What were they thinking

[Shipwreck John]

Saw this while piliging on the iwon site.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A Finnish commuter ferry captain has been suspended after crashing into a pier because he forgot to turn off the autopilot -- for the second time in three days.

The captain was given a second chance to prove his seamanship after an accident on Tuesday when two passengers and one crew member were injured after the Suomenlinna II hit the pier at its destination, an island just outside downtown Helsinki.

"He has been on this route for more than 10 years and we discussed carefully that he would be more sharp in the future. He did not manage it," Jorma Salopelto, head of Suomenlinnan Liikenne which runs the ferry, told Reuters.

Having on Thursday once again forgotten that the autopilot was engaged, the hapless skipper was unable to stop the boat from running ashore, completely demolishing the pier but without causing any personal injuries.

The ferry company said he had not been drinking on either occasion. It is not clear if or when he will return to his job.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A 60-year-old woman jumped on the back of a crocodile as it dragged a man from his tent in northern Australia on Monday, but was then attacked by the crocodile, which dragged her toward the ocean until it was shot dead.

The 60-year-old woman and 34-year-old man suffered broken limbs, cuts and bruises in the attack by the 12.6 foot crocodile, said wildlife and rescue officials.

The attack occurred around 4 a.m. as the man slept in a tent with his wife and child on the shores of Bathurst Bay, 186 miles north of Cairns in Queensland state.

"The crocodile walked into the tent and dragged the man out," said Stephen Pemberthy from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which airlifted the injured campers to hospital.

"A 60-year-old woman in an adjacent tent heard the commotion and jumped on the crocodile," Pemberthy told Reuters.

The crocodile let go of the man and bit the woman, pulling her toward the water before another person shot it dead.

The injured campers managed to set off a rescue beacon, capturing the attention of government wildlife officials in the area who were eradicating wild pigs.

The wildlife officials evacuated the campers to a nearby ranger station at Lakefield National Park and the Royal Flying Doctor Service flew them to a hospital in Cairns.

The man suffered a broken leg and arm and cuts and bruises, while the woman had an arm broken in the attack.

[Rumba Rue]

Hmmm, I use to go to IWon all the time, then got bored and left. Gee, perhaps I should go back.....

[Blackbead]

Man! Do those people in Australia know how to have fun or what?!?!? Don't they know about the time honored tradition of fire?? Somebody's got to hang out around the fire drinking Fosters all night throwing more faggots on the flames so that the bleedin' crocs won't come into camp and drag some poor bastard out of his tent while he's sleeping. I know, I know, somebody's now going to tell me how a fire won't keep away a croc and that they knew somebody, who knew somebody, who knew somebody's third cousin who was attacked by a croc right outside of Perth while a bonfire was raging and seventeen people were standing there watching. Well, somebody had a gun in this particular party and they used it till the croc was "no more" . . . he became an EX-croc! But in MY scenario, the croc will come snout to face with a pissed-off (because he hasn't gotten any sleep) drunk (because he's been drinking Fosters all night) who has access to flaming brands (because . . . well, just because). Any croc that can be shot dead with just a gun, instead of a rocket propelled grenade, is definitely going to be put off by someone dancing naked around a huge fire with a beer in one hand and a flaming stick in the other. Of course, this whole thing could be a "croc" . . .

Dancing Naked Around A Fire With A Beer in One Hand and a Torch In The Other (So that no crocs will attack me here at work),

Blackbead

[Christine]

Speaking of odd news, I had read about how a lawsuit was settled over the Gorilla Foundation. 2 women employes were fired when they didn't expose their breasts to a 300 pound gorilla. They were told it's the best way to bond with the animal cuz it has a nipple fetish.

Crazy huh!

[tishsparrow]

that... is kinda odd....

[Shipwreck John]

Strange indeed says I. I wonder if the bossman was REALLY trying to impress the gorilla.

here's another for ya.

TORONTO (Reuters) - An 85-year-old Canadian man spent hours inside his impounded car in freezing temperatures after his vehicle was ticketed for illegal parking and then towed to a police compound, police said on Thursday.

Police in the western city of Edmonton, Alberta, said frost had obscured the car's windows and a tow-truck driver, unaware of the elderly man sitting in the driver's seat, took the car to the police compound. The incident occurred Tuesday.

"The security officer at that site along with the tow-truck driver noticed that there was some movement in the car," said Edmonton Police spokeswoman Lisa Lammi.

"They accessed the vehicle and sure enough there was an elderly man inside. He was disoriented but he was not unconscious."

Temperatures were close to -10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit).

According to the Edmonton bylaw office, the ticket was written two hours before the car arrived at the impound lot.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was taken to hospital for observation.

Lammi said police were unsure what stopped the man from driving his car away.

( could it be....CAUSE HE WAS ASLEEP?)