oddly enough

oddly enough

Circus claims vodka saved elephants in Siberia

MOSCOW

Circus trainers claim two of their elephants were saved from the deadly Siberian cold by vodka.

Emergency-ministry spokesman Alexander Davydov said Friday that the elephants were in a trailer that caught fire Thursday outside the city of Novosibirsk, forcing trainers to take them out into the bitter cold before another truck arrived to deliver them to a warm gym at a local community college.

The Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported that trainer Leonid Labo had the animals, age 45 and 48, drink 2.6 gallons of vodka diluted in warm water — and a veterinarian said later that only the tips of their ears were frostbitten.

Although scientists say that alcohol can make humans feel warmer but actually lowers their core body temperature, Novosibisk zoo director Rostislav Shilo told the daily that the vodka saved the animals from frostbite and pneumonia without harming or even intoxicating them.

Man dressed as Batman sentenced on trespass charge

PETOSKEY, Mich.

A 33-year-old Northern Michigan man who dresses up as Batman has avoided more jail but must apologize to police after interfering with them at an accident scene.

Mark Wayne Williams was sentenced Friday in 90th District Court after agreeing to a plea deal charging him with simple trespass.

He received 30 days in jail, but five of those will be done in community service and 23 more will be held in abeyance. Williams was credited for two days served. He can wear his costume only within the Petoskey city limits, about 225 miles northwest of Detroit.

Williams was in the guise of the caped crusader Sept. 29 when state troopers arrested him because he wouldn’t leave them alone while they searched for a driver who had fled an accident.

University stumped by mail addressed to Indiana Jones

CHICAGO

University of Chicago officials are puzzled by a mystery piece of mail seemingly linked to the Indiana Jones movie series.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the university’s admissions department received a package last week addressed to “Henry Walton Jones Jr.” That’s the main character’s name in the popular film franchise that began in the 1980s.

The package contained a replica of the journal from the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” film — and no explanation.

Admissions counselor Grace Chapin says one theory is that it’s an “alternate reality” game where players plant clues for others.

Officials with Lucasfilm, the studio that made the movies, say they weren’t responsible for the package.

University officials say they haven’t decided what to do with the journal.

Associated Press