Sinkholes can be common occurrences in wetland states. Image from Flickr.

If your evening commute includes I-24 in Tennessee, the I-24 sinkhole is sure to throw a wrench into your plans. A deep sinkhole opened up on I-24 between Chattanooga and Nashville, and shut down a 13-mile stretch of the heavily traveled road. In Canada, a wide sinkhole that opened last week killed a family who was in their basement. So what is the deal with all of these sinkholes?

I-24 Sinkhole snarls Tennessee traffic

The Tennessee Department of Transportation reported today that the I-24 sinkhole opened up Tuesday morning. A tractor-trailer barely missed the sinkhole after it opened up, and nobody was injured or had to take out new car loans as a result of the sinkhole. At 40 feet long and 25 feet deep, the sinkhole will take $266,960 to fix, and authority hopes repairs will be completed by May 22. A private contractor has been given the contract. The I-24 sinkhole is between mile marker 127 and exit 127. Traffic has been detoured around the sinkhole on Eastbound lanes, though Westbound lanes have not been closed.

Canadian sinkhole kills family of four

On the northern side of the continent, a sinkhole that recently opened up in Canada killed a family of four. Just outside Montreal, a sinkhole appeared under several homes, and one family who was in their basement at the time was encased in the sloshing mud. Neighboring houses were evacuated, and the area is being treated as a disaster rehabilitation area by the Canadian government.

What is a sinkhole, anyway?

Sudden sinkholes such as the ones in Tennessee and Canada have several causes. Usually, water either running below bedrock or seeping in from above works away at the underlying support of an area. The water slowly dissolves the rock, and eventually the weight above the area simply becomes too much. At this point, a sudden sinkhole appears. Sub-surface waterways, sewer piping and abandoned mines are some of the most common causes of sinkholes. Sinkholes can be difficult to predict, though Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri and Pennsylvania tend to have the most sinkholes among U.S. states.

Don't worry, the cats who were at the Montgomery Animal Shelter are safe. Image from Flikr.com.

Everyone knows the Internet is a powerful thing. Through massive social networking sites, you can get a message to numerous people instantly. However, the Montgomery Animal Shelter closing story is an example of the fact that if you’re going to disseminate a message to the masses, you’d better make sure it’s true.

First, let’s get one thing straight. The Montgomery Animal Shelter is actually the Montgomery County Texas Humane Society. The Montgomery Animal Shelter closing is not in New Jersey, Tennessee or Pennsylvania. The Montgomery County animal shelter in Pennsylvania has been swamped with calls about people concerned for the animals’ lives, according to Philly.com.

More rumors go viral

Social networking can be a great way to inform people about getting a short term personal loan, promote your business and even make money. But it can also be a way of spreading lies and needlessly getting people all riled up.

The other huge misconception out there, which has run rampant on Facebook and Twitter, is that because of the Montgomery Animal Shelter closing, all of the animals will be put to sleep. Several sources, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Humane Society of Montgomery and the Montgomery County News confirm that all of the animals have been adopted.

Who comes up with this stuff?

The News PK wrote that the Montgomery County Animal Shelter was closing after animal control officers found decomposing dogs in the building. However, the reason for the Montgomery County Animal Shelter closing is that the organization’s lease was up, and their request for funding to maintain the facility was denied.

So there were no dead dogs, there will be no dead dogs, all the animals are safe and the Montgomery Animal Shelter closing was simply a money matter. Oh yeah, and it’s the Montgomery Animal Shelter in Texas. So that should just about clear everything up.

More about the Montgomery Animal Shelter

It really is a shame that the Montgomery County Texas Humane Society is vacating its building. The shelter’s web site reports that the Humane Society of Montgomery will now direct its efforts toward starting a spay and neuter campaign and program, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll be getting a new building to house strays and unwanted pets anytime soon.

The Montgomery County Animal Shelter opened its doors in 1972. It’s disappointing to see a shelter that has been housing animals for 37 years get shut down. State budgets just aren’t what they used to be.

Focus on reality

Animal shelters in Tennessee, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, all having “Montgomery” in their monikers, were swamped with calls all weekend from people worried that their local shelters were closing. Apparently the Tennessee rumor started because of a typo in a newspaper in which “TN” was printed in a headline instead of “TX.”

In the old days, when there were mistakes in a newspaper headline, the locals would see it, usually read the correction about it the next day, and that’s as far as it went. Maybe a few people would spread something false to a few other people by phone. The spreading of all of the false rumors about the Montgomery Animal Shelter closing didn’t really do too much harm to anyone, besides inconveniencing the other shelters. But let this be a lesson that tales spread on the internet elicit big responses, so be careful what you put out there.