Weird News From Europe
Dozens of starling birds found dead in Romania caused a bit of a kerfuffle, with local residents worrying about a bird flu epidemic. An investigation revealed the birds had consumed grape ‘marc’, which is leftover after producing wine. The cause of death was alcohol poisoning. The birds enjoyed the marc so much, they drank themselves to death. We’re petitioning to have their species renamed the Uproxx starlings.
Elsewhere in Europe, a hair transplant patient in England got a rude surprise when he shaved his head before a cricket match. A teammate began laughing and said, “You do realize you’ve got ‘wanker’ written on your head?” The patient, who has spent around £60,000 (US $95,000) in hair transplants, claims his doctor must have carved the insult in two inch tall letters into the donor area on the side of his head. It should be noted that I (along with a lot of other people) can’t actually make out the word “wanker” in the scars on his head. All I’m seeing is a bald wanker who spent too much money on hair plugs.
We’ll See Your Weird News, Europe, And Raise You A Tennessee.
A crisis is happening at Frayser High School in Memphis, Tennessee, where 11% of the students are or were pregnant this school year. Yes, one out of every five girls in ninth through twelfth grade there is currently pregnant or gave birth earlier this school year. The school’s motto is, “Excellence is our expectation . . . no excuses.” Would “my water just broke” be considered an excuse?
Let’s Get Down To Business.
Facebook shares have hit a price of $28.26 per share in a SecondMarket auction. That’s a company valuation of over $70 billion, which is amazing considering Facebook was valued at $50 billion just one week ago. For those keeping track at home, this means Facebook is now trading at possibly 140 times its earnings. For comparison, Google trades at about 25 times earnings and Apple trades at about 22 times earnings.
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- Birds who were thought to have died from bird flu actually drank themselves to death. (BBC)
- Hair transplant patient claims the word “wanker” was permanently etched into his scalp by the doctor. (SWNS via Arbroath)
- Eleven percent of the students at a high school in Tennessee are pregnant or already gave birth this school year. (WMCTV, video at Buzzfeed)
- Facebook shares hit $28.26, placing a $70+ billion value on the company. (TechCrunch)
- Banner picture by Emily Thorson.
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- This is sad and adorable. Three years ago Zelda the dog was saved by 12-year-old Josh Reed. Josh died recently, and Zelda refuses to leave his grave. (BWE)
- Sad and adorable, part two: Leao the dog also refuses to leave the grave of his owner, Cristina Maria Cesario Santana, who died in the Brazilian landslides last week. (MSNBC)
- How about something less depressing? Not only might the civil war be coming to an end in Sudan, but peace there could also allow for the Guinea Worm eradication effort to successfully wipe the disease off the face of the Earth. (NewScientist)
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- In a survey of 2,500 adults who don’t use Facebook, the number one reason (56%) for their decision was, “It’s a waste of time”. Hmm, sounds like they have at least a passing familiarity with Farmville. (SAI)
- According to this infographic, 1 out of every 13 people on Earth are active Facebook users, and about half of all 18 to 34 year olds who use Facebook check the site right after waking up. Because brushing your teeth and talking to your loved ones in person is totally boring you guys. (Mashable)
- CityVille, the Zynga game which premiered on Facebook just over one month ago, has already gained over 100 million active players. Damn, Zynga, you scary. (CNET)
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