ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Facebook glitch celebrates 46 years of online friendship

SAN FRANCISCO

Facebook’s making some of its users feel a lot older than they really are.

The social network sent automated messages last Thursday inviting some users to celebrate “46 years of friendship on Facebook” with one or more of their online friends.

That’s odd, since Facebook only started in 2004. And some people who got the message are in their 20s and 30s.

Facebook blamed a software bug. It didn’t offer details, but computer experts speculate the problem stems from a quirk in Unix, an operating system used in big data centers where companies such as Facebook store information. The glitch starts the internal calendar on some computers at midnight, Greenwich Mean Time, Jan. 1, 1970.

Facebook said its engineers are fixing the problem “so everyone can ring in 2016 feeling young again.”

Virginia Beach police are investigating illegal hog farm

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.

Virginia Beach police are investigating after more than 100 hogs were discovered at an illegal farm in the city.

The Virginian-Pilot reported that authorities described the farm’s condition as deplorable but declined to be more specific. The pigs, discovered recently behind a soybean field in the southern part of the city, were relocated to another farm.

Officer Tonya Pierce, a police spokeswoman, said she couldn’t disclose who owns the livestock because it’s part of the investigation. She said the hogs were found on city property, but they don’t belong to the city.

Diane Weiser, who lives nearby, said her son smelled the pigs a few days ago. She said her family had no idea the hogs were living behind their property.

Swimmers splash into 2016 in NYC Polar Bear plunge

NEW YORK

New Year’s Day was a time to chill out for a throng of adventuresome swimmers who started 2016 with a dip in the Atlantic Ocean off New York City.

An estimated 2,000 people participated in the annual Coney Island Polar Bear plunge on a seasonally chilly Friday. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration measurements show air temperatures in the area were in the low 40s, while the ocean was a bit warmer.

Peter DeAngelo, 62, was garbed as the Jolly Green Giant for his 10th Polar Bear swim. He told the Daily News of New York that it’s “something you can never explain,” but it gets adrenaline flowing.

The event raises money for Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Associated Press