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 DISPATCHES | Issue: "Geo-gizmos" April 25, 2009

Quick Takes

Oddball occurences | The Editors

Apex News

Bomb squad

After use for years in Africa, officials in the United Kingdom may have a new tool in the fight against lost landmines: rats. Handlers at the Porfell Wildlife Park in Cornwall recently imported a Gambian pouched rat named Kofi that, according to trainer Wendy Winstanley, could be useful to British army and police for bomb detection. Already used by locals in Mozambique, the rats have proved themselves as valuable mine detectors. With a nose more sensitive than most dogs and a weight that allows them to run through a minefield without detonating anything, a trained Gambian pouched rat can clear 1,000 square feet of a minefield in about 30 minutes.

Going to pot

Perhaps expecting to live decades longer, a Nigerian farmer claiming to be 114 years old was caught by police with over 14,000 pounds of marijuana divided into 254 sacks. According to police, the man, whose age could not be confirmed, told police he believed the sacks contained rice from his farm—not the narcotic plant. While large-scale busts have become somewhat commonplace in Nigeria, the seven tons of pot would have a street value of $14.3 million in the United States.

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 WORLD 10 YEARS AGO

World Magazine: Apr 24, 1999

Not-so-smart bombs
Apr. 24, 1999