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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 40
Kansas | I running down the road 70mph closing on a hopper truck, so as I change lanes to pass. All of sudden there is a sharp sting on my left cheek just below my glasses. Then one on my right shin followed by one on my right middle knuckle. Now I'm not a smart man, but something tells me to get myself around this truck. I roll on and I start hearing impacts to the front of the bike and it's like I'm hitting chicken feathers. As I catch the truck I see there is a steady stream of CORN flowing from a gap in the tailgate. Then realize the chicken feathers were the corn exploding from the impact to the front of the bike, now I'm pissed. I pull up the cab and this idiot has now clue, he looks over smiles, nods like a Harley rider(way to cool to wave) and goes back to chewing his curd. So I pull over and inspect ?Beauty? and luckily no damage. But while I'm continuing on my ride I began to think what is some of the weirdest things we have been hit by?
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Visionary
Posts: 2118
Pitt Meadows, BC Canada | Sparrow got me once - came over the top of my windshield at about 80mph - hit me right between my sunglasses and helmet on my forehead. God's little creature was wedged in tight and very dead - had to pull over to remove the corpse. And to discover a very large hole in my forehead made by his beak - blood everywhere. I guess that would explain why it hurt.....
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Cruiser
Posts: 65
| Night time riding... nasty yucking flying BAT in my chest... exhaust sound musta messed up his radar....
THEN..........
A loooonnnnnggggg long time ago... 65 mph and a Cicada right in the forehead... snapped my sunglasses in two.... :/ |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I test rode a Vegas Low once and while out I saw a bug come flying in on my left at the chinstrap by the ear. Never knowing what those things might be, as I've got a bee in the helmet before, I thought I had swat or swished it, whatever it was. Since my test ride took me around where there were no lights, I didn't slow down until I turned into the dealer. As I was coming down the park the bike, a wasp crawled around onto my left google lens. Apparently that is what it was and was being held back from the wind, fortunately |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | A swallow in full on stukka dive mode that was apparently concentrating on Canadian insect life and ended up a pile of feathers inside my jacket.
A male ring necked pheasant that flushed from the brush on the side of a Pennsylvania highway and bounced off the headlight of my r-50.
A despondent groundhog who decided that my front tire was the fastest way out.
A couple of metric tons of Utah desert (sand) blowing diagonally across the highway at about 40 mph that blocked out the sun and the edges of the road.
A swarm of yellow-jackets at least three of which ended up inside my open faced helmet . I looked like I lost a fight for about a week.
An angry german shepherd dog that learned about "equal and opposite reactions" trying to bite my crashbar as I drove past his yard at 35 mph.
A Truck tire carcass that flipped over the windscreen and left a skid mark on my helmet (and metaphorical skid marks in my drawers) at 90 mph.
Cotton - it looks like snow, but its hard to breath.
I think thats about it...........
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | ...and I thought about ridin' with you TP - you're like Joker with eatin' place in the way of hazards, you know how to pick 'em. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1484
LaPorte,Tx. | Bubble bee up the sleeve, ouch
Bird
Gravel
Hail once...bad deal
Hand to the back of the helmet
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Visionary
Posts: 2118
Pitt Meadows, BC Canada | VisionTex - 2010-06-15 10:21 AM Bumble bee up the sleeve, ouch Bird Gravel Hail once...bad deal Hand to the back of the helmet All of these are everyday occurences VTex - ESPECIALLY Hand to the back of the helmet. I get that everytime I take both hands off the controls while on cruise control..... |
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Tourer
Posts: 366
Albuquerque, NM | Hit a roadrunner going about 45. Hit my windshield and bounced off to the side of the road. Didn't stop to see if he was knocked out or dead. New Mexico has one less state bird . Thinking of chaning my handle to "Wiley Coyote".
Edited by nailer 2010-06-15 1:49 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | Varyder:
They're all just the universe's subtle (like a sledgehammer) reminders to live in the moment.
Which I've been trying to do with varying degrees of success since 1973 after having been run over by a 80 year old unlicensed driver in a 1966 mint green metallic Caddy.
Impact with birds, bugs and medium sized mammals are minor irritations when compared to the "fun" one experiences watching your roommates CB350 cartwheel down the road as 6000 lbs of Detroit land yacht rolls over your legs with both of its left side wheels, then drags you half a block.
As to those cicadas (thanks for the reminder Ammo) nothing will blow your self image quicker than riding during a cicada hatch. These alien invaders are attracted to loud humming noises (like motorcycle engines and lawnmowers). They think that your bike is a big female and swarm all over you. So stoplights are a real problem.
Its hard to think of yourself as a tough guy biker when what seems like hundreds of inch long hook fisted creepys are crawling down the back of your neck and the only thought in your mind is the fight to keep keep yourself from dropping your bike, slapping at yourself and running way screaming like a girl.
They also taste really bad!
LOL
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | Largest: a robin going about 60mph, right in the chest, eye opener, Worst: yellow jacket right inside my helmet, stung about five times before I could skid to a stop, and I mean skid................... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 181
Henlow, Bedfordshire, England | Worst: a seagull flew into the engine area when I was doing about 60mph, feathers everywhere but the bad bit was the smell and blood all over the exhaust. |
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Tourer
Posts: 301
Buffalo Grove,Ill | When i was in HS i had a Suzuki 125 enduro. I was on my way to the GF's house and i see something come from under a landscaping truck in front of me and start bouncing towards me. Its one of those situations like seeing a squirrel darting in the road, not sure where to go so i held my line and started to brake. It bounced a couple more times and then came at me fast. I ducked but it hit me square in the left shoulder and yanked my arm off the bars. Luckily i got my hand back on the bar and stopped on the side of the road. In shear agony i walked over to see a coil spring laying in the road. Since the truck kept going i dont know if he just hit it or it was his. had a bruise the size of a softball on my left shoulder and down my arm for a week. glad i ducked !
Edited by clubford00 2010-06-15 5:38 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 184
Allen Park, MI | While stationed in Fort Stewart GA I watched as if in slow motion a rock a little bigger than a golf ball come bouncing at me as a gravel train went by....1 bounce 2 bounce 3rd right in the chest. Knocked the wind out of me, by the time I caught my breath coasting to a stop.. I unzipped my leather there was a purple welt already growing on my chest about the size of a softball...wont forget that one as well as the line of wild piglets crossing the road out of no where nose to tail. ..split seconds to pick which two to roll between.....almost pork chops. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| My most recent weird one was a humming bird at 45 mph on my upper lip just under my nose. Had them damn sticky feather like things up my nose, guts and all running back both sides of my face. Disgusting!!! I was coming off a high speed road into a reduce speed area and had just raised the chinbar on the modular and wham! Teared up both eyes.
Took a pheasant one time in England to the chest at 60 mph. Both arms went completely limp and I had all I could do to limp the bike off the road so I could fall over and catch my breath. Was hurting for about 6 weeks. Hit 2 while riding over there, the one in the chest and another to the front brake which shattered the pad. Didn't kill either.
Closest call is a toss up between a turkey which bounced off my lid, glancing blow..... and a piece of semi tire that I moved my head to avoid. Must have been a good 3' long flying through the air at 65-70 mph. That woulda taken me out for sure.
So iffin you guys ever ride in the UK watch for those dang pheasants. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 132
Durango, Colorado | I've had many bee incidents, up the shirt sleve, in through a hole in the knee of my jeans, in the side of my 3/4 helmet, etc. The strangest was a yellowjacket that hit me in the addam's apple on a trip from Durango to Silverton. Just as we pass the Doubletree the impact occurs at low speed and I am immediately stung as the menace bounces into the neck of my T shirt. I immediately start beating my chest like Chris Farley at a motovational speaking convention (IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER). The "Jacket" proceeded to wear his ass out on my left nipple then ceased his (her?) assualt after a precievable eternity on my part. Thinking the danger had passed and no longer feeling the repeated pain of little daggers on my now swollen nip, we continued North on our quest for lunch at "Handlebars" grill in Silvertown assumably sans Jacket o'death. We park, dismount, and begin ambling down the sidewalk when I feel the distinctive tickle of crawling bug feet around by tummy button. WTF! I frantically pull my shirt out of my pants and release a fully functioning black and yellow flying miracle of miniture hitch hiker.....Good as new. I never offered a return trip and the story was the Howl over beers and burgers at Handlebars. Whew, that was a long story.......but entirely true. Paulhu |
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Cruiser
Posts: 271
Belding Michigan | I had a mourning dove take off from a roadside and bounce off my helmet. My wife heard it make impact thru the headsets and asked me what was that. it was loud inside my helmet. but the best on was a pigeon doing a dive of an overpass to get up steam to fly and my buddy took him in the chest between his faring windshield and him I was following saw a burst of feather looked like he blew up a pillow. Arch |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | I took a bird of some kind to the windshield last year on a trip from Ohio to N.C. If I wouldn't have had the CeeBailey 4" taller screen, I would have taken it to the chest. |
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Tourer
Posts: 401
| A rainbow trout... Now go ahead and ask me how... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 97
Okeefenokee Swamp | Sqiacci, I'll bite. How did you hit a rainbow trout? |
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Tourer
Posts: 401
| Kornbread - 2010-06-16 9:36 AM
Sqiacci, I'll bite. How did you hit a rainbow trout?
I need at least one guess, but most of you will be let down with such a boring story. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 40
Kansas | Dropped by an eagle that had just caught it from a stream? |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | My most vivid memory is what I didn't hit. Last spring we had a massive hatching of dragonflies that lasted about three days. I was riding about 45 mph when I came around a curve into a cloud of dragonflies about 3-4 feet off the ground from shoulder to shoulder across the road and about 5-6 feet thick. I braced for a massive splat-splat-splat, pow-pow-pow and watched in amazement as they parted around my windshield and over/under the mirrors. The swarm closed in right behind me. Not a single one touched me or the bike. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | SongFan - 2010-06-16 3:43 PM
My most vivid memory is what I didn't hit.? Last spring we had a massive hatching of dragonflies that lasted about three days.? I was riding about 45 mph when?I came around a curve into a cloud of dragonflies about 3-4 feet off the ground from shoulder to shoulder across the road and about 5-6 feet thick.? I braced for a massive splat-splat-splat, pow-pow-pow and watched in amazement as they parted around my windshield and over/under the mirrors.? The swarm closed in right behind me.? Not a single one touched me or the bike.
I am sure they did that out of respect.
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Cruiser
Posts: 204
guelph ontario | Not personally but a retired school teacher who had just purchased my friends old Honda GW (1983) about three years ago went on his second ride-15pound Canada goose flew up from swamp at side of road, hit his windshield which broke off and then went on to hit him in the chest. Unfortunately he lost control and went off of the road, struck a pole and was killed. Imagine a 15 lb goose flying at about 25-30 mph and hitting you going at 40 mph-thats a 15 pound bag of potatoes hitting you at a speed of 65 mph or so-bad news indeed |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 721
| A beer bottle on July 22nd, 2005.
I left work early to finish preparations for leading a trip to the Black Hills for my GWRRA chapter (I was the ride coordinator) and while on the ride home some a$$hole riding in the back seat of a H2 Hummer threw a beer bottle out the window that impacted base first the windshield of my '03 GL1800 Goldwing just above the windshield cowl and bullseyed it from the impact point up to the vent. When I reported it to my local police department they informed me that they had at least 5 other events of a similar nature reported to them with the perpetrators apparently being attendees of the Country Thunder Country Music Festival that was being held at a nearby town. |
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Tourer
Posts: 301
Buffalo Grove,Ill | sgiacci - 2010-06-16 8:17 PM
A rainbow trout... Now go ahead and ask me how...
Im guessing it bounced out out of a boat going down the road on a trailer. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 40
| About 10 or so years ago I considered leaving my helmet at home.
A voice in my head convinced me otherwise - so fortunately I had my full-face helmet on that day and my heavy riding jacket.
I was on a suburban country road I had traveled hundreds of times coming down Avon Mountain- moving at probl 50mph at least - and all of a sudden (BOOM) my head takes a hit, something flashes by my face and all of a sudden the entire left side of my body is numb. WTF??
I regain control, coast to a stop in a nearby apartment building driveway, hit the kill switch, drop the sidestand and lean the bike over. Left shoulder and arm are still numb - but hey my arm still works, hey my hand still works and no blood. Looking good so far - ok.
I gently take my helmet off and I see a branch about 1" in diameter and about 4 inches long jammed in the front vent where the branch comes to a point. Yikes.
I look back in the road - and lots of broken branch fragments scattered across the road that appeared to belong to the shard currently stuck in my helmet. I know the fragments weren't in the road minute ago because I would have had to dodge them. The branch shard appeared dry and somewhat punky - so it had been dead a while - hanging in the tree - waiting for me I guess..
What are the odds of getting hit in the head with a branch falling from a tree? Point down?
Hard enough to penetrate the vent, and shatter - but leave a nice reminder stuck in your helmet?
What if I hadn't worn my helmet that day? What would this spear have done to my forehead? Would it have hit me in the face or eyes instead?
With a combined force of more than 50mph would it have mattered where it hit?
I figure this was God's way of saying - "John - you should wear a helmet".
Ok God - you win.
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Tourer
Posts: 401
| tonoffun - 2010-06-16 3:09 PM
Dropped by an eagle that had just caught it from a stream?
That would have been classic, but no. Me and a friend were crossing a stream, and it jumped out of the water hit me in the side, fell back in, and swam away.
Yawn... |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 13
Shreveport, LA | Caught a huge bug in the forehead just outside Nacogdoches. The pain from impact was tough enough, however, the bug starting to crawl down the front of my shades was another. Lost the glasses and almost lost the bike. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 166
Bullhead City, AZ | Been hit by lots of bees that went in a shirt or helmet worst was a butterfly that smaked me in an open eye took me days to get all the pieces out. Best hit by story, flying down a country road in a four door truck a duck flew so close to the windshield everyone flinched, the driver says "boy tht almost hit us." About that time there was some flopping in the back seat. Turned around and there is a very confused duck that came in a side window and a knocked out the backseat passenger.
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Tourer
Posts: 388
Salisbury, NC | I was riding back from Homestead, Fl a couple of years ago when I came upon a flat bed big rig. It was almost dark, really hard to see when a bag of chains fell off the back of the truck. When it hit the ground, it busted open, I felt the end of the chain brush my leg and hit the saddlebag. If I was a couple of inches over to the right, I would have hit it dead center. I thanked the Lord for looking after me that night. ET |
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Cruiser
Posts: 51
Arizona | I now live in Arizona. But just over a month ago, cruising along at about 45mph, and I saw a swarm of Bee's in front of my path. Tucked my chin down into my chest and felt them bounce off both my helmet and shoulders. Thankfully none stung me.
Fast forward: Same ride. Coming down I-10 heading home, and another swarm of bee's came across the hwy. Again same results. Put bike away for the day, didn't want to go for the "3 Times a Charm".
This didn't happen to me fortunately, but another guy and gal riding in front of me last weekend. Had two vultures come out of the woods (dead deer), and grazed both of them on their heads. Needless to say, I think they pee'd themselves just a bit. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 97
Okeefenokee Swamp | I was hit this past weekend by a rabbit. i was riding down a local country lane at about 60 mph when out of the corner of my eye I see movement.About the time I realize what it is,the rabbit jumps and hits me just below the knee around mid-side calf.felt like I was punched.The rabbit was hopping across the road at last sighting. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1290
Ruskin, Fl | No me, but a couple weeks ago my rescue unit ran on a woman hit by a turkey buzzard. No helmet. She lost control and went through a barbed wire fence. She was trauma alerted and flown to a trauma center. We just heard yesterday that she required surgury under her arm from the fence, but is otherwise came out of it pretty good. Sort of a happy ending considering how much worse it could have been.
Edited by cw1115 2010-06-21 8:58 AM
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | hgrail - 2010-06-16 9:11 PM ....... What are the odds of getting hit in the head with a branch falling from a tree? .....I figure this was God's way of saying - "John - you should wear a helmet". Ok God - you win. I guess the odds are higher than you would think. My bro and sis-in-law report just that! The limb missed him and hit her in the helmet. They were on an Ultra at the time. |
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Tourer
Posts: 401
| Cursed thread. This beats the trout, almost.
Last Friday on my way home I come up on an old Honda (car) in the HOV lanes (I mention this because they are penned in with Jersey barriers) that was acting a bit funny. Just as I got next him I looked over and BOOM, his front wheel came off and was headed right for me. I juiced the gas and it missed me, but the bike that was following me didn?t have the option. He slammed on the brakes and was also able to avoid it, phew. |
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Tourer
Posts: 466
Grand Cane, LA | On my trip to Oregon last year, my friend in front of me had a sparrow fly right up his pant leg. When he finally got it to come out, it flew back and smacked me right in the helmet. Believe it or not, the bird actually survived. We talked about that for days. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 59
Pocono Mountains of PA | We were heading home just after dusk from a local fair when all of a sudden, a bat lost his radar and bounced off my helmet. That wasn't too bad, but he hit mey significant other square in the face. I asked her if she was ok, and when she said she was I started to laugh. After that, I gor bi&&h slapped 'cause she got bat slapped!! Two for one....What can I say! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 247
| most fun i ever had with this was a lightning bug trapped in the air space behind the shield on the ultra. I got a nice light show and it probably earned the envy of its friends getting to ride a harley, if he could find them again. worst i ever had was a yellow bird that flew inside my helmet. it was so loud my backwarmer asked what it was. I though it was just a big bug so i didn't check until we stopped. yuk. hit birds, bees, before and boards in the road but never had one enter my helmet. did have a dance with a tiregator a couple of weeks ago. kept hearing teach's voice saying don't look at the hazard look at the escape route which was about 6" of pavement between the white stripe and the rumble stripped shoulder. actually another good riding tip---if you want to know what is happening look ahead 5 cars. i didn't know what the issue was until the car in front of me went over it but i knew something was up and was not just mindlessly following the car in front of me. it passed between his tires. i would have hit it dead center. |
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Tourer
Posts: 394
Tucson, AZ | In August '08, my Harley riding buddy and I were on an early morning ride through Yellowstone when I saw a young doe running down the side of a hill towards the road. He was leading and I laid on the horn, but he''s hard of hearing and didn't see the deer and ran over it and it went under the bike and kicked it out to the side of the road. Luckily he didn't go down. We stopped and checked on the little deer. Apparently she had a broken back. We road on for two or three miles before we could find a Ranger and reported the accident. Shook us both up pretty well. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2118
Pitt Meadows, BC Canada | I recently got a message from an old buddy in Alberta who reported what happened while driving his Road King: "I had hit a deer head on a couple of weeks ago on hwy 40 near Canmore, just got out of the hospital, broken ribs, a hole in the lung and severely beaten up. I can at least shower myself and wipe my own ass now, yahoo! Things are looking good..." So I said "Didn't anyone tell you not to pick on helpless little deer? What a bully" His reply: "What do ya mean pickin on those poor little deer, I swear the fucking thing was on a mission to kill me when he was running at all his might straight into the front end of the bike, what a head on hit that was!!! You know those bastards are as dumb as a post, I can still see his eyes just before I ripped his head off with the top of the fairing, guts and fur all over the fucking place" Sorry about the language - that's what he wrote - and it does kind of want to make you be careful when you see one of those furry things on the road.....
Edited by donetracey 2010-07-22 12:18 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | Okay... I've been hit by bats... twice. Y'all apparently have been there, done that.
This one is not about bikes... or even on the road proper, but you might like it.
I was a kid and my dad took us all over the country with a suburban and a travel trailer. When we stop at rest areas for lunch or whatever, they park us with the big rigs. So there we were, having lunch, when a fully loaded cattle carrier parks next to us. Cool! Something new to look at! I'm sitting there, munching on my sandwich and staring out the window at these cows, when all of a sudden I can't see anything anymore!
Did you know that the sedatives given to cattle for a truck ride make the cows rather more flatulent than usual? |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | This story would be pretty tough to beat: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100722/od_yblog_upshot/whale-watchers-recount-bizarre-yacht-jump |
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