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THE SACRAMENTO BEE
The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, "The Bee" has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento and one of the biggest in California.
Society
Bertrand Hauger

Why Did The Turkey Go To The Dentist's? It Was Mating Season

Some may find this story a little hard to gobble.

There's an old joke that goes: "Why did the turkey go to the dentist's? To get its cavity filled…"

Well, one particular Californian wild turkey went for real last Wednesday with no plans for getting stuffed, nor for having a laugh. The remarkably large and — as the Sacramento Bee journalist ventures — "very confused" bird crashed through the window of the waiting room at an oral surgeon's office in Fair Oaks, just east of Sacramento, and proceeded to destroy much of the premises.

Fortunately there were no patients inside at the time, and the only member of staff on site promptly reported fowl play to the local animal control officers, who were able to subdue the bird, which has since been released back into the wild.

As for why the turkey actually did crash the dentist's, a wildlife rescue worker told the Sacramento Bee that the "turkey may have seen its own reflection in the window and attacked it, confusing it for a romantic rival amid the mating season for the birds." Yet another reason to chicken out and postpone your dentist's visit a little longer.

Geopolitics

The Latest: Israel Lifts Lockdown, Niqab Ban, Harry & Meghan's Revelations

Welcome to Monday, where vaccination success in Israel and England allow easing of lockdown restrictions, the Pope concludes his historic trip in Iraq and Meghan and Harry have their say. Die Welt also looks at how the German police are taking advantage of a "WhatsApp for gangsters' to arrest gang criminals.

• COVID-19 latest: Israel lifts lockdown, allowing cafes, restaurants and events halls to reopen thanks to a successful vaccination campaign, which has fully immunized nearly 40% of its population in just over two months. Children return to classrooms in England, after two months of home-schooling, as the UK is also performing well in vaccinating its population. Meanwhile, Japan's inoculation campaign is hampered by a lack of supply and a shortage of specialty syringes.

• Equatorial Guinea explosions: A series of accidental explosions at a military barracks in Equatorial Guinea killed at least 20 and wounded more than 600 others.

• Harry, Meghan & Oprah: Racism, suicidal thoughts and family rifts are among the headline takeaways from the much anticipated Oprah Winfrey interview of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aka, Harry and Megan.

• Pope concludes historic Iraq trip: Pope Francis returned to Rome after a historic three-day trip to Iraq focused on interfaith dialogue, the nation's biblical roots and healing after years of war. Some criticized the trip for the risks it posed in spreading COVID-19 among the faithful.

• Niqab ban in Switzerland: Swiss voters narrowly approved a referendum banning face coverings in public, including the burqa and niqab.

• Dassault death: French politician and military aviation billionaire Olivier Dassault was killed yesterday in a helicopter crash.

• Game, set and Djokovic: Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic has broken Roger Federer's record for most weeks spent at the top of world tennis, with a grand total of 311 weeks.

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