota Count...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Did you hear about the giant Lego man that washed up on Siesta Key beach? What about the man who walked into a bar, ordered a beer and disappeared for 30 minutes to rob a bank, only to return and finish his drink? Or how about the puzzling story of the baby grand piano that showed up on a sandbar near Miami?

That's Florida, where weird is an everyday event.

Over the past year, a 92-year-old woman fired four shots at a neighbor who refused to kiss her, a Delray Beach man cut off a piece of a dead whale that washed ashore — planning to eat it — and an 8-year-old girl gave her teacher some marijuana and said: "This is some of my mom's weed."

The piano was a mystery for about a month. On Jan. 1, 2011, the charred instrument showed up on a Biscayne Bay sandbar, a couple hundred yards from shore. A 16-year-old student eventually admitted he put it there as part of an art project. A day after it was removed, someone set up a table with two chairs, place settings and a bottle of wine.

It's still not clear how the 100-pound, 8-foot-tall Lego man washed ashore. The local tourism bureau hoped to use Lego man to promote the area, but the man who found it has placed a claim on it. He can keep it if the owner doesn't collect it before early next year. As for the bar-bank robber, he was arrested at his watering hole, not too long after the holdup.

Author Tim Dorsey, whose novels include Florida strangeness both real and fantasy, said the state is an odd place because of its diverse, highly transient population.

"There's pockets of strangeness all over the country, but here it's a baseline lifestyle. There, it's the aberration. There, it's the tail end of the bell curve. Here, it's the peak of the bell curve," Dorsey said.

Young people made up a large part of the peculiar tales.

In Palm Beach County, an elementary school teacher opened an end-of-the-year gift from an 8-year-old student's grandmother and found toiletries and a loaded handgun. A Tampa woman upset with her 15-year-old son's bad grades forced him to stand on a street corner with a sign that read: "Honk if I need an education."

A 15-year-old Florida Keys girl who is a big fan of the "Twilight" books and movies was afraid that her mother would get upset by the bite marks her boyfriend gave her after they acted out her vampire fantasy. She made up a story about being attacked; doubtful investigators got her to tell the truth.

Deputies arrested an 18-month-old's father after they found the man passed out in his mobile home while the toddler was in the yard picking up beer cans and drinking them.

Pasco County deputies said a woman walked into a bank with a 3-year-old boy and robbed it. A homeless man held up a Tampa bank, fled on a city bus and handed out stolen cash to passengers.

And while he didn't rob it, an unhappy Palm Coast bank customer left quite a deposit. He urinated in a drive-thru bank tube and drove off.

Animals always account for a fair share of odd news. At the Miami airport, a Brazilian trying to get through security was caught with several baby pythons and tortoise hatchlings in his underwear. A woman found a 7-foot alligator in her bathroom, and a man stored his dead cougar in a freezer.

In north-central Florida, an Ocala ice cream shop got rid of its costumed mascot — a waving vanilla cone — because passers-by kept mistaking him for a hooded Ku Klux Klansman.

In unusual crime stories, two managers of a Lake City Domino's Pizza were charged with burning down a rival Papa John's as a way to increase business. Two deaf men using sign language were stabbed at a Hallandale Beach bar when another costumer thought they were flashing gang signs.

And finally, a North Naples man who was pulled over for a traffic violation called 911 and reported a shooting nearby to get out of a ticket. He still got a ticket and was also charged with making a false 911 call.
 
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