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-Short Attention Span Theater-

Penguins corralled on Texas highway

2006-08-09

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Twenty-one penguins were rescued on a hot east Texas highway Tuesday after a truck carrying the wildlife to a temporary home south of Houston overturned, said a state trooper.

The rest of the penguins kind of stayed together in the ditch

Four penguins and some exotic fish were killed in the accident, including three penguins that were hit by passing motorists, said Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Richard Buchanan. "The rest of the penguins kind of stayed together in the ditch," he said.

The truck, also carrying an octopus that was uninjured, was bound for Moody Gardens, a tourist destination in Galveston, an hour south of Houston, a resort spokeswoman said. The wildlife was being transported to Texas from the Indianapolis Zoo while that zoo's ocean exhibit is being remodeled, said Jerri Hamacheck of Moody Gardens.

Posted by:Fred

#11 reminds me of a joke I heard once:

A man driving a truckload of trained penguins to the circus suffers a vehicle breakdown. Another guy drives by in a truck and offers to help. The driver, relieved, tells the man that he simply has to get the penguins to the circus, pronto. So the man loads the penguins on his own truck and takes off.

The first man was frantic. He expected them to return in about 3-4 hours, but it was almost 8 hours when he saw them again. When he looked closer, he saw that the penguins had balloons t-shirts and other stuff. When he asked the 2nd man what took so long, the 2nd man replied "well, they liked the circus so much I thought I'd take them to the zoo."

Posted by: PlanetDan 2006-08-09 15:21

#10 Phil, the link that you clicked was the initial story from yesterday. This is a follow-up.

Posted by: GK 2006-08-09 14:17

#9 Not to mention the damned octopus, always grabbing more than his share of the fish. Steals keys, loose change too.

Pity about the fish tho. Not a lick of trouble outta him the whole trip til we got to San Antone.

Posted by: drivers 2006-08-09 13:27

#8 You ever try to move 21 penguin crates into the motel? Or walk them on leads in the approved grassy area and then clean up the grounds afterwards?

Plus, unloading those coolers of fish and washing them out after feeding times -- ugh. And have you ever SEEN 21 penguins hopping from bed to bed in the 2-standard-sized-beds rooms that the company books? IMPOSSIBLE to fall asleep when they really get into it.

Nah ... coffee mainlined beats a stop with penguins any day.

Posted by: drivers 2006-08-09 13:18

#7 ...a temporary home south of Houston...

Known to some as Galveston. (Sheesh)

According to today's Chronicle (containing the deathless subhead "Snakes arrived safely"), when they righted the truck a penguin emerged unscathed.

Also according to that article, the two drivers were driving straight from Indianapolis to Houston. I've driven straight between St. Louis and Houston, and it's no stroll in the park, even if you do have two drivers. Of course, it's hard to find a Motel 6 that'll take penguins.

Posted by: Angie Schultz 2006-08-09 12:38

#6 "Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Though the streams are swollen
Keep them doggies rolling
Rawhide" . . .

Since I've had to suffer with this song in my head since I first read this post at 2am, I'd thought I share.

You're welcome.

Posted by: GORT 2006-08-09 11:45

#5 "They must've escaped from the zoo."

"Don't be silly. If they'd escaped from the zoo they'd have 'Property of the Zoo' stamped on 'em."

Posted by: Mike 2006-08-09 11:15

#4 Is Fred censoring mods funnier than him

Shame on you for even suggesting that. No one is funnier than Dear Leader Fred. It's just not allowed.

Posted by: Steve 2006-08-09 08:28

#3 I clicked on this story on the sidebar and got completely different comments and I had this weird where has Steve's funny comment gone moment. Is Fred censoring mods funnier than him. As I said, weird.

Posted by: phil_b 2006-08-09 07:54

#2 Hee-hee, great graphic.

Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-08-09 03:02

#1 "Whaddawedo?"
"Stay in the ditch."
"Any ice out there?"
"No ice no where."
"Whaddawedo?"
"Stay in the ditch."
"Any ice on the road?"
"No ice on the road."
"Whaddawedo?"
"Stay in the ditch."
What if there are killer whales in the ditch?"
[pause]
"Shaddup."

Posted by: Steve White 2006-08-09 00:06

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