Mouse at 35,000 Feet
Mice are cute little creatures when they appear in a Disney movie, but not quite so endearing if they’re pooping in your pantry and chowing down on your Cheerios. In a home, a mouse infestation is annoying and unpleasant, but in a business, it’s downright devastating. A mouse that crawled out of a passenger’s meal has forced an SAS airline flight to make an unscheduled landing, the company said on Friday. The incident occurred during Wednesday’s Oslo, Norway to Malaga Spain flight, forcing the plane to land in Copenhagen. Airlines usually strictly prohibit rodents on board because the animals can chew through electrical wiring, key to the operation of a plane. “Believe it or not. A lady next to me … opened her food and a mouse jumped out,” wrote one passenger, Jarle Borrestad, on his Social page. A spokesman for SAS, Oystein Schmidt, told AFP that “in line with our procedures, there was a change of aircraft” and the passengers were flown to Malaga on another plane.
The rodent apparently was a stowaway, assuming that there’s no record of that mouse having bought a ticket for that specific flight. You may wonder why the airline took the rather drastic measure of grounding the flight as soon as possible. Well, like many other airlines, SAS does have a policy of diverting flights when an unexpected rodent is found. That’s because such rodents can pose significant safety risks to the flight. So if you do see a mouse on your flight, don’t just say, “Aww, how cute.” Instead, tell the flight crew as soon as possible. The biggest airplane-specific risk is that rodents can chew through wiring and other airplane parts. Also, the trouble with seeing one mouse is that you don’t know how many other mice may be in the vicinity. Therefore, the discovery of one mouse means that the crew will need to check the entire plane for any other furry accomplices.
Mice are omnivorous, which means they eat both plants and meat, and the common house mice will eat just about anything it can find. In fact, if food is scarce, mice will even cannibalize each other. In the wild, seeds, grains, acorns, various plants, grubs, grasshoppers and anything else they can catch that is edible, is eaten. Mice are also a source of some serious diseases through parasites they carry. Two of the best known diseases dangerous to humans are Hantavirus and Bubonic Plague. Both of these diseases are becoming diagnosed more frequently in the US West and spreading. Mice like to stay out of sight and don’t usually come out during the day. Be especially vigilant if there are gaps around pipework entering the kitchen, such as under the sink. “This mouse on an airplane is something that happens extremely rarely,” SAS said of the incident. “SAS has established procedures for such situations, which also include a review with our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again.”
Eek! A mouse!
My pet mouse Elvis died last night.
He got caught in a trap.
Where did the computer mouse go to get a drink?
The spacebar.
“I don’t think it’s a mouse because it doesn’t have a tail. I think it’s a hamster.”
Sigh… Fine… right-click the hamster.
There’s a mouse named “In” and a mouse named “Out.” How does “Out” know that “In” is around? ….Instincts.
September 23rd Birthdays
1961 – Elizabeth Peña, 1967 – Lisa Ray McCoy, 1984 – Anneliese Van Pol, 1968 – Lisa Ray McCoy
1930 – Ray Charles, 1943 – Julio Iglesias, 1920 – Mickey Rooney, 1959 – Jason Alexander