55. A Fishy Story!
If pigs could fly, the world would be an even weirder place. However, it appears that as only fish can fly, or at least fall from the sky... then the world must be simply just quirky!
Let me take you back to a crisp autumn evening of 1893. On Kensington High Street, a young gentleman is taking his usual stroll home from a hard day at work – his day so far the usual slog within his forced routine... until... upon reaching Kensington Church Street he suddenly receives a blow to the head. The world goes black and he wakes in hospital, vaguely recalling the attack and wondering if his mystery assailant was caught.
The man hadn't been robbed of any possessions, and no one had seen the attacker, except one witness who rushed to the man's aid, carrying him to a nearby house before the hospital visit. The witness had bizarre news for the victim. He hadn't been accosted by a sinister criminal, but in fact had been struck by... a fish! Upon arriving at the scene the witness spotted the silvery form, a roach in fact (a common freshwater fish), lying by the side of the crumpled heap of a man. The witness, upon helping the man to his feet, noticed several fish scales dotted around his shoulder where the fish had struck. The news of the weird encounter spread like wildfire and soon the press were eager to run the headline of the flying fish – the story made even more peculiar when it was discovered that the gentleman who had been dealt such a blow was in fact named Mr Chub, also being the name of another freshwater fish!
Ironic maybe, but a local professor of zoology stated in the newspaper that the fish had most probably been dropped by a bird, such as a seagull or heron. Whatever the case, the injured chap staggered to his feet and made his way home, praying deep down I'm sure, that his wife hadn't prepared him chips with a nice lump of fish. Battered of course.
Photo by dumbledad on flickr.
