First of all, allow me to introduce my newest website: http://www.belmontpc.info. If you’re in the Charlotte area and are having computer problems, give us a call at 704-800-1573 and we’ll get you fixed up!
So – what’s going on in the world? A five acre lake in Chile has simply disappeared! Park rangers at the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park found no problem with the lake in March, but by late May the lake had disappeared entirely, leaving only a few large chunks of ice that used to float on the water. Scientists are puzzled – the obvious cause for something like this would be cracks opening up on the lake floor, which would cause the water to drain into the ground below. However, no cracks have been found yet and no seismographic activity was recorded in the area between the last known spotting of the lake and the draining. Weird!
A rare two-headed snake – rare because he was 8 years old, when most two-headed animals die pretty quickly – died recently at the World Aquarium in St. Louis. The snake was the most popular exhibit at the site, and it’s thought that more than a million people had seen the snake – known as “We” – over the years. But if you missed seeing him, don’t fret; the can-do Yankee spirit is apparently alive and well: We is at a local taxidermists and his stuffed remains will be on display in a couple of weeks.
An 84 year-old motorist was recently stopped during a routine license check near his home in the Netherlands. Come to find out, the man had been driving for 67 years without a driver’s license! Apparently, the man had simply never been in a wreck or gotten a ticket, so there was no reason for his crime to go undetected. Incidentally, he also didn’t have insurance and his vehicle has never gone through the mandatory safety inspection, either.
It might sound crazy, but a group of English football fans are trying to pool their resources to buy their own football team! Football has always been a “working class game” in the UK, just as baseball was at the turn of the century here in the US. But lately, English football has become a millionaire’s game, with American and European tycoons plunking down insane amounts of money to buy English teams. To counter this, a humble English copyrighter named Will Brooks has started a website – www.myfootballclub.co.uk – where Average Joes can plunk down £35 ($70) for a “share” of team. When around 50,000 have done the same, Brooks and his crew will be able to purchase a lower-ranked team and make all the management and marketing decisions. In a way, it’s very much like how the Green Bay Packers are managed in the NFL. I wish Mr. Brooks and company all the best with their endeavor!
And lastly, two items about my home state of Georgia:
First, documents recently released by the Department of Justice revealed that former governor Eugene Talmadge was investigated by the FBI for his possible role in the lynching of four people during a tight reelection campaign. According to the FBI, four African Americans were “causing trouble” in the Blasingame area of Walton County. Talmadge came to the area on a campaign stop and allegedly offered immunity to any whites who “took care of the Negros”. As it turned out, the four were lynched, and Talmadge went on to win the election (although he actually lost the popular vote to opponent James V. Carmichael; at the time, Georgia had a “county unit” system, similar to the Electoral College). Talmadge wouldn’t be able to enjoy the fruits of his “victory”, however: he died on December 21st, 1946, just a month after the election.
And lastly, some sad news: the Ramblin’ Wreck… is wrecked! Georgia Tech’s legendary mascot – a 1930 Model A Ford – was being transported on a flatbed to a private function in Savannah when something happened to the trailer hitch, which caused the trailer to leave the road and flip over. It is apparently heavily damaged on the front, right side and top. Tech officials vow to have the car – which has led the team onto Grant Field for every home game since 1961 – fixed by the team’s home opener against Samford on September 8th.