Odds & Ends

Dog plays mother hen for tigers

Authorities in a Chinese zoo have drafted a dog to play surrogate mother to three newborn Siberian tigers at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. The cubs were abandoned by their mother and in need of a wet nurse when authorities called in the dog, Balu. The first time the 7-year-old canine acted as a tiger’s mother was five years ago when a Siberian tiger became too sick to nurse her cubs and the park placed an advertisement for a replacement. Since then Balu has acted as mother for 12 tiger cubs on four occasions. Park spokesman Su Feilong said even though the tiger cubs were bigger than Balu she regarded them as her own children and fed them wholeheartedly.

Add some shine to your desktop

Montblanc, a pen-making company, is offering the Montblanc Boheme Royal – a pen covered in 1,430 diamonds and worth $1,500. A spokesperson said that the pen is not only stunning to look at, but features a writing system equal to other Montblanc creations. The pen is a cartridge fountain pen and comes with a medium width nib made of platinum plated 18k gold.

Soccer team adopts goldfish

A goldfish that washed onto the field for Carlisle United following a flood has landed a job as the team’s mascot. Judy and the second fish, still awaiting a name, will share the mascot position. Ashleigh Turk, Judy’s 4-year-old owner, agreed to donate the fish to Carlisle United. Emma Story, daughter of team owner Fred Story, saved the fish from being stepped on as water was pumped from the field. Story said after the team won its match against Redditch the fans began to say the fish represent the fighting spirit of the team.

Dead woman returns to vote

A Romanian family who believed they buried their daughter two years ago were shocked when she came home to vote. The family from Pildesti addressed local police when their 22-year-old daughter didn’t return home in July 2003. After a few days of investigation police found a dead body on a riverbank and family and neighbors identified the body as the missing woman. But after almost two years the woman arrived home by taxi to vote in a poll regarding the revision of the Romanian Constitution. She explained her absence to her family by saying she went to visit a friend in a remote town and found a job there.

Pregnant parachutist

Marija Usova, of Russia, was in the middle of a parachute dive when she felt an enormous pain and went into labor. She had ignored warnings when she decided to arrange the jump because she said she wanted to give her unborn daughter the feeling of flying through the air before being born. Even after labor started, she managed to control her descent despite coming close to passing out at times and gave birth minutes after landing. Usova said the last words she remembers hearing before waking up in the hospital were “it’s a girl.” She named her daughter Larisa, the ancient Greek word for seagull.

Bad luck

Billy Gibbons was out walking one day in 2003 when he stumbled upon a chicken near death. He took the chicken in and nursed it back to health, naming it Lucky. A week later, while Gibbons was working in his home, Lucky pecked out five numbers on a calculator that ended up winning Gibbons almost $2,600. However, Lucky recently met his demise when Gibbons forgot to lock the coop and the chicken was snatched away by a fox.

No waiting room for this man

Pedro Lopez stunned doctors recently by successfully performing surgery on himself. Lopez drained three liters of fluid from his lungs that made his breathing difficult, by pushing a needle up through his abdominal area without anesthesia. Lopez stayed in the hospital for one day after his surgery and then went home to the town of Chenalho, Mexico.