Quick Takes

Wet blanket

Citing the Scout Law, the Boy Scouts of America have banned water gun fights at scouting events across the nation. In a May 6 blogpost on the scouting website, senior editor Bryan Wendell said that “water guns [are] OK for target shooting, not for firing at other scouts.” Wendell explained that the policy comes from the newest National Shooting Sports Manual the Boy Scouts released earlier this year. According to the manual, water balloons are fine, so long as they are no larger than ping pong balls. Wendell wrote that the prohibition on water fights stems from a point in the Scout Law: A scout is kind. “What part of pointing a firearm [simulated or otherwise] at someone is kind?”

Victory flip

For the rest of his political career, Canadian legislator Alan McIsaac can tout the importance of every vote. The Liberal Party incumbent won reelection to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island in a contest so close, it had to be decided with a coin flip. Voting in the May 4 election revealed a McIsaac victory by two votes out of more than 2,300 cast. The official recount revealed McIsaac and his challenger actually tied. So pursuant to provincial law, McIsaac and his challenger Mary Ellen McInnis met for a coin flip on May 19 to determine the winner. Because his name comes later in the alphabet, McIsaac was assigned tails—the winning flip.

Eating too much

A pet python with a taste for metal got himself into trouble when he swallowed a pair of barbecue tongs. Australian snake owner Aaron Rouse rushed his pet, Winston, to the University of Adelaide’s Companion Animal Health Centre to seek treatment on May 4. At first, attending surgeon Oliver Funnell assumed Winston had simply swallowed a pair of tweezers. “When he arrived, the snake was in a box and I said, ‘Are you sure he swallowed the tongs?’” Funnell told a local television station. “Aaron just laughed because when you opened the box it was obvious what the problem was.” Doctors at the teaching hospital had to remove the tongs surgically, because pulling—or regurgitation—could have killed the animal.

Asleep on the job

An occupational hazard of being a middle-of-the-night burglar: sleepiness. Police in Sarasota, Fla., charged Timothy Bontrager with felony burglary after authorities say a local homeowner awoke to find the 29-year-old asleep on her couch. Bontrager was discovered around 7:20 a.m. on May 17. When pressed by the homeowner to explain his presence, Bontrager allegedly apologized and quickly left with the victim’s wallet, credit cards, and personal checks. Police later captured the man walking along a nearby road.

Merlin’s megaphone

A British cat owner who has long said her cat has the loudest purr in the world now has the papers to prove it. Tracy Westwood of Torquay, Devon, allowed her 13-year-old cat Merlin to have his purr tested by a decibel meter during the taping of a recent British animal television show. The reading of 67.8 decibels topped the previous Guinness World Records entry of 67.68 decibels. Westwood said Merlin’s purring, which can be as loud as a window unit air conditioner, can sometimes make conversation hard to follow.

Greasy giveaway

Solving an Oklahoma break-in was as simple as following a trail of grease spills. Police say Steven McCarthey and William Bitsche stole nearly $4,000 worth of property from a neighbor’s home in Chickasha, Okla., on May 16. When the sun rose, Matthew Kennedy, another neighbor, helped police solve the case when he spotted a grease trail from the burglarized home to the door of a neighboring property. After executing a search of the suspects’ home, police confiscated a stolen television, golf clubs, fishing tackle, and a small deep fat fryer.

Rat reduction

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is putting Gotham’s signature rodent on notice. In May, Hizzoner announced a $3 million rat eradication program. The de Blasio program expands the number of city ratcatchers from nine to 50, including three rat biologists. In the $400,000 pilot program rolled out last year, city workers tracked the rodents back to nests, whereupon they laid traps and poisons to cull the population. According to the city, the pilot program successfully reduced the number of reported rat sightings by 80 percent in targeted neighborhoods.

Reef madness

It seemed like a good idea at the time. In 1972, Broward County, Fla., organized more than 100 boats to dump an estimated 700,000 tires into the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of sparking the growth of an artificial reef. Ultimately corals never grew on the bundles of tires, and over time the bundles became loose, causing damage to nearby natural reefs. Now Florida officials regard the underwater tire pile as an environmental calamity, and divers paid by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will partially remove the pile. The agency began the $1.2 million project on May 12, but biologist and project manager Pat Quinn admitted to the Sun-Sentinel that the project will remove less than 13 percent of the mess: “There are just tires for as far as you can see.”

Running mates

Bremerton, Wash., City Councilman Roy Runyon will face an unusual challenge when he defends his seat this year. On May 20, Runyon filed paperwork to seek reelection. The same day, Runyon’s wife, Kim Faulkner, filed paperwork to run against him in the August primary. The married couple will be joined by third-wheel candidate Richard Huddy, who is also seeking the District 6 spot on the council. Runyon told the Kitsap Sun he was surprised his wife chose to challenge him, but he defended her decision. “She has the right to run like anyone else,” he told the paper. “We’re different people. She might have a different approach.”