Follow-ups

Multi-purpose cemeteries This post reminded Kent of the lack of space demonstrated in this video, in which the stalls at a market in Thailand are pulled away from the tracks to allow a train to pass through and then put back in place.
.

Believe It or Not! Sideshow historian James Taylor is of the opinion that grabbing headlines to report "running out of oddities" is merely a clever and time-honored ploy to draw out the collectors and owners of things with exhibit potential.
.

Birthing and hoarding bunnies Less than a week since this post, authorities in New Mexico have identified another rabbit hoarder! Nancy Haseman of Rio Rancho was turned in by a neighbor and found to have 334 bunnies hopping around in her yard. Her husband had rescued one 12 years ago and "things got out of control."

.

Memories of machines As I suspected she would, Megan got quite a kick out of this post and shared with me some sewing stories of her own, including learning from her teacher that "Fabric is giving and forgiving," sewing a quilt project to the hem of the shirt she was wearing, and attaching the sleeves to a blouse backward so that she had to be "peeled like a grape" to remove it after she tried it on!

.

Arms and legs This week in the Ukraine, a drunken man stuck his hand in a lion's cage to pat it on the back and the animal bit it off; doctors were unable to reattach it. This brought to mind the news item from Taiwan 2 years ago when a veterinarian reached inside an enclosure to remove a tranquilizer dart and the inadequately sedated crocodile bit it off; in this case, surgeons were able to reattach and restore function to it. While we're on the subject, four people have had their hands avulsed during tug-of-war - one in 1995, two in 2007, and one earlier this month.

.

Burial shoes Well, it's not a burial shoe, but it is a buried shoe! Archaeologists have unearthed an 800-year-old leather shoe at a dig in Magdeburg, Germany. After the shoe is freeze-dried, it will become part of an exhibition called "Departure into the Gothic."

.

Chihuahuas in the weird news Like the dogs on wheels featured in this post, these two dog-kangaroos in the Philippines were born without front legs. "Cute" and "Bambi" are the pets of a Quezon City street vendor.
.

Flightless birds An unframed 17th c. painting of the extinct dodo has surfaced and will be auctioned by Christie's on July 9th. It may have been based on existing drawings, but is unique for showing the bird in 3 dimensions rather than in profile.
.

Poisonous plants Last November it was reported that, after losing his wife and his business and suffering from M.S. for 7 years, a 42-year-old British man committed suicide by ingesting 400 yew seeds from a tree in a nearby cemetery.
.

Progeria Unlike these children who experience accelerated aging, Brooke Greenberg - who lives with her family outside Baltimore and was featured on ABC's "20/20" - has an undiagnosed genetic anomaly and doesn't age at all. She is 16 and is shown here in the arms of her 12-year-old sister.