Wake up and smell the rabies

Part of the reason I'm posting at 1 a.m. on a Wednesday is because I had a latte about four hours ago and the caffeine is pulsating through my veins. Can't sleep, can't sleep, gotta write... But thank the Lord I didn't find what one Iowa woman recently found in her cup o' joe:

The woman went about her regular nightly routine, turning her automatic coffee maker on before bed and drinking her usual cup of coffee the next morning. Only when she went to clean the coffee filter out that night, she noticed there was a dead bat inside.

The bat had been flying around her house earlier, but she didn't think too much of it. Health officials said the bat was sent to a lab but that its brain was too cooked by the hot water to determine whether it had rabies. Can we say, 'Ew!'?

I don't know about you, but just looking at that bat picture right there freaks me out. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel after drinking bat brain juice.

The Iowa Department of Public Health said the woman has undergone rabies treatment anyway. Hey, if all else fails, maybe she'll have a part in a future Batman film, ehh? ehh?

Oh (8), babies!

It probably sounds fabricated, but two babies in neighboring states --both weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces-- were born at 8:08 a.m. on 8/8/08. No lie!

Hailey Jo Hauer, was born to Lindsay and Joe Hauer at Lake Region Hospital in Minnesota Friday (below, left). Over in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Xander Jace Rinike (below, right) was being born at the same exact time... and Xander is the eighth grandchild born to his mother's parents.

Both families and hospital staffs joked to local media about the extreme coincidence of the babies' birthdays, birth times and birth weights and said they considered playing the lottery and/or making eight their new lucky numbers.

Bowling turns a blind eye

The 78-year-old Dale Davis of Alta, Iowa, rolled a perfect bowling game Saturday night--impressive, right? But oh, I forgot...he's blind.

After over sixty years on the lanes, it was Mr. Davis' first 300 and the first-ever bowled at Century Lanes. He has a 180 average and bowls in two leagues. His 300 came in the last game of the league's rolloffs.

Read an in-depth look at Mr. Davis' perfect game here.

I read in USATODAY, though, that Mr. Davis is a World War II veteran who lost his vision to macular degeneration. But wait a tick...if he just turned 78, was he 15 when he fought in the war?? I'm confused. Someone please let me know if you know the deal.

Who called the caucus?

Iowa caucus results as of 1 a.m. Friday:

RESULTS: Obama 37.53; Edwards 29.88; Clinton 29.41 Huckabee 34; Romney 25; Thompson 14; McCain 13%; Paul 10%

So it appears Obama and Huckabee are the projected winers.

Iowa delivered fatal blows to the campaigns of Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, and both have bailed out of the race, according to CNN.

In a nutshell, the Iowa caucus is somewhat of a primary, except it doesn't involve ballots or secret voting; instead, people visit libraries, churches, farm houses and other locations throughout the state, and will walk to the corner or space by the wall designated for the candidate of their choice.

New Hampshire will hold the nation's first primary election on Tuesday.