Odds and Ends – Friday February 15, 2019 – February 21, 2019

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Swiss museum laments Facebook ban of images of naked statues

Geneva (AP) – A Geneva art museum says Facebook has banned using images of a nearly-naked Venus statue and a nude, kneeling man that it had hoped to post on the social media platform to promote an upcoming exhibit. The Museum of Art and History used Twitter to say it had wanted to promote the 3-1/2 month run of “Caesar and the Rhone” that opens Friday using the two images, but Facebook “prevented us from it, because of their nudity.” The museum put the images on Twitter on Friday with the French word for “censored” over their private parts, adding: “Maybe it’s time that this platform changes its policy for museums and cultural institutions?” Facebook didn’t immediately respond to an email from the Associated Press seeking comment.

‘It’s too cold!’ Mr. Hot Dog says no school in South Dakota

(Courtesy of Parker School District Superintendent Donavan DeBoer via AP)
(Courtesy of Parker School District Superintendent Donavan DeBoer via AP)

Parker, S.D. (AP) – A South Dakota school district is using a talking hot dog to announce closures due to the extreme cold. In a video posted to the Parker School District’s Facebook page, Mr. Hot Dog says: “I’m a hot dog! I need some heat! I’m not a cold dog! … You cannot have school! It’s too cold outside.” Mr. Hot Dog – complete with eyes, teeth, a bun and mustard – says he spoke with Superintendent Donavan DeBoer and that school will be closed Wednesday. Mr. Hot Dog suggested students can instead watch Netflix or bake a cake, but “No Fortnite!” DeBoer told the Argus Leader that he created the video using Snapchat.

Taking tune from “The Office,” man helps save woman’s life

Tucson, Ariz. (AP) – A classic scene from a decade-old episode of “The Office” helped an Arizona mechanic save an unconscious woman’s life. The Arizona Daily Star reports that 21-year-old Cross Scott found a woman locked in her car this month and broke in, finding she wasn’t breathing. He doesn’t have any emergency training but thought of the show where Steve Carell’s character does CPR to the tune of the Bee Gees’ song “Stayin’ Alive.” The song has the correct tempo for chest compressions. Within a minute, the woman was breathing, and she was taken to a hospital and later released. Scott, who shares the last name of Carell’s character Michael Scott, had help from two women who also stopped when they saw the car and called 911.

Who’s your daddy? Surprise in Swiss orangutan paternity test

(Zoo Basel via AP)
(Zoo Basel via AP)

Berlin (AP) – A paternity test on a baby orangutan has come back with a surprising result. Basel Zoo in northwestern Switzerland said Thursday the test showed 5-month-old Padma wasn’t fathered by the male in her enclosure. Keepers routinely take DNA samples from newborn orangutans because the endangered great apes are part of a breeding program. Researchers at Basel University’s forensic laboratory compared Padma’s DNA to that of Budi, a 14-year-old male living in the same enclosure as the baby’s mother, Maja. They found it didn’t match Budi’s DNA. Instead, it matched 18-year-old orangutan Vendel, who lives in the next enclosure. It appears that for Maja and Vendel, the dominant male at Basel Zoo, the dividing fence was no obstacle to some monkey business.

Governors make unusual Super Bowl
bet on hometown teams

Boston (AP) – The governors of Massachusetts and California placed a friendly wager on the outcome of Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. Republican Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom say they and their staffs will volunteer time at a local charity if their home team loses. Baker says he’s looking forward to a California charity “reaping the benefits of yet another championship for New England.” Newsom responded that he’s confident the Rams will have Massachusetts residents “crying in their chowder.” Update: The Patriots won Super Bowl LIII.