AUSTRALIA: A 3-year-old Australian boy was lucky to escape uninjured after a collection of eggs he found in his yard hatched into a slithering tangle of deadly snakes.
Reptile specialist Trish Prendergast said Friday that young wildlife enthusiast Kyle Cummings could have been killed if he had handled the eastern brown snakes - the world's most venomous species on land after Australia's inland taipan.
Kyle found a clutch of nine eggs a few weeks ago in the grass on his family's 1.2-hectare (3-acre) property on the outskirts of the city of Townsville in Queensland state, Prendergast said. He had no idea what kind of eggs they were.
He put the eggs into a plastic takeout food container and stashed them in his bedroom closet, where his mother, Donna Sim, found them Monday. Seven had hatched, but the snakes remained trapped under the container's lid. The remaining two eggs were probably infertile and were rotten, Prendergast said.
"I was pretty shocked, particularly because I don't like snakes," Sim told the Townsville Bulletin newspaper.
Prendergast, who is the Townsville-based reptile coordinator of the volunteer group North Queensland Wildlife Care, was handed the container on Tuesday and released the snakes into the wild that night.
She was relieved that no one had handled the snakes.
"Their fangs are only a few millimeters long at that age, so they probably couldn't break the skin, but they're just as venomous as full-grown snakes," Prendergast said.
"If venom had got on Kyle's skin where there was a cut or if he put it in his mouth, it could have been fatal," she added.
Eastern brown snakes - which can grow to more than 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) long - usually stay with their eggs but sometimes leave for short periods to feed.
"He's very lucky he didn't encounter the mother while he was taking her eggs. That also could have been fatal," Prendergast said.
The snakes were 12 to 15 centimeters (5 to 6 inches) long and had probably hatched around five days before they were released, she said, adding that they were thirsty but otherwise healthy.
Australia averages around three fatal snake bites a year, and eastern browns are responsible for the majority of them.
Sim did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday. (AP)
Your phones can flush toilet
There is absolutely no limit to what technology can offer mankind. Now we have a smartphone that can flush your toilet and even track your bowel movements.
According to a report in
Daily Mail, Japanese firm Lixil has introduced its hi-tech toilet that can be completely controlled by a smartphone app.
Using the My Satis Android app, toilet users will be able to control the Bluetooth-equipped bathroom fitting with their smartphone, the report explained.
Functions such as lifting toilet seats, sprays and flushing can be controlled. Users can even listen tomusic through th toilet’s speakers.
It’s health function enables users to maintain a diary to see how much they have used the toilet.
Woman lives with skeletons
A woman from South western Sweden is accused of keeping skeletons in her apartment for allegedly having sex with them.
The 37-year-old is charged with violating the peace of the deceased, after using 100 parts, including six skulls and one backbone, in 'sexual situations', reported
Daily Mail.
However, she denied the charge saying she was only interested in forensic medicine and I'm passionate about osteology and nothing. But she admitted to having pictures of the dead.
She is currently standing trial.
Man buries girlfriend alive
A man who buried his girlfriend alive in a cardboard box in an attempt to kill her has been sentenced.
The 27-year-old from Huddersfield, UK, allegedly attacked the girl with a gunnm gagged and bound her before burying her under soil, reported
Daily Mail.
He has been jailed for 20 years, for also possessing dangerous explosives.
The formulae for making the confiscated explosives were found displayed on a board in his spare room.
Though the two offences are unrelated, his motive remains ‘obscure’, the report added.
Drunk man grounds plane
An airline passenger’s alleged unruly behaviour forced the plane to make an emergency landing.
According to a
perthnow.com report, the Qantas flight from Sydney to Japan had to make an emergency landing in Cairns to offload Justin Richard
Cooke, 34.
He allegedly lit a cigarette in the aircraft’s toilet and assaulted a cabin crew in an inebriated state.
He was arrested but was too drunk to appear in court. He faces four charges – lighting cigarette onboard; behaving offensively; assaulting crew; and threatening safety of 350-odd passengers.
Granny hears Happy Birthday song in her head all the time
Hallucinations can be frightening. But this granny’s condition is, indeed, pleasant.
Cath Gamester, 84, from Liverpool, hears half a dozen songs constantly as if they are being played in the room, according to a report in
Daily Mail.
The pensioner is apparently suffering from musical ear syndrome – a vivid form of audio hallucination.
She first experienced it in 2010. “One morning when I woke up I heard, ‘God save the Queen’, and thought it was next door, because it was going on and on,” she was quoted as saying.
She claims to hate the song ‘Happy Birthday’ that she hears every few minutes.
This is a condition that affects one in 10,000 people aged over 65, says psychiatrists.
Some researchers believe it is the way brain responds to a decline in hearing ability by plugging the gap with music well-known to the sufferer.
Unfortunately there is no cure for the condition. Sufferers can help themselves by talking about it, socialising more or even listening different music, suggests doctors.
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