Post insane / odd / unique news releases here

[Adondo]

By Laura Roberts
Published: 2:28PM BST 31 Aug 2010
Man blows himself up trying to kill a spider
It is not known if the spider survived REUTERS

The 28 year-old suffered severe burns after attacking the arachnid with an aerosol can at his home in Clacton in Essex.

The man was summoned by his wife to deal with a spider she had seen scuttling behind the lavatory on Bank Holiday Monday. Not being able to reach it, the man decided to kill it by spraying it with the can.

However he was unable to see whether it was dead because the bulb in the bathroom light had blown. At this point he turned to a cigarette lighter to illuminate the room, but in the process ignited the gas fumes and caused an explosion.

The blast was so strong it blew the man off his feet and lifted the loft door off its hinges.

He suffered flash burns to his head, legs and torso and was rushed by ambulance to hospital after dousing himself in cold water.

A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: "It appears the wife had spotted the creepy crawly in the bathroom and asked her husband to capture it.

"He sprayed it first with an aerosol where it was lurking behind the toilet bowl and when that didn't appear to work, he lit up his lighter to spread some light on the situation as the bathroom bulb had blown.

"There was an almighty explosion which blew the man back into his hallway and lifted the hatch on the loft.

"He did exactly the right thing by jumping into the shower and cooling his burns with cold water while his wife raised the alarm."

Firefighters administered emergency first aid at the scene while waiting for ambulance teams to arrive.

A spokesman added: "We're not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not but there was no sign of it at the scene."

Ambulance crews treated the man for burns to his arms, legs and face and breathing difficulties and he was taken to the Colchester General Hospital, in Essex, where he was given pain relief and discharged in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

In June last year Simon Elsey, 40, from Rotherham, suffered severe burns after a can of hairspray exploded at his home. The canister had been left on top of a children's fireguard in front of a lit fire in the sitting room. The blast was so powerful it blew out two window panes and the can was found embedded in the ceiling. Mr Elsey had been asleep in the sitting room at the time and firefighters said he was lucky not to be engulfed in flames.

[LWM]

^ Wanna bet the truth is he used the spay can and lighter as a flame torch and the flame backed up into the can?

[Adondo]

While reading that story, I had visuals of a completely unscathed spider crawling out past the wreckage of the bathroom door, with the guy inside writhing around in flames as the mushroom cloud of fire explodes out the window.

Reminds me of a story a while back where some idiot set off dozens of bug bombs. (cans of fogging spray, the kind you set and run away from) The 20 plus cans of bug killer are hissing away, while a forgotten pilot light in a water heater finally was reached by the ever-expanding cloud of explosive insecticide. The house was knocked off its foundation, all its windows and doors were explosively removed, neighboring buildings lost windows, etc. What was left didn't burn because the explosion was too brief, but cockroaches were running out of every crack and seam.

[Adondo]

This town is about 2 hour's drive north of where I live. The poor guy will never live this one down.

Hiker accidentally shoots himself in the rear

updated 8/31/2010 3:31:32 PM ET

WENATCHEE, Wash. — A hiker on Blewett Pass shot himself in the butt when he put a handgun in his back pocket. The Chelan County sheriff's office said the 52-year-old Snohomish man had moved his .40-caliber handgun from its holster to his back pocket Saturday to see if that position would be more comfortable.

The Wenatchee World reported the gun fired the bullet down his left buttock and left leg, coming to rest just above the knee. He was treated at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.

___

Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com

[Adondo]

1 September 2010 Last updated at 15:20 ET

Mervyn Kinkead crosses Irish Sea in a bath

BBC Mervyn salied to Portpatrick in his modified bath


At an age when many people are thinking about how to get in and out of the bath, Mervyn Kinkead has put his own tub to a use which belies his advancing years.

The 65-year-old from Lisburn has become the first man to cross the Irish Sea in a bath.

With only a relatively minor hiccup along the way, Mervyn covered the 19 nautical miles from Donaghadee across to Portpatrick in about eight hours.

The problem arose when the bath, probably used to being filled, began to take in water about three miles out of Portpatrick.

However it was soon righted, and Mervyn made it across to Scotland shortly before nightfall.

"It all began as a bit of a joke," Mervyn told BBC district reporter Claire Savage.

"Then someone said about doing it for charity so I thought I had better do it."

The adventurous admiral admitted to feeling like a celebrity when a crowd gathered in Portpatrick to herald his damp arrival.

However, his pride in his achievement does not equate to certainty over whether he would repeat the trip.

"I am glad it is all over. I would do it again - well, I would consider doing it again!"

[Adondo]

95 snakes found in burst bag at Malaysia airport

Sep 3, 12:23 AM (ET)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian man pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his bag bursting with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a luggage conveyer belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, an official said Friday.

Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, 52, who was previously convicted of wildlife trafficking in the United States, was charged Wednesday in a district court with exporting the endangered boas without a permit, said Shamsuddin Osman, an official with Malaysia's wildlife department.

The offense that carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison and a fine, Shamsuddin said.

Wong was arrested Aug. 26 after airport authorities found the boa constrictors, together with a few other snakes and a turtle, when his bag broke open on a luggage conveyor belt. Wong was transiting from Malaysia's northern Penang state to Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

The court will reconvene Monday pending Wong's appointment of a lawyer, Shamsuddin said.

He said the criminal charges involve the boas only, because the other animals are not listed as endangered. All of the animals are alive and under the care of wildlife officials, Shamsuddin said.

A decade ago, Wong was sentenced to almost six years in prison in the U.S. for running an animal-smuggling ring that prosecutors said imported and sold more than 300 protected reptiles native to Asia and Africa from 1996 until Wong's arrest in Mexico in 1998. It is unclear whether he served the full term.

Activists say the illegal wildlife trade used to flourish in Malaysia until the country recently stepped up efforts to crack down on it. In July, Parliament passed a new law to punish poachers and smugglers more severely, but the act has not yet taken effect.