Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Why, hello Friday! We've missed you.

And since it's Friday, that also means there's a new  blog edition of "Snippets and Soundbites." If you need even more strange stories and news of the weird, please check out "Snippets and Soundbites" on page 38 of this month's (and every month's) print edition of ec.

That said, let's see what random things have been going on.

Just part of the job
If you live in Atlanta or have ever visited there, you know that traffic there, particularly during rush hour is particularly stressful. So what happens when you add a zebra to the mix? Yes, you read that correctly. A zebra. Yesterday, rush hour traffic in the Atlanta area came to a complete standstill as police chased an escapee zebra down a busy stretch of highway. Apparently, the zebra made his first appearance in downtown around 4:30 p.m., then made it's way onto the interstate. Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus is in town this week, and the zebra apparently belongs to them. Police safely corralled the runaway animal on an exit ramp, and the animal is reportedly OK. Bet the police didn't know think they'd be herding zebras when they got up yesterday morning! To read all about it, go here. Go here to see video.

Mardi Gras Mutt

For Charlie the dog, Mardi Gras really was something to celebrate. See, Charlie, a labrador mix, had said good-bye to his owner, Stephen Soleas when Soleas decided to hitchike to New Orleans, La., for a few weeks of music and fun. At some point after Soleas left, though, Charlie went missing back home. A couple vacationing in Taos, New Mexico, found the collarless pooch, but local vet's didn't have microchip readers to see who he belonged to. So the dog-loving couple gave up their plane tickets, rented a car, and drove Charlie home with them: to New Orleans. Some 1,200 miles and 10 days later, Charlie was reunited with his owner (now visiting NOLA) after the couples' vet checked a microchip in Charlie's neck. In a strange turn of events, the couple also named the dog Charlie. We guess the name just fit! To read all about it and hear about Charlie's ride in a Mardi Gras pet parade, go here.

Ice, Ice, Baby
It's been extremely cold lately and for a few days last week, all but one of the states in the U.S. had at least a dusting of snow. But for a 25-year-old Ohio man, all the snow meant one thing: it was time to chill out. . . .in an igloo. Out of work for almost a year and needing a project to stay busy, Jimmy Grey decided to put the record snowfall to good use and build an igloo in his family's yard. The result is a four-room igloo with 6-foot ceilings and an entertainment room. He powers the TV (yes, the TV) with an extension cord and has also run wires for cable TV and surround sound stereo. To learn more, go here.