NEWS OF TODAY

Strange Bikie Funeral

   Instead of the traditional presentation of the body in a casket, Mr. Colón's corpse, dressed in casual duds and sunglasses, was instead posed in a very lifelike position atop his Repsol-liveried Honda CBR600 F4. According to Puerto Rico's Primera Hora newspaper, the motorcycle was given to the victim by his uncle, and upon Mr. Colón's untimely demise, family members delivered the bike to the funeral home specifically for this unusual wake.

POPCORN LUNG DAMAGE

• A NEW York woman has filed a lawsuit after her 16-year popcorn habit left her with permanent lung damage, the New York Post reports.

• Agnes Mercado from Queens devoured two to three bags of Act II Lite microwave popcorn a day between 1991 and September 2007. The popcorn was flavored with diacetyl, a compound that gives food a buttery taste.

• Workers who packaged the popcorn for manufacturer ConAgra Foods developed "popcorn lung," an airway obstruction that does not respond to medicine.

The food giant dumped diacetyl from its recipe in 2007.
Mercado, just diagnosed last month, uses an oxygen tank and is "likely to require a lung transplant," the Queens Supreme Court suit against ConAgra says.

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ON THIS DAY  

LUSTIANIA

• The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania, famous for its luxurious accommodations and speed capability, primarily ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain. On May 1, 1915, the Lusitania left port in New York for Liverpool to make her 202nd trip across the Atlantic. On board were 1,959 people, 159 of whom were Americans.

• Since the outbreak of World War I, ocean voyage had become dangerous. Each side hoped to blockade the other, thus prevent any war materials getting through. German U-boats (submarines) stalked British waters, continually looking for enemy vessels to sink.

• All ships headed to Great Britain were instructed to be on the lookout for U-boats and take precautionary measures such as travel at full speed and make zigzag movements. Unfortunately, on May 7, 1915, Captain William Thomas Turner slowed the Lusitania down because of fog and traveled in a predictable line.

• Approximately 14 miles off the coast of Southern Ireland at Old Head of Kinsale, neither the captain nor any of his crew realized that the German U-boat, U-20, had already spotted and targeted them. At 1:40 p.m., the U-boat launched a torpedo. The torpedo hit the starboard (right) side of the Lusitania. Almost immediately, another explosion rocked the ship.

• At the time, the Allies thought the Germans had launched two or three torpedoes to sink the Lusitania. However, the Germans say their U-boat only fired one torpedo. Many believe the second explosion was caused by the ignition of ammunition hidden in the cargo hold. Others say that coal dust, kicked up when the torpedo hit, exploded. No matter what the exact cause, it was the damage from the second explosion that made the ship sink