MIAMI — It’s not that body parts never wash ashore on Florida beaches. But usually it’s not an eye the size of a softball.
State wildlife officials are trying to determine the species of a blue eyeball found by a man Wednesday at Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale.
They put the eyeball on ice so it can be analyzed at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
Agency spokeswoman Carli Segelson says the eyeball likely came from a marine animal, since it was found on a beach. Possible candidates include a giant squid, a whale or some type of large fish.
Crickets, worms on menu for Philly museum event
PHILADELPHIA — When a natural history museum throws a party, it figures that some unusual food might end up on the menu.
Interested in noshing on crickets, worms and farm-raised python? The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia has an event for you.
It’s hosting an adults-only cocktail party on Oct. 27 called “Cuisine From the Collections.”
While many of the living plants and animals represented in the museum’s 18 million research specimens already are food for other species, most aren’t your typical kitchen staples.
Welsh restaurant sorry for serving booze to child
LONDON — A restaurant chain has apologized for accidentally serving alcohol to a toddler in Wales, calling it a case of human error.
The BBC reported that 2-year-old Sonny Rees was taken to a hospital emergency room after drinking whiskey at his second birthday party at a Frankie and Benny’s restaurant in Swansea.
His mother said he was clearly intoxicated. She said she tasted his drink after noticing that he was making a funny face. At the hospital, the staff monitored his vital signs and later gave him the all-clear.
Frankie and Benny’s said Thursday it was extremely sorry for Saturday’s incident and is looking into what systems need to be put in place to ensure that it does not happen again.
World champs win Maine wife-carrying contest
NEWRY, Maine — A Finnish couple has added to their victories by taking first place in the North American Wife Carrying Championship at Maine’s Sunday River ski resort.
Taisto Miettinen and Kristina Haapanen traveled from Helsinki, Finland — where they won the World Wife Carrying Championship — for Saturday’s contest. The Sun Journal (bit.ly/Q30QWq) reports that the couple finished with a time of 52.58 seconds on a course that includes hurdles, sand traps and a water hole.
The winners receive the woman’s weight in beer and five times her weight in cash.
For Miettinen and Haapanen, that meant a check for $530.
Maine drivers warned of zombie danger
PORTLAND, Maine — Drivers may have gotten a chuckle out of an electronic message board in Maine warning of zombies, but city officials were not amused.
The sign at a Portland road construction site was changed by a hacker to read “Warning Zombies Ahead!” on Wednesday morning. It originally read “Night work 8 pm-6 am. Expect delays.”
City spokeswoman Nicole Clegg says the signs are a safety precaution and changing it could have led to driver distraction.
She tells The Portland Press Herald tampering with a safety device is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
She says it’s not clear who changed the sign, but it’s not the first time it has happened.
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