China farmers face 'exploding' watermelon problem. 17 May 2011Last updated at 09:49 Farmer Liu Mingsuo: "More and more watermelons exploded" Farmers in eastern China have been left perplexed after their watermelons began to explode one by one.
An investigation by state media found farms in Jiangsu province were losing acres of fruit because of the problem. The overuse of a chemical that helps fruit grow faster was blamed in one report by China Central Television. But agriculture experts were unable to explain why chemical-free melons were exploding. China Central Television said farmers were overspraying their crops with the growth promoter, hoping they could get their fruit to market ahead of the peak season and increase their profits.
Chemical-free According to the Xinhua news agency, 20 farmers in a village in Jiangsu province planted imported seeds from Japan, with 10 households saying their watermelons began exploding last month. Farmer Liu Mingsuo told Xinhua that more than two-thirds of his crop had blown up. Mystery beast causing panic in Quang Ngai province. VietNamNet Bridge - Hundreds of households in Binh Dong Commune of Binh Son District in Quang Ngai are living in panic after mysterious footprints were seen on the sand and loud roaring sounds heard in the area.
According to Cao Tan Son, police chief of the Binh Dong Commune, these mysterious incidents have been occurring since May 7 at the foot of Dinh Mountain in Son Tra Commune. However, no one has seen the strange creature that could have caused such large footprints measuring almost 12-15cm. Over 20 dogs have also been killed in the area and now around 280 households of the commune are living in panic. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, a 70-year-old woman was the first to find her dead pet dog on the night of May 7.
She said that her dog was found without its head and some body organs. Lemming hordes perish in Swedish roadside 'massacre' Swedish lemmings 'no risk for public' according to expert Published: 27 Apr 2011 11:39 GMT+02:00Updated: 27 Apr 2011 11:39 GMT+02:00 Hordes of lemmings have been spotted leaving the safety of the mountains to make their way down to more inhabited areas, falling victim to traffic and being preyed upon by other animals.
“I must have seen a thousand just since Saturday. They are absolutely everywhere. Shark deaths in Redwood City spur search for cause. At least a dozen leopard sharks have been found dead or dying within the past several days in bayfront lagoons in Redwood City, putting local researchers on alert for some kind of infection or toxic discharge in San Francisco Bay.
The deaths, including both juvenile and adult sharks, appear isolated and far less serious than previous die-offs in 2006 and 2007, which left shark carcasses strewn all over the bay, officials said. Shark experts fear there may be more of the strikingly patterned creatures floundering in Bay Area waterways and succumbing to pollution and disease. 8,000 cow abductions reported in southern U.S. sent White House into a panic. By Richard Hartley-parkinson Updated: 20:43 GMT, 13 April 2011 Cows were sacrificed by aliens sending the White House into a panic declassified FBI files have revealed.
It is claimed that more than 8,000 cows were abducted by UFOs before they were mutilated and thrown back down to earth over the southern United States during the 1970s. 'Naked' penguins have scientists perplexed ? This Just In - CNN.com Blogs. A mysterious ailment is causing penguins to lose their feathers, according to researchers at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Scientists unsure why dolphins washing up dead. Hundreds of dead bottlenose dolphins are washing ashore on the Gulf Coast.
Since February 2010, 406 dolphins have been found dead or strandedSensitivity about marine life in the area is high after the BP oil disasterScientists are also concerned about sea turtle strandings (CNN) -- Dead baby bottlenose dolphins are continuing to wash up in record numbers on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and scientists do not know why. Since February 2010 to April 2011, 406 dolphins were found either stranded or reported dead offshore. The occurrence has prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to designate these deaths as an "unusual mortality event" or UME. The agency defines a UME as a stranding incident that is unexpected or involves a significant loss of any marine mammal population. "This is quite a complex event and requires a lot of analysis," said Blair Mase, the agency's marine mammal investigations coordinator.
NOAA Fisheries Stranding Program Coordinator Dr. It's raining worms: Schoolchildren's lesson interrupted by creepy crawlies falling from sky. Pupils at a Scots school had to run for cover when it started raining worms during their PE lesson.
Teacher David Crichton was leading a group of pupils playing football on an astroturf pitch at Galashiels Academy when dozens of the slimy creatures began plummeting from the sky. The second-year boys had to abandon their lesson as the earthworms fell during the bizarre incident. David said the children had just completed their warm up when they began to hear "soft thudding" on the ground. The class then looked to the cloudless sky and saw worms falling on to them.
The 26-year-old teacher said he was baffled by the unexplained incident. David said: "We went out to one of our outdoor areas - an all weather astroturf pitch. "We were out playing football and had just done our warm up and were about to start the next part of the lesson. "Then they just kept coming down. The bizarre occurrence took place at around 9.15am on Tuesday.