Weird News

Google brings anti-shake spoon to the table
MountainView, Calif. --------------------------- Just in time for the holidays, Google is throwing its money, brain power and technology at the humble spoon.
                                                                           Of course these spoons (don't call them spoogles) are a bit more than your basic utensil: Using hundreds of algorithms, they allow people with essential tremors and Parkinson's Disease to eat without spilling.
                                                                           The technology senses how a hand is shaking and makes instant adjustments to stay balanced.  In clinical trials, the Liftware spoons reduced shaking of the spoon bowl by about 76 percent.
                                                                            "We want to help people in their daily lives today and hopefully increase understanding of disease in the long run," said Google spokesperson Katelin Jabbari.

Would you mind giving this plane a push?
Moscow ------------------------------------------- In other countries, you may be asked to give a push to a car stuck in the mud.  In Russia, passengers in the Arctic came out of an airliner to the cold to help it move to the runway.
                                                                         A Russian-made Tu-134 with 74 oil workers and seven crew members onboard was due to fly from the town of lgarka to Krasnoyarsk when the plane couldn't move onto the runway.  It was -61 F outside and the passengers seemed desperate to get home.
                                                                         Eager to help, several dozen men were seen in an armateur video pushing the plane by leaning on both wings.  However, the video also showed a tow bar attached to the front landing gear, suggesting the tractor was doing much of the work.

Time to change the litter in New Castle's box
New Castle, Pa. --------------------------------- Residents are hoping tests on air samples can explain why their western Pennsylvania city smells like cat urine.
                                                                         New Castle residents began noticing the smells in the city about 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.  The New Castle News says the smell is still lingering near a sewage treatment plant in the city's Mahoningtown neighborhood.
                                                                         State environmental officials don't believe the odor is harmful, but they don't yet know what's causing it.
                                                                         A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says on-site monitoring didn't detect any hazardous substances in the air.

Jughead pooch ditches his headgear
Houston ----------------------------------------- A stray puppy with a plastic jug stuck on his head has been rescued --------- and freed from his headpiece.
                                                                       A Houston-area family says they saw the dog around the property for weeks.  The jug, which was open on both ends, was part of a pet feeder in Audra Bohannon's barn.  She believes the dog they call Bucky, short for bucket, got stuck while seeking food.
                                                                       KPRC-TV reports Bohannon planned to take the pup to a vet to see if the German shepherd mix has an identifying microchip.
                                                                        Bohannon says she saw the dog around her property but could never catch the pooch ------ until a few days ago.  The dog was captured and the jug cut off in a videotaped rescue.