Dateline: AlaskaTransportation Security Administration officers say a man was stopped in Juneau’s airport for carrying a bag of moose feces. According to the Anchorage Daily News, TSA screening equipment flagged a “large organic mass” in a man’s carry-on last month. Agents are required to investigate flags of this sort, because they could indicate the presence of explosives. However, when agents inspected the man’s bag, they discovered it was filled with moose feces. TSA Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said the passenger told officers “that he collects this and likes to present it, ‘For politicians and their bleep policies.’” The officers returned the man’s bag of feces and allowed him to board his flight without further incident. Farbstein posted a tweet notifying travelers of the incident and explaining the agency’s policy on the matter. “TSA has no policy preventing people from traveling with animal poop, but check with your airline on its policies because having to leave souvenir poop behind would be crappy.” Later in the day, a man wearing a costume designed to look like a Coca-Cola bottle was seen protesting Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget on the steps of Alaska’s state capitol building. The protester was reportedly handing out cards that were attached to bagged samples of moose dung. It is unclear if the protester was the same man that TSA agents stopped earlier in the day.Dateline: CaliforniaAn Instagram model recently had her buttocks authenticated by a plastic surgeon to battle accusations that it had been surgically enhanced. According to the Daily Mail, teen model Daisy Keech is an influencer on Instagram with over 875,000 followers who is known for posting sexually suggestive photos of herself—particularly photos that feature her buttocks and legs. Keech has reportedly been arguing with critics who have suggested that her posterior was surgically enhanced with injections or implants. To silence these critics, she reportedly asked Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Ashkan Ghavami to inspect her posterior. Ghavami uploaded a video on Instagram last week in which he is seen examining the woman’s buttocks. In the video, Ghavami, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California Los Angeles, asserts his credentials as a “butt expert” and “certifies” her buttocks as “100 percent real.” Keech credits her certified rear to weight-lifting and regular, targeted exercise.Dateline: KentuckyAn artist is selling jars of horse manure for $200. Kentucky.com reports that the website Kentucky for Kentucky is selling jars of preserved horse manure harvested from 1997 Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm. The jars were created by artist Coleman Larkin, who reportedly collected the samples himself at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Ky., where Silver Charm currently lives. To create the unique keepsake, Larkin suspended the samples in a clear epoxy resin inside a 16-ounce Mason jar “with all the care of a Southern mamaw putting up pickled corn for the winter,” according to the seller’s site. “It’s a very long, very ridiculous procedure,” says Larkin. “The most difficult step is probably the one where I have to ask the type of people that own million-dollar Thoroughbreds if I can please have some horse turds to put in jars.” The artist says the jars are made to last. “I personally guarantee they’ll last longer than you do,” he said. “Even if I have to kill you myself.” A limited run of the pieces are being sold on Kentucky for Kentucky.Dateline: South DakotaResearchers have finally developed a device that measures cow flatulence. According to KOTA TV, a South Dakota agriculture technology manufacturing company has invented a device that can gather valuable data about the level of methane emissions produced by cattle. Cows produce methane as a byproduct of consuming plants. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is more powerful than carbon dioxide, and climate experts say it is a significant contributor to climate change. Patrick Zimmerman, the owner and founder of C-Lock Inc, says a single cow belches about a liter of the gas every 45 seconds to one minute. Zimmerman says the flatulence-detecting device will help scientists measure various aspects of the animal’s metabolism and monitor the effects of treatments meant to lower methane emissions. He said that while the cows will never stop producing the gas completely, the volume can theoretically be lowered. He believes a method must be developed to capture the gas and transform it into something less harmful.Dateline: United KingdomScientists in England reportedly found cocaine and ketamine in freshwater shrimp while testing rivers for chemicals. According to BBC News, researchers at King’s College London and the University of Suffolk tested 15 different locations across Suffolk County to study levels of chemical exposure for wildlife. A number of banned pesticides and pharmaceuticals were discovered in freshwater shrimp samples taken from the sites. But what the researchers found most “surprising” was the widespread presence of illicit substances, like cocaine and ketamine,that were discovered in the samples. Professor Nic Bury, from the University of Suffolk, said, “Whether the presence of cocaine in aquatic animals is an issue for Suffolk, or more widespread an occurrence in the UK and abroad, awaits further research.” The study’s authors wrote that potential effects on wildlife from the drugs were “likely to be low.”
Compiled by Joshua Lee. Email your weird news to josh@alibi.com.
