Smart Trash Cans, Smarter Raccoons

First, Toronto residents were afraid raccoon-proofing trash cans would starve out the raccoons. True, only 24 raccoon-related complaints came from nearly half a million new, locking trash cans. But that means some raccoons are finding a way in, and it’s not long until the rest follow in their ever-recognizable single file line. Don’t miss this story featured in NPR’s Weekend Edition. [Toronto Star]

1. 😏 We still don’t know if lobsters can feel pain, but maybe they can get high? One Maine restaurant is serving their lobsters half-baked to try and minimize pain before they meet their fate. [New York Times]
2. 🍖 The U.S. charges a tariff on beef from other countries that comes out to about 12% on average. That compares to the 61% tariff charged by China, the seventeenth largest consumer of U.S. beef, and 38% by Japan, the second largest consumer. [Farm Bureau]
3. 👿 There’s a $53,000 reward for information on the person who has been mutilating and killing cats in Thurston County, WA. Thirteen cats have been killed since February. [NPR]
4. 🐮 When hay prices are good in Canada, it costs $350 a year to feed one cow. When they’re not, more cows have to be culled to free up the budget. [Manitoba Co-operator]
5. 🔬 Can this drone learn to fly like an eagle? It’s certainly trying. [Nature]