Honolulu Lite

CHARLES MEMMINGER

ALO-HA FRIDAY

Running of the
mongooses is no bull

The Hawaii Tourism and Convention Bureau better get cracking if it doesn't want to lose out to Scottsdale, Ariz. Scottsdale officials have announced they will stage a running of the bulls to give thrill-seeking tourists a unique vacation experience.

This comes months after I suggested a similar sure-fire tourist pleaser for Hawaii: The Running of the Mongooses in Waikiki. Did anyone listen? No. Come on people, imagine the fun of seeing tourists and locals fleeing down Kalakaua Ave. chased by a herd of teeth-gnashing mongooses! Am I the only one trying here?

Now for more critter news:

When Ben gets wired

LONDON (Reuters) >> Rats steered by a computer up to 500 yards away could soon help find buried earthquake victims or dispose of bombs.

The remote-controlled "roborats" can be made to run, climb, jump and turn through electrical probes implanted in their brains. Scientists are studying all possible uses of the roborats.

(Move over Battlebots, it's time for Battlerats! Remote-controled rat battles has FOX written all over it.)

A snake in hand worth ...

DHAKA (Reuters) >> A Bangladeshi snake charmer called in to find two serpents in a suburban home near the capital unearthed over 3,000 deadly cobras and hundreds of eggs.

The find triggered panic among neighbors who fled their homes. Highly venomous cobras often nest in houses, frequently ridding them of rats.

(Not to mention cats, dogs, hamsters, birds, kids, adults, Jehovah Witnesses, encyclopedia salesmen ... )

Now anti-arrest wear

TOKYO (Reuters) >> Foreign soccer fans worried about being singled out as hooligans by nervous Japanese police during the World Cup can advertise their innocence by wearing shirts that say "I'm NOT a hooligan."

(Other shirts for sale include "I'm not yakuza," "I'm not drunk as a skunk" and "I'm not carrying sushi in my underpants."

Honolulu Lite on Sunday:

Everyone's heard of the mutiny on the Bounty. But another mutiny, on the American ship Globe in the early 1800s took place right in our back yard. A newly published book on that mutiny includes a little known historical incident involving a United States schooner that sailed into Honolulu Harbor with Capt. John Percival training his 12 cannon on the city. What was his demand? Sporting women! All the saucy details will be dished out in Sunday's Honolulu Lite.

Quote me on this:

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is true." -- James Branch Cabell

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Charles Memminger, winner of National Society of Newspaper Columnists awards, appears Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. E-mail cmemminger@starbulletin.com

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