Man taken for dead wakes up in morgue
London: A man who was thought to have died woke up in a morgue fridge, giving a fright to the mortuary staff, it was reported here.
The 50-year-old man had suffered a severe asthma attack and he then spent 21 hours on a corpse trolley.
The Sun reported that the man woke up and began to scream, causing the mortuary staff in Libode, South Africa, to flee as they thought he was a ghost.
“At first the men ran for their lives.”
“We need to get the message across to all South Africans that it is very wrong for them to conclude on their own that a person has died,” an official was quoted as saying. (IANS)
NZ goldfish survive 134 days without food
Wellington: Two goldfish have survived 134 days since a devastating earthquake hit New Zealand without any pet food or electricity to power their tank filter.
The goldfish, named Shaggy and Daphne after characters in the television show Scooby Doo, were in a 26-gallon (100-liter) tank in the reception area at Quantum Chartered Accountants in Christchurch when the earthquake struck, killing 181 people.
It was only this month that Quantum workers were allowed back into the building and found the fish alive. Curator Paul Clarkson at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California says bacteria may have kept the water clean enough to sustain life and the fish may have eaten algae growing in the tank.
And three companion goldfish disappeared without any trace. (AP)
Sleeping Briton falls to death
London: A British teenager died after falling from a hotel balcony in Bulgaria where he had fallen asleep.
Tom McNeill fell as he slept on the first floor terrace at the Sunny Beach Black Sea resort, The Sun reported.
The incident took place Sunday when McNeill was holidaying with his best friend’s family. (IANS)
12 puppies rescued from British refuse dump
London: Twelve puppies crammed into a rubbish container and left to die in a British town were rescued after a passers-by noticed them.
The five-week-old Staffordshire bull terrier cross pups were dehydrated and weak.
They had been abandoned in Penllergaer, near Swansea, South Wales, The Sun reported.
They were noticed by passers-by the next morning and taken to an animal rescue centre.
“They were in a bad way after being packed into the bin like sardines. It is staggering that someone could just put them out like the rubbish.
“We have treated them with emergency fluids and antibiotics – all 12 have bounced back,” shelter manager Laura Simpson was quoted as saying. (IANS)
2,800-year-old monument found in Mexico
Mexico City: Mexican archaeologists have discovered a 1.5 tonne stone relief that was created more than 2,800 years ago, authorities said.
The discovery was made at the archaeological site of Chalcatzingo in Morelos state, “the only pre-Columbian site known in central Mexico with large bas-reliefs”, said the National Institute of Archaeology and History, or INAH, in a communique.
The work – standing more than 1.5 meters tall – was discovered in late April on the north slope of Chalcatzingo as archaeologists were building a containing wall and protective roofs for the other monoliths in the area.
Sculpted on the stone are three cats sitting in profile, looking west and surrounded by great scroll decorations.
The relief was found broken in 11 pieces, which the experts spent May and June restoring, so that only now is it possible “to admire the triad of felines in their entirety”, INAH said.
Since the first explorations there in the 1930s, some 41 monuments have been discovered in Chalcatzingo up to now, four of which have cat figures, animals feared and venerated by the Olmecs, who inhabited the area between the years 800-500 B.C., a period known as the Middle Pre-Classical.
Experts believe that the Olmecs, the first civilization in the Americas to leave monumental architecture and sculptures, built a frieze all along the Chalcatzingo hill.
The Olmec civilization flourished between 1800 B.C. and A.D. 400 in the region occupied today by the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. (IANS)
Elephants ‘never forget old pals’
London: Elephants are more clever than you thought — they never forget old friends, and are social network experts too, says a new study.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have also found in their study that just like humans, some elephants are social butterflies while others prefer to stick to a close-knit group of friends. Past studies suggested that elephants usually live in small groups centred around females and their young while adult males live independently.
However, the latest study found that though males do live apart, females and their young actually have the sort of complex network of friends, relatives and acquaintances normally seen in humans. Lead researcher Dr Shermin de Silva was quoted by the ‘Daily Mail’ as saying, “Elephants are able to track one another over large distances by calling to each other and using their sense of smell. (PTI)