No, this is not an April Fool’s joke!. On Sunday, March 27, the Government Printing Office (GPO) announced that a 27-foot Bolivian python — an endangered species — escaped from the National Zoo and slithered into the underground vault holding the official copies of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Before it was incapacitated by numerous darts filled with strong sedatives, the snake managed to swallow Titles 33 and 46 of the CFR. It took veterinarians 12 hours to extract the important documents. In the interim, the US Coast Guard, Maritime Administration (MARAD), St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, Federal Maritime Commission, and US Army Corps of Engineers had to curtail operations for lack of authority. (March 31 — Bryant’s Maritime Blog)

April 9th, 2011 12:41 am Filed under: Cool Stuff, Industry News by Howard Skolnik