The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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September 16, 2009

Weird news: New form of torture

By Chuck Shepherd, Universal Press

(1) In August, Glasgow hosted the sixth annual World Pipe Band Championship, with 200 bagpipe bands competing. (Professional piping often hits a sound level of 100 decibels and can go to 120, which is louder than a pneumatic drill.) (2) Two musician-beggars in the village of Moseley, England, were banned from performing in the area in August after a magistrate court heard complaints by desperate residents that the pair played only two songs (Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and George Michael’s “Faith”) over and over and over.

Animals gone wild

(1) In July, scuba divers around San Diego were forced out of the water by the estimated 1 million human-sized Humboldt squid that infested the area. Usually deepwater dwellers, they swarmed near the shore for several weeks, flashing their “razor-sharp beaks and toothy tentacles,” according to a KABC-TV report. (2) In June, in Ana Lee Spray’s garage in Riverside County, Calif., a full- grown mountain lion was cornered and held at bay for 45 minutes by Spray’s three Chihuahuas, yapping at it relentlessly. Eventually, animal control officers arrived and removed the grateful lion.

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