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2004-08-18 -Short Attention Span Theater-

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Posted by Charles 2004-08-18 05:46|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 TGA, I thought that hornets/wasps were a protected species in Germany. So does this driver get fined for swatting a wasp? ;)

Posted by GK 2004-08-18 6:54:15 AM|| 2004-08-18 6:54:15 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 A German truck driver lost control of his vehicle while trying to swat a wasp and spilled his 15-ton load of jam jars on the motorway, police said on Tuesday.

What a maroon - he got his just deserts. First rule of human-wasp relations: keep your cool; don't swat. Especially when trying to drive at the same time. Wasps and bees hardly ever sting unless provoked. Even if they do - what's one little wasp sting? Clueless girly wimp.

Posted by Bulldog 2004-08-18 9:29:16 AM|| 2004-08-18 9:29:16 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Even if they do - what's one little wasp sting?

Wasps don't have barbs on their stingers, so they can sting repeatedly, unlike honeybees.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-08-18 10:31:49 AM|| 2004-08-18 10:31:49 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 The "wasp" was probably a yellow jacket -- its the same word in colloquial German. They are of the "sting first -- lots!, ask questions later" mindset, and their sting burns like hot coals. It probably followed the driver from the last rest stop, attracted by the sausage on his breath.

Still stupid to panic, though. German drivers are usually much smarter than that.

Posted by trailing wife 2004-08-18 10:41:56 AM|| 2004-08-18 10:41:56 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Wasps don't have barbs on their stingers, so they can sting repeatedly, unlike honeybees.

True, but so what? The typical wasp sting is less painful than honeybees'. Your best chance of not getting stung is to keep your cool and not annoy the insect. Right now I've got hordes of wasps outside my window attracted to Virginia creeper. I'm leaving the window wide open most of the time and wasps are frequently in and out. Do I panic? No! Have I been stung? No! Have I been stung before? Yes! When a kid, so I know what to expect.

trailing wife - that's a lot of assumptions about the critter without any evidence, AFAIK. Even if it was a, rarer, hornet, and say, even if the driver was allergic to stings, the sensible course of action would have been to stop the vehicle and get out. He remains very much a maroon...

Posted by Bulldog 2004-08-18 10:54:10 AM|| 2004-08-18 10:54:10 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 hmmm - and if he's allergic? Slow strangulation as the trachea closes....

Posted by Frank G 2004-08-18 10:58:31 AM|| 2004-08-18 10:58:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 He chose truck wreck. I'd go with the saner option. It's also more socially considerate when you're behind the wheel of an HGV.

Posted by Bulldog 2004-08-18 11:06:13 AM|| 2004-08-18 11:06:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Hmmm, I initially thought this might be an account of the annual summer "Escape to the Cape" traffic here in New England.

/obvious wasp joke

Posted by Carl in N.H 2004-08-18 12:04:21 PM|| 2004-08-18 12:04:21 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 True, but so what?

What's the matter, isn't one sting good enough for you?

The typical wasp sting is less painful than honeybees'.

Not really. They're about the same.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-08-18 12:14:58 PM|| 2004-08-18 12:14:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 What's the matter, isn't one sting good enough for you?

Risking the relatively minor and transient pain of a few wasp stings isn't good enough reason to crash a lorry, no. But hey, that's just my opinion!

Posted by Bulldog 2004-08-18 1:02:36 PM|| 2004-08-18 1:02:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 You fools! Can't you see the obvious?:

...15-ton load of jam jars...

This was a specially-selected suicide attack wasp, sent to cause this very accident so that his brother wasps might gorge on the sweet, sweet jam.

First the beer-swilling bear, and now wasps reading truck manifests. Nature is becoming smarter. (Hmmm...there was a science fiction story like this. Something to do with an increase in c and a decrease in the fine structure constant.)

Posted by Angie Schultz 2004-08-18 2:08:09 PM|| [http://darkblogules.blogspot.com] 2004-08-18 2:08:09 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Dammit, Angie! It's so obvious now!

Posted by Bulldog 2004-08-18 2:14:57 PM|| 2004-08-18 2:14:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Risking the relatively minor and transient pain of a few wasp stings isn't good enough reason to crash a lorry, no.

You know, I don't see how that guy could do such a thing. A few years back, there was a yellowjacket in my truck and I just rolled down the back window, flailed my hand at the insect once or twice, and out it went. Maybe this guy just couldn't multitask...

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-08-18 2:22:30 PM|| 2004-08-18 2:22:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 My apologies, Bulldog. Yellow Jacket is American for those hornets that buzz around the trash cans at picnic areas. They are fond of meat, beer, and stinging. And they are the very opposite of rare in my experience, at least on the playgrounds of Frankfurt am Main.

And I did say the driver was stupid.

Posted by trailing wife 2004-08-18 5:01:53 PM|| 2004-08-18 5:01:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Next Up:
Papist Roaches Attack!

Posted by Shipman 2004-08-18 5:51:22 PM|| 2004-08-18 5:51:22 PM|| Front Page Top

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