Odd News
Zoo removes parrots from display for swearing at visitors
Parrots at a UK zoo ruffled quite a few feathers when they started swearing at visitors. The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park said the five African grey parrots were removed from public display for cursing customers, reports Lincolnshire Live.
The parrots, named Eric, Jade, Elsie, Tyson and Billy, had arrived at the zoo only recently. They were given to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park by different owners within the same week and zoo authorities decided to quarantine them together. After a very short period of time, they started throwing obscenities at each other – and at visitors when the birds were put on public display.
Park officials say that they taught each other to swear during their time together.
“It just went ballistic, they were all swearing,” park chief executive Steve Nichols told CNN Travel. “We were a little concerned about the children.”
“For the last 25 years, we have always taken in parrots that have sometimes had a bit of blue language and we have really gotten used to that,” he added to Lincolnshire Live.
“Every now and then you’ll get one that swears and it’s always funny. We always find it very comical when they do swear at you.
“But, just by coincidence, we took in five in the same week and because they were all quarantined together it meant that one room was just full of swearing birds.
Zoo authorities had hoped that putting the birds on display would help them kick their bad habit. Instead, visitors laughing at their foul language only encouraged them further.
“The more they swear the more you usually laugh which then triggers them to swear again,” said Mr Nichols.
Concerns about children being exposed to the foul language prompted zoo authorities to separate the parrots and remove them from public view.
“I’m hoping they learn different words within colonies – but if they teach the others bad language and I end up with 250 swearing birds, I don’t know what we’ll do,” Mr Nichols told the BBC.”Some visitors found it funny but with kids visiting at weekends, we decided to move them.”
Staff is hoping that their language will become more family-friendly with time.
Odd News
NASA Astronaut shows how he wears pants in Space: ‘two legs at a time’
Astronauts have a unique way of getting dressed in space. In a fascinating video posted on February 21, NASA chemical engineer, Don Pettit, demonstrated how he puts on his pants aboard the International Space Station. Instead of the traditional one-leg-at-a-time approach, Mr Pettit descended into his floating trousers, essentially jumping into them with both legs at once.
He simply captioned the video, “Two legs at a time.”
The lighthearted video delighted viewers, prompting a flurry of comments and reactions from users who enjoyed the humorous glimpse into life in space. One user wrote, “I thought you were going to land right in them at first. Haha. That might be fun to try.”
Another joked, “This is the real content that I needed! I attempted to recreate this on Earth and well.it didn’t go well.”
A third said, “Missed opportunity to not have the theme from Space Odyssey 2001 playing for this.” A fourth added, “Such a pro! Well done.”
Odd News
Company threatens to fire employees …..if they don’t get married and have children
A company based in China’s Shandong province caught the attention of government officials after it threatened to fire its single and divorced employees if they remained single by the end of September.
According to a report in South China Morning Post, Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group Co. Ltd., issued a notice to its 1,200-odd employees, emphasising that they work well and establish families.
The notice required single employees aged 28-58, including those divorced, to get married and settle down by the end of September this year. Those who do not by the end of March need to write a self-criticism letter. If they do not get married by the end of June, the company will conduct an “evaluation” of them. If they are still single by the end of September, they will be fired.
The company said the move was intended to promote the spirit and cultural values of “diligence, kindness, loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness”.
As the news went viral, Chinese social media users slammed the decision, stating the company was violating several laws.
“Corporate rules should not override laws or social morals,” one user commented, while others pointed out that the Chinese marriage law guarantees freedom of marriage.
“This crazy company should mind its own business and stay away from the personal lives of employees.”
