Journalists often cite an old bromide: "Dog Bites Man" is not news, but, on the other hand, "Man Bites Dog" is news. And on the other foot, which is exactly where it happened, "Komodo Dragon Bites Newspaper Editor" is definitely news. Especially when the newspaper editor in question is the San Francisco Chronicle's semi-celebrity executive editor Phil Bronstein, who was bitten while getting a special up-close-and-perilous tour of the Los Angeles Zoo's Komodo exhibit in early June, arranged for him by his full-celebrity wife, the beautiful actress Sharon Stone. The visit was Stone's idea of an early Father's Day celebration, which often includes dinner out.

Evidently, a zookeeper advised Bronstein to remove his white sneakers so they wouldn't be confused with the dragon's customary meal of white rat. This strategy clearly backfired. A letter to the Chronicle asked, "Whose bright idea was it to remove the white shoes from the white feet of a white man in the hopes of not confusing a nearsighted, simpleminded, ravenously hungry lizard?"

This article was originally published with the title Enter the Dragon Exhibit.

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