#1 Because Venice is the Home of Horrible Tourists
Police in Venice can’t seem to catch a break, although they seem to be picking up plenty of tourists who left their manners at home – like skinny dippers, coffee brewers, and gondolier-knocker-outers.
This week, police added currency-exchange-employee-kidnapper to their list. In this instance, an Israeli tourist who was rather displeased about how many euros he received in a currency exchange transaction really lost his manners. He decided that the most reasonable thing to do was to hold the woman working the exchange booth captive. It took 30 minutes before the woman was able to contact the police and be freed from her kidnapper’s clutches.
#2 Snorkeling Grandmas Help Uncover Deadly Sea Snake Population
A group of snorkelling grandmothers helped discover a large population of deadly sea snakes in the Baie des Citrons in New Caledonia. The seven women, all in their 60s and 70s and known as “The Fantastic Grandmothers”, helped researchers record over 140 of the deadly Greater Sea Snakes.
Prior to the women’s coming on board to track the snakes in 2017, it was thought that the sea snake population was rather small. Between 2004 and 2012, there were only six sightings of this species of sea snake.
Don’t you wish your nana was cool like these?
#3 Black Bears take holidays too
A black bear was recently spotted roaming around an Econo Lodge Inn & Suites motel in Tennessee. A passerby spotted the bear wandering the second floor of the motel, possibly looking for some extra bottles of shampoo, before heading down the steps to the ground floor.
The town where the bear was spotted is apparently a hot spot for unexpected bear sightings. In May, a man in the area found that his car had been broken into by three black bear cubs. I guess they really wanted to go on a road trip?
#4 Yet another reason to stay out of the water
If deadly sea snakes weren’t enough of a reason for you not to go swimming at your local beach, then how about stingrays?
Swimmers at Huntington Beach in California had quite the day on Saturday when stingrays went on the rampage – 176 people were stung by rays in the one day!
Happily, injuries from stingrays tend not to be severe – they can usually be treated with warm water and antibiotics. They’re also reasonably easy to avoid. Experts recommend swimmers shuffle their feet when they walk in the water to produce vibrations that scare the rays away.
Heading for the hills!
