What Were They Thinking?
A public safety message intended to shock people was removed because it shocked people. The billboard, promoting bicycle safety in Bakersfield, Calif., depicted a bicycle and a victim chalk outline, with the words, “See and be seen. Don’t be roadkill.” Rhonda Hiller complained of the wording and its location, near where her son died in a traffic crash. “My son’s not roadkill,” she declared. Kern Council of Governments official Susanne Campbell said the “roadkill” message would be changed on billboards and bus ads. (Bakersfield’s KBAK-TV)
Tread End
Florida environmental officials announced a two-year, $1.6 million project to remove an estimated 90,000 used tires from the ocean off Fort Lauderdale. The tires, among 700,000 dropped in 1972, were intended to attract fish and provide a foundation for corals. Instead, few corals grew, and the tire bundles broke apart and drifted into natural reefs, killing coral and creating a lifeless vista that stretches 35 miles. “There are just tires for as far as you can see,” Broward County biologist Pat Quinn said. “They’re piled on top of each other up to five feet deep.” (Associated Press)
Ablution Solution
Spas in Japan now offer ramen noodle baths. The baths are filled with ramen pork broth and synthetic noodles. Soaking in the broth is said to be good for the skin and to boost metabolism. “Lately people are very concerned about having beautiful skin, and they know the effect of collagen, which is contained in our pork-based broth,” said Ichiro Furuya, owner of the Yunessan Spa House in Hakone. (Time)
Milking the System
The federal Medicare Fraud Strike Force concluded a nationwide investigation into home health care fraud by charging 243 people, including 46 doctors and other medical professionals. Agents said various schemes netted a combined $712 million in billings for nonexistent treatments. One of the accused doctors, Noble U. Ezukanma, 56, submitted invoices claiming to have worked 205 hours in one day in 2012. Agents seized $344,900 from his Fort Worth, Texas, home. (Dallas Morning News)
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