It’s that nutty time of the week again, and let’s see what I have in store…
1. So how was your Easter weekend? Do anything nice? Take the family out on an adventure? Maybe a safari? Maybe it turned into a real adventure and your car caught fire in the lion enclosure? No? Huh, what a boring life you lead! Still, one family embraced that particular challenge at Longleat Safari Park on Good Friday and survived to tell the tale. The car was not so fortunate…
2. It’s a shame that there aren’t any recyclable decorations at Easter like there are at Christmas, because then they could have distracted the lions with a tree or two during the crisis above, apparently it’s one of their favourite snacks at Linton Zoo:
3. From rescuing people from animals to rescuing animals from people, did you know that Bill Bailey once bought a live owl in a Chinese restaurant to take it off the menu? It was sitting there in a cage waiting to be ordered when Bill and family walked in. After a bit of haggling, $400 later they bought the owl, then took a taxi up to woods near where the restaurant was in China and set it free.
4. The Bailey family would be pleased to know that monkeys would be very happy to be around them too. Apparently studies have shown that capuchin monkeys stay away from mean people, to the extent that they’ll turn down treats offered to them by selfish people. It seems that the human ability to spot traits in someone is not unique to the species. I wonder if capuchin monkeys have mean girl cliques too though…
5. And finally, for a little ornithological whimsy, did you know that it would have taken 2.5 million seagulls to lift James and his Giant Peach rather than the 501 Roald Dahl wrote about. Some physics students in Leicestershire wrote up an entire paper on it using theoretical calculations. I’d be happy to donate the screeching airborne rodents that hang around outside my flat in the early hours to an experiment to prove it though, perhaps in the middle of the Sahara or something…
Linking up to my fellow Randomeers:
A lion eat a Christmas Tree is mighty random! I used to wonder about the amount of seagulls it took to lift the giant peach and now I know thanks to your reporting.
I do love your random (but themed!) posts!
Up to uour usual standard ! Can I add the wood pigeon who lives on my chimney to yours? I swear it days. (At. 5am or some other uncivilised time ) "an-noy-ing " over snd over ! Grrrrr
Love this post, Katy! LOL!
Good for BB and the owl..and love the James and the Giant Peach story. Loving the randomness 🙂
I did actually know the Bill Bailey story but can't remember where I heard it.
Hehe! You find the best stuff to share 🙂
I really don't want to sound dumb, but I have to ask: do the lions really eat the Christmas trees? Surely they just play with them, wreck them, shred them?
Maybe the lions need a little fiber in their diet after eating so much meat.
Hilarious… as always 🙂
You do give us great random posts Katy
Those students have way too much time on their hands! On a side note, you have given me a whole new reason to avoid the wildlife parks where you drive your own car!
Yikes–that car on fire!