The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
NEWS You Can't Use
Student's project sparks subway scare
A computer engineering student at the New York City College of Technology has apologized for causing a scare on a subway train when his science project short circuited and started smoking in his backpack.
Gregory Kats, 29, said the device was merely a model of an elevator's inner workings. But riders of the B train near Seventh Avenue last week were given quite the scare when smoke began to emit from Kats' backpack.
Kats attempted to calm passengers by telling them it was a school project–not a bomb–but riders flew to the exits anyway. The box he was holding had a small battery, wires, and a motor.
"They were panicking, and I realized their fear," an apologetic Kats said.
Kats also tried to dissasemble the contraption on the platform while reassuring passengers, "Don't worry. This is my science project."
Kats was later questioned by police, then released.
"I'm very sorry for what happened," Kats said. "I hate to scare people. Next time, I'll be much more careful and keep my electronic projects at home."
Texas rancher arrested for snake vodka sales
A rattlesnake rancher in Santo, Texas, who calls himself "Bayou Bob" discovered a new way to make some cash by putting a rattler inside a bottle of vodka, then marketing it as an "ancient Asian elixir."
But Bayou Bob Popplewell's ingenious idea didn't involve a liquor license.
Popplewell, who has raised rattlesnakes and turtles at Bayou Bob's Brazos River Rattlesnake Ranch for over two decades, surrendered to authorities last week, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
But Popplewell spent only about 10 minutes in jail after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission obtained arrest warrants on misdemeanor charges of selling alcohol without a license and possessing alcohol with the intent to sell. If convicted of these charges, Popplewell will spend up to a year in jail and pay a $1000 fine.
Popplewell plans to fight the charges, saying that the beverage is a healing tonic. He said that he has customers of Asian descent who believe that the beverage has medicinal properties.
"It's almost a spiritual thing," said Popplewell.
Even if Popplewell intended his drink to be a healing tonic, he still needed a liquor license, said authorities. But they still don't believe that he had any intention of using the beverage to heal.
"It's sold for beverage purposes, and he knows what he's doing," commission Sgt. Charlie Cloud said.
Investigators confiscated 429 bottles of snake vodka and one bottle of snake tequila. At $23 a bottle, the total is nearly $10,000 of snake booze.
Popplewell uses the cheapest vodka he can find, then preserves the snake in the liquor. The results is a super sweet mixed drink that Popplewell compares to cough syrup.
"I've honestly never seen a person drink it," he said.
An Asian studies lecturer at the University of Texas said there might be some truth to Popplewell's claim that the vodka is a tonic.
In Taipei, Taiwan, there is a street nicknamed "Snake Alley" where street vendors put the gall bladder of a freshly killed snake into a glass of strong liquor. The drink is sold to the highest bidder and is said to improve eyesight and sexual performance, said lecturer Camilla Hsieh.
"It's like the ancient version of Viagra," Hsieh said.
