Weird News: Bunny Not Funny
Helping Hands
Serendipity Books in Chelsea, Michigan, got a hand -- or 600 -- with a big project on April 14, NBC News reported. Owner Michelle Tuplin was wondering how she was going to move more than 9,000 books to the store’s new, larger location without closing the business for days. The community came to the rescue, and more than 300 people showed up, forming a human conveyor belt that stretched around the corner and into the new location. “It was just a joyful experience,” said volunteer Donna Zak. In less than two hours, the entire inventory had been transferred -- all in alphabetical order. “It was overwhelming,” Tuplin said. The new store will open on April 26 to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day.
Weird in the Wild
Well, almost wild. At the San Diego Zoo on April 14, the animals reacted to the magnitude 5.2 earthquake, too, United Press International reported. Video from the elephant enclosure showed the pachyderms’ behavior even before the shaking started; the adults ran to form a circle, facing out, around the juveniles, Zuli and Mkhaya. “This behavior is known as an ‘alert circle’ and is intended to protect the young -- and the entire herd -- from threats,” said zoo spokesperson Emily Senninger. She said the elephants can feel sound through their feet.
Bunny Not Funny
On April 13, after a United Airlines flight took off from Denver International Airport, the pilot had to make an emergency landing because of a fire in one of the engines, ABC News reported. After being told the apparent cause, the pilot responded, “Rabbit through the number 2, that’ll do it.” A bunny -- NOT the Easter bunny -- had been sucked into the engine. Passenger Scott Wolff said he experienced “a loud bang, and a significant vibration in the plane. Every few moments (as the plane was climbing) there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fireball behind it.” Passengers were loaded onto a different aircraft and proceeded to Edmonton, Alberta. Rabbit strikes are fairly rare, experts say.
Just a Regular Street
Visitors to Abbey Road in St. John’s Wood in England are voicing their disappointment on Tripadvisor, Your Local Guardian reported. The street, made famous by the eponymous Beatles album, is a favorite spot for a photo op, but some tourists were expecting ... more. “Disappointed doesn’t cover it ... My disappointment in not finding street sellers, either side of the road, selling cheap T-shirts and merchandise was a surprise,” one commented. Another said, “I am a massive Beatles fan, but there is really nothing to see here. It’s just an ordinary zebra crossing.” It’s no Penny Lane, that’s for sure.
Naughty by Nature
The Blavatnik School of Government building at the University of Oxford features a glass roof, the BBC reported. But as of mid-April, the building has been closed after a cheeky seagull broke the glass by repeatedly dropping a stone on one of the glass panels. Seagulls are known to drop shellfish on the ground to try to break them open. A spokesperson said they hope the building will be “open as normal again soon.” No word on the fate of the seagull.