Beer drinkers scrapping kegs for cash, brewers say
US beer brewers have lost a significant amount of their kegs due to the high price of stainless steel scrap, it seems.
Brewers say customers are choosing to sell their empty kegs for scrap rather than returning them to the brewery for the keg deposit.
While returning the keg to the liquor store or brewer can get you back your $12 to $18 deposit, you can sell it at the scrap yard for up to $30. This hurts the brewery, since a new keg costs around $150.
To crack down on these thefts, last week, a new law went into action in Colorado that requires scrap metal dealers to keep records of all transactions involving commodity metals, including stainless steel kegs. Still, country-wide, beer makers are expected to lose millions of dollars this year from stolen kegs.
Interesting fact: Beer makers and distributors use stainless steel in their kegs because it's one of the few metals that can take the corrosive chemicals used to clean the barrels after their emptied
WWII shells found in scrap metal
In Steubenville, Ohio this past Monday, what appeared to be two live World War Two-era military shells were found in a shipment of scrap metal at a Wheeling-Pittsburgh plant.
After shells were discovered in a shipment of scrap metal heading off to be melted, Steubenville's fire department as well as a bomb squad from Youngstown, Ohio were called into remove the one and half foot-long shells.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson from the Youngstown bomb squad said that it appears that the military shells were not active after all.
Sgt Joe DeMatteo of the Steubenville fire department told press that his squad took one of the shells since it still had fins on it, and while he thought it was probably only a dummy shell, it was buried and diffused just in case.
Steel net to protect swimmers from piranhas
A resort town in Brazil has decided to utilize a steel-and-plastic net to stop piranhas from biting unlucky vacationers.
Authorities in Palmas, Brazil say that 180 piranha bites have been reported so far this year by swimmers at La Prata beach. This number is three times greater than the number of bites for all of 2006!
Town development chief Milton Neres said that the piranha population is exploding, as they use the man-made lake at La Prata beach as a breeding ground. Problem is, the lake is also a major tourist draw.
The town expects to receive 280,000 tourists this summer but does not plan to remove the fearsome fish.
"It's about combining protection for our swimmers while caring for the species," Mr. Neres said.
The 250-meter long fence is set to be installed by this weekend.
"Ring of Steel" to protect NYC
New York City police want to protect Manhattan from terrorist attacks with a London-style "ring of steel" in a new security a program that will be implemented this summer.
The first phase of the project will consist of 116 cameras and pivoting gateways, which together have proven to be effective ways of isolating suspicious vehicles that may contain car bombs.
The NYPD was impressed by the success of the program in London, as it recently helped to successfully track the July 7 bombers. The program will be the first of its kind in the US.
NYPD commissioner Raymond Kelly told press that the target area for the initial phase is Lower Manhattan, which includes vital financial areas like Wall Street. The program calls for the placement of some 3,000 surveillance cameras below Canal Street by the end of the year. The cameras will be financed in part by shop owners in the area.
The NYPD is reportedly still considering whether or not to use face-recognition technology.