The Apostles of O'Neill
A group of college kids living in a Washington DC house were informed that they were violating zoning laws that allowed only six people to live in one house. But they did some homework and discovered that 15 people are allowed per house, if it's a residence for a "religious community." Therefore, they've filed paperwork incorporating themselves as a nonprofit religious organization. They call themselves the Apostles of O'Neill.
Nessie could not have been a plesiosaur
Leslie Noe of the Sedgwick Museum has figured out that Nessie cannot be a plesiosaur. Why? Because plesiosaurs couldn't hold their necks above water: "Calculating the articulation of the neck bones, he concluded the neck was flexible and could move easily when pointing down. He explained how the neck was like a feeding tube, to collect soft-bodied prey: The small skulls of plesiosaurs couldn't cope with hard-shelled prey. However, the osteology of the neck makes it absolutely certain that the plesiosaur could not lift its head out of the water - as most alleged pictures of Nessie show."
Fake John Paul II Cloth Relics
The relic trade is alive and well. Souvenir shops near the Vatican are selling "medallions enclosing a tiny shred of cloth and labelled 'relics of John Paul II.'" No word on if they cure any ailments.
"There's a tick on you" as pick-up line
Here's the latest desperate pick-up strategy some guy has dreamed up. He tells women there's a tick on them and then starts pulling their clothes off. The strategy doesn't seem to be working.
Another Message in a Bottle found
Thirty years ago Marie Myatt threw a message in a bottle into the ocean. Recently it was found, just a few kilometres away from where she threw it. Sounds plausible enough. I'm inclined to think this isn't a hoax. (Thanks, Robert)
Comments
Oh no! 9 people in a 6 person home is going to destroy the neighborhood! The best part is his name though -- Outerbridge Horsey -- Shame on any parent who would name their child Outerbridge
As far as I know, though, the city never bothers to enforce the limit unless someone complains. Nosy neighbors being what they are though, you can never count on being left alone, even if you don't make a lot of noise or leave trash on the front lawn.
I once talked to someone from the city Code Enforcement office who said most of their time is taken up responding to complaints from people who have petty beefs with their neighbors, as opposed to dealing with actual health or safety hazards.
If somebody's disturbing the peace, hit that person with big fines, for sure, but people have a inalienable right to gather peacefully, and the law can't legitimately intervene, in my view, until that particular assembly ceases to be peaceful.
The ordinance seems to state (I couldn't find the actual written ordinance, but I didn't spend too much time on it) that, in the case of an unruly residence assembly - i.e. a loud party - the officials must (mandatory) fine the attendees $100 and issue a red tag that must be prominantly diplayed for a period of 180 days.
Further gatherings are allowed during this time, but any that turn unruly or otherwise unlawful allow for greater and greater fines.
A pretty good summary can be found at http://www.union.arizona.edu/csil/csa/housingguide/redtag.php
Of course, the current Code of Canon Law actually forbids the selling of relics, so I wonder just what kind of operation they're running here.
There's a good discussion here on whether or not it would be permissible for someone who bought a car from a priest (or anyone else) to sell that car later if the priest became a saint:
http://jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2006/09/would_it_be_a_s.html
Charybdis, that link is spot on. So i guess I was a little wrong, but the real issue is that "disruptive gathering" is not defined. So, for example, my friends and I had a party where we spoke to all the neighbors ahead of time and they were fine with it. There were no complaints, but as it was the sat night before halloween, a police helicopter was flying overhead looking for "unruly gatherings." They saw a bunch of people in our backyard and set 4 police cars to clear it up. They issued a red-tag for the party when there were NO complaints. If no one minds the party, then why is it not allowed? It's just unfair in my opinion.
Uhh...this is all hypothetical, Of Course!
The reason given for this law was something to do with public safety. The actual reason, though, is that there are a number of universities around here, and the only one of them that even bothers with providing dormitories doesn't have anywhere near enough. And so most students have to rent a place to live. And the town government is composed entirely of landlords who own the local real-estate companies. This way more of their property gets rented out, and they can continue to charge the hugely inflated rents.
As for the fake tick story, I was walking through a college campus when a large scarab flew by, hit the back of a girl walking along ahead of me, and somehow managed to fall within the waistband of her trousers. I ended up having to help her retrieve the poor beetle, which was a rather interesting experience. I've also covertly removed a black widow spider from a girl's d
Where do you buy these beetles?
Also, Alex it might be a cosideration to make a category for messages in bottles.