Aug. 1, 2026

The Celebrity Seal Is Disrupting Traffic Again

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: In Tasmania, Neil the Seal, a five-year-old 2,200-pound southern elephant seal, returns for his annual molting visit, causing minor damage and prompting officials to urge people to keep a safe distance. In North Carolina, dozens of apples (and some oranges) drift ashore, likely from a cargo ship; volunteers collect them to protect wild horses from choking or digestive harm. In England, a National Archives volunteer finds a rare 1776 Exeter printing of the Declaration of Independence among Royal Navy papers, believed to be the only known copy outside the U.S. In Ottawa, a missing letter on French signage turns “public squares” into “pubic squares,” sparking viral attention. Finally, police rescue a missing tortoise named Tom from a highway after three weeks.

00:10 Neil the Seal Returns
01:13 Apples Wash Ashore
02:00 Declaration Copy Found
02:58 Ottawa Sign Typo
03:33 Slowest Police Chase

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Callaroga Shock Media. Hey there, I'm Johnny Mack with five

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good news stories. In Tasmania, a celebrity elephant seal has

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returned for his annual visit. That's right, it's Neil the Seal.

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He's a five year old Southern elephant seal and he

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has returned for his annual trip assured, delighting fans while

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creating plenty of headaches for local officials. Neil the Seal

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weighs around twenty two hundred pounds and he's become a

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local celebrity because of his yearly appearances and his neck

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for showing up in unexpected places. This year, he stopped traffic,

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knocked over some poles, damaged defense, and even bothered some

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park cars. Experts say, Neil the Seal isn't being destructive

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on purpose. He's just molting, and that's a natural process

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in which elephant seals shed their old skin and fur,

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causing them to rub against anything sturdy enough to provide

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a good scratch. I feel you, Neil the Seal. Police

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and wildlife officials recently had asked Neil the Seal, hey,

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can you back away from this busy intersection and go

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back to the beach. For a while. Authorities asked the

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public to admire Kneel the Seal from a safe distance,

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reminding people that despite its popularity, Kneel the Seal weighs

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twenty two hundred pounds and needs personal space. Let's keep

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it on the beach. In North Carolina, apples washed ashore. Yeah,

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there you are on the beach, and here come the waves,

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and the waves dozens of apples. Volunteers with the Corolla

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Wild Horse Fund were called in after reports that apples

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were scattered across the beach. At first, they suspected someone

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had dump some apples on the beach, but as they investigated,

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it became clear their fruit was drifting in with the tide.

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They suspect the apples fell from a cargo ship at sea.

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Volunteers collected bags of apples and later found even more

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apples and some oranges. Now you might think, hey, free

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snack for the area's famous wild horses, but wildlife experts

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quickly removed the apples. They said the apples are not

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part of the horse's natural diet and can cause choking.

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We're serious digestive problems. No word on what they did

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with the oranges. A piece of American history has been

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found in an unexpected place. A volunteer working at the

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National Archives in England discovered a rare seventeen seventy six

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printing of the Declaration of Independence while they were cataloging

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centuries old naval correspondence. The document is one of only

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eleven known surviving copies of what historians call the Exeter Declaration,

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and is believed to be the only known example located

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outside the US. Michael, the volunteer, found the document he

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was working with some papers belonging to Captain Thomas Fritzeber

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of the Royal Navy. Historical records show the declaration had

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been taken from an American privateership called the Dalton after

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the Dalton was captured by British warship in December of

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seventeen seventy six. The declaration had originally been printed in Exeter,

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New Hampshire, just days after the Continental Congress adopted the document.

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Rather than being submitted with the rest of the captured

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ship's papers, historians believed the declaration was quietly forwarded to

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Royal Naval officials in London were remained unnoticed for two

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hundred and fifty years. In Canada, a simple spell mistake

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turned a city promotion into an Internet sensation. You see,

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officials in Ottawa installed some bilingual signs. The signs which

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to promote a summer initiative to create temporary public gathering

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spaces in the downtown area. The English version fine. The

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French version omitted a single letter, which changed the freeze

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public squares into something that translated as pubic squares. Social

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media users quickly noticed the mistake, podcasters held in a laugh,

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and photos of the signs spread online. Oops. The police

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were involved in what they have called the world's slowest

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police chief. Charlie was out doing her thing. She spotted

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an unusual site at tortoise slowly making its way across

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a busy highway. Fearing that the animal would be struck

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by a passing vehicle, Charlie stopped traffic, ran out of

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the road, picked up the wandering reptile, and placed it

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safely in the passenger foot well of her patrol car.

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After speaking with local residents, Charlie found out that the tortoise,

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named Tom, had been missing for three weeks. Tom's owner

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had spent hours searching the area and posting missing pet notices,

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hoping someone would find him. The police called the rescue

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a contender for the world's lowest police footchase. Tom is

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back home. Those your five good news stories for today,

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have a great day.