>>>>> " " == Mark Sonnier <[log in to unmask]> writes: > Sorry for the oversight. I just thought *EVERYONE* knew who Binky > was... > For everyone's benefit, Binky and Nuka were a pair of polar bears > who lived at the the Alaska Zoo here in Anchorage for the past 10 > or 12 years. Binky gained his 15 minutes of fame after > goodnaturedly grabbing a tourist who ventured into his pen for a > close up photo. Shortly thereafter, a drunken local teen climbed > into Binky's pool for a midnite swim only to have Binky remove the > kid's jeans... > This summer, both Binky and Nuka succumbed to a still mysterious > liver parasite, indeed an ignoble demise for these proud animals. > Letters of condolence poured in from around the state and beyond, > and the bear's pens were opened up for a public memorial attended > by throngs of flower- wielding children and us big kids, too. > I keep hoping UAF will adopt Binky and Nuka as their official male > and female mascot names. Like many, the photo of Binky with that > Aussie gal's shoe in her mouth is indelibly etched in my mind. > As a Nanook among Seawolves, Binky allows me an outlet to show my > true colors without unduly irritating my coworkers :) > So, in short, long live Binky! In honor of Binky, I'm wearing my "Binky's Catch & Release Club" T-shirt today. It sports a likeness of Binky with a tennis shoe dangling from his mouth. But I do believe that it should be the Anchorage campus that adopts Binky as their mascot. -Alan Harder [log in to unmask] Go Blue! The above commentary, which does not *even* represent the opinion of the American Mathematical Society, is sold by weight, not by volume. Some settling of the contents may have occurred during shipping. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.