oddly enough

oddly enough

Kansas House squashes bid to make Toto breed top dog

TOPEKA, Kan.

There may be no place like home, but don’t tell Toto.

A Kansas House committee squashed a bid Monday to make the cairn terrier, a breed perhaps best known as that of Dorothy’s canine sidekick in “The Wizard of Oz,” the state’s official dog.

Democratic state Rep. Ed Trimmer told the Wichita Eagle he plans to reintroduce the bill next year.

And Brenda Moore, a South Central Kansas Kennel Club official who first proposed the idea, says she plans to drum up public support for it this summer.

The animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals opposed the measure, saying it believes it would cause Kansas puppy mills to “churn out litter after litter of the breed” and lead to fewer adoptions from animal shelters.

Leprechauns in Las Vegas test crosswalk safety

LAS VEGAS

Police officers in leprechaun costumes will frolic Las Vegas streets to test whether drivers yield to pedestrians.

UNLV Safe Community Partnership chief Erin Breen said Tuesday police would hand out tickets to motorists who fail to stop for the green-clad pedestrians crossing streets.

Fines can run $190 and up.

Pedestrians also can be ticketed for trying their luck crossing streets outside a crosswalk.

Breen says pedestrian deaths in Clark County are up 50 percent so far this year.

The St. Patrick’s Day enforcement comes after a costumed turkey tested drivers in November and Santa trolled crosswalks around Christmas.

Today is Pi Day at Maryland Science Center

BALTIMORE

Today is March 14, or 3-14, the first three digits of the number pi.

With that in mind, the Maryland Science Center is celebrating Pi Day with events dedicated to all things related to pi, and even pie.

Pi is the uneven ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and events include reciting as much of the number as participants can remember.

Other events include pie-eating contests and pizza-pie tossing.

Today also is Albert Einstein’s birthday. The famed physicist would have turned 133 today, and the celebration will include singing “Happy Birthday” to Einstein as well as experiments related to his work.

Associated Press