• Nebraska Sea Monster: A museum in Hastings, Nebraska, has unveiled a 27-foot-long sea monster — “Tylo the Terrible” — a reproduction of a fish that swam when the prairie was a prehistoric sea. The beast is impressive, but there’s an even bigger, real dead fish hanging from the rafters of the Vanderbilt Museum in New York. And a monster that looks an awful lot like Tylo is reportedly still alive in the waters off of Oregon.
• Chilly Curator: The curator of the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, plans to spend two weeks in February living outdoors as a Civil War soldier. It’s meant to lure sponsors, and the money will be used, in part, for the “acquisition of reproduction equipment” — hopefully warm Civil War blankets or an overcoat. If not, the curator could end up as another Grandpa Bredo — which might not be bad for attracting visitors.
• Flying Squirrels Evict Indian: A statue of an immense, peeking Indian will soon be without a home in Richmond, Virginia. Named “Connecticut,” it was the mascot of the Richmond Braves baseball team — but they’ve left town, and their replacement is the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Anyone who wants the Indian should submit a proposal to the city by January 29. Anyone who wants to build an immense flying squirrel should probably let us know as well.
• Fake Shuttle In Real Danger: Chuck Ryan has spent almost 15 years building a full-size, 10-ton replica of the Space Shuttle. He’d hoped that NASA would use it as a trainer for firefighters, but the agency said no. Now Chuck wants to find a home for his creation at a museum or a school — or else he’ll have to bust it up for scrap. Maybe an attraction that had no chance of acquiring a real Space Shuttle might be interested in Chuck’s?
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