steveox
Well-Known Member
Millionaire's gift sparks Web curiosity
A Good Day to Be a Wombat
What in the heck is a wombat? That's the question that a lot of very jealous people are sure to ask after learning about a man who left a considerable fortune to the Wombat Awareness Organization.
Australian news outlets have gone wild about the story of an American man who left $8 million to the "non profit organisation specialising in large scale rescue and rehabilitation of the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat." The donation will come in $1-million-per-year increments, starting next year. His family has asked, perhaps not too surprisingly, for anonymity.
As Forbes.com writes, the man visited the organization several years ago and went on a tour of the surrounding areas, where he was shown wild wombats that had been injured, starved, or diseased. A rep for the group says the man was clearly moved by what he saw, and he never forgot the experience. Years later, a little-known organization is $8 million richer.
The organization's mission (which is about to get a lot easier) is, in their words, to promote "conservation and protection of fragmented (wombat) populations, developing new co-existence plans for landowners, lobbying for tougher regulations on culling and undertaking research into public opinion."
The news spurred tremendous Web interest in the animals. Online lookup on "wombats" nearly doubled in 24 hours, and related lookups on "wombat pictures" surged into breakout status.
So, what exactly is a wombat? According to the official site of the Wombat Awareness Organization, the animals, native to Australia, are "chubby, nocturnal, burrowing marsupials." Unfortunately for the wombats, they can be quite destructive to farmland, which is why they are often the target of fed-up land owners. There are regular reports of wombats being abused and killed, a top reason why saving them is a popular cause.
This isn't the first time animals or animal organizations have been included in a wealthy person's will. Hotel icon and "Queen of Mean" Leona Helmsley famously left $12 million to her dog Trouble in 2007. Amazing, but $12 million is dog food compared to what a German Shepherd named Gunther III inherited in 1992. His owner, German countess Karlotta Libenstein, left the pooch $60 million. When Gunther III died, the fortune went to -- you guessed it -- Gunther IV.
Of course, the generous gift to the Wombat Awareness Organization is quite different. It aims to help a species, not just one spoiled animal. All in all, not a bad day to be a wombat.
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/94024?fp=1
Now why cant we marry our pets? Why cant we Marry our cousins? If its ok for liberals to leagalize gay marriages why cant we marry our pets and cousins? Now does that sound stupid? It does sound stupid leaving our pets millions of dollars that could have been used to help a person.
A Good Day to Be a Wombat
What in the heck is a wombat? That's the question that a lot of very jealous people are sure to ask after learning about a man who left a considerable fortune to the Wombat Awareness Organization.
Australian news outlets have gone wild about the story of an American man who left $8 million to the "non profit organisation specialising in large scale rescue and rehabilitation of the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat." The donation will come in $1-million-per-year increments, starting next year. His family has asked, perhaps not too surprisingly, for anonymity.
As Forbes.com writes, the man visited the organization several years ago and went on a tour of the surrounding areas, where he was shown wild wombats that had been injured, starved, or diseased. A rep for the group says the man was clearly moved by what he saw, and he never forgot the experience. Years later, a little-known organization is $8 million richer.
The organization's mission (which is about to get a lot easier) is, in their words, to promote "conservation and protection of fragmented (wombat) populations, developing new co-existence plans for landowners, lobbying for tougher regulations on culling and undertaking research into public opinion."
The news spurred tremendous Web interest in the animals. Online lookup on "wombats" nearly doubled in 24 hours, and related lookups on "wombat pictures" surged into breakout status.
So, what exactly is a wombat? According to the official site of the Wombat Awareness Organization, the animals, native to Australia, are "chubby, nocturnal, burrowing marsupials." Unfortunately for the wombats, they can be quite destructive to farmland, which is why they are often the target of fed-up land owners. There are regular reports of wombats being abused and killed, a top reason why saving them is a popular cause.
This isn't the first time animals or animal organizations have been included in a wealthy person's will. Hotel icon and "Queen of Mean" Leona Helmsley famously left $12 million to her dog Trouble in 2007. Amazing, but $12 million is dog food compared to what a German Shepherd named Gunther III inherited in 1992. His owner, German countess Karlotta Libenstein, left the pooch $60 million. When Gunther III died, the fortune went to -- you guessed it -- Gunther IV.
Of course, the generous gift to the Wombat Awareness Organization is quite different. It aims to help a species, not just one spoiled animal. All in all, not a bad day to be a wombat.
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/94024?fp=1
Now why cant we marry our pets? Why cant we Marry our cousins? If its ok for liberals to leagalize gay marriages why cant we marry our pets and cousins? Now does that sound stupid? It does sound stupid leaving our pets millions of dollars that could have been used to help a person.
I don't know why anyone wouldn't consult with a lawyer about such matters.
