Air travel can aggravate some pets' health conditions. (Chronicle file)
The Consumerist reported that 35 pets died on U.S. carriers last year, with 19 of those on Delta flights.
The Atlanta-based airline transports 500,000 pet passengers a year and has banned smushed-face breeds like bulldogs since they often suffer from overheating. (Of the 16 pets that died on Delta flights the year before, six were bulldogs.)
A majority of the 2011 deaths occurred when pre-existing health conditions were aggravated by the stress of travel, the blog wrote.
“The loss of any pet is unacceptable to us,” Delta spokesman Anthony Black told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We are working to improve the processes and procedures to ensure that every pet arrives safely at its destination.”
Delta says it has a particularly high volume of pets compared with other airlines, and carriers like Southwest and AirTran do not take pets in their checked cargo at all, the newspaper said.
Giant candy bars with loads of calories may becoming a thing of the past, as major candymaker Mars announced a pledge to keep all its products at under 250 calories by the end of next year, Reuters reported.
That means its biggest bars—supersized Snickers, Twix and M&Ms—will go away by the start of 2014 to allow for more modest, chocolately indulgences, or as Mars calls it, “responsible snacking.”
The king-size Snickers bar had 540 calories, and king-size Twix (with FOUR caramel-covered cookie-candy bars) had 474.
This Texan goes all Kristen Bell on us after receiving a great big hug from a King Penguin at Sea World in San Antonio. The visit was a part of a special behind-the-scenes penguin encounter her husband (behind the camera) got her for her birthday. From the look on her face, it’s worth it.
She got emotional with the aquatic bird–who’s apparently extra-affectionate since he’s looking for a mate–saying “Awww, you’re the best penguin EVER!”
The shark carcass is raised in Karachi, Pakistan. (AP)
A terrifying sea monster 40-foot-long whale shark was retrieved by fishermen in western Pakistan Tuesday, 10 days after they spotted the creature unconscious out in the Arabian Sea, ABC News reported.
Their discovery is among the largest-ever whale sharks, a species of sharks that eats plankton and does not typically pose a threat to humans.
From the story:
Curious onlookers swarmed the pier while two cranes attempted to lift the shark, approximately 40 to 50-feet long and six-feet wide, out of the water. After failing to reel in the fish, more cranes, capable of lifting heavier weights, were called in for the task. The shark was finally lifted from the sea after several hours of efforts and sold for 1.7 million Rupees ($18,750).
There are some people saying Mitt Romney’s statement that he’s “not concerned about the very poor” has been taken out of context and does not represent his campaign overall.
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart is not one of those people.
Stewart ridiculed Romney on last night’s show for dismissing the very rich and the very poor as groups he doesn’t worry about since they are already taken care of (the poor with a net of social programs). Romney defended himself by saying he was trying to emphasize his focus on the middle class.
“You know, the reason the net is there is that they are not OK,” Stewart said. “It’s like a doctor going, ‘I’m not concerned about the very healthy, because they’re doing fine or the very sick because, you know, morphine.’”
New survey reveals what your phone might say about your sex life. (Getty Images)
Guys and girls with Android phones tend to get it on earlier in a relationship, while BlackBerry users are more reserved, according to a survey of Match.com users in Canada that seems to confirm some stereotypes about the various smartphones.
Consumerist summed up the results, initially reported by the Toronto Star:
They found that 62% of Android users said they’ve had sex on the first date, whereas 57% of iPhone users said the same, and only 48% of those with a BlackBerry.
Not only are Androiders more likely to go home with you on that first date, 55% said they’re likely to have one-night stands in general and be more active overall on dating website —72% of them have visited one, and only 58% of iPhoners and 50% of BlackBerryites have done the same. We are noticing a trend.
But if you want someone to woo you in the cubicles at work, 25% of single iPhone people have had an office romance in the last five years. They’re also going to call you after only one day after a date, whereas Android and BlackBerry owners will hold out for two or three dates before checking in.
Their findings on sexual lives of smartphone users adds to the continual debate over which device is best and what your cell phone really says about you.
Republican candidate Newt Gingrich is being sued for using "Eye of the Tiger" in his campaign. (AP)
By Andrew Harris
Bloomberg News
Newt Gingrich, fighting for the Republican Party’s nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, was sued for unauthorized use of “Eye of the Tiger,” the Grammy-winning theme song from “Rocky III.”
Rude Music Inc., an Illinois corporation owned by Frank Sullivan, a co-author of the song, sued the candidate today in federal court in Chicago, seeking a court order blocking Gingrich’s unauthorized use of the song at campaign rallies. Rude Music is also seeking unspecified money damages.
Newt 2012 Inc. and the American Conservative Union, a political advocacy group, are also named as defendants in the five-page complaint.
“Newt 2012’s and Mr. Gingrich’s unauthorized public performance or inducement of or contribution to the public performance of the copyrighted work infringes Rude Music’s copyright,” according to the complaint.
Performed by the rock band Survivor, of which Sullivan was a founding member, “Eye of the Tiger” was released in 1982, topped the U.S. pop music charts and won a Grammy Award. It was also nominated for an Academy Award.
R.C. Hammond, a spokesman for the Gingrich campaign, didn’t immediately reply to an e-mailed request for comment on the lawsuit.
The case is Rude Music Inc. v. Newt 2012 Inc., 12-cv-00640, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).
Three-fourths of Americans with cell phones use them in the bathroom, “talking, tweeting and typing” even while on the toilet, according to a new tech survey.
Two-thirds of users say they’ve answered calls and sent text messages in the bathroom, and men are more likely to do so than women, marketing group 11mark found and LiveScience reported.
From the story:
More than half the surveyed users (63 percent) said they have answered a phone call in the bathroom, and almost half (41 percent) reported initiating a phone call.
That’s not all, however: What goes on behind the walls of the stalls is anything a mobile phone is capable of. Sixty-seven percent said they have read a text, and 39 percent have surfed the Web. Men work more from the bathroom—20 percent said they have participated in work-related calls, versus 13 percent of their female colleagues….
In the process, high-tech hygiene is taking a hit, the survey found. While 92 percent of mobile phone users said they wash their hands after using the bathroom, only 14 percent said they wash their phones.
Etiquette experts say chatting while in the bathroom is not only rude to the person on the other end but also to anyone trying to, ahem, do their business.
“The bathroom is supposed to be a private space ‑- even if it’s a public restroom. When someone comes in to make a call, she’s invading your privacy by forcing you to listen in. Not to mention that she’s tying up a stall,” wrote Peggy Post, of the Emily Post Institute. “Yes, you might also overhear friends chatting in a restroom ‑- but a cell conversation could be a lot longer. So here’s the message to mobile users: If you’d like to make a call, take it outside.”
