A rumble in the sky and a loud thud a few seconds later shook villagers in Gurugram’s Fazilpur Badli on Saturday, leaving them wondering what had happened.
Rajbir Yadav was in a wheat field when a “large rock” made its way to the ground, forming a one-foot crater.
A terrified, befuddled Yadav sprinted to the village head, another villager, Sukhbir Singh, said.
The news spread like wildfire and a few minutes later, a large number of the villagers had circled the frigid “rock”, which later turned out to be human excret – a human poop.
While the elders wracked their brains to make a good guess, the children brimming with curiosity declared it was a gift by the aliens.
“It is a white, holy stone gifted by the aliens,” a child exclaimed.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Pataudi, Vivek Kalia told PTI a few people approached the district administration, and a team comprising officials from the Meteorological department and the National Disaster Management Authority was formed under Kalia.
The team found the “celestial gift” the whole village was talking about the entire day was “blue ice”, a term used for frozen toilet waste leaking from aircraft, Kalia said.
Even the current one, Ted, the Cavalier master of indifference, loves nothing more than going outside and chowing down on some cat or possum poop.
Saryn Chorney of People Pets writes, it’s a topic that has long perplexed animal researchers and veterinarians. And if you Google the topic, you’re likely to get more than a dozen different explanations ranging from canine anxiety to illness to simply boredom.
(Boredom explains many of life’s ills, human or dog or cat.)
However, a new study led by veterinarian Benjamin Hart, director of the Center for Animal Behavior at the University of California at Davis, has managed to link the off-putting behavior to “greedy eating” (dogs that quickly ravish their food bowls, according to owners) as well as an instinct connected to canines’ ancestral wolf pack days.
Hart and his team surveyed over 3,000 dog owners. Of these subjects, 16 percent ate other dogs’ feces “frequently” (their owners had witnessed a crappy chow down session at least six times), and of those pups, 80 percent preferred fresh feces less than two days old. Who doesn’t?
Interestingly, the research suggested that the tendency towards coprophagia (the scientific term for poop-eating) was evident no matter a dog’s age, breed, diet, house-training status or compulsive behavior tendency. This finding has unleashed a new theory: Modern day dogs have inherited both their aversion to pooping where they live as well as their likelihood to eat fresh poop from their ancient wolf ancestors.
Back in those wild days, wolves may’ve eaten the fresh feces of sick, lame or old members who accidentally let a load loose as a way to clean up inside and around their den. Since it takes about two days for parasites and other pathogens to develop, eating fresh poop is not usually dangerous, and in fact, eating poop that was festering in their living quarters was actually a helpful way to avoid intestinal parasites such as larvae and worms.
That said, some great minds in the canine scientific community think there may be a bit more to it. For instance, Professor James Serpell of the University of Pennsylvania and editor of the recent book The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions with People, told the Washington Post he finds the wolf theory “plausible,” but he’s also intrigued by the “greedy eaters” survey findings. He referenced a study of free-roaming wild dogs in developing countries that scavenge for food and, as a result, fill up on a sizable amount of human feces. This seems to indicate that poop could be viewed, errr digested, as a second-hand food source.
Today, dogs (and cats) “are fed diets that are relatively rich in fats and protein, not all of which may be completely digested, making their feces potentially attractive as a second hand food source,” Serpell told the Washington Post.
So, there you have it. Poop-eating is probably a normal, evolutionary dog trait.
I buy the greedy eaters theory: Ted the wonder dog was the runt of the litter, raised outside, and 2 years later, still eats by retrieving a piece of kibble and taking it to the couch or bed to chow down.
Christine Parker and John Shoemaker, of St. Louis, detailed their foul experience in November aboard the Carnival Triumph in an interview with the Miami Herald, claiming unsanitary conditions on the 14-deck, 893-foot mega-ship turned what should have been a celebration into a potential health scare.
“We didn’t have a good honeymoon,” Parker told the newspaper. “People expect you to come back so excited and we have been fighting with the Carnival staff and smelling poop in our room. We were exhausted and angry.”
To make matters even worse, Parker claimed crew members aboard the ship acted as if black sewage reeking of fecal matter was no big deal.
For her troubles, Parker said Carnival offered her a $300 credit to be used on the ship and 15 percent off her next cruise with the company — which she doesn’t intend to book anytime soon.
The ship, which arrived back in south Florida on Nov. 11, was later given a failing grade by inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program.
Two other Carnival Cruise Line ships — the Breeze and the Vista, the company’s newest vessel — failed similar inspections in December, bringing the company’s tally to three failed inspections within two months, according to the Herald.
A Miami-based maritime attorney told the newspaper that failed inspections on cruise ships typically occur roughly two or three times per year, making the rash of poor grades a rarity.
Chabeli Herrera of the Miami Herald reports that aboard the Carnival Vista, Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, crew members hid trolleys of potentially hazardous food, equipment and dirty dishware from sanitation inspectors.
Fruit flies were found by the buffet and in a Parmesan cheese container. Crew failed to appropriately document illnesses on board.
On the Carnival Breeze, another of the Doral-based line’s newest vessels, machinery was found to be corroded or not functioning properly. About 25 garbage bins overflowing with waste were found by inspectors near an area where food was handled.
These violations and dozens of others landed both ships failing grades from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program, which routinely inspects cruise ships in an effort to control the spread of gastrointestinal illnesses. Ships must score 86 points or higher, out of 100, to pass.
But December’s reports follow another Carnival failure reported in November aboard the Carnival Triumph, bringing Carnival’s tally to three failed inspections in the past two months.
The Christchurch City Council has taken steps to reduce closures across its three indoor facilities. This has led to a 20 per cent drop in closures this year compared to 2016 when the pools were closed 224 times.
Pioneer pool in Spreydon was the hardest hit, experiencing 79 closures, including 50 “code browns” and 26 vomiting incidents. Pioneer pool was closed 93 times in 2016.
Most incidents happened in the leisure pool, which was closed 52 times, followed by the teach pool with 20 closures.
With those kind of numbers, should there be a sad poop emoji to go with the smiling pile of poop emoji?
Barbara Ortutay of USA Today reports that the Unicode Consortium is tasked with setting the global standard for the icons. It’s a heady responsibility and it can take years from inspiration — Hey, why isn’t there a dumpling? — to a new symbol being added to our phones.
That’s because deciding whether a googly-eyed turd should express a wider range of emotions is not the frivolous undertaking it might appear to be. Picking the newest additions to our roster of cartoonish glyphs, from deciding on their appearance to negotiating rules that allow vampires but bar Robert Pattinson’s or Dracula’s likeness, actually has consequences for modern communication.
Not since the printing press has something changed written language as much as emojis have, says Lauren Collister, a scholarly communications librarian at the University of Pittsburgh.
“Emoji is one way language is growing,” she says. “When it stops growing and adapting, that’s when a language dies.”
So full congrats to the New York Daily Post, whose front-page this morning slammed the immigration comments of so-called U.S. President Donald Trump with an appropriate emoji of its own.
According to the Washington Post, which first reported the story, President Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they discussed protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to several people briefed on the meeting.
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said, according to these people, referring to countries mentioned by the lawmakers.
Trump then suggested that the United States should instead bring more people from countries such as Norway, whose prime minister he met with Wednesday. The president, according to a White House official, also suggested he would be open to more immigrants from Asian countries because he felt they help the United States economically.
In addition, the president singled out Haiti, telling lawmakers that immigrants from that country must be left out of any deal, these people said.
“Why do we need more Haitians?” Trump said, according to people familiar with the meeting. “Take them out.”
George Washington said in 1783, “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent & respectable Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions; whom we shall wellcome to a participation of all our rights & privileges” (except for colored people which was sorta dumb).
Maybe Jimmy Buffett got it.
Buffet’s 1978 album, Son of a Son of a Sailor, was one of the first 8-tracks I bought while on vacation in Florida when I was 15-years-old, and it included the track Manana, which weirdly applies to Trump.
She said I can’t go back to America soon
It’s so goddamn cold it’s gonna snow until June
Yeah, they’re freezin’ up in Buffalo stuck in their cars
And I’m lyin’ here ‘neath the sun and the stars.
Customs man tell her that she’s gotta leave
She’s got a plan hidden up her shrewd sleeve
Wants to find her a captain, a man of strong mind
And any direction he blows will be fine.
Please don’t say manana if you don’t mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don’t try to describe the ocean if you’ve never seen it
Don’t ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong.
Tried and I tried but I don’t understand
Never seems to work out the way I had it planned
Hanging out at a marina when Steve Martin called
Singin’ anybody there really want to get small.
But women and water are in short supply
There’s not enough dope for us all to get high
I hear it gets better, that’s what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay.
Please don’t say manana if you don’t mean it
I have heard your lines for so very long
Don’t try to describe the scenery if you’ve never seen it
Don’t ever forget that you just may wind up in my song.
Called all my friends on those cheap nightly rates
Sure was good to talk to the old United States
While the lights of St. Thomas lie twenty miles west
I see General Electric’s still doing their best.
I’ve got to head this boat south pretty soon
New album’s old and I’m fresh out of tunes
But I know that I’ll get ’em, I know that they’ll come
Through the people and places and Caldwood’s Rum
So please don’t say manana if you don’t mean it
I have done your lines for so very long
Don’t try to describe a Kiss concert if you’ve never seen it
Don’t ever forget that you just may wind up being gonged
And I hope Anita Bryant never does one of my songs.
BBC World reports a United Airlines flight was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Anchorage on Thursday evening due to a “passenger smearing faeces everywhere.”
Police said the man, a US resident of Vietnamese origin, made no threats.
It is not clear what led to the episode taking place.
“We received a report of a passenger who had messed up the bathrooms with his own faeces,” Anchorage Airport police spokesman Lt Joe Gamache said.
The passenger, a 22-year-old whose name has not been released, was co-operative and faced “no appropriate charges for anything criminal”, Lt Gamache added.
KRON reports that a San Francisco mail theft victim is fighting back with cat poop after 50 of her packages were stolen in the past three months–and it only got worse around the holidays.
So, she decided to leave a little surprise for the thieves. The story has now gone viral.
The woman in Noe Valley says her whole block has fallen victim to these package thieves, but she decided to take matters into her own hands and teach these criminals a lesson in karma.
“So, I thought, you know, what I’m going to put this really stinky poop into Amazon boxes, and if they steal it, they deserve it! So, I put six of them, and they were all stolen all between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” Mail Theft Victim Cameo Wood said.
Six packages were stolen in less than 24 hours in one instance. Her frustration led to the creative comeback.
Nemy Bautista wasn’t home on Tuesday when the driver pooped in front of his house, but he saw the excrement evidence when he came home. Bautista then checked his surveillance cameras and noticed the driver squatting on the passenger side of the truck.
He tried to get to the bottom of this mess by contacting Amazon via this Facebook post:
Bautista told local station KBET that the driver’s supervisor came out to investigate.
“He was in shock when we saw the size of it,” Bautista said. “He ended up scooping it up with a plastic bag, but didn’t want to take it with him ― it smelled really bad.”
The online retail giant also issued an official statement:
This does not reflect the high standards we have for delivery service providers. This individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages and we’re in direct communication with the customer.
The company gave Bautista a gift card to apologize for all the crap he had to deal with, but he told KTXL TV that his real concern was for the customers who had packages delivered by the driver after that person pooped.
Worldwide, 4.5 billion people lack access to safe and working toilets and sanitation, while 892 million people are forced to defecate outside in the open or into bodies of water. Poor sanitation is linked to the transmission of many deadly diseases, including cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio, and 3.4 million people — mostly children — die from water-related diseases each year, with one in nine child deaths caused by diarrhea.
“Look Where Some People Poo” is the latest in a series of musical parodies Global Citizen has created to educate and inspire people around the world to take action. Past videos have included an Adele parody about calling Congress and a Bruno Mars parody concerning women’s rights.
Ahead of World Toilet Day (Nov. 19), the organization is asking supporters to sign a petition calling on the World Bank to commit to prioritizing basic sanitation.
Niamh Towey of The Irish Times writes that an Indian restaurant in Co Donegal was served a food closure order last month after a pond of human excrement was found in an area where staff were preparing food.
An overflowing manhole had resulted in the pond of human excrement gathering beside a shed where the potato peeler was stored at Saffron restaurant and takeaway in Creeslough.
A report from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said “human excrement was overflowing and ponding in an area beside the shed in which the potato peeler was located due to an overflowing manhole”.
It goes on to say staff “would be standing in the excrement” while using the potato peeler and thereby “carrying it into the food premises on their shoes”.
The report also found “dirt, mould and encrusted food” on windows, in sinks and on floors and doors throughout the premesis, while “food storage containers in the fridge were covered with black mould”.
WYFF 4 reports a disgruntled contractor sprayed what investigators told employees was apparently feces on produce at a West Ashley Harris Teeter, officials with the supermarket said.
Charleston police said 41-year-old Pau S. Hang has been arrested and charged with damage to personal property. Police say Hang has been on trespass notice for the store.
“The suspect is accused of spraying a brown liquid from a spray bottle onto some of the produce in the store,” CPD officials said. “Police don’t know the type of liquid that was used.”
According to Harris Teeter officials, the suspect attempted to contaminate food in the produce department and the fresh foods department inside the store in the St. Andrews Shopping Center in Charleston.
Rajbir Yadav was in a wheat field when a “large rock” made its way to the ground, forming a one-foot crater.
