Friday Snippets and Soundbites

If today’s post doesn’t provide enough randomicity for you, check out Snippets and Soundbites on page 38 of the April (and every) issue of ec. We’ve always got more news of the weird to share with you! Actually, news of the strange seems to be abounding this week.

• Up first, a 138-year old piece of cake. That people actually want to buy! The cake is a slice from the wedding cake of Britain's Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. She married the Marquis of Lorne in 1871 and apparently shocked the Prince of Wales by choosing to marry a commoner rather than a royal. The slice of cake in question is 1-inch think and wrapped in its original parchment. The seller is an antiques dealer who bought the slice from a private seller who is a descendant of a noble family from Kent.The piece of cake a tiny portion of the towering 5-foot (1.5 meter) cake served at Princess Louise's wedding. The entire cake originally weighed over 225 pounds and took three months to create. (Our question: was it still be good after 3 months?) The cake slice's previous owner kept it for generations in a gentlemen's "cabinet of curiosity," where men kept treasures to show off, such as fossils and pieces of Egyptian art. Bids opened for the slice at 145 pounds ($215) on Thursday at the Antiques for Everyone fair in Birmingham, England. For more, go here. 

• Snakes on a plane seem to be a recurring theme here in “Snippets and Soundbites.” This week, a Qantas (Australian) airliner was grounded after four baby pythons were reported missing from the cargo hold. When the plane left Alice Springs, the container held 12 baby pythons. When it arrived in Melbourned, only 8 could be located. The airline reports that the snakes had been properly packaged in a tied calico bag inside a Styrofoam box with air holes punched in it. A reptile expert suggested that the other pythons may have eaten the missing reptiles, but when weighed, the remaining snakes were no heavier. Experts can only guess that the snakes broke free and since they weren't an endangered species, made the decision to take the plane out of service and fumigate it.

• A Texas turtle got a ninja suit and can now stop swimming in circles. Allison, a green sea turtle, had lost three of her flippers in an accident. That left her with one flipper and a life of turning endless circles in the water. Workers at Sea Turtle Inc. strapped Allison, a five-year-old rescued turtle, on Wednesday into a neoprene "ninja" suit that holds a carbon-fiber fin in place on her back. The fin acts as a rudder, allowing her to propel herself forward with her sole fin. The success follows failed attempts last year to fit her with a prosthetic rear flipper. We're really happy for Allison! Read more, here.

• The ec team will be taking part in GMA next week, interviewing your favorite bands and up-and-coming artists—like Rush of Fools, After Edmund, Devyn, Joy Lippard, Andrew Peterson and others. Let us know what you want us to ask! Because we will!