While I was out Partying in the best Holiday Tradition, ugly sweater and all, the world kept turning and strange news kept happening. Here’s a few of this week’s headlines. 🙂

Peabody ducks retire to Jack Daniel’s distillery

According to a news release from Jack Daniel’s, Peabody ducks generally retire to the farm where they were raised. But in a Wednesday ceremony, one group walked down red and black carpets following Peabody Duckmaster Anthony Petrina and Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett to a new home in a pond just below the distillery’s cave spring. There, the ducks will eat the same grain and drink the same iron-free water used to make Jack Daniel’s whiskey.

Legend has it that the 80-year-old tradition of letting ducks swim in the Peabody fountain is linked to Jack Daniel’s, in a roundabout way. Supposedly, the Peabody general manager left his live duck decoys in the hotel fountain after enjoying a little of the whiskey on a hunting trip.

Jack Daniel’s is owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Brown-Forman Corp.

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Dog that survived gassing headed to Rose Parade

Samantha Henry, AP

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Things are coming up roses for a scrappy New Jersey beagle who survived a dog pound gas chamber.

Daniel will be among eight shelter dogs riding on a float in the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, Calif.

The 2-year-old beagle mix was 6 months old on Oct. 3, 2011, when he was scheduled to be put down at the animal control facility in Florence, Ala. He was placed with 17 other dogs in a stainless-steel box roughly the size of a pickup truck bed that was filled with carbon monoxide.

Workers at the facility were surprised when he emerged, scared but unscathed, from the chamber. They named him Daniel after the biblical figure who survived the lion’s den.

He was adopted by Joe Dwyer of Nutley, N.J., and has been living happily with Dwyer’s family and other rescue dogs at their home about 10 miles west of New York City.

Dwyer, a motivational speaker, said Daniel’s story of surviving and thriving has prompted laws in 31 states that protect shelter animals against inhumane forms of euthanasia.

Daniel will perform his “high five to keep pets alive” trick and perform with other animal shelter survivors on a parade float sponsored by the Lucy Pet Foundation, which runs mobile spay, neuter and adoption clinics across the country. Daniel has been chosen as the “spokesdog” for the California-based organization, Dwyer added.

“He’s definitely one of the most joyous, happy dogs I’ve ever met in my life,” Dwyer said. “I think his positive attitude is why he’s survived.”

The Rose Parade takes place on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, Calif.

And Last but not least, this Florida man must have had a real bad thirst!

“Florida man cited for trying to trade four-foot alligator for 12-pack of beer”

I don’t think that needs any explanation.  🙂

Have an outstanding day everyone!