True story: in 1979, I went on a vacation with my parents and sister to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, and our timing couldn't have been worse. The day after we landed, Hurricane Frederic began lashing the island with rain, and we spent three long, boring days playing charades in our darkened hotel room as water leaked from the ceiling. By the time the storm had passed, our vacation was over, and we made arrangements to fly back home. A rush of people doing the exact same thing, however, necessitated one more night in a hotel near the airport, and while killing time there I noticed a sign advertising crab races at a certain time and place in the hotel. My eight-year-old mind thought that nothing could be cooler than a crab race, and I insisted that we all gather to witness the spectacle. Sadly, the appointed time came and went with nary a crab in sight. The hurricane had ruined the last hope I had to have fun in St. Maarten. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-10-24T12:50:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/18/8308/81621

Last summer, the world was fascinated by the mysterious corpse of the Montauk Monster, a scraggly-looking creature whose body washed up on the shores of Montauk, Long Island. it was unidentifiable as any certain species, but boy did it put Montauk back on the map.

This summer had almost ended without such a grisly discovery, until some children playing outside of Panama City came upon an odd, hairless creature crawling out from a cave. As the ugly thing crawled towards them, they "feared for their safety" and beat it to death with "sticks." They then returned shortly after to take pictures of the (now dead) creature, which of course hit the internet like gangbusters. Kids are so cruel these days, jeez. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-09-18T09:03:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/15/16825/1583

After a quiet summer, the sharks are taking their revenge: The normally bucolic beaches of Cape Cod have been cruised by up to 20 sharks looking for a delicious seal dinner and scaring the living daylights out of the last summer's swimmers.

There has not been a fatal, unprovoked shark attack in U.S. waters since last year, and no attacks recorded this year in Massachusetts at all. But a seal colony in the town of Chatham, Mass. has caused the city to close their beaches indefinitely since Labor Day because great whites can't resist those baby seals—and both species are protected, so they can't be moved from their habitats anyway. ]]> egw 2009-09-15T17:13:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/8/152632/9282

Did you ever go to an aquarium or amusement park as a kid and watch a dolphin show? Did you clap your hands and squeal with glee as the beautiful, smiling animals performed amazing feats of athleticism and intelligence? You did? Well you are an awful, awful person! That's because by supporting venues that use trained dolphins, you're contributing to the barbaric practice of dolphin harvesting that goes on in the coastal town of Taiji, Japan. According to a new documentary called The Cove, 23,000 dolphins are brutally slaughtered there every year in the search for a handful of dolphins that are deemed attractive enough to be trained for amusement parks and other entertainment experiences. The rest become mercury-tainted food. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-08-08T15:26:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/25/122651/299

The bears of California are never going to hear the end of this one. The New York Times is reporting that a group of bears in the Adirondack Mountains has figured out how to open the BearVault 500, a high-tech, supposedly bear-proof container that campers use to safeguard their food in the wilderness. The double-tabbed lid of the BearVault functions like a child-proof top to a medicine bottle, requiring a certain amount of dexterity and intelligence to figure out. It's the latest thinking in bear country food protection, as the old "hang your food high in a tree using a rope" trick is no match for a crafty bear. But New York bears, being mentally superior to other bears, have cracked the BearVault code, which has stymied bears elsewhere in the country. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-07-25T12:26:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/2/28/121724/498

Prepare to welcome your new octopus overlords. Workers at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium are mopping up after a curious female California two-spotted octopus loosened a valve in its tank on Thursday, releasing at least 200 gallons (757 liters) of seawater onto the brand new floor. National Geographic reports that such behavior is typical among octopuses, due to their unique combination of strength, dexterity, curiosity, and intelligence. In other words, be very afraid. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-02-28T12:17:24-05:00 34.0104936 -118.49597 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/21/12311/504

It's cold and wet in New York today, the first day of winter, and the mind wanders to thoughts of warm tropical paradises. A trip to Puerto Rico sure would be nice. Icy rum cocktails, gentle turquoise waters, soft white sand, and the constant threat of attack by hordes of diseased monkeys. Did somebody say beach party?

Too bad the Puerto Rican government wants to capture and kill all the monkeys. According to local rangers, the monkeys are an invasive species - having originally escaped from a secret research facility nearly forty years ago - and they pose a serious threat to native flora and fauna, agriculture, and even people.

That's right, some of these randy primates have herpes and hepatitis. Fun! ]]> Victor Ozols 2008-12-21T12:03:11-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/