Odd-but-True Stories

by lightning at a beach in New Jersey. Seven other people were injured in the event at well.

The incident took place on the 21st Avenue ocean beachfront in the South Seaside Park section, according to Ocean County officials.

Of the seven injured, three were also township lifeguards. Most of the victims appeared to have relatively minor injuries, such as headaches and dizziness.

“Our hearts are with the family and friends of the young lifeguard killed by today’s horrific lightning strike on the beach in Berkeley Township, and we pray for a full recovery for those injured,” Governor Phil Murphy said.

“This is a tragic and heartbreaking day for our town and the entire Jersey Shore,” said Berkeley Mayor Carmen F. Amato. “This young person was out there everyday protecting the lives of others. Our lifeguard teams, like so many along the Shore, develop special connections with our community throughout the summer, which makes this loss even greater. On behalf of myself and our entire community, I offer our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of this young man.”

The lightning strike was accompanied by several really loud thunderclaps.

Kathy Gill, 61, who lives two blocks over from the beach, said that the thunder was really loud.

“This is my beach, this is my beach,” Gill said. “I heard the big bang, or a couple of big bangs … it’s just horrific, it was horrific. ... My house shook, it was that loud.”

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If you turn 100 in Switzerland, you may want to party.

Fribourg state, located near the Swiss Sarine River, is giving centenarians living in the area a very special present. When the residents reach 100, they are gifting them 100 bottles of wine.

Bailiff Claude Freiburghaus said preparations are currently underway to present a resident named Marie-Antoinette with a bouquet of flowers and an offer for 100 bottles of wine when she turns 100 on November 5.

This is not the first present the city wished to gift to those living a century. The state came up with the idea in the year 2000. Back then, it offered a special chair to those reaching 100. But centenarians turned up their noses at the chair; instead, they prefer the bottles of booze.

For those who don’t drink – or don’t think they can imbibe that much alcohol – Freiburghaus said they also offer a charitable donation or a voucher for use at a local merchant or craftsman. Most residents reaching that ripe, old age, though, have been opting for the myriad l’chaims.

“In 2020, we celebrated 27 centenarians. Five of them opted for the donation and two for the gift voucher,” Freiburghaus told newspaper Le Matin Dimanche.

You know what they say: you can’t put new wine into old bottles. We’ll drink to that!

Bea-ewe-tiful

When Ben Jackson had to miss his aunt’s funeral due to Covid restrictions in Australia, he did the

next best thing: he recruited his sheep to pay tribute to his relative.

“There was no way I could get up there and see her, say cheerio, or go to the funeral,” he told BBC News.

Ben is a farmer. While feeding his sheep that day, he distributed the grain in the shape of a heart. His sheep then ate the grain, forming a giant heart for Ben’s aunt.

“I just decided to do a massive heart in the ground, which in all earnest, pales in comparison to hers,” he related.

A video of the result was captured with a drone and shared with the family to display during the service.

Jackson started making shapes with his sheep during the early days of the pandemic. His aunt was a fan of the creations.

Not baaa-d.

What’s the Hock with the Croc?

Authorities noticed something fishy on the Israel-Jordan border when residents reported of a scaly reptile on the loose.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority recently announced that it is on the hunt for a crocodile spotted swimming in a river on the country’s border with Jordan.

The INPA said it was informed by the Israeli military that the crocodile had been spotted swimming in the Yarmuk River by the Jordanian Army, which informed Israel of the reptile’s presence.

For now, officials are searching for the toothy critter. The best time for nabbing the pest is at night, when searchlights are reflected in the animal’s eyes and temporarily blind the creatures.

For now, nothing nefarious is suspected by authorities. They say that the crocodile probably escaped from a nearby farm in Hamat Gader, which is home to over 70 crocodiles.

By hook or by crook, just keep all ticking alarm clocks away from this animal.

Happy Cat

Are you nervous your cat is not happy? Concerned she’s forlorn or upset? Now, you don’t have to worry!

A new app can help determine if your feline is feeling sad or glad. Tably uses a phone’s camera to tell if your cat is feeling pain.

The app looks at ear and head position, eye-narrowing, muzzle tension, and how whiskers change to detect distress. Lest you roll your eyes, bear in mind that a 2019 study published in peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports found that the socalled “feline grimace scale,” or FGS, is a valid and reliable tool for acute pain assessment in cats.

“It helps human cat owners know if their cat is in pain or not,” Miche Priest, who worked on Tably, said. “We were able to train a machine using machine learning and a series of images.”

Aside from helping cat owners, the app can be used by young veterinarians who don’t yet have a handle on their purr-fect clients.

Sounds like the cat’s meow.

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