Categotry Archives: Misc.

Kuno, the giant catfish that once devoured a dog, died in Germany after his pond dried up.
The five-foot-long, 77-pound fish made international headlines in 2001 when he ate a small dachshund that was swimming in its pond. Kuno was placed on the Moenchengladbach-Rheydt Anglers Club’s most-wanted list, but evaded fisherman for two years.
“He was our Loch Ness monster,” said Uwe Heil, a member of the rock band, Kuno’s Friends.
Anglers in Bremen, Germany, plan to stuff and mount Kuno, then put him on display at a local museum.

Richard Coleman, a founder of the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club, died on July 18 in an airboat accident. He was 59.
Coleman was killed when his airboat collided with another on the Dead River in Florida. The three people who were riding on Coleman’s boat and the driver of the other boat received moderate to severe injuries in the crash.
Coleman moved to Winter Haven, Fla., in 1966 to work as a research chemist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. While he authored or co-authored more than 50 technical papers for the government, Coleman was primarily known as a protector of central Florida wetlands.
He joined the Sierra Club in the early 1970s, helped found its Florida chapter, then served two terms as its chair. His major goal was to restore the Kissimmee River, which the Army Corps of Engineers had turned into a 56-mile drainage ditch. He also led preservation efforts of the 560,000-acre Green Swamp.
Coleman’s wetland preservation work was recognized by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Florida Sierra Club, which awarded Coleman its Florida Chapter Medal for exceptional leadership in conservation.

Hondo, a K-9 officer in Independence, Mo., died on July 16 from heat exposure. He was 3 years old.
The German Shepherd was one of the first two police dogs trained at the new Independence Police K-9 training center. Hondo was purchased last year and officially began serving the community in January with Sgt. John Bullard.
Yesterday afternoon, Hondo was sitting inside a police car for about an hour. The vehicle’s air conditioning system, which was left on to keep the dog cool, apparently failed even as temperatures reached 97 degrees outside.
Bullard returned to the police cruiser and found Hondo unconscious. Unable to revive him, Bullard started driving to a local animal hospital. En route, the police car crashed into another motorist. The passenger of that car was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
One of the patrol officers responding to the accident took Bullard and Hondo to the animal hospital, but the dog was pronounced dead on arrival.

Space aliens traveling through the Milky Way who wanted to make a pit stop on Earth were welcome at George George’s restaurant. In fact, the coffee was on the house.
In 1952, George made national headlines when he posted a sign on the Charcoal House restaurant in St. Petersburg, Fla., that read: ”Coffee Free Welcome Saucers.” E.T. never took him up on the offer, but it was a fantastic marketing ploy.
George was also a World War II veteran, an actor and a writer. After he left the restaurant business, George became a car salesman, a job he did for 30 years.
George died Monday. Cause of death was not released. He was 88.

A tiger cub living in Bandhavgarh National Park in India, died last Tuesday after eating a porcupine whose quills damaged its neck and intestines.
The 21-month-old tiger, which weighed 253 lbs., was born to Mohini, the tigress who injured several French tourists last March.