Wally, the Wandering Walrus — Last Seen in Ireland — Was Just Spotted in Iceland

Earlier this year, we reported on a walrus rather unimaginably nicknamed “Wally,” who embarked on a grand tour of Europe’s western waters. He ended up spending quite a bit of time off the coast of Ireland, where locals and tourists alike enjoyed catching glimpses of a creature that normally doesn’t stray so far from the Arctic. Tipping the scales at about 1,800 pounds, Wally isn’t the kind of guest you can shoo away from your boat. Unfortunately, as he progressed along the coast, Wally took regular breaks by hoisting his considerable heft aboard small, empty vessels — and damaging some of them in the process. Removing him from the area wasn’t really an option, mainly because authorities said sedation and relocation of a healthy animal was not warranted. Instead, animal welfare organization British Divers Marine Life Rescue built a couch-like raft, hoping Wally would choose it over any less accessible craft. Eventually, he’d presumably make his own way back toward the Arctic — and that’s exactly what he’s done. Wally has traversed roughly 560 miles and ended up in the harbor of Hofn, Iceland. Seal rescuers are thrilled that Wally is not only still alive and well, but he’s well on his way home to the Arctic.

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Florida Man Plants a Banana Tree In a Pothole

A Florida man, fed up with the potholes near his business, planted a banana tree in one of the potholes to make a point. Bryan Raymond planted the tree right in the middle of the road in south Fort Myers as a warning to drivers about the pothole. Raymond, who owns Progress and Pride Fitness Group, said he was tired of filling the potholes with cement, so he planted the banana tree instead. Because the road is a private street, county officials say it’s up to the business owners to maintain the street. For Raymond, the banana tree is an attention-grabbing repair. "If we have to maintain it and make sure nobody gets hurt, we are going to put something obvious there to make sure nobody gets in the hole,” said Raymond. For some time, his security cameras have captured problems along the street, including a pothole damaging cars and floodwaters causing his trash bin to float away. Some who work along the road say anything is better than potholes.

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The World’s Biggest Collection of Nash Motors Automobiles Rests 450 Feet Under Lake Michigan

The world’s largest collection of 1929 and 1930 Nash Motors automobiles exists not in a museum, but rather entombed in the frigid depths of Lake Michigan. The cars — 268 of them — are lashed in rows in a crumpled heap next to the wreck of the SS Senator, a Great Lakes steamship that rests in an uncharted sinkhole about 15 miles east of Port Washington, Wis. It sank during the final days of the Roaring Twenties as the country was plunging into the Great Depression. The ship sank on Halloween, Oct. 31, 1929; mere days after the infamous Black Thursday stock market crash that threw the country into an economic spiral. The Senator left Kenosha two days earlier, laden with $251,000 worth of brand new cars from Nash Motors. Shipwreck diver Tamara Thomsen with the Wisconsin Historical Society has surveyed the wreck and said the cars on the inside are in pretty good condition. The cars would likely have sold for $1,000 to $2,000. As for Nash Motors, the company went on to make the popular Rambler compact. In 1954, the company restructured into the American Motors Corporation, and in 1987 Chrysler acquired the company and rebranded its models as Jeep-Eagle.

 

 

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Kamikaze Pilots Weren’t All Volunteers

During World War II, thousands of Japanese pilots volunteered to be kamikaze — crashing their planes in the name of their emperor. Now, it appears that not all of the pilots were volunteers. It’s believed that 3,000 to 4,000 Japanese pilots crashed their planes into enemy targets on purpose, but only 10% of those missions were successful. Kamikaze pilots were aged 17 to 24 and were portrayed as 100% willing to die for their country, but now — decades later — research shows that only 60% were eager to sacrifice themselves for the emperor. The rest couldn’t say no because of peer pressure. Pilots were asked to hold up their hands in a big group if they didn’t want to volunteer. Amid peer pressure, hardly anyone was able to say no to the mission. They feared that if they didn't volunteer, their families would be ostracized and their parents told that their son was a coward, which was not honorable but shameful. Then, as fighter pilots, they would be sent to the most dangerous part of the front line where they would still die — but dishonored. As a result, everyone gave the answer which was opposite of what we were really feeling. For Japan's post-war generation, the experiences of former kamikaze pilots are unimaginable, even to their own family members.

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