oddly enough

oddly enough

Ikea nixes huge hide-and-seek games at Dutch stores

THE HAGUE, Netherlands

Ikea has a message for people wanting to converge on its stores for giant games of hide-and-seek: Go play someplace else.

The phenomenon has taken off online in the Netherlands where a whopping 19,000 people signed up to a Facebook group promoting a game at Ikea’s Amsterdam branch next month. An additional 13,000 signed up for a game in the Ikea store in the city of Utrecht.

But the Swedish retail giant has bad news for folks wanting to hide among its roomlike furniture displays: The numbers signing up are getting out of hand, and the events have been blocked.

“We have contacted these pages on social media and humbly asked them to have their hide-and-seek games somewhere else,” Ikea spokeswoman Martina Smedberg in Sweden said Tuesday.

Ikea doesn’t want to be a spoilsport, but safety comes first.

“In general, we are happy that our customers are playful and want to have fun together with friends and family,” Smedberg said. “But unfortunately, this hide-and-seek phenomenon has reached proportions where we can no longer guarantee the security of those who are playing or our customers and employees.”

Phoenix Zoo discovers bear is female, not male

PHOENIX

The Phoenix Zoo is fessing up to what it calls an “embearassing” mistake regarding one of its animals.

Zoo officials say they were planning to transfer Luka to the Nashville, Tenn., zoo when they recently discovered that the 2-year-old Andean bear is a female, not a male as thought.

According to the Phoenix Zoo, Andean bear cubs’ genitalia are highly undeveloped before age 2, making it difficult to determine gender.

The zoo said employees there also hadn’t handled the bear much because it was doing very well with its mother.

The zoo said Luka still might go to Nashville, but now that they know she’s a she, it opens up other options for the bear’s participation in a breeding program.

Runaway beer keg is no lucky charm for Ind. teenager

SOUTH BEND, Ind.

An Indiana teenager’s luck apparently has run out after a runaway beer keg on St. Patrick’s Day caught the attention of police.

Indiana State Excise Police say the newly purchased keg fell from the bed of 18-year-old Scott Benge’s pickup truck Tuesday when the tailgate gave way. Police retrieved the keg from the road and cited Benge for illegally transporting an alcoholic beverage.

Indiana law bars those under 21 from transporting alcoholic beverages unless they are with their parents or legal guardian.

Police say Benge was one of 24 people ticketed during St. Patrick’s Day patrols in South Bend.

Associated Press