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04-27-2005, 03:22 PM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Newburgh, NY
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1000 Toads Explode in Germany
Perhaps they were all drummers for Spinal Tap?
Exploding Toads Puzzle German Scientists 'It Looks Like a Scene From a Science-Fiction Movie' BERLIN (April 27) - More than 1,000 toads have puffed up and exploded in a Hamburg pond in recent weeks, and scientists still have no explanation for what's causing the combustion, an official said Wednesday. Both the pond's water and body parts of the toads have been tested, but scientists have been unable to find a bacteria or virus that would cause the toads to swell up and pop, said Janne Kloepper, of the Hamburg-based Institute for Hygiene and the Environment. ''It's absolutely strange,'' she said. ''We have a really unique story here in Hamburg. This phenomenon really doesn't seem to have appeared anywhere before.'' The toads at a pond in the upscale neighborhood of Altona have been blowing up since the beginning of the month, filling up like balloons until their stomachs suddenly burst. ''It looks like a scene from a science-fiction movie,'' Werner Schmolnik, the head of a local environment group, told the Hamburger Abendblatt daily. ''The bloated animals suffer for several minutes before they finally die.'' Biologists have come up with several theories, but Kloepper said that most have been ruled out. The pond's water quality is no better or worse than other bodies of water in Hamburg, the toads did not appear to have a disease, and a laboratory in Berlin has ruled out the possibility that it is a fungus that made its way from South America, she said. She said that tests will continue. In the meantime, city residents have been warned to stay away from the pond. |
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04-27-2005, 03:24 PM
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College Starter
Join Date: Dec 2002
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04-27-2005, 04:01 PM
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: New York
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Quote:
__________________
In the immortal words of a great alcoholic, "Can't we all just get along?" |
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04-27-2005, 04:10 PM
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Here and There
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Looks like we're on track for the end of the world by 2007.
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04-27-2005, 04:36 PM
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Appleton, WI
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Quote:
You mean the toads that blew up in the first thread aren't the same ones that blew up again here? Are we sure there isn't like just one toad that keeps blowing up? Maybe it is just a cool toad magic trick to wow the tourists? |
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