Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to the first Friday in February 2010! We at ec think that's something that calls for celebration—and we'd like to start the celebration off with this week's edition of “Snippets and Soundbites.” It just seems right, somehow.

And if today's news of the weird and random isn't enough for you, check out page 38 in this month's (and every month's) issue of ec. You won't be sorry!

So, what's been happening this week?

Gone but not forgotten: Herbie

Residents of Maine are mourning the loss of an old friend, Herbie the elm tree. No, Herbie isn't some sort of cartoon character; it's an actual tree. The giant elm, nicknamed Herbie, stood at 110-feet tall and was the tallest American elm in New England, was cut down on January 19, a victim of Dutch elm disease. When the tree was cut down, officials estimated its age to be anywhere from 212 to 240 years old this week. If the latter were true, the elm tree would be even older than the United States. But after closer examination the Maine Forestry Service announced Herbie hadn't stood guard over 240 years of American history. This week, officials announced Herbie's actual age as 217, meaning the tree dates back to 1793, the year George Washington began his second term. To find out more about Herbie, go here.

Robo-groundhog

On Tuesday, Americans celebrated the slightly weird holiday of Groundhog Day. And while the holiday may be a little strange in and of itself, things got a little more interesting when animal rights activist group PETA suggested replacing Punxsutawney Phil with a—wait for it—robot groundhog. Each February 2, Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his burrow and officials in Punxsutawney, Pa., watch to see if he sees his shadow. If so, tradition holds that we'll have six more weeks of winter. PETA (short for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) say that it's unfair to keep the groundhog celebrity in captivity and subject him to all the pomp and circumstance (which includes bright lights and fireworks) each Groundhog Day. Officials in Punxsutawney say Phil is treated better than many children, living in a climate-controlled environment and inspected each year by the state Department of Agriculture. To read the whole story, go here. To learn more about the history of Groundhog Day, click here and here.

Anything goes in the commute. . . 

For people who have to commute to work, the drive isn't always fun. You have to deal with the traffic, the volume of cars on the road, and pay attention to what other drivers are doing. Throw in some bad weather (especially in Nashville!) and you've got yourself a mess—and many times, a delay in getting to your destination. One woman in New York thought she'd found a solution to her slow commute woes: a mannequin. Many routes heavily trafficked by commuters include an HOV lane (high-occupancy lane) that drivers are allowed to use if they are carpooling. The key is more than one person has to be in the vehicle. The 61-year-old NY driver knew that and used the mannequin as her “plus one” on the Long Island expressway. That was until that fateful overcast day when a police officer noticed her passenger was using the sun visor and wearing sunglasses and thought something wasn't quite right. The woman faces a $135 traffic fine for flouting the traffic laws. Read more here.