Stranger than Fiction

A Child’s Art for a Cause

2012-01-24T22:17:00.001-08:00

3-year-old Arianna Ysabel Ramos used her very young talent in painting to help sick kids from Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

She held a one-day exhibit showcasing her 40 artworks and donate the proceeds to the pediatric ward of PGH. She thought of this after seeing an advertisement from the hospital seeking donations.

Arianna casually told her mom, "I want to help them get well."

Pusuke - 26

2011-12-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

Pusuke, the recognized world’s oldest dog by Guinness has died – he was 26 years old. Pusuke was born March 1985 in Japan. He was owned by Yumiko Shinohara, a housewife since

she was 16 years old. Pusuke was reportedly eating well and staying active, when he lost his appetite and had difficulty breathing. Pusuke died peacefully, minutes after his owner returned home from a walk. The oldest-known dog on record, according to Guinness, was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who lived to the ripe old age of 29 years and five months before it was put down in November 1939.

Livermorium and Flerovium

2011-12-05T06:19:00.001-08:00

Livermorium and Flerovium are just two of the newly added elements in Chemistry’s Periodic Table. They are positioned in the 114 and 116 spots under super heavy or Transuranium elements.

The two were actually synthesized some 10 years ago but were only confirmed after repeated experiments. Other elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 have also been synthesized but has not been confirmed yet.

Flerovium will have an atomic symbol of Fl to honor Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, where superheavy elements, including element 114, were synthesized by scientists. Livermorium will be symbolized as Lv honoring Livermore National Laboratory and the city of Livermore, California.

“Duh!”

2011-11-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

Scientist say that the phrase “Duh” as popularized by Homer Simpson could be one of the first words spoken by humans. Scientists based this on the shape and mechanics of the mouth, and throat and other parts that has to do with the vocal tract.

Microsoft develops software that scores work habits

2011-11-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has filed a patent for a software that scores and reports employees working habits and behaviors. It can analyze behavioral patterns of employees on a daily basis regarding their working habits and interactions over conferences, telephone, text messages and other forms of digital communication. The range of possible monitored behaviors includes word phrases, body gestures, and mannerisms and will rely upon subjective criteria set by employer regarding what’s acceptable or not.

Examples of behaviors included are cutting off others during conversation, prolonged monologues, nodding one’s head in agreement, shaking one’s head indicating disagreement and hand gestures. Mannerisms may include visual cues such as wearing dark glasses in a video conference, wearing unacceptable clothing to a business meeting.

A group of ants is called..

2011-11-07T00:07:00.001-08:00

Ants
Bees
Caterpillars

A colony
A grist, hive, swarm
An army

Clams
Cockroaches
Flies
Gnats

A bed
An intrusion
A business
A cloud, horde

Grasshoppers
Hornets
Jellyfish
Locusts
Oysters A cloud
A nest
A smack
A plague
A bed

3 year-old eats leftovers after mom dies

2011-11-06T04:46:00.001-08:00

3-year-old Shylah Silbery from Wellington, New Zealand lived alone for 2 days after her mom dies unexpectedly. She survived eating cheese, leftover lasagna and milk from the fridge and comforted herself with a teddy bear. Her mom, Lauren Silbery was only 28-years old. Her relatives began calling neighbors two days after they haven’t heard from Lauren. Police then coaxed Shylah to leverage herself on a table to reach and unlock the door.

Authorities believe there was no foul play involved and are waiting for the autopsy results. The little girl spent several days in the hospital from dehydration and diaper rash.

Facebook Datacenter near Arctic Circle

2011-11-05T03:05:00.001-07:00

Facebook will build it’s first Datacenter outside of US in the northern city of Lulea, Sweden. Strategically chosen primarily because the location is just 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. The weather will provide natural thermal cooling for the server farms of the company.

A Die-hard Superman fan

2011-10-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

Herbert Chavez, 35, is so obsessed with Superman that he wants to transform his looks into that his comic book hero. He has gone repeatedly under the knife in order to copy Superman’s facial looks. He also had silicone implants and injections to achieve more muscular looks. To whose artwork or Superman image he is trying to imitate was not clear though. But as far as I see it, I’ m not sure he’s even close.

World’s oldest car sold for $4.6M

2011-10-12T05:04:00.001-07:00

The De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout aka ‘La Marquise’ is the oldest running car in the world has been fetched for $4.6 million. The 127-year-old steam-powered engine was made in France in 1884 for Count De Dion, a year before Daimler and Benz manufactured their first experimental gasoline-powered car.

World record bikini parade

2011-10-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

A parade of 357 bikini-clad women walked 1.6 km along the streets and beach of Surfer’s Paradise in Gold Coast City, Australia set a new Guinness World Record for the longest bikini parade. The women who participated had to be at least 18 years old and has to pay $25 registration fee. The proceeds of the event will be donated to charity.

Japan robot washes hair

2011-10-09T10:28:00.001-07:00

Panasonic has created a hair-washing robot for the elderly and the infirm. Created with 24 high-tech fingers, so designed to mimic human hands, the robot is eyed to replace human caregivers for Japan’s ageing nation. The robot can do all the basic hair care such as shampooing, massaging the scalp, rinsing, conditioning and blow-drying.

Hong Kong student tribute to Steve Jobs

2011-10-07T11:11:00.001-07:00

Jonathan Mark from Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University School of Design displays his own tribute to the late former Apple CEO. The design spread like wildfire in the internet making him and his creation an overnight web sensation.

Holy Madison insures breasts for $1 million

2011-09-30T18:50:00.001-07:00

Reality TV star Holly Madison takes an insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London on her breasts, which she refers to as her primary “moneymakers”. She was quoted saying, "If anything happened to my boobs, I'd be out for a few months and I'd probably be out a million dollars”. The Peepshow star realized the value of her bosoms when she started appearing half-naked in the Las Vegas production.

“Sex strike” puts end to war

2011-09-21T07:44:00.001-07:00

In the Philippines, women in the southern island of Mindanao held a “sex strike” to put an end to the local wars that has been beleaguering their town. The women threatened that they will refuse to have sex with their husbands if the men continue their warring. A week after the threat, peace started to reign.

Source: gmanews.tv

Boy suckles from cow

2011-09-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

20-month old Tha Sophat from Cambodia learned to suckle directly from a mother cow. He started doing it after watching a baby calf do the same. His grandfather tried to dissuade him from doing it but he persisted and wailed aloud so he just let him and has suckled from the cow twice a day ever since. The boy has lived with his grandparents since his parents moved to Thailand for work.

Nike releases Back to the Future shoes

2011-09-10T10:41:00.001-07:00

Marty McFly was the first one to use it in Back to the Future part 2. Remember him using the self-tying shoes before jumping in a hover board? That’s the exact thing that Nike patented and has released limitedly for auction at Nikemag.ebay.com. Proceeds of the sale will go to Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The shoes however will not be power-laced until 2015.

The Nike Air Mag 2011 as design by Tinker Hatfield

Cuban man has 24 fingers and toes

2011-09-08T09:21:00.001-07:00

Yoandri Hernandez Garrido from Cuba has six perfectly formed fingers on each hands and six toes on each foot which is why they call him “24”. He says that those extra digits are blessings which earn him extra money when tourists pay him for pictures. The condition is called polydactyly but his is well-formed instead of just extra soft protruding tissues.

Microbe turns newspaper to fuel

2011-08-31T09:24:00.001-07:00

Scientists from New Orleans’ Tulane University, discovered a bacteria that converts the dailies to butanol – a flamable material similar to gasoline. The new microbes called TU-103 eats the cellulose materials found in organic materials such as newspapers then produces butanol as by-product. Although there were other bacteria that produces similar reaction, they have all required an oxygen-free environment which would cost more. The h bacteria doesn’t need such setup. The abundance of organic materials for these bacteria to thrive on makes this a very promising alternative as bio-fuel.

Trivial Pursuit

2011-08-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Q. What occurs more often in December than any other month?
A. Conception.

Q. Only 14% of Americans say they've done this with the opposite sex.
What is it?
A. Skinny dipping.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace. This is propinquity.

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat
name requested?
A. Obsession

Q. More women do this in the bathroom than men.
A. Wash their hands. Women: 80%, men: 55%.

Q. What do 100% of all lottery winners do?
A. Gain weight.

Q. In a recent survey, Americans revealed that this was their favorite
smell.
A. Banana.

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go
until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand.

Q. What do bullet-proof vests, fire escapes, windscreen wipers, and
laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

Q. Married men revealed that they do this twice as often as single
men.
A. Change their underwear.

Q. This stimulates 29 muscles and chemicals causing relaxation. Women
seem to like it light and frequent, men like it more strenuous.
A. A kiss.

Q. This is the only food that doesn't spoil.
A. Honey.

Q. 40% of all people who come to a party in your home do this?
A. Have a look in your medicine cabinet.

Q. 3.9% of all women surveyed say they never do this.
A. Wear underwear.

Q. What common everyday occurrence is composed of 59% nitrogen, 21%
hydrogen, and 9% carbon dioxide?
A. A fart.

Q. What five digit number, when multiplied by the number 4, is the same number with the digits in reverse order?
A. 21978; 21978 x 4 = 87912

Diamond planet discovered

2011-08-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

Astronomers have discovered a very dense planet consists largely of carbon, so dense, scientists assume that the carbon must be crystalline meaning it is a massive cosmic diamond. The planet orbiting a neutron star is about 4,000 light years away. I guess, miners of the future will beat each other out whoever reaches this gem planet first. Hmm, I wonder how many carat does it weigh. :)

An artist’s rendition of the recently discovered diamond planet.

Natalie Irish, an extraordinary artist

2011-08-26T06:17:00.001-07:00

Natalie Irish, a child art prodigy, creates amazing paintings not with regular brushes but with her lips or her thumb prints. She simply puckers on her canvass and a beautiful portrait comes to life. See her works and how she does it.

Elvis by Natalie Irish with her thumb prints.

Natalie at work.

The finished product.

Natalie and Jimi Hendrix.

New Words for the Oxford English Dictionary

2011-08-19T10:06:00.001-07:00

The OED has acknowledged the following words among others and has added them to their list of new words. So if anyone who are not “in” with today’s ever-evolving lingo, they may now consult OED.

Retweet - "repost or a forward" of a message on the social networking site Twitter

Sexting - the "the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages" via mobile phone

Cyberbullying - The use of information technology to bully a person by sending or posting text or images of an intimidating or threatening nature

Jeggings - Leggings resembling tight jeans

Mankini - Bikini for men

Woot - used to express elation, enthusiasm, or triumph

Noob - a person who is inexperienced in a particular sphere or activity, especially computing or the use of the Internet.

Before these, Internet jargons such as LOL or Laugh Out Loud and IMHO or In My Humble Opinion were also added.

Boxing Epic Fail

2011-08-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Mares-Agbeko IBF Bantamweight Fight displayed the most horrible referee I’ve ever seen. All over the ring, Mares is riddling Agbeko left and right low-blows but the referee, Russell Mora, apparently saw legal punches. The officiating was so horrendous that the IBF ordered a rematch.

Grandma Plays Nintendo

2011-08-09T14:42:00.001-07:00

Meet Narisawa, a 99-year-old grandmother who plays Bomberman on the original 8-bit NES (Nintendo Entertainment System aka Nintendo Family Computer) game console. She started playing 26 years ago and has been playing it daily, clearing all 50 levels a number of times. She says playing the game sharpens her memory.

Secondary Growth Project

2011-08-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

Forming a seemingly “symbiotic” relationship, an Ivy plant and a computer exists in mutuality around the concept designed and created by Israeli designer Omer Deutsch. The computer is designed such that it serves as the pot for the plant while the computer uses the moisture as the cooling system. “All of the components of the computer are designed so it would know how to evolve with the changing ivy. The components can be easily replaced since they are mounted outside the box and the computer is floating in the air from the ceiling in order to let the ivy cover it in its natural way of growing,” Deutsch said.

The Secondary Growth Project envisions a hybrid of house plant and computer which serves as an organic ornament as well as a workstation at the same time.

Invisible Bathtub

2011-07-31T01:57:00.001-07:00

Where does the Invisible Man take a bath? :)

A concept design by Stern McCafferty Architecture & Interiors.

Flat-Earth Theory

2011-07-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

One of the last maps that documented how the earth really looked like – a flat-squared-stationary slab guarded by four angels was drawn by Orlando Ferguson in 1893. Don Homuth who kept the map since eighth grade donated it to the Library of Congress. As absurd as it sounds, there exists a modern day Flat Earth Society, which was founded by Daniel Shenton last 2004. As of May 2011, 265 believers have become a member.

The modern day Flat-Earth Society Logo

Manhattanhenge

2011-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Setting between buildings in Manhattan, the Sun provided a phenomenon similar to the effect in Stonehenge, England.

Harry Potter corn maze

2011-07-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

The last Harry Potter film has been released. Fans will not likely to let go of “The Boy who Lived” just easily. Shaping his cornfield into a maze that forms two nearly identical Potter portraits, farmer Top Pearcy of York, England provides a one heck of a Potter memorabilia. The two portraits also serve as a giant spot the difference puzzle.

Man builds real-life Noah's Ark

2011-06-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Dutch man Johan Huibers, dreamed of a massive flood in Holland 20 years ago which prompted him to plan and build a real Noah's Ark. His ambitious project took three years to finish, complete with real-life animal replicas inside his ark. It measures 300 cubits in length, 30 cubits high and 50 cubits wide. Cubits are the ancient measure denoting an arm’s length, elbow to fingertip - or approximately 18 inches.

Paper ad congratulation flub

2011-06-14T22:39:00.001-07:00

Miami Herald posted an ad sponsored by Macy’s congratulating the Miami Heat as the 2010-2011 NBA Champions which of course they are not. The title went to the Dallas Mavericks after winning the series 4-2. The newspaper acknowledged their error later and apologized for the misprint.

The world’s shortest man is a Filipino

2011-06-13T11:08:00.001-07:00

Measuring just 23.5 inches (59.9cm), Junrey Balawing has been officially declared by Guinness as the World’s Shortest Man.

Junrey bested Khagendra Tharpa Magar from Nepal who measured 26 inches (67.08cm) and who was the previous title holder.

Junrey just turned 18 which made him eligible for the record. Local doctors have not been able to determine the cause of his condition which is why the Guinness record will play a vital role in attracting worldwide attention from medical professionals around the world who would be able to help him.

"The previous record holder had been given medical care... He even had free surgery provided by the U.S.A. So there are benefits to being a record holder," says Guinness editor-in-chief Craig Glenday.

Junrey lives in Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte.

Lightning strikes around Chile’s volcano

2011-06-08T09:07:00.001-07:00

A series of images that captured nature’s magnificent lightning show around the ash plume of Chile’s erupting Puyehue-Cordon Caulle chain volcano. The phenomenon is still a mystery to scientists however, they did notice a relationship between the amount of lightning from a volcano and the size of its plume. That is, the higher the plume, more lightning occurs.

Endeavour docked on ISS

2011-06-08T08:36:00.001-07:00

A sight to behold. Endeavour’s last flight docked on the ISS. This view of shuttle Endeavour, taken by Italian astronaut Paulo Nespoli from aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule on May 23.

Canary Sky

2011-06-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

A stunning time-lapse video of the night sky made by astrophotographer Daniel Lopez from Tenerife, Spain. The scenes were taken from Canary Islands where a spectacular view of the heavens, stars and clouds is found in various colors and shades. He titled this work as Canary Sky or El Cielo De Canarias.

According to Daniel, here are some of the scenes you can find in the video:
- "The Cathedral" in the plain of Ucanca, night shot with the planet Jupiter across the scene.
- El Arbol de Piedra (Roque Cinchado) with a Tajinaste pointing to Polaris.
- Tajinastes "night", The Red Tajinaste, endemism Canario blooming in spring.
- The "hat" in the Teide. Formation of a cloud known as cap at the peak of Teide.
- "Waterfalls of clouds crossing the mountains and rivers of multicolored clouds.
- Sea of clouds crashing against the mountains as it did the sea.
- Large pool of water in the plain of Ucanca lenticular clouds where stars are reflected.
- Tajinastes night with the Milky Way taken out on the horizon with a dolly track.
- Video of the sun setting and a double green flash. "
- Pleiades and the Andromeda galaxy between rocks in the mines of San Jose.
- Scenes spectacular sunset in the Teide National Park with clouds and moving dolly.
- ArcoIris from the Teide National Park.
- Multicolor Halos around the moon.
- Clouds remain stationary hours at the site are changing their colors as the sunset

El Cielo de Canarias / Canary sky - Tenerife from Daniel López on Vimeo.

RageGage - anger management gizmo

2011-06-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

Finally a gadget that you can break, smash and bash again and again when you're so angry. The RageGage gizmo is specifically designed for such purpose instead of venting your anger on your laptops or desktops that costs you hefty dollars. You can hook the gadget on your computer, personalize it, update software or customize. Invented by Ian Campbell, the device can measure the force of its physical abuse and talk back with lines such as "You wuss" or "You're losing it, dude."

Most expensive grill

2011-06-02T07:30:00.001-07:00

A gold plated grill from BeefEater that is worth more than $160,000 can be the best gift for Father’s Day. For sure every barbecue-loving dad would love to try cooking and grilling on one of these.

The Future Technology. LOL!

2011-05-28T02:59:00.001-07:00

Presenting the MacTini!

Endeavour’s launch as seen from Booster

2011-05-27T19:28:00.001-07:00

A camera mounted on each of space shuttle Endeavour's solid rocket boosters capture the launch of the orbiter on STS-134 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 16, and documents the SRBs' separation and subsequent landing in the Atlantic Ocean.

Man eats his 25,000th Big Mac

2011-05-22T12:29:00.001-07:00

Don Gorske, a retired prison guard has eaten his 25000th Big Mac, 39 years after eating his first. If I’m not mistaken, that would be 641 burgers in a year, or 53 burgers each month. That would mean he has been eating almost 2 Big Macs everyday ever since! Guinness has already recognized his feat 3 years ago but still he kept on going. Now at 57 years old, Gorske said he has no plan on stopping. 16 bites – that’s all it takes for him to gobble up one Big Mac. And in spite of this unusual diet, he maintains that his cholesterol is low and that he is in good health. Nevertheless, dietitians don’t recommend such eating habits and that they attributed his continued prime health to good genes.

Endeavour launch seen from cabin window

2011-05-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

Passengers from an airplane had the privilege of watching the last flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour both from their in-flight TVs and then outside their cabin windows.

X-ray detects 513 US-bound migrants in trucks

2011-05-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

Nowadays, people will do anything to get through hardships. At least 513 individuals willed themselves to be squeezed inside two trailer trucks and be smuggled into the United States. But they were stopped at a checkpoint in Chiapas, Mexico when they were discovered by police who used x-ray on the trucks. The migrants said they paid smugglers at least $7,000 to get to the US.

Kate Middleton on a jellybean

2011-05-14T18:46:00.001-07:00

Is this really Kate Middleton on a jellybean? Not really sure but somebody sees it as her…

Hovding -an invisible bike helmet

2011-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

For those who are irritated wearing the traditional head gear, this is a good news. Hovding – a protective gear for the head but is worn around the neck will be available soon. Unlike the traditional helmet, this works like an airbag that inflates when sensors detect the cyclist’s abnormal movement during an accident. The sensors will trigger the gas inflator that uses helium which deploys the helmet in 0.1 seconds. After impact, the airbag will start to deflate slowly. The helmet is made up of ultra-strong nylon fabric that won’t rip even when scraped in asphalt. Check out their site for pre-orders.

Play Angry Birds with mind control

2011-05-06T08:25:00.001-07:00

Using an advance human interface technology called emotiv EPOC, Rafael Mizrahi and Anat Sambol embarked on a project to use the mind instead of mouse or keyboard to play the very popular game. They used GlovePie, a free Programmable Input Emulator, to map the mouse clicks.

Kate MacDowell’s bizarre sculptures

2011-05-02T06:09:00.001-07:00

Artist Kate MacDowell uses porcelain to render these very unusual sculptures. Her themes are very enigmatic and are likewise unique. See more of her works here.

Amazing avalanche cliff jump

2011-04-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

The HD GoPro helmet-cams made all of this possible to be recorded in stunningly crisp and vibrant images. The cliffhanging, adrenalin rush ski jump from the French Alps by extreme athletes, Matthias Giraud and Stefan Laude has become viral. The action was vividly captured making it worthwhile for the audience to see and feel the terrifying but stunning jump from the skier’s point of view.

Circumcision Party

2011-04-30T09:53:00.001-07:00

Marikina City, known as the Philippines’ shoe capital is going to hold “Tule (Circumcision) Party” on May 7. The event is expected to draw some 1500 boys aged 12 and up for the free circumcision. The number may put Marikina City in the Guinness Book of World Records which incidentally is they’re trying to achieve, the most number of boys circumcised in a day. It will be held in the sports complex from 7am to 5pm.

Source: GMANews.tv

UPDATE: The Guinness World Book of Records rejected the city’s bid for a new record for the most number of boys circumcised in the Circumcision Party citing hygiene considerations and risks. Guinness has expressed concerns about the safety of the participants.

San Francisco replica from toothpicks!

2011-04-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay from Learning Studio on Vimeo.

It took Scott Weaver 34 years and 100,000 toothpicks before completing this masterpiece - an exact replica of San Francisco. He called it Rolling through the Bay. The model made of toothpicks not only includes Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate but also the terraced houses on steep hills. It's amazing that the materials lasted that long while he was working on it for 34 long years. And to top it all, you can roll several ping-pong balls on top and rolls down unto different tours of the city.

Real-life Crucifixion

2011-04-23T11:08:00.001-07:00

Every year in the Philippines, tourists flock the province of Pampanga to witness the real-life crucifixion of devotees who re-enact the passion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. Some of them believe that doing this will get complete absolution from their sins while others hope for cure for an illness in their families. The Catholic church doesn’t endorse such acts of extreme devotion and has in fact discouraged it because the practice is derailing the true meaning of Lent. However penitents continue the ritual during the Holy Week which draws thousands of tourists. This year, a foreigner joined the ritual for the first time. John Michael, a 33-year-old Australian willed himself to be crucified for personal reasons.

The penitents re-enact the passion of Christ from carrying of the cross to whipping and then being nailed for crucifixion for several minutes. The nails used were dipped in alcohol for days for sanitation.

A devotee cries in pain as they removed the nails.

Tourists flock the site to grab souvenir photos.

Happy 41st Earth Day

2011-04-21T17:47:00.001-07:00

Google homepage Logo in celebration of Earth Day 2011.

Today marks the celebration of Earth Day now in its 41st year. The first Earth Day was organized April 22, 1970 in the US led by Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin. This was attended by 20 million people. From then on each year, Earth Day is being celebrated by more than 500 million people and several national governments in 175 countries.

The movement is taking another bold campaign: A Billion Acts of Green which aims to register one billion actions in service of the environment prior to the global Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. An online registration tool is provided to register Earth Day events and community climate meetings, as well as tree plantings, large-scale light bulb changes and workplace renewable energy retrofits. Simple individual gestures like riding a bike instead of driving and washing laundry in cold water are also counted.

Looking back, below is a Pogo cartoon poster was created by American comics artist Walter Kelly coinciding the the very first Earth Day in 1970.

Pogo poster for the first Earth Day by Walter Kelly.

Fil-Am Jessica Cox

2011-04-20T23:27:00.001-07:00

Filipino-American Jessica Cox is the very first licensed pilot without arms.

The Elvis Presley Bug

2011-04-20T04:57:00.000-07:00

A camouflage that bears resemblance to the king.

Liquid Art

2011-04-19T04:22:00.001-07:00

Liquid droplets plus macro photography plus the amazing creativity of Markus Reugels equals awesome works of art. See more of his works here.

Gundam in Excel

2010-10-15T05:02:00.001-07:00

A very ingenious way of doing manga.

Cebu Pacific’s dancing Flight Attendants

2010-10-01T22:08:00.001-07:00

Watch the crews of Cebu Pacific Airline as they dance their heart out while demonstrating the features of the aircraft… it’s very out of the ordinary but for your sure you will pay attention.

Crazy Bowling

2010-09-22T23:53:00.001-07:00

Bronx man finds snake on his toilet seat

2010-09-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

What if a snake is comfortably coiled in your toilet bowl and unknowingly you sit on while the snake is underneath you. Ugh! It’s a creepy thought but lucky for this man from Bronx, the reptile is a harmless corn snake. He found the 3-foot snake on the toilet seat which got him rattled when he went into his bathroom. He immediately called the police who arrived at his apartment who trapped it and turned it over to ASPCA. They said the snake could have made its way through the plumbing.

Futuristic China Bus

2010-08-03T20:04:00.001-07:00

This will be China’s way of easing traffic congestion on their thoroughfares – a 3 Dimensional Fast Bus that will literally drive over smaller cars or allows smaller cars to drive through it. This could the most efficient way of handling traffic and not to mention environmentally friendly. The coaches will be powered by electricity and solar power.

Super Mario on Violin

2010-07-05T05:32:00.001-07:00

Super Mario On The Violin (Live) @ Yahoo! Video

This guy renders Super Mario sound effects as somebody plays the game on the background.

New ThunderCats! HO!

2010-06-03T06:31:00.001-07:00

New ThunderCats anime series coming 2011. The old Rankin-Bass animated TV series will be revived by Warner Bros. who purchased the rights during the late 80’s.

Time’s List of Worst Inventions

2010-06-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

According to Time, these are the inventions that are quite bright but just didn’t work out in no particular order. It includes the famous Facebook game, Farmville which according to Time is “hardly even a game —it's more a series of mindless chores on a digital farm, requiring the endless clicking of a mouse to plant and harvest crops.”

Segway
New Coke
Clippy
Agent Orange
CueCat
Subprime Mortgages
Crinoline
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Farmville
Hydrogenated Oils
Honegar
Hydrogen Blimps
Hair in a Can
DDT
Auto-Tune
Red Dye No. 2
Ford Pinto
Parachute Jacket
Betamax
Baby Cage
Tanning Beds
Crocs
Hula Chair
Foursquare
Pop-Up Ads
Phone Fingers
CFCs
Plastic Grocery Bags
Bumpit
Electric Facial Mask
Sony CD Copy Protection
Venetian-Blind Sunglasses
Pet Spa
Pontiac Aztek
Snuggie for Dogs
Mizar Flying Car
Asbestos
Olestra
Comfort Wipe
Fake Ponytails
HeadOn
Pay Toilets
Tamagotchis
Leaded Gasoline
Vibrating Ab Belt
Spam E-mail
Smell-o-Vision
Smile Checks
Microsoft Bob
Vio

Guatemala Giant Sinkholes

2010-06-01T17:57:00.001-07:00

The 100-feet giant sinkhole that appeared in Guatemala City after tropical storm Agatha, May 2010.

The giant sinkhole that appeared 3 miles away from the new site last February 2007. It’s 330 feet (100 meters) deep, enough to sink the Statue of Liberty which is about 46 meters tall.

PAGCOR Tower, Second Tallest Tower in the World

2010-05-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

The proposed PAGCOR Tower, a 665 meter behemoth, will be built in Manila. The structure will be the second tallest in the world next to Burj Dubai. True, it will be a great feat and engineering achievement for the Philippines, I just hope that every single detail will be studied thoroughly for the tower will be built in a reclaimed area, near an airport, by the edge of Manila bay.

Breathtaking View

2010-05-16T19:13:00.001-07:00

The sublime Venus-moon alignment as seen last night gave a spectacular view of the night sky. Residents holding up their cellphones and cameras pointed to the sky to catch a glimpse and took images of the majestic sight.

Disputed island disappears

2010-03-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI – For nearly 30 years, India and Bangladesh have argued over control of a tiny rock island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have resolved the dispute for them: the island's gone.
New Moore Island in the Sunderbans has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite imagery and sea patrols, he said.
"What these two countries could not achieve from years of talking, has been resolved by global warming," said Hazra.

All-black king penguin

2010-03-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

A king penguin in "wet suit" rather than "tuxedo". This under-dressed penguin was photographed by Andrew Evans of National Geographic on the island of South Georgia near Antarctica. It's a one in azillion kind of mutation, biologists said.

Helu overtakes Bill Gates

2010-03-10T23:35:00.000-08:00

Telecom magnate, Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico overtakes Bill Gates and Warren Buffet as the richest man on the planet according to Forbes. His net worth? A cool $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in 12 months. Bill gates is not far behind who's net worth is $53 Billion while Buffet has $47 billion.

16-year-old nabbed for raping a pig

2010-03-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

A 16-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly raping a pig in Koronadal City in Mindanao, a radio report said on Tuesday.

Radio dzXL reported that the irate owner of the animal haled the suspect, whose name was withheld, to a police station in Koronadal City after learning of the act.

Mariano Curay, the owner of the unfortunate sow, said the incident occurred in Sarabia village in Koronadal City.

But the suspect was freed after a few hours, because the police could not file charges against him as he is a minor.

Sausage IPhone Stylus

2010-02-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

South Koreans inventively made the sausage as their stylus pen. They came up with the idea when users don't want to take off theur gloves because of the cold weather.

The Necker Nymph

2010-02-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

A Deep flight aero submarine that could carry three persons in as deep as 100 feet is the next evolutionary vehicle from billionaire Sir Richard Branson, owner Virgin group of companies. The Necker Nymph will glide tourists in deep sea exploration for two hours at a rental cost of $25,000.

Man controlled robotic hand with thoughts

2010-01-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

ROME – A group of European scientists say they have successfully connected a robotic hand to a man who had lost an arm, allowing him to feel sensations in the artificial hand and control it with his thoughts.

The experiment lasted a month. Scientists say it was the first time an amputee has been able to make complex movements using his mind to control a biomechanic hand connected to his nervous system.

The Italian-led team said at a news conference Wednesday in Rome that last year they implanted electrodes into the arm of the patient, who had lost his left hand and forearm in a car accident.

The electrodes were removed after a month, during which the man learned to wiggle the robotic fingers and make other movements. - AP

Mel Gibson movie relocates Mexican inmates

2010-01-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

Mel Gibson's movie, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation", required a Mexican prison setting which caused some 200 Mexican prisoners transferred to alternate prisons. This drew the ire of the prisoner's relatives who had been protesting the relocation outside the Ignacio Allende prison. Gibson will star in the action drama film which he also wrote. It is about a criminal struggling to survive in a Mexican prison.

Police tracks down wanted criminal via World of Warcraft

2010-01-04T23:16:00.000-08:00

A long sought drug dealer was tracked down and eventually caught while he was playing the popular online game World of Warcraft. Alfred Hightower, thought he was able to escape the clutches of the law by hiding in Canada. He is wanted by Indiana's Howard County Sheriff's Department which issued a warrant for his arrest due to his dealings on controlled substances.

The authorities were able to stumble upon his addiction to the game and thus issued a subpoena to Blizzard Entertainment which owns World of Warcraft. Blizzard cooperated and gave Hightower's account history, IP address, screen name, billing address and preferred game server. One Google Earth search later, and Canadian authorities had apprehended Hightower in Ottowa, Ontario.

Lawnmower Racing

2010-01-03T22:00:00.000-08:00

Lawnmower racing is a form of motorsport in which competitors race modified lawnmowers, usually of the ride-on or self-propelled variety. Original mower engines are retained, but blades are removed for safety. The sport attracts all ages, and is usually entered into in a spirit of fun rather than extreme competitiveness, though many do take it quite seriously.

A small, rural town in Indiana has held an annual lawnmower race since 1963. Located in Twelve Mile, Indiana, the Twelve Mile 500 has drawn spectators from all over the Midwest.

The sport was independently "invented" in 1973 in The Cricketers Arms pub in Wisborough Green (not far from the town of Horsham) in West Sussex, England, UK, by a group of young men bemoaning the prohibitive costs of getting involved in any kind of motorsport. They formed the British Lawn Mower Racing Association, and shortly afterwards, a northern equivalent in the form of the North West Lawn Mower Racing Association was formed.

The sport was taken to the United States by the makers of a petrol stabiliser called Sta-bil, who had visited the UK and witnessed a race meeting. It has since grown to have multiple national organizations, including the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association and the American Racing Mower Association.

Vatican looks to heavens for signs of alien life

2009-11-10T17:01:00.001-08:00

VATICAN CITY – E.T. phone Rome. Four hundred years after it locked up Galileo for challenging the view that the Earth was the center of the universe, the Vatican has called in experts to study the possibility of extraterrestrial alien life and its implication for the Catholic Church.

"The questions of life's origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very suitable and deserve serious consideration," said the Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, an astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory.

Galactic Suite

2009-11-03T04:04:00.000-08:00

The proposed Space hotel in orbit.

A Spanish-based company is planning to set a three-bedroom hotel in space by 2012. Space tourists wanting to check-in in the hotel will be charged $4 million for a three-day stay. But before they could avail of the service, the guests will need to undergo eight weeks of intensive training. Then they will be flown by a private shuttle into orbit. Hotel guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.

Thousands line up for last Big Mac in Iceland

2009-10-31T05:50:00.000-07:00

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) – Thousands of Icelanders lined up at McDonald's restaurants to order their last Big Macs before the U.S. fast-food chain abandons the crisis-hit island at midnight Saturday due to soaring costs.

The world's largest fast-food company said earlier this week that all three of its restaurants in Iceland, operated by franchisee Jon Ogmundsson, would shut down October 31.

Calvin Klein USB Memory Frame

2009-10-12T17:53:00.001-07:00

A high-tech fashion trend from Calvin Klein. A product that makes daily life slowly adapting James Bond's style. The Calvin Klein USB Memory Frame as it is called, has a 4GB USB port hidden in the right temple of the shades. A high-tech fashion way of carrying your digital data, images or videos along anywhere you go. This is available in two shapes and a variety of colors. It costs about $199.

Scientist tweaks Xbox 360 to detect heart disease

2009-09-24T13:05:00.001-07:00

A computer scientist at the University of Warwick in England has devised a way to use an Xbox 360 to detect heart defects and help prevent heart attacks. The new tool has the potential to revolutionize the medical industry because it is both faster and cheaper than the computer systems that are currently used by scientists to perform complex heart research.

The system, detailed in a study in the August edition of the Journal of Computational Biology and Chemistry, is based on a video-game demo created by Simon Scarle two years ago when he was a software engineer at Microsoft's Rare studio, the division of the U.S.-based company that designs games for the Xbox 360. Scarle modified a chip in the console so that instead of producing graphics for the game, it now delivers data tracking how electrical signals in the heart move around damaged cardiac cells. This creates a model of the heart that allows doctors to identify heart defects or conditions such as arrhythmia, a disturbance in the normal rhythm of the heart that causes it to pump less effectively.

9-lb, 9-ounce US baby born at 9:09 on 9/9/09

2009-09-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

LA CROSSE, Wis. – No doubt. The nines have it. Chuck Berendes of La Crosse said he will never forget the birthday of this third child, born Wednesday on the ninth day of the nine month in the year 2009.

Nor will Berendes and his wife, Polly, forget Henry Michael's arrival time — at 9:09 a.m. by Cesarean section at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center in La Crosse.

But they got the biggest laugh when the newborn was placed on the delivery room scale following his birth.

Berendes said it was metric scale so the doctor did the math in his head, but to make sure, he had the nurse also do the conversion. Berendes said they broke into laughter when the nurse told them Henry weighed 9 pounds, 9 ounces. - AP

NYC's skinniest house has a fat price tag

2009-08-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK – It's 9 1/2 feet wide and 42 feet long and is billed as the narrowest house in New York City. But there's nothing small about its asking price: $2.7 million.
Located at 75 1/2 Bedford St. in Greenwich Village, the red brick building was built in 1873, sandwiched between 75 and 77 Bedford.
It's famous for other reasons, too. Corcoran real estate broker Alex Nicholas says anthropologist Margaret Mead and poet Edna St. Vincent Millay once called it home.
The three-story structure boasts plenty of light with large windows in the front and back, and a skylight.
The current owner bought it in 2000 for $1.6 million.
Nicholas says it's a place for someone who wants a little history.

Rat-eating plant discovered

2009-08-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

A team of British Botanists recently discovered a pitcher plant that eats rodents in the deep jungles of Palawan, Philippines. Stewart Mcpherson and Alastair Robinson found the plant in 2007 but their findings were published only this year in the Botanical Journal of Linnean Society.

The rodent eater is among the largest of all pitcher plants. According to McPherson, “The plant produces spectacular traps which catch not only insects, but also rodents. It is remarkable that it remained undiscovered until the 21st century."

The rat-eating shrub dissolves its prey with acid-like enzymes inside its pitcher-shaped leaves. The pitchers measure 30 x 16 cm, double the size of usual pitcher plants found in the area.

Its funnel shape, a form usually associated with aerial types of the species, is distinct from its counterparts, which have a more rounded bottom. A terrestrial species, it has a red-lipped mouth topped by a smaller leaf called a lid.

The plant is now known as Nepenthes attenboroughii, named after British nature filmmaker Sir David Attenborough.

Cockfighters seek Congressional seat

2009-08-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

A group of cockfighting aficionados in the Philippines is seeking a representation at the House of Representatives through the party-list system, which provides representation to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of the society.

Alyansa ng Sabungero on Monday joined more than 200 party-list organizations in filing for accreditation before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the 2010 national elections.

In its four-page petition, the group claimed that their purpose in seeking representation in Congress is to help poor workers in the cockfighting business.

Comelec is questioning the application for accreditation because, “A group of cockfighters. Why are they marginalized when they hold the money?" -GMANews

Mona Lisa smiles on after Russian teacup attack

2009-08-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

A russian woman attacked Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa by throwing a teacup at the world's most famous painting but emerged unscathed due to it's bullet-proof glass protection.

The Louvre museum said that the woman took the cup from her bag and threw it over the heads of other people who were looking at the painting. The cup smashed on the bullet-proof glass which was slightly scratched.
The woman put up no resistance when museum guards apprehended her after the incident. She was handed over to police who said the woman "did not have all her mental faculties and has been transferred to the police psychiatric infirmary."

Illinois man faces 6 months in jail for yawning

2009-08-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

JOLIET, Ill. – Drowsy spectators in one suburban Chicago courtroom might want to stifle their yawns from now on. Clifton Williams, 33, of Richton Park, is facing six months in jail for making what court documents call a yawn-like sound in Will County Judge Daniel Rozak's court last month. The yawn happened as Williams' cousin, Jason Mayfield, was being sentenced for a drug charge on July 23.
Rozak found Williams in contempt of court and sentenced him to six months in jail. However, Rozak could free Williams after a status hearing Thursday, if Williams apologizes and the judge accepts. By then, Williams will have served 21 days. (AP)

Faster than calculator

2009-08-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Shakuntala Devi is a calculating prodigy who was born on November 4, 1939 in Bangalore, India. Her calculating gifts first demonstrated themselves while she was doing card tricks with her father when she was three. They report she "beat" them by memorization of cards rather than by sleight of hand. By age six she demonstrated her calculation and memorization abilities at the University of Mysore. At the age of eight she had success at Annamalai University by doing the same.

Unlike many other calculating prodigies, for example Truman Henry Safford, her abilities did not wane in adulthood. In 1977 she extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number mentally. On June 18, 1980 she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She answered the question in 28 seconds. However, this time is more likely the time for dictating the answer (a 26-digit number) than the time for the mental calculation (the time of 28 seconds was quoted on her own website). Her correct answer was 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730. This event is mentioned on page 26 of the 1995 Guinness Book of Records ISBN 0-553-56942-2. - source Wikipedia

Mouse builds nest in Oregon ATM with $20 bills

2009-08-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

LOUISIANA GRANDE, Oregon — A mouse found inside an automatic teller machine — along with a nest it had built with chewed-up $20 bills — gave an Oregon gas station employee the surprise of her life.

The mouse, discovered Thursday, had thoroughly torn up two bills and damaged another 14 to line his nest. Employee Millie Taylor says she screamed and slammed the machine's door shut.

The bank replaced all the money that wasn't extensively damaged, and the ATM has continued to work just fine. The mouse also got a reprieve: He was evicted from his nest but set free outside the station.

Other workers at the Gem Stop Chevron in La Grande in eastern Oregon say they're mystified about how the mouse got inside the machine. - AP

Widow killed after figuring in 2 road accidents in a row

2009-08-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

This widow was literally followed by death.

Alma Lo, a 51-year-old widow, succumbed to multiple injuries after being hit by a pickup truck, and then by a passenger bus, said the Visayan Daily Star.

The oddest thing is that an ambulance dispatched to take her to a hospital also figured in a three-vehicle collision while on its way to the scene as reported by the police.

Investigation showed that Lo was crossing Lacson Street at about 10 p.m. Tuesday when a pickup hit her. The impact threw Lo to the left side of the road, where a passenger bus hit her a second time.

Lo was eventually rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

On the other hand, an ambulance that was supposed to take the victim to the hospital figured in a three-vehicle collision at Gatuslao Street.

The ambulance collided with a motorcycle, which then hit a police patrol van.

Bird experiment shows Aesop's fable may be true

2009-08-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK – From the goose that laid the golden egg to the race between the tortoise and the hare, Aesop's fables are known for teaching moral lessons rather than literally being true. But a new study says at least one such tale might really have happened.
It's the fable about a thirsty crow. The bird comes across a pitcher with the water level too low for him to reach. The crow raises the water level by dropping stones into the pitcher. (Moral: Little by little does the trick, or in other retellings, necessity is the mother of invention.)
Now, scientists report that some relatives of crows called rooks used the same stone-dropping strategy to get at a floating worm. Results of experiments with three birds were published online Thursday by the journal Current Biology.
Rooks, like crows, had already been shown to use tools in previous experiments. (AP)

Earth seen from space 4 billion miles away

2009-08-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

Part of the first ever "family portrait" of the solar system taken by Voyager 1 in 1990, this image of Earth was captured from a distance of more than 4 billion miles. Pictured here as a dot only 0.12 pixels in size, the Earth is, as described by Voyager contributor Carl Sagan, "...a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish this pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known." - www.space.com

If we could only realize that we are just tiny "bacterias" thriving in a tiny speck of dust floating in the vastness of space, we just might learn how to take care of this fragile planet and live amongst ourselves peacefully.

Mosquitoes deliver malaria 'vaccine' through bites

2009-07-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

AP - In a daring experiment in Europe, scientists used mosquitoes as flying needles to deliver a "vaccine" of live malaria parasites through their bites. The results were astounding: Everyone in the vaccine group acquired immunity to malaria; everyone in a non-vaccinated comparison group did not, and developed malaria when exposed to the parasites later.

The study was only a small proof-of-principle test, and its approach is not practical on a large scale. However, it shows that scientists may finally be on the right track to developing an effective vaccine against one of mankind's top killers. A vaccine that uses modified live parasites just entered human testing.

US man charged $23 quadrillion dollars for cigarrettes

2009-07-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — A New Hampshire man says he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars.

Josh Muszynski checked his account online a few hours after the purchase and saw the 17-digit number — a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500 (twenty-three quadrillion, one hundred forty-eight trillion, eight hundred fifty-five billion, three hundred eight million, one hundred eighty-four thousand, five hundred dollars).

Muszynski told WMUR-TV that he spent two hours on the phone with Bank of America trying to sort out the string of numbers — and the $15 overdraft fee.

The bank corrected the error the next day.

Bank of America said the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions. Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank. - AP

Armed men cart away ATM in pre-dawn heist

2009-06-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

MANILA – In a bold and unprecedented move, eight robbers carted away an entire Automated Teller Machine (ATM) from a gas station in South Luzon Expressway on Wednesday.

The robbers took less than two minutes to detach the machine through the use of a bolt cutter at about 3 a.m.

A security guard said he failed to stop the robbers because he was disarmed.

The guard added that the robbers were wearing vests with the word “BITAG" printed on it. - GMANews.TV

Iraq-born teen cracks maths puzzle

2009-05-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported on Thursday.
In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.
Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.
"When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.
He then got in touch with professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's top institutions, to ask them to check his work.
After going through his notebooks, the professors found his work was indeed correct and offered him a place in Uppsala.
But for now, Altoumaimi is focusing on his school studies and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.
"I wanted to be a researcher in physics or mathematics; I really like those subjects. But I have to improve in English and social sciences," he told the Falu Kuriren.

Astronauts drink water from recycled urine

2009-05-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

HOUSTON – (AP) At the international space station, it was one small sip for man and a giant gulp of recycled urine for mankind.
Astronauts aboard the space station celebrated a space first on Wednesday by drinking water that had been recycled from their urine, sweat and water that condenses from exhaled air. They said "cheers," clicked drinking bags and toasted NASA workers on the ground who were sipping their own version of recycled drinking water.
"The taste is great," American astronaut Michael Barratt said. Then as Russian Gennady Padalka tried to catch little bubbles of the clear water floating in front of him, Barratt called the taste "worth chasing."
He said the water came with labels that said: "drink this when real water is over 200 miles away."
The urine recycling system is needed for astronaut outposts on the moon and Mars. It also will save NASA money because it won't have to ship up as much water to the station by space shuttle or cargo rockets.
It's also crucial as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to six.
The recycling system had been brought up to the space station last November by space shuttle Endeavour, but it couldn't be used until samples were tested back on Earth and a stuck valve was fixed on Monday.
So when it came time to actually drink up, NASA made a big deal of it.

Woman's underwire bra deflects bullet in Detroit

2009-04-23T00:34:00.001-07:00

DETROIT – The metal underwire in a Detroit woman's bra was credited with deflecting a bullet fired at her during a break-in at a neighbor's home.

Detroit police Officer Leon Rahmaan said the 57-year-old woman apparently looked out her window Tuesday when one of three men fired the shot.

He said the slug smashed through her window pane before hitting the bra's underwire. It did not penetrate her skin.

Police said she may have gone to the window after a burglar alarm at the house next door sounded. Her neighbor was not at home at the time.

The suspects drove away after the shooting. - AP

911 dialed over lack of shrimp in fried rice

2009-04-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

HALTOM CITY, Texas – A woman called 911 to report she didn't get as much shrimp as she wanted in her fried rice at a Fort Worth-area restaurant.

Police on Tuesday released the taped emergency call, in which the customer is heard telling the dispatcher, "to get a police officer up here, what has to happen?" The customer also said: "He didn't even put extra shrimp in there."

The upset customer was gone when an officer arrived Monday afternoon.

Restaurant workers said the woman had been denied a refund after leaving with her order, then returning to complain.

Cook June Lee said there was nothing wrong with the meal, and that "some customers are happy. Some are not." - AP

72-year-old man coughs up inch-long nail

2009-04-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Prax Sanchez says he doesn't recall any serious hammer-and-nail mishaps in his past.

Yet doctors administering an MRI on the 72-year-old Colorado man last month abruptly stopped the exam to tell him there seemed to be something metallic in his face.

Right after the MRI, Sanchez coughed up an inch-long nail.

His doctor, Jamieson Kennedy, told television station KKTV in Colorado Springs that the nail might have been embedded there as long as 30 years. The MRI's magnetic force apparently dislodged the nail, causing Sanchez to cough it up.

Sanchez says he can't remember ever using a nail like it.

"I'll probably frame it," he said Friday. - AP