Earlier this morning, a reader sent us this unusual news story:
Pet Store Expects Fish Shipment, but Gets Corpse
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 11, 2009
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Employees of a Pennsylvania pet store expecting a shipment of tropical fish and salt water got a man's dead body instead. Mark Arabia owns the Pets Plus store in northeast Philadelphia, where the mix-up was discovered Tuesday. He says he learned the body was that of a 65-year-old San Diego-area man who died of early onset Alzheimer's disease.
The body was supposed to go to a research laboratory in Allentown, a 70-mile drive away.
US Airways Inc. released a statement saying the air cargo problem was caused by a ''verbal miscommunication between a delivery driver and the cargo representative.'' The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline said it's deeply sorry.
The fish were shipped in three boxes. The corpse was shipped in a wooden coffin wrapped in cardboard.
Arabia said the fish were left at the airport and probably died.
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To view a copy of the New York Times report, please use this link: You Flush This Out
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Our thanks to Steve Shapiro for flagging this story to us.