ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Iconic Hoover Dam lights up in turquoise for lung health

BOULDER CITY, Nev.

The iconic Hoover Dam near Las Vegas was lit up in turquoise in honor of National Women’s Lung Health Week.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the National Historic Landmark changed colors for two hours Thursday night.

The Hoover Dam opened in 1936, generating the first electric power produced by the dam.

Located at the Nevada-Arizona border, the Hoover Dam and other Colorado River facilities now provide drinking water and hydropower to about 40 million residents, farms, tribes and businesses in seven states in the Southwest.

The High Roller observation wheel on the Las Vegas Strip also marked the occasion by coordinating its colors to turquoise.

Stray emu lassoed on highway by authorities

LAS CRUCES, N.M.

A stray emu that had become notorious throughout a three-day span in southern New Mexico has been captured by law enforcement.

Authorities caught up with the emu Tuesday after about 40 minutes of trying to lasso it on an interstate.

Calls about the bird started coming into the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office three days before the emu was captured.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Jameson says the bird first led authorities through a residential area and then onto I-10. She says two truckers helped to stop traffic while officers caught the bird.

The incident was caught on camera by a passer-by.

New Mexico State University housed the bird at one of its agricultural facilities until the owner picked it up May 11. The owner wasn’t identified, and authorities say it’s unclear how the bird got loose.

Plant with rotting flesh smell blooms in California

FULLERTON, Calif.

A Southern California nature center has a flower that smells deathly.

Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the “corpse flower,” emits a decaying flesh smell during its once-a-decade bloom.

Staff members at the Fullerton Arboretum’s Nature Center noticed their flower started blooming last Monday morning. The process lasts 24 to 48 hours and can stretch the plants to 10 feet.

The center plans to keep its flower on display until Tuesday.

The plant is native to an island in western Indonesia.

Associated Press