How would you like one of these guys to land on your head? People walking through a particular field in the Netherlands get the chance to find out what its like. The friendly
owl likes to spend a minute or so on his human perches before flying off.
Schonach, Germany, is the heart and homeland of the cuckoo-clock industry. Two houses in fact have been transformed into giant cuckoo clocks to commemorate this.
In 1940, Rev. Hansen started touring around the U.S. with his family, putting on a show in which he used trained birds to demonstrate lessons from the Bible.
Newsweek (Dec. 10, 1951) offered this description of the act:
A typical show opens with a six-canary choir accompanying Mrs. Hansen (on the vibra-harp) in "The Star-Spangled Banner," while an oriole pulls a string that hoists a flag on a tiny pole and a parakeet shinnies to the pole top to pose as an American eagle.
Other birds ride on a tiny electric train, eat at tables, and climb ladders while the Hansens appropriately quote the Bible. For example, when Tiger the canary sits on Catnip the cat while daughter Sylvia watches (see picture), Mr. Hansen quotes Isaiah 11:6, "... the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the faitling together; and a little child shall lead them."
Mr. Hansen feels that the whole act is "a demonstration of faith. Pete is not afraid of the flaming hoop because he knows I am holding it. Muggs has to stretch out his neck to swallow a sword that's as long as he is, but he has faith in us."
Amazingly, Hansen was able to continue putting on his Bible Birds show for 60 years, until he died in 2002. See
Roadside America for some more info.
Hansen makes Boom-Boom eat at a table
Tiger, Catnip, and Sylvia play
A
drunken squirrel that is. Either that or he's half bunny.
An amazing picture of a
weasel riding on a woodpecker in flight. Flying for free and no TSA, lucky beast!
In 1969, a rat died somewhere in the offices of the Texas legislature. This led to the passage of
Texas House State Resolution 433:
WHEREAS, there are many brands of rat poison on the market today; and
WHEREAS, Some brands of rat poison do cause the rat to leave the building before he dies; and
WHEREAS, The same thing goes for mice; and
WHEREAS, The State of Texas obviously does not use a brand of rat poison that causes rats and mice to leave the building before they die; and
WHEREAS, For the last week and a half, Representatives Jungmichel, Wieting, Ward, McAlister, Allen, Allen of Harris, Jones of Harris, Kubiak, Parker of Jefferson, Cory, Newman, Johnson of Bexar, Kothman, Weldon, Longoria, Ogg and Cummings have unduly suffered mental anguish by having to smell a dead rat; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the heretofore mentioned Representatives hereby go on record as supporting either letting the rats run loose in the Capitol or changing the brand of rat poison.
So what are these brands of rat poison that can make a rat leave the building before it dies? I've never heard of such a thing.
I cannot figure out if this is a legitimate species, or a freak.
This article seems to imply it was a common tortoise with vegetation affixed to its back.
Eddie the Alligator achieved brief fame back in 1966 because of his food preferences. I'm no alligator expert, but I don't think that hand-feeding them marshmallows is recommended by experts.