View from the North 40: It's the news you most likely can't use

In April, the Belgian coastal town of De Panne crowned the top seagull screecher in the closing ceremony of its European seagull immitation championship.

Reuters reported in an April 23 article that the contest attracted to the stage 50 participants, many dressed in seagull costumes. They were each judged by a professional jury which awarded up to 15 points for the contestant’s ability to mimic a seagull call and up to five points for mimicking their behavior.

The contest, won this year by a 21-year-old architecture student from the Netherlands, is meant to foster sympathy for the seagu...