Swans for sale

A charitable act by Queen Elizabeth II has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving too much for one Florida city. By 1953, Lakeland, Fla., had lost every one of its beloved swans to dog and alligator attacks. A Lakeland woman living in the United Kingdom at the time wrote to Elizabeth and asked if she could supply replacement swans. Since the 12th century, the English monarch “retains the right to claim ownership of any unmarked mute swan swimming in open waters,” according to the royal family’s website. So, the queen donated a breeding pair. More than 60 years later, the progeny of those donated swans have overwhelmed city officials. Lakeland officials say they plan to sell 36 of the swans for $400 apiece to help pay for the care and feeding of the remaining population. The city previously sold swans in 2014 and 2011.

Kimchi catastrophe

Natural disasters and subsequent supply shocks have made it difficult for South Koreans to locate one of their favorite foods. Typhoons, floods, and landslides in August and September damaged much of South Korea’s cabbage crop. That’s bad news for Korean foodies who enjoy kimchi at nearly every meal. Shortly after harvest, many Koreans make their own kimchi by allowing napa cabbage, chili powder, and garlic to ferment. The natural disasters have led to skyrocketing cabbage prices, up nearly 60 percent in October. Koreans eat more than 4.4 billion pounds of cabbage every year.

Hello, Tranquility?

By 2028, the moon may have better cell service than your neighborhood. NASA signed a $370 million deal for a host of companies to create the infrastructure for a lunar base by 2028. Part of the deal includes millions of dollars to Nokia to install 4G cellular service on the moon. NASA said the network will be used for transmitting data, controlling lunar rovers, and navigating across the moon’s landscape. Nokia’s Bell Labs will partner with a spaceflight engineering firm named Intuitive Machines to build the network.

Them dirty rats

For the sixth year in a row, Chicago has won the title of rattiest city in the United States. Pest control giant Orkin, which released the rankings Oct. 13, compiled its list by counting the number of new rodent treatments performed between September 2019 and August 2020. According to Orkin, Los Angeles, New York, and the District of Columbia round out the top four American cities with the worst rat problems. The company claims coronavirus lockdowns have driven rats to seek new homes following the shuttering of many restaurants in major metropolitan areas.

Exercising rites

In order to remain open during tightening coronavirus restrictions, one Polish gym is posing as a church. In a Facebook post dated Oct. 16, the Atlantic Sports gym in Kraków announced a series of changes designed to skirt the law. “Because fitness classes cannot function, from today religious gatherings will take place in our club for members of the association called the Church of the Healthy Body,” club manager Marta Jamróz wrote. In a separate interview with Polish website Onet, Jamróz defended the club’s actions. “I don’t like legal loopholes, but we have no choice,” she said. Gyms, she added, are “now fighting for survival.”

Eels not allowed

Parks employees in New York City suddenly have a new fish species on their hands. On Sept. 28, a fisherman in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park caught a man dumping hundreds of eels into the park’s lake. Dominick Pabon confronted the man as he dragged two contractor trash bags full of the live animals alongside the lakeshore. “I’m saving their lives!” the man responded after Pabon told him to stop. After examining photos of the eels, city officials believe the fish are Asian swamp eels native to Southeast Asia. Illegal dumping or fish farm escapes have created stable populations of the eels in Florida and Georgia. But an official with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said the department doesn’t expect the tropical fish to survive the winter in Brooklyn.

Sword in the sludge

A Swedish family made a sharp discovery while vacationing at a lake in southern Sweden this summer. While wading near the shore of Vidöstern lake, 8-year-old Saga Vanecek grabbed onto a foreign object. “I felt something in the water and lifted it up. Then there was a handle and I went to tell my dad that it looked like a sword,” she told Sveriges Television. Indeed it was a sword—an ancient one—and the family took it to a local museum for investigation. Experts believe it may be 1,500 years old. The discovery of the relic caused museum officials to search the lake for more treasures, leading to the discovery of what museum officials say is a third-century brooch.

Better with bacon

Say goodbye to foul-smelling face masks. Minnesota-based meat giant Hormel Foods announced in October a new breathable face mask using what the company calls “the latest in pork-scented technology.” According to Hormel, the face mask smells like bacon. With two cloth layers, the masks offered by Hormel comply with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The so-called “breathable bacon” masks aren’t available for sale yet, but curious fans can sign up on Hormel’s website for a chance to win one.

Flanders fisheries

If Belgium and the United Kingdom fail to reach an agreement on fishing rights in the North Sea before Britain fully pulls out of the European Union, Belgium may turn to a 17th-century charter to protect its fishermen. Belgian fishermen stand to lose lucrative fisheries if the two nations cannot reach a deal prior to the end of the Brexit transition period on Dec. 31. But a 1666 document signed by Britain’s King Charles II offers hope. The charter granted 50 Flemish fishing boats from Bruges access to the North Sea waters in perpetuity. “Knowing how Britain is attached to old habits and old laws, it may have a chance,” Belgian archivist Jan D’hondt told Reuters. One technical snag: Today Belgian fishing boats sail not from Bruges but from nearby Zeebrugge, Belgium.