Look for the bear necessities

Published 9:23 pm Sunday, March 25, 2012

Bear necessities

A1 or Heinz 57? A study by a researcher with the University of Calgary found that in encounters with grizzly bears, people were more likely to escape injury if they used bear spray rather than a firearm. In the incidents reviewed, 98 percent who used spray escaped unharmed, while 56 percent who defended themselves with firearms were injured.

Only one method proved 100 percent effective in avoiding injury, the study found: dousing your hunting or hiking partner with steak sauce and running really fast.

Fire when ready, Gridley: Tacoma Legionnaires and a library are battling for possession of a World War II-era cannon that until earlier this year sat in front of the library. The Legionnaires say it belongs to them even though they left it behind when they moved 20 years ago.

The Legionnaires are claiming the artifact citing the legal argument that the cannon belongs to whoever also has the balls.

Ooh, ooh, that smell: An Idaho man was fined $1,440 and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to setting off a stink bomb in the Asotin County Courthouse.

As part of his community service, the man will be required to spend time with several pre-teen boys who will repeatedly ask him to “pull my finger.”

—Jon Bauer, Herald staff