Freak Events from Australian Newspapers

[Event 1]

Lightning kills 106 cows
By Samantha Williams
03-11-2005
From: The Daily Telegraph

LIGHTNING storms have robbed several farmers of their livestock in a series of strikes that have rocked regional NSW.

An unusual high pressure system over the Tasman Sea, pushing a strong northeasterly wind and blowing moisture over the state, has been blamed for the strikes.
Farmer Warwick Marks lost half of his annual income when lightning hit 71 registered dairy cows on his property at Dorrigo, west of Coffs Harbour, on the Mid-North Coast on Monday.
It killed 68 instantly and left three others paralysed for several hours. They later made a full recovery.

Five years ago, 11 dairy cows were killed by lightning - just 500m from the latest strike.

"We've always had small losses but nothing of this magnitude," Mr Marks said. "We've gone through droughts and floods over the years but this is the worst thing we've ever experienced.

Mr Marks failed to forecast the storm because thick fog descended just before it struck.

"You couldn't see 50m in front of you and when the rain eased, we couldn't believe what we saw," he said.

The $200,000 per year loss will take 10 years to recover from.

"We've lost half of our stock, half of our income ... it's something we'll never recover from," Mr Marks said.

"Insurance is out of the question because it's too dear and worth more than the cattle."

While thunderstorms were common at this time of year, humidity was not, Bureau of Meteorology weather services manager Rob Webb said.

"The unusual humidity is triggering the large number of storms we have been facing," Mr Webb said.

Kattron Lightning Detection Network, a group which follows storms, detected more than 75,000 strikes hitting southeast Australia between October 24 and November 1. Of those, 500 were in the Dorrigo region.

A large part of inland NSW can expect thunderstorms tomorrow.

[Event 2]

Tuesday November 15, 12:43 PM

Man dies in freak dinner plate accident.

A Victorian man bled to death after accidentally cutting his throat with a broken dinner plate, ambulance paramedics say.

The bizarre accident occurred about 6.10pm (AEDT) on Monday, when the 57-year-old Point Lonsdale man finished dinner and was taking the leftovers outside to give to his dog, the Geelong Advertiser reported.

The man fell while carrying food on a bowl or plate, said Rural Ambulance spokesperson Jessica Li.

"The bowl shattered and somehow cut him across the neck," Ms Li said.

"It's horrible. What are the chances the plate is going to break and you are going to fall on it that way?"

The man was unconscious when paramedics arrived, and they were unable to revive him, said Ms Li.

She said he bled to death.

"I know it was family members that called triple-zero and I'm sure they were trying to do what they could, but once we arrived there was nothing we could do," she said.

[Event 3]

Wednesday 12 April 2006

Is it a freak event when an artist makes a big hit by "quoting" a famous picture? Well, it'll do.

The Bar a 1952 painting by Australian artist John Brack has fetched $3.2 million at auction at Sotheby's in London, a record amount for a work by an Australian artist. It compares interestingly with this famous picture by 19th century French painter Eduard Manet.

[Event 4]

Wednesday 26 July 2006

Headline: Purr-fect the next

The following is less a freak event than an insane one. A report in my local paper about a new facility opened by the Australian R.S.P.C.A. (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). The new facility, costing $1.3 million dollars to build, is a feline facility, a moggy mansion, a pussy palace, a cat castle. It contains 28 luxury suites for cats whose deceased owners have endowed the Society in their wills. It includes air-conditioning, a courtyard containing a range of toys, and television on which the furballs can watch such DVDs as Finding Nemo and Mouse Trap. The humans who work there have named it Catnip Cottage.

Btw, the headline makes use of a catchphrase in tv advertising by the State of Queensland's Department of Tourism - "Beautiful one day, perfect the next!"