Thieving woodchucks, and more

Thieving woodchucks

Police have figured out who stole about 75 U.S. flags from Civil War graves in a cemetery in Hudson, N.Y.: woodchucks. The desecration of the graves, presumably by teens, sparked outrage in Hudson, prompting police to put the cemetery under constant surveillance. “We patrolled the daylights out of that place,” said police Commissioner Gary Graziano. A motion-sensitive camera caught a woodchuck taking a flag, and when cops looked in nearby woodchuck dens, they found remnants of dozens of missing flags.

The Queen's new curtsy protocol

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Queen Elizabeth has ordered Kate Middleton to curtsy to all “blood princesses” in the royal family, says Life & Style magazine. The “Royal Household’s Order of Precedence,” just updated by the queen, requires Kate—a commoner when she married Prince William—to curtsy to several members of the royal family, including Camilla Parker Bowles and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. The order was “a total humiliation for Kate,” says a source. The queen, the source says, wants to remind Kate of her place, before she becomes another Princess Diana.

"Ball cutter" fish sited in Illinois

Visitors to Lake Lou Yaeger in Illinois are being warned that there have been sightings of the rare pacu fish, known for biting off men’s testicles. The pacu, which can weigh up to 55 pounds, is known as the “ball cutter” in Papua New Guinea, where two fishermen died from blood loss in 2011 after pacus ate their testicles. The fish—one of which was recently caught in the lake—have wide mouths and flat teeth, says wildlife expert Jeremy Wade. “It is almost like they have teeth specially made for crushing,” he says.