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Welcome to Casual Friday where we wake you up with the overlooked news stories of the week. The offbeat, strange and sometimes downright weird news items that mainstream media tends to ignore, all wrapped up with a few funnies, all designed to get your face in smiling shape for the weekend.
Millionaire Dennis Tito plans to send woman and man to mars and back
An artist's conception shows how the spacecraft for the Inspiration Mars Foundation's "Mission for America" might be configured — with a crew capsule, an inflatable module similar to the ones built by Bigelow Aerospace, and an attached upper stage that could provide radiation shielding. The actual design has not yet been set.
Millionaire space tourist Dennis Tito's plan to send two astronauts on a 501-day flight that zooms past Mars and swings back to Earth would set plenty of precedents on the final frontier — but the most intriguing precedent might have to do with the astronauts that are to be sent: one man and one woman, preferably a married couple beyond childbearing years. We're talking about sex in space, folks.
A pair of volunteers have already stepped up. Taber MacCallum, a member of the development team for Tito and his wife, Jane Poynter who were crew members together in Biosphere 2, the controversial two year long experiment in a long-term environmental containment.
MacCallum explained that Tito wants the crew on humanity's first trip to Mars to be representative of humanity, and because the current concept for the trip calls for two spacefliers, that means a man and a woman. A married couple would be ideal, MacCallum said, because of the "whole issue of companionship." MacCallum didn't refer specifically to sex, but that would presumably be part of the companionship package.
"When you're out that far, and the Earth is a tiny, blue pinpoint, you're going to need someone you can hug," Tito told Space.com. During Wednesday's briefing, Tito told reporters that he envisioned Dr. Phil giving the couple "marital advice" during the trip.
I'll let you guys read the rest of the story and watch the video at the link if you like, but I just have to say here that 501 days in a tiny space capsule and Dr Phil giving advice -- what could possibly go wrong??
Trotter the bulldog gets all dressed up, becomes Instagram sensation
Instagram is a photo sharing site and Trotter, the 2 year old bulldog is the latest sensation there.
Owner and photographer, Sonya Yu and husband Zack have posted 79 photos of trotter in different get ups to the site and have had 84,820 folks now following.
Sonya and her husband, Zack, have dressed their real-life Mr. Potato Head up with accessories like pouty lips, sunglasses, a pipe and Hawaiian lei. In full disguise, Trotter has posed as a clown, reindeer, Minnie Mouse — even Harry Potter — for the camera.
"Her favorite is probably the blond wig," Sonya said. "Which she is perfectly content to just wear around house as if it's the most natural thing. It's quite hilarious."
You can view all 79 photos at
trotterpup on Instagram
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Florida man shot by his dog, police say
A Florida man was shot and wounded over the weekend by his dog, who walked away without charges, police said.
Gregory Dale Lanier, 35, of Frostproof, Fla., told police Saturday that he and his dog were in their truck in nearby Sebring when the dog kicked a gun that was on the truck's floor, the Highlands Tribune newspaper reported.
The gun went off, shooting Lanier in the leg, Sebring police said.
Lanier wasn't seriously injured, said Sebring Police Cmdr. Steve Carr, who actually said police didn't arrest the dog because the investigation was pending, the Tribune reported.
He also said he had never heard of a similar case.
According to the police report, Lanier said he was driving along State Road 17 North when the dog kicked "the unloaded .380 pistol." It went on to say that Lanier was "surprised" to learn not only that the gun was loaded, but also that it was actually a 9mm weapon, not a .380.
The incident is only the latest in a string of bizarre shootings in Florida. Just last week, a woman in St. Petersburg was wounded when she was shot by a friend's oven.
Brothers celebrate lottery win by blowing up house
Two brothers who were celebrating a $75,000 winning lottery ticket by purchasing marijuana and meth accidentally blew up their house on Friday, said Sgt. Bruce Watts of the Wichita Police Department.
The explosion sent one of the brothers – a 27-year-old – to the hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition with second-degree burns on his hands, arms and chest.
The other brother was sent to jail, Watts said.
Heh, we're not in Kansas anymore Toto.