Good Morning and Welcome To MOT-Morning Open Thread
Casual Friday is a collection of odd, strange or weird news stories from the week along with some jokes, tweets, and other assorted funnies. Keep an eye out however, because not all the news stories are entirely on the up and up.
* Provided I remember to add the html code, all the links will open in new tabs.
Flying electric bicycle invented in Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic three companies have teamed up to make a prototype of an electric bicycle capable of flying.
For now, the flying bike is still in development and is controlled remotely, but its designers hope that it will eventually be piloted by the rider.
They also hope battery technology will advance to make the invention marketable. At present the bicycle is only capable of five minutes of flight before the batteries need to be recharged.
"Because the capacity of batteries doubles about every ten years, we can expect that in the future the capacity would be enough for the bike to used for sports, tourism or similar things," said Milan Duchek, the technical director of Duratec Bicycles.
Designed using French 3D software with a frame resembling a small motorcycle, the flying machine has six propellers, two the front, another two at the back and one on each side, that allow it to fly.
These are powered by six engines, all, in turn, powered by electric batteries.
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Nigerian cook survives two days under sea in shipwreck air bubble
Ship's cook Okene, 29, was on board the Jascon-4 tugboat when it capsized on May 26 due to heavy Atlantic ocean swells around 30 km (20 miles) off the coast of Nigeria, while stabilizing an oil tanker filling up at a Chevron platform.
Of the 12 people on board, divers recovered 10 dead bodies while a remaining crew member has not been found.
Somehow [Harrison] Okene survived, breathing inside a four foot high bubble of air as it shrunk in the waters slowly rising from the ceiling of the tiny toilet and adjoining bedroom where he sought refuge, until two South African divers eventually rescued him.
"I was there in the water in total darkness just thinking it's the end. I kept thinking the water was going to fill up the room but it did not," Okene said, parts of his skin peeling away after days soaking in the salt water.
"I was so hungry but mostly so, so thirsty. The salt water took the skin off my tongue," he said. Seawater got into his mouth but he had nothing to eat or drink throughout his ordeal.
At 4:50 a.m. on May 26, Okene says he was in the toilet when he realized the tugboat was beginning to turn over. As water rushed in and the Jascon-4 flipped, he forced open the metal door.
"As I was coming out of the toilet it was pitch black so we were trying to link our way out to the water tidal (exit hatch)," Okene told Reuters in his home town of Warri, a city in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta.
"Three guys were in front of me and suddenly water rushed in full force. I saw the first one, the second one, the third one just washed away. I knew these guys were dead."
What he didn't know was that he would spend the next two and a half days trapped under the sea praying he would be found.
Turning away from his only exit, Okene was swept along a narrow passageway by surging water into another toilet, this time adjoining a ship's officers cabin, as the overturned boat crashed onto the ocean floor. To his amazement he was still breathing.
Patriots To Finally Get Some Media Attention With Tebow Signing
Following news that free agent quarterback Tim Tebow was acquired by the New England Patriots, sources close to the organization told reporters Tuesday that they expect the high-profile signing to at long last draw some media attention to the oft-ignored football franchise. “With a guy like Tebow on board, I’ve got a feeling that we’re finally going to be seeing some cameras in our locker room,” said team CEO Robert Kraft, who aired his frustrations that his small-market football club traditionally has been overshadowed by such media darlings as the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans, ...
California grandma fires .357 magnum gun to scare off burglary suspect
A 72-year-old California woman who fired her gun at an alleged attempted burglar said her priority was to protect her wheelchair-bound husband.
Jan Cooper of Anaheim said she loaded her .357-magnum Smith & Wesson revolver and called 911 when she saw the man jump over her backyard fence and attempt to break into the home through her sliding glass door, KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, reported Wednesday.
Cooper warned the dispatcher she was firing her gun.
"You'd better get the police here. I don't know whether I hit him or not. I'm not sure. He's standing at my door, my back door. He's in my yard," Cooper told the dispatcher.
Cooper said she was frightened, but determined to protect her husband, a wheelchair-bound World War II veteran.
Police said the suspect, Brandon Alexander Perez, 31, was not hit by Cooper's shot and was arrested a short time after the incident.
Supermarket workers found 220 lbs of cocaine hidden inside crate of bananas
Staff at a supermarket found 220lbs of smuggled cocaine hidden inside a crate of bananas.
Staff at the Coop in Denmark got a big surprise when they opened crates from Colombia and found the drugs.
The powder was discovered in Aarhus when workers noticed that some of the boxes were heavier than others.
A Coop spokesman said more bags with white powder were found later in a separate shipment at a central depot in Copenhagen.
The company has contacted its Colombian supplier. Police are investigating, but have not made any arrests.
PA man finds reptile near sewer, offers gator aid
Joe Malseed saw the 18-inch reptile this week in the city's Fishtown neighborhood and snapped its photo before calling for help. He says the alligator was in a puddle and appeared to be emerging from a nearby sewer. He says it was docile until a man tried to get a closer look and it hissed.
Police took the reptile to the city's Animal Care & Control Team. The reptile has been named Allie-Gator.