Friday Snippets and Soundbites

We thought the perfect way to kick off October was with a new edition of “Snippets and Soundbites.” We didn’t think you’d mind, either!

And, of course, if you’d like more news of the weird, check out “Snippets and Soundbites” on page 38 of the October (and every issue) of ec. You won’t be sorry!

Ready for this week’s snippets? Let’s go!

Big Baby
How much did you weigh when you were born? 7 pounds? 9 pounds? Maybe, like ec’s editor, you were a preemie and weighed in at less than 5 pounds. Whatever your weight, we’re willing to bet most of you tipped the scales at less than 20 pounds. And so did Akbar Risuddin, a baby boy born this week in Indonesia, if only by a few ounces. Akbar, which means “the Great” in Arabic, weighed in at 19.2 pounds and was two feet long at birth. Akbar’s birth weight holds the record for a newborn in Indonesia, but falls short of the world record (23 pounds set in 1879). Doctors think Akbar’s substantial size was caused by his mother’s gestational diabetes, which often causes mother and baby to gain significant weight during the pregnancy. Both mother and child are reportedly in good health. To read more about Akbar and to see his picture, go here.

In a yellow submarine
Women make up about 15 percent of the membership of the U.S. Navy and can no serve on surface ships, but historically, submarines have been off-limits for women sailors. That may be changing in the near future, since Admiral Mike Mullen (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and top U.S. military officer) advocated that change in his congressional testimony. Critics of such ideas have generally argued that submarines are a different kind of service, with the cramped quarters and the fact that some crews sleep in shifts in the same set of bunks. Navy officials say the problems accomodating male and female sailors on submarines are not inpossible to overcome. There are 71 submarines in the U.S. fleet. To learn more about this story, go here. To learn more about the U.S. Navy, go here.

Say what?
A California man will face a federal magistrate soon on charges of abandoning property, littering and feeding wildlife in Joshua Tree National Park and could face fines or jail time, be barred from entering the park or assigned to complete some other kind of restitution. Doesn’t sound very interesting, does it? Well, just wait until you heard what he littered the national park with: golf balls. Apparently, Douglas Jones had been coming in to the park and just throwing golf balls out of his vehicle. He also left cans of fruit and vegetables along the park roads and scattered park literature and permit forms. Rangers were bothered by Jones’ actions and tired of cleaning up after him. Park officials estimate rangers spent more than 370 hours looking for and cleaning up after Jones, who they say scattered as many as 3,000 golf balls throughout the park. When rangers caught Jones, he confessed, saying he threw the golf balls to honor deceased golfers and left the food for stranded hikers. To learn more, go here.

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend, ec readers!