Crowds at a dog show made a double take when they witnessed what looked like an escaped mop-head leaping hurdles and bounding through an obstacle course.
But this is no mop - it is in fact a pedigree Hungarian sheepdog named Fee, who will be making a bid for stardom at an international dog show in Germany, next week.
The mutt's rastafarian tresses obscure most of its face, but that hasn't stopped him sweeping through the course without a hitch.
Fluffy Fee will take on 6,000 other dogs at the Dortmund show next week and owner Eva Meyer says she is confident he will wipe the floor with the competition.
World's Ugliest Dog
14-year-old pedigreed Chinese crested owned by Susie Lockheed of Santa Barbara, California won the "World's Ugliest Dog" title at the Sonoma-Marin Fair contest for the third consecutive year on 2005.
Sam has no hair, if you don't count the yellowish-white tuft erupting from his head. His wrinkled brown skin is covered with splotches, a line of warts marches down his snout, his blind eyes are an alien, milky white, and a fleshy flap of skin hangs from his withered neck. And then there are the Austin Powers teeth that jut at odd angles. He's so ugly that even the judges recoiled when he was placed on the judging table.
Unfortunately, Sam suffered from a number of age-related ailments (congestive heart failure, lung and kidney problems) and eventually cede his crown.
Cigarette packs patch up hole in chest
Never mind nicotine patches - a DIY patient is using cigarette packets to cover up a gaping hole in his chest.
Rao Jiacang plastered the packets over himself after running out of money for crucial heart surgery.
Somehow he has survived for ten years, despite his beating heart being gruesomely visible through the paper folds.
But he is now desperate for a donor to come forward to pay for proper treatment to cover over the wound measuring seven by three inches.
Part of his ribs and skin were hacked away by surgeons in 1998, hoping to remove part of his infected lungs.
But the 51-year-old, from Taining in China's Guangdong province, says he was unable to afford the rest of the treatment after stitches were taken out.
He said: "I had the operation in 1998. I was then laid up for almost five years but gradually got used to the wound, and since 2003 I have been back on my feet.
"But no-one would give me a job and people were scared of me with the big hole in my chest.
"Because of that, I haven't dared to go outside, in case people get frightened."
He says he keeps the plaster coverings sterile, and changes the cigarette boxes several times each day.
Local doctor Wan Fi said: "It's a miracle that Rao could have lived so many years with such a massive opening in his chest."
His friend Xi Lin, 35, who was present when the plaster was changed, said: "I did not know what to expect but then I saw a heart through the hole in his chest, and it was actively beating."
An estimated one in 8,000 people are dextrocardiac - that is, their heart is not on the left hand side of their body, but slightly to the right.
"MARZIPAN" BABIES
A forwarded email from my Aunt Barbara prompted me to find out more about its attached photos of miniature babies purportedly made of "frosting" or "marzipan." The miniature babies are, it turns out, not made of marzipan at all. Sculpting with polymer clays, artist Camille Allen of British Columbia has been crafting both miniature and lifesize babies for five years using a technique she learned from her husband's grandmother, and the photos are of some her work. She uses soft English mohair to imitate fine baby hair and brushes them with paints for realism to enhance their tiny wrinkles and creases. It's an amazing art form!
The new pygmy hedgehogs you can keep like a pet hamster
They are small and prickly and are the very latest must-have pets.
Would-be owners are will happily wait up to a year and will travel any distance to get their hands on an African pygmy hedgehog.
The cute pets are a quarter of the size of a normal hedgehog and are fully domesticated and don't carry diseases or fleas.
They love being handled and rarely curl up in a defensive ball. The animals were first bred in captivity less than 10 years ago in America but have recently been introduced to the British pet market.
And because they are so rare and so unusual, people are queueing to buy them for £190 each.
Breeder Bonnie Martin, 35, said: "There are only eight serious breeders in the country and we can't keep up with demand.
"I have a waiting list that is 20 strong, which is about five litters and will take about a year to clear. One man in Edinburgh is waiting to pick one up.
"They are incredibly cute and can fit in the palm of your hand. They are just as cute as a hamster or a guinea pig but they have the added wow and novelty factor.
"They are a very easy pet to handle and cheaper to maintain than a cat." African Pygmy Hedgehogs are a cross between an Algerian and White Bellied hedgehog and were bred in the US about 20 years ago.
They are born pink and the most common colour is a chocolate brown, however it is possible to get albino varieties.
They grow to just two pounds in weight and eight inches in length and have a lifespan of between three and five years.
Unlike hamsters, they are carnivorous and feed on a diet of cat food, chicken, beef mince and turkey.
As they are nocturnal the cute critters come alive at night and can run up to eight miles a night on an exercise wheel.
Mrs Martin, from Fairford, Glos, started breeding them last year and has a 'stud' hedgehog called Mr Pig and four females, which produce two litters a year.
She said: "Mr Pig has fathered two very healthy litters already and I am waiting for more. "The males reach sexual maturity at five months and the gestation period for females is anything between 32 to 50 days. They normally produce three or four babies per litter.
"There is a popular misconception that all hedgehogs carry fleas, but that is only in the wild and just like a fox or badger would have them.
"The African Pygmy variety are much smaller than a normal hedgehog.
"They are a very convenient pet because they sleep during the day when you are at work and wake up when you sit down in the evening.
"They aren't a problem at night. I have got three living in my bedroom and they don't bother me.
"They are shy creatures and you do have to put a lot of effort in into taming them. After that they won't tend to roll up in a ball because they are used to being handled."
The current British population of African Pygmies is about 300, which are registered and have lineage certificates.
Would-be owners are will happily wait up to a year and will travel any distance to get their hands on an African pygmy hedgehog.
The cute pets are a quarter of the size of a normal hedgehog and are fully domesticated and don't carry diseases or fleas.
They love being handled and rarely curl up in a defensive ball. The animals were first bred in captivity less than 10 years ago in America but have recently been introduced to the British pet market.
And because they are so rare and so unusual, people are queueing to buy them for £190 each.
Breeder Bonnie Martin, 35, said: "There are only eight serious breeders in the country and we can't keep up with demand.
"I have a waiting list that is 20 strong, which is about five litters and will take about a year to clear. One man in Edinburgh is waiting to pick one up.
"They are incredibly cute and can fit in the palm of your hand. They are just as cute as a hamster or a guinea pig but they have the added wow and novelty factor.
"They are a very easy pet to handle and cheaper to maintain than a cat." African Pygmy Hedgehogs are a cross between an Algerian and White Bellied hedgehog and were bred in the US about 20 years ago.
They are born pink and the most common colour is a chocolate brown, however it is possible to get albino varieties.
They grow to just two pounds in weight and eight inches in length and have a lifespan of between three and five years.
Unlike hamsters, they are carnivorous and feed on a diet of cat food, chicken, beef mince and turkey.
As they are nocturnal the cute critters come alive at night and can run up to eight miles a night on an exercise wheel.
Mrs Martin, from Fairford, Glos, started breeding them last year and has a 'stud' hedgehog called Mr Pig and four females, which produce two litters a year.
She said: "Mr Pig has fathered two very healthy litters already and I am waiting for more. "The males reach sexual maturity at five months and the gestation period for females is anything between 32 to 50 days. They normally produce three or four babies per litter.
"There is a popular misconception that all hedgehogs carry fleas, but that is only in the wild and just like a fox or badger would have them.
"The African Pygmy variety are much smaller than a normal hedgehog.
"They are a very convenient pet because they sleep during the day when you are at work and wake up when you sit down in the evening.
"They aren't a problem at night. I have got three living in my bedroom and they don't bother me.
"They are shy creatures and you do have to put a lot of effort in into taming them. After that they won't tend to roll up in a ball because they are used to being handled."
The current British population of African Pygmies is about 300, which are registered and have lineage certificates.
Physiomorphise
I've heard of the notion anthropomorphise before, or to ascribe human form or attributes to non-human things.
But this picture seemingly shows the inverse.
That is, non-human things imitating the human form or its attributes.
After looking up the Greek word for nature, "physis," I came up with a term for this interesting phenomenon.
Physiomorphise
I would like to make this some kind of theme if I discover more evidence of such rare events.
Perfect Breasts Just an Injection Away
Want to look like Jennifer Aniston? Always hiding behind push-up bras, but afraid of going under the knife? Imagine if all it took to obtain a cleavage as ample as that of those Victoria’s Secret model was an injection.
Well, the ‘boob job in an injection’ is now a reality, thanks to a new body-contouring treatment.
Created by Q-Med, the Swedish company behind the popular wrinkle-eraser Restylane, Macrolane was initially launched in Europe as correctional filler for body indentations. It wasn’t until it was used in Japan 3½ years ago that it really found its niche, offering a nation of comparatively flat-chested women the chance to increase their breast size without surgery, scarring or hospital downtime. So far, about 30,000 Japanese women have chosen Macrolane to boost their assets, the Times reported.
The procedure sounds straightforward enough. It takes about 45 minutes and involves a tiny incision being made in the crease under each breast, so that gel filler made of hyaluronic acid can be pumped in through a flexible knitting needle-sized canula. There is no general anesthetic and you don’t need to take time off work to recover afterwards.
It’s not surprising that aesthetic doctors are excited about the new technique. Such a treatment is sure to be a boon for surgery-shy women who want bigger boobs, but have been too scared to go under the knife. Dr Mike Comins of Hans Place Practice in Knightsbridge, one of UK clinics using Macrolane for breasts, thinks it could spell the end of the boob job. “The implant look is so last decade,” he says. “The vogue now is to have a subtle change and, unlike silicone, with its limited shapes, you can tailor Macrolane to suit your needs.”
Practitioners also claim that it’s safer than implants, as the gel is made of stabilized, non-animal hyaluronic acid, a substance that occurs naturally in the body. A year or so after the jab, the gel breaks down — something that appeals to women who prefer to take a more natural approach to beauty.
Tiny teenager from India is smallest girl in the world
A teenager from India who stands at a tiny 1ft 11in (58cm) tall is the smallest girl in the world.
Jyoti Amge, 14, is shorter than the average two-year-old child and only weighs 11lb (5kg).
She has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia and won't grow any taller than her current height.
Due to her size, Jyoti has to have clothes and jewellery made for her. She sleeps in a tiny bed and uses special plates and cutlery to eat, as normal-sized utensils are too big.
Despite this, she goes to a regular school in Nagpur, central India, where she has her own small desk and chair, and her classmates treat her like any other student.
Jyoti also shares common interests with other teenagers, with a love for DVDs and fashionable dresses.
She said: 'I am proud of being small. I love all the attention I get. I'm not scared of being small and I don't regret it.
'I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different.'
Jyoti is treated like a mini-celebrity in her home town, where people flock to meet her and some even treat her like a goddess.
She will even be releasing an album with her favourite Indian pop star, the bhangra/rap star Mika Singh.
Her mum, Ranjana Amge, 45, said: 'When Jyoti was born, she seemed quite normal. We came to know about her disorder when she was five.
'We consulted a specialist and he said she will be this size all of her life. Jyoti is small, yet cute, and we love her very much.'
Jyoti is ambitious and hopes to work as a Bollywood actress one day.
She said: 'I would love to work in a big city like Mumbai, act in films and travel to London and America.
'I'm proud of being small. I love all the attention I get because of it.'
Her dad, Kishanji Amge, 52, said: 'I can't separate myself from her even for a single day. I love her very much.
'She makes me proud. Lots of gurus come to see and bless her. They pray for her happiness and long life.'
Jyoti Amge, 14, is shorter than the average two-year-old child and only weighs 11lb (5kg).
She has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia and won't grow any taller than her current height.
Due to her size, Jyoti has to have clothes and jewellery made for her. She sleeps in a tiny bed and uses special plates and cutlery to eat, as normal-sized utensils are too big.
Despite this, she goes to a regular school in Nagpur, central India, where she has her own small desk and chair, and her classmates treat her like any other student.
Jyoti also shares common interests with other teenagers, with a love for DVDs and fashionable dresses.
She said: 'I am proud of being small. I love all the attention I get. I'm not scared of being small and I don't regret it.
'I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different.'
Jyoti is treated like a mini-celebrity in her home town, where people flock to meet her and some even treat her like a goddess.
She will even be releasing an album with her favourite Indian pop star, the bhangra/rap star Mika Singh.
Her mum, Ranjana Amge, 45, said: 'When Jyoti was born, she seemed quite normal. We came to know about her disorder when she was five.
'We consulted a specialist and he said she will be this size all of her life. Jyoti is small, yet cute, and we love her very much.'
Jyoti is ambitious and hopes to work as a Bollywood actress one day.
She said: 'I would love to work in a big city like Mumbai, act in films and travel to London and America.
'I'm proud of being small. I love all the attention I get because of it.'
Her dad, Kishanji Amge, 52, said: 'I can't separate myself from her even for a single day. I love her very much.
'She makes me proud. Lots of gurus come to see and bless her. They pray for her happiness and long life.'
Amazing pictures of pregnant man as he tells Oprah 'people may try to kill my baby'
The man who stunned the world when he announced he was pregnant gave an intimate insight into his personal life in a revealing television interview with Oprah. 
Beatie said he was afraid of how people would react when he gives birth.
"I want to make it easier for the next couple like us, but I'm afraid.
"Afraid of how people will react for our safety. I don't want to lose the life we have." Nancy, a mother of two, added: "We know this is a hard thing for some people to understand.
"But to us we're just a husband and wife who are having a baby."
Thomas Beatie stripped off for the cameras and bared his baby bump and also revealed pictures from his beauty queen days as a young woman.
However, the 34-year-old transsexual also told chat show host Oprah Winfrey that he feared for his own safety and admitted doctors had warned him his baby could be killed because of the revulsion at her birth.
Now six-months pregnant, Beatie walked onto the show with a grey cardigan stretched over the growing bump.
The TV chat show queen was filmed patting Beatie's bulging stomach during the hour long interview with his wife Nancy.
The 34-year-old transsexual was filmed for the show undergoing an ultrasound scan and preparing for the birth of their daughter.
Blurred images of the baby girl could clearly be seen as a smiling Beatie looked on.
Beatie said many doctors had refused to treat him and one warned him: "People would try to kill my baby because it is an abomination."
His appearance on US TV was part of a media blitz to knock down suggestions the pregnancy was a hoax.
As well as the Oprah show, Beatie also gave a detailed interview to People magazine.
The former beauty pageant queen, who conceived through artificial insemination, confessed many people saw him as a "freak".
He said some of his own family members had referred to the baby as "monster".
He accepts that not everyone will understand why he and his 45-year-old wife decided to have a child, which is due in July.
The couple, from Bend, Oregon, said they had already thought about the task of telling their child how she came into the world.
"When she's old enough, we'll sit her down and tell her everything," Beatie said.
"We will tell her how her parents love each other and love her very much.
"Our daughter is beating these incredible odds to get here - physical obstacles, social obstacles, everything.
"And in my dreams I dream the world will see her the way we do,as this amazing gift to us. As a miracle."
Beatie,who was born Tracy LaGondino in Hawaii, caused a worldwide sensation last week when he revealed the pregnancy in the gay magazine The Advocate.
But after neighbours in Oregon poured scorn on the pregnancy it was thought to be an elaborate hoax.
Beatie legally became a man after undergoing a sex change operation - but kept her female reproductive organs.
He told People magazine he decided to get pregnant after wife of five years Nancy had a hysterectomy.
"If Nancy could get pregnant, I wouldn't be doing this," he said.
"But who hires a surrogate if they are perfectly capable of carrying their own child?
"Why would I trust someone else when I know I'll do a better job of taking care of my body than anyone?
"And I'll be the father and Nancy will be the mother.
"Having this baby doesn't make me any less of a man."
Beatie said he was afraid of how people would react when he gives birth.
"I want to make it easier for the next couple like us, but I'm afraid.
"Afraid of how people will react for our safety. I don't want to lose the life we have." Nancy, a mother of two, added: "We know this is a hard thing for some people to understand.
"But to us we're just a husband and wife who are having a baby."
Hero husband rescues wife from crocodile 'death roll' by jumping on its back
A courageous husband was hailed a hero after jumping on a crocodile and poking it in the eyes to rescue his wife from its crushing jaws.
As Wendy Pethrick, 36, was attacked by the croc in a creek in Australia's remote Northern Territory, she struggled to try to prise open the two-metre reptile's jaws.
She screamed out for help to her husband Norm, who was on the bank. Without a moment's hesitation, he leapt on the croc, which was about to go into a “death roll” with Mrs Pethrick under the water.
He battered the croc, felt for its eyes and poked them until it let his wife go.
The terrified couple were then able to struggle to safety. Mother-of-three Wendy suffered eight deep puncture wounds to her left thigh, a cut to her right thigh and a severe cut to a finger.
The couple had been enjoying a day out at the Litchfield National Park, near Darwin, where swimming in the freshwater creeks is considered safe from crocodiles.
There has never been a crocodile attack there before.
From her hospital bed, Mrs Pethrick said: “I'm lucky to be alive, thanks to Norm. It's a love affair. I gave him a very big kiss.
'The croc was very fast. One minute I was standing there on the river bank and the next it had me in its teeth and was pulling me in the water.
'But my husband was even faster. He is a real hero.'
As Wendy Pethrick, 36, was attacked by the croc in a creek in Australia's remote Northern Territory, she struggled to try to prise open the two-metre reptile's jaws.
She screamed out for help to her husband Norm, who was on the bank. Without a moment's hesitation, he leapt on the croc, which was about to go into a “death roll” with Mrs Pethrick under the water.
He battered the croc, felt for its eyes and poked them until it let his wife go.
The terrified couple were then able to struggle to safety. Mother-of-three Wendy suffered eight deep puncture wounds to her left thigh, a cut to her right thigh and a severe cut to a finger.
The couple had been enjoying a day out at the Litchfield National Park, near Darwin, where swimming in the freshwater creeks is considered safe from crocodiles.
There has never been a crocodile attack there before.
From her hospital bed, Mrs Pethrick said: “I'm lucky to be alive, thanks to Norm. It's a love affair. I gave him a very big kiss.
'The croc was very fast. One minute I was standing there on the river bank and the next it had me in its teeth and was pulling me in the water.
'But my husband was even faster. He is a real hero.'
Mr Pethrick added: “When you need to save someone you love, you do it.
'You could call it a two-pronged attack. At least I can make light of it now - I'm just very, very happy that between the two of us we were able to make the croc let go.'
Dr Len Notaras, general manager of the Royal Darwin Hospital, said: 'But for his heroism and then the swift action of both husband and wife in poking the crocodile in the eyes to make it let go, this could have had a fatal and tragic ending.
'His swift and diligent actions without any doubt saved her life because once he started poking the crocodile in the eyes, his wife did the same. He bravely and selflessly responded it what was a very dangerous situation.'
The hospital dealt with three crocodile attack victims last year, he added.
Ranger Luke Playford said: 'There's been a lot of heavy rain in recent months and these saltwater crocodiles can find their way into rivers and creeks where they are not normally found,' he added.
The world's fattest man loses half his body weight - but still weighs almost 50 stone
The world's fattest man has shed half his body weight - losing a staggering 40 stone by going on a low-carb diet.
Manuel Uribe tipped the scales at a whopping 89.8 stone after a 14-year junk food binge.
The 42-year-old former mechanic, who has been bedridden for six years, stuffed his face with burgers, pizzas and fizzy drinks.
At his heaviest he suffered from lesions and sores on his legs which he bound up with duct tape to stop them from getting infected.
But he is now determined to get back to a healthy weight and after two years of intense dieting he has shed 40.7 stone.
His target weight is now 15.7 stone and his strict diet now consists of fish soup, one grapefruit, half an apple and 18 peanuts.
Manuel, who lives in Moterrey, Mexico, with his fiancée Claudia Solis Miranda and his mother Orilia, started dieting after a tearful TV appeal two years ago where he begged viewers to save his life.
Medical experts from Italy and Spain offered to carry out gastric bypass surgery on him - but he refused and instead accepted the help of US biochemist Dr Barry Sears, who prescribed the high-protein Zone Diet.
By last year he had slimmed down to 60 stone and celebrated by sipping champagne.
But despite spending 14 years gorging junk food, doctors believe Manuel's colossal weight is caused by a hormone imbalance.
One of his nutritionists, Alejandra Garcia, said: "It's about controlling his hormones. It is not some outlandish fad diet. It is simple common sense refined by science."
Manuel, whose story will be told on Extraordinary People: The World's Heaviest Man at 9pm on Five tonight, added: "I feel great. The doctors say I'm healthier than ever."
Before his diet, his usual breakfast would consist of four eggs, rice, beans and tortillas.
He said: "People think that I can eat a whole cow but it's not just overeating, it's also a hormonal problem."
Manuel Uribe tipped the scales at a whopping 89.8 stone after a 14-year junk food binge.
The 42-year-old former mechanic, who has been bedridden for six years, stuffed his face with burgers, pizzas and fizzy drinks.
At his heaviest he suffered from lesions and sores on his legs which he bound up with duct tape to stop them from getting infected.
But he is now determined to get back to a healthy weight and after two years of intense dieting he has shed 40.7 stone.
His target weight is now 15.7 stone and his strict diet now consists of fish soup, one grapefruit, half an apple and 18 peanuts.
Manuel, who lives in Moterrey, Mexico, with his fiancée Claudia Solis Miranda and his mother Orilia, started dieting after a tearful TV appeal two years ago where he begged viewers to save his life.
Medical experts from Italy and Spain offered to carry out gastric bypass surgery on him - but he refused and instead accepted the help of US biochemist Dr Barry Sears, who prescribed the high-protein Zone Diet.
By last year he had slimmed down to 60 stone and celebrated by sipping champagne.
But despite spending 14 years gorging junk food, doctors believe Manuel's colossal weight is caused by a hormone imbalance.
One of his nutritionists, Alejandra Garcia, said: "It's about controlling his hormones. It is not some outlandish fad diet. It is simple common sense refined by science."
Manuel, whose story will be told on Extraordinary People: The World's Heaviest Man at 9pm on Five tonight, added: "I feel great. The doctors say I'm healthier than ever."
Before his diet, his usual breakfast would consist of four eggs, rice, beans and tortillas.
He said: "People think that I can eat a whole cow but it's not just overeating, it's also a hormonal problem."
Climbing up the Ice Fang
The Fang is an ice formation in Vail, Colorado is a world famous ice pillar that forms on exceptionally cold winters. Then, when the weather drops, these cascades turn into a giant pillar of ice: a 50 meters high column and about 8 meter large at the base. Video after the jump.
Car Thieves Leave Cars, but Take the Catalytic Converters
The catalytic converter is made with trace amounts of platinum, palladium and rhodium, which speed chemical reactions and help clean emissions at very high temperatures. Selling stolen converters to scrap yards or recyclers, a thief can net a couple of hundred dollars apiece. Exactly how much depends on the size of the car and its converter.
Jose Fernandez said he decided some time ago that on his salary as a restaurant worker, he was better off without his 1996 Toyota 4Runner. He hoped to make a nice bit of cash from its sale.
Before he could do that, though, someone beat him to extracting value: A thief sneaked under the sport utility vehicle with a battery-powered saw, slicing from the Toyota’s underbelly what may be one of the most expensive small parts of the auto world: the catalytic converter, an essential emissions-control device made with small amounts of metals more precious than gold. Who knew? Mr. Fernandez didn’t.
Inside the lobby of the New Windy City Mufflers and Brakes shop, Mr. Fernandez said he had heard a rumor that catalytic converters had suddenly become the rage on the black market here, but he did not believe it until his went missing on a well-lighted North Side street.
Theft of scrap metals like copper and aluminum has been common here and across the country for years, fueled by rising construction costs and the building boom in China. But now thieves have found an easy payday from the upper echelon of the periodic table. It seems there may not be an easier place to score some platinum than under the hood of a car.
“This morning I woke up and walked out, turned the key and there was a noise like this,†Mr. Fernandez said, grumbling the trainlike roar that cars make when they are missing their converters. “And now to fix it, I don’t want to spend the money because it’s really expensive.â€
The price of gold recently hit record highs, crossing the $1,000-an-ounce mark before retreating a bit. Less well publicized has been the fate of the even-more-rarefied metals platinum, palladium and rhodium, with platinum hitting recent record highs of more than $2,300 an ounce. People who may have thought their lives had nothing to do with the booming commodities market are finding out the hard way where their connection is — in their car’s exhaust system.
The catalytic converter is made with trace amounts of platinum, palladium and rhodium, which speed chemical reactions and help clean emissions at very high temperatures. Selling stolen converters to scrap yards or recyclers, a thief can net a couple of hundred dollars apiece.
Exactly how much depends on the size of the car and its converter. But even a little bit is worth a lot. Converter thefts are the quickie crime du jour, not only in Chicago, where workers in auto body shops and other experts say it is increasingly a nuisance, but anywhere cars are, which is to say basically everywhere.
“These are definitely occurring more than they have in recent memory, and why that is is definitely tied to the price of precious metals within converters,†said Frank Scafidi, spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Replacement converters usually start around $450. “When you start getting into the larger S.U.V.’s, it’s $1,000-plus,†said Don Tommasone, owner of Village Automotive, a car care center just outside the city. “The larger the catalytic, the more platinum. That’s the ones they’re stealing. It’s also easier to crawl underneath them. They don’t need to jack up the vehicle, they just saw it right off.â€
This month in Memphis, 140 children were stuck at their day care center after thieves stole the catalytic converters from the center’s two vans. Recently in Columbus, Ohio, 25 cars in one parking lot were vandalized for their catalytic converters. And several states are working on legislation to make it harder to resell what up to now was a part little known outside the world of auto enthusiasts and mechanics.
Because stealing a converter does not involve actually breaking into a car, it often goes undetected. Alarms and other precautions, like parking in a well-lighted area, are scant defenses.
Last year in Minnesota, someone broke into the Ramsey Police Department’s impound lot and took 19 catalytic converters off the vehicles there, a spokeswoman said. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis ran this headline about the break-in: “Thieves Show How Low They’ll Go.â€
Jim Lyon lives opposite a police station in the Chicago suburb of Westmont, and can see his Jeep Cherokee from his window. Still, someone got him. “They’ll probably get 150 bucks for two minutes’ work. Not bad!†Mr. Lyon said. “As soon as I realized there was precious metal inside, I knew what they were looking for.â€
Legs sticking out from under a car were a tip-off this year for the Chicago police, who said they spotted a man in the Lakeview neighborhood just before he slithered from under the car and discarded a power saw along the curb. The man and three accomplices were charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools.
“When will this stop?†wondered Chris McGoey, an auto theft expert. “When they’re not worth anything any more.â€
Bizarre ball of twisted metal space junk falls from the sky into farmer's backyard
It might not be much to look at, but this ball of twisted metal has been all the way into space - and back again.
James Stirton, who found it in his backyard, was initially mystified by the object's appearance. The 20kg heap of tangled carbon fibre and steel stuck out like a sore thumb from the dry scrubland of his cattle farm in Queensland, Australia.
"I was just riding along on my bike and it was beside the road, beside a track out in the paddock," Mr Stirton said.
"I just wondered what it was so I went over and had a look at it and I figured it must have fallen from the sky because there's no tracks or traffic or anything out here."
He added: "I know a lot about sheep and cattle but I don't know much about satellites. But I would say it is a fuel cell off some stage of a rocket."
Brisbane Planetarium curator Mark Rigby was asked to examine the object, which landed in the small town of Cheepie, west of Charleville in November last year.
He said there was "no doubt" it was a helium or nitrogen tank from a rocket, probably one that had been used to blast a U.S. solar satellite into space more than 18 months ago.
"I looked at what had been coming down around that time and orbits and things like that and managed to narrow the time frame based on when the farmer found it," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"This particular object was predicted for re-entry (into the Earth's atmosphere) at 11.47am Australian Eastern Standard time on November 1, 2007, which would have put it near Indonesia.
"I don't know why, but I think it has just sort of limped on a bit and ended up in Charleville."
After checking space flight records, Mr Rigby said the rocket had likely been launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on October 26, 2006.
It was used to send up one of two Stereo satellites into orbit to study the sun.
Helium or nitrogen tanks are used to pressurise the rocket's fuel systems and also to manoeuvre the spacecraft.
Mr Rigby said falling space junk was not as uncommon as people might think.
Nasa scientists estimated last year that more than 9,000 pieces of space debris are orbiting the Earth - and the hazard will only get worse in the next few years.
Much of the debris results from explosions of satellites, especially old upper stages left in orbit with leftover fuel and high-pressure fluids inside.
"There is about 5,000 tons' worth of operational and non-operational satellites and space junk in orbit at any one time," Mr Rigby added.
"There are things like this re-entering the Earth's atmosphere every week. The predictions can be quite uncertain about where it is going to come down."
Indeed, the remote area where Mr Stirton lives, around 500miles (800km) west of the northern Queensland state capital of Brisbane, is something of a magnet for so-called "space junk".
In 1979, large parts of the Skylab space station famously fell to earth near a tiny outback town in the west of Australia.
The local council sent Nasa a ticket for littering and the U.S. President at the time, Jimmy Carter, rang a local motel to apologise.
James Stirton, who found it in his backyard, was initially mystified by the object's appearance. The 20kg heap of tangled carbon fibre and steel stuck out like a sore thumb from the dry scrubland of his cattle farm in Queensland, Australia.
"I was just riding along on my bike and it was beside the road, beside a track out in the paddock," Mr Stirton said.
"I just wondered what it was so I went over and had a look at it and I figured it must have fallen from the sky because there's no tracks or traffic or anything out here."
He added: "I know a lot about sheep and cattle but I don't know much about satellites. But I would say it is a fuel cell off some stage of a rocket."
Brisbane Planetarium curator Mark Rigby was asked to examine the object, which landed in the small town of Cheepie, west of Charleville in November last year.
He said there was "no doubt" it was a helium or nitrogen tank from a rocket, probably one that had been used to blast a U.S. solar satellite into space more than 18 months ago.
"I looked at what had been coming down around that time and orbits and things like that and managed to narrow the time frame based on when the farmer found it," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"This particular object was predicted for re-entry (into the Earth's atmosphere) at 11.47am Australian Eastern Standard time on November 1, 2007, which would have put it near Indonesia.
"I don't know why, but I think it has just sort of limped on a bit and ended up in Charleville."
After checking space flight records, Mr Rigby said the rocket had likely been launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on October 26, 2006.
It was used to send up one of two Stereo satellites into orbit to study the sun.
Helium or nitrogen tanks are used to pressurise the rocket's fuel systems and also to manoeuvre the spacecraft.
Mr Rigby said falling space junk was not as uncommon as people might think.
Nasa scientists estimated last year that more than 9,000 pieces of space debris are orbiting the Earth - and the hazard will only get worse in the next few years.
Much of the debris results from explosions of satellites, especially old upper stages left in orbit with leftover fuel and high-pressure fluids inside.
"There is about 5,000 tons' worth of operational and non-operational satellites and space junk in orbit at any one time," Mr Rigby added.
"There are things like this re-entering the Earth's atmosphere every week. The predictions can be quite uncertain about where it is going to come down."
Indeed, the remote area where Mr Stirton lives, around 500miles (800km) west of the northern Queensland state capital of Brisbane, is something of a magnet for so-called "space junk".
In 1979, large parts of the Skylab space station famously fell to earth near a tiny outback town in the west of Australia.
The local council sent Nasa a ticket for littering and the U.S. President at the time, Jimmy Carter, rang a local motel to apologise.
Scientists discover biggest meteorite ever to hit Britain
It hurtled to Earth at a mind-boggling 38,000 mph and exploded on impact with the force of more than 1,000 nuclear bombs.
Anyone standing nearby would have been instantly burnt to a crisp by the scorching 200mph winds that swept across the land in its wake.
Such a terrifying spectacle would certainly have done little for the tourist industry in the tranquil Highland port of Ullapool which stood at very centre of Britain's largest ever meteorite strike. If only anybody was around to witness it.
Fortunately, it is around 1.2 billion years since the meteorite unleashed its destructive power on this starkly beautiful corner of north-west Scotland.
Yet, it is only now that scientists have finally uncovered the evidence to prove where the giant rock, which may have measured up to half a mile in diameter and left a crater eight miles wide, landed.
Academics from Aberdeen and Oxford universities are now convinced that it was a meteorite which caused highly unusual rock formations along a 30-mile stretch of coastline that draw thousands of visitors every year.
Previously, it was thought the intricate deposits of brightly coloured and rare minerals found on the Stoer peninsula were created by volcanic activity.
But after spending two years studying tiny samples of rock from the mountain Stac Fada under a microscope, geologists believe they have identified fragments of meteorite and say the centre of the crater would be where Ullapool now stands.
Ken Amor, of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences, said: "This is the most spectacular evidence for a meteorite impact within the British Isles found to date.
"If there had been human observers in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago, they would have seen quite a show.
"The massive impact of the meteorite would have melted rocks and thrown up an enormous cloud of vapour that scattered material over a large part of the region around Ullapool.
"The crater was rapidly buried by sandstone which helped to preserve the evidence.
"What we have discovered about this meteorite strike could help us to understand the ancient impacts that shaped the surface of other planets, such as Mars."
Chemical testing of the sample rocks revealed evidence of what is knowns as an "ejecta blanket". This represents debris thrown out when the huge projectile slammed into the Earth's crust.
The ejected material was scattered over a 30-mile radius and the researchers found rocks containing high levels of iridium, a key sign of meteoritic activity.
Mr Amor added: "We found more evidence when we examined the rocks under a microscope; tell-tale microscopic parallel fractures that also imply a meteorite strike."
The geologists have now published their findings in the science journal Geology.
Co-author Professor John Parnell, head of Geology & Petroleum Geology at Aberdeen University, said: "These rocks are superbly displayed on the west coast of Scotland.
"Building up the evidence has been painstaking, but has resulted in proof of the largest meteorite strike known in the British Isles."
Space rubble, including meteorites, left over from the creation of the solar system has been landing on Earth for billions of years but only 174 have been large enough to leave craters or remnants of craters that are known to exist.
The world's largest known meteorite crater is at Bredefort in South Africa's Free State Province, which measures around 190 miles across.
Scott Thackrey, a PhD student at Aberdeen University who also worked on the report, said: "If this meteorite had struck Ullapool today, then the blast would have burnt the skin off people standing in Inverness 60 miles away. And 20 seconds after impact, Aberdeen which is 160 miles away would have suffered winds up to 200mph."
But, he added: "People nowadays should feel totally safe as we know the position of all major meteorites and they will not be heading our way."
Anyone standing nearby would have been instantly burnt to a crisp by the scorching 200mph winds that swept across the land in its wake.
Such a terrifying spectacle would certainly have done little for the tourist industry in the tranquil Highland port of Ullapool which stood at very centre of Britain's largest ever meteorite strike. If only anybody was around to witness it.
Fortunately, it is around 1.2 billion years since the meteorite unleashed its destructive power on this starkly beautiful corner of north-west Scotland.
Yet, it is only now that scientists have finally uncovered the evidence to prove where the giant rock, which may have measured up to half a mile in diameter and left a crater eight miles wide, landed.
Academics from Aberdeen and Oxford universities are now convinced that it was a meteorite which caused highly unusual rock formations along a 30-mile stretch of coastline that draw thousands of visitors every year.
Previously, it was thought the intricate deposits of brightly coloured and rare minerals found on the Stoer peninsula were created by volcanic activity.
But after spending two years studying tiny samples of rock from the mountain Stac Fada under a microscope, geologists believe they have identified fragments of meteorite and say the centre of the crater would be where Ullapool now stands.
Ken Amor, of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences, said: "This is the most spectacular evidence for a meteorite impact within the British Isles found to date.
"If there had been human observers in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago, they would have seen quite a show.
"The massive impact of the meteorite would have melted rocks and thrown up an enormous cloud of vapour that scattered material over a large part of the region around Ullapool.
"The crater was rapidly buried by sandstone which helped to preserve the evidence.
"What we have discovered about this meteorite strike could help us to understand the ancient impacts that shaped the surface of other planets, such as Mars."
Chemical testing of the sample rocks revealed evidence of what is knowns as an "ejecta blanket". This represents debris thrown out when the huge projectile slammed into the Earth's crust.
The ejected material was scattered over a 30-mile radius and the researchers found rocks containing high levels of iridium, a key sign of meteoritic activity.
Mr Amor added: "We found more evidence when we examined the rocks under a microscope; tell-tale microscopic parallel fractures that also imply a meteorite strike."
The geologists have now published their findings in the science journal Geology.
Co-author Professor John Parnell, head of Geology & Petroleum Geology at Aberdeen University, said: "These rocks are superbly displayed on the west coast of Scotland.
"Building up the evidence has been painstaking, but has resulted in proof of the largest meteorite strike known in the British Isles."
Space rubble, including meteorites, left over from the creation of the solar system has been landing on Earth for billions of years but only 174 have been large enough to leave craters or remnants of craters that are known to exist.
The world's largest known meteorite crater is at Bredefort in South Africa's Free State Province, which measures around 190 miles across.
Scott Thackrey, a PhD student at Aberdeen University who also worked on the report, said: "If this meteorite had struck Ullapool today, then the blast would have burnt the skin off people standing in Inverness 60 miles away. And 20 seconds after impact, Aberdeen which is 160 miles away would have suffered winds up to 200mph."
But, he added: "People nowadays should feel totally safe as we know the position of all major meteorites and they will not be heading our way."
The Pregnant Husband: Transgender Man Expecting a Baby
To his neighbors, Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy are just another young happy couple living in a quiet Oregon neighborhood. But Thomas is no ordinary man: he is transgender and now … he is pregnant!
Ten years ago, when Nancy and I became a couple, the idea of us having a child was more dream than plan. I always wanted to have children. However, due to severe endometriosis 20 years ago, Nancy had to undergo a hysterectomy and is unable to carry a child. But after the success of our custom screen-printing business and a move from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest two years ago, the timing finally seemed right. I stopped taking my bimonthly testosterone injections. It had been roughly eight years since I had my last menstrual cycle, so this wasn’t a decision that I took lightly. My body regulated itself after about four months, and I didn’t have to take any exogenous estrogen, progesterone, or fertility drugs to aid my pregnancy.
Naturally, some people are shocked:
“Our situation sparks legal, political, and social unknowns. We have only begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by our situation. Doctors have discriminated against us, turning us away due to their religious beliefs. Health care professionals have refused to call me by a male pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife. Receptionists have laughed at us. Friends and family have been unsupportive; most of Nancy’s family doesn’t even know I’m transgender.”
I bet they do now!!!
There's something fishy about this as monster eel scares city-centre shoppers
A monster from the deep lurks in the heart of one of Britain's great cities, terrifying the unwary who catch a glimpse of it deathly eyes staring from its icy bed.
Even with its razor-sharp teeth concealed in its closed jaws, the massive conger eel has been enough to give passers-by a scare in Manchester's Arndale Centre.
But there will be no Beowulf-style quest to kill the huge creature - the job has already been done.
The 7ft, 12-stone eel has pride of place on the stall of fishmonger Steve Williams.
It took three men to lift the enormous eel - landed by fishermen off Cornwall - out of its icebox when it arrived at Whales Fish and Poultry, Mr Williams' store in the shopping centre.
He said: "In 18 years I have never seen a monster this big. A lot of customers have actually been quite frightened by it."
Conger eels approaching 18 stone in weight have been caught by commercial fisherman off Britain's shores.
They are thought to migrate to the Sargasso Sea in the sub-tropical Atlantic to breed, spawning at depths of 10,000 to 12,000 feet.
Even with its razor-sharp teeth concealed in its closed jaws, the massive conger eel has been enough to give passers-by a scare in Manchester's Arndale Centre.
But there will be no Beowulf-style quest to kill the huge creature - the job has already been done.
The 7ft, 12-stone eel has pride of place on the stall of fishmonger Steve Williams.
It took three men to lift the enormous eel - landed by fishermen off Cornwall - out of its icebox when it arrived at Whales Fish and Poultry, Mr Williams' store in the shopping centre.
He said: "In 18 years I have never seen a monster this big. A lot of customers have actually been quite frightened by it."
Conger eels approaching 18 stone in weight have been caught by commercial fisherman off Britain's shores.
They are thought to migrate to the Sargasso Sea in the sub-tropical Atlantic to breed, spawning at depths of 10,000 to 12,000 feet.
Giant stingray kills sunbathing woman by leaping onto boat and impaling her through the neck
A woman sunbathing on the deck of a boat was killed after a stingray leapt out of the water and impaled her through the neck with a poisonous barb.
Judy Zagorski, 57, was on holiday with her family on the boat when the bizarre incident happened.
It was not immediately clear if she was killed by the barb of the 6ft spotted eagle ray or whether she suffered a fatal injury when she banged her head.
The incident off the Florida Keys was reminiscent of the freak death of Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin who was killed by a different type of ray while filming on Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 2006 when its barb pierced his heart.
Spotted eagle rays can grow up to 17 feet in length and weigh up to 35 stone. They are known to occasionally jump out of the water, but are not aggressive.
"It's a bizarre accident," said Jorge Pino, an agent with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Mrs Zagorski and her familym from Michigan on an early Easter break, were aboard a boat in the Atlantic Ocean, off the city of Marathon in the Florida Keys, he said.
"A large ray jumped out of the water and collided with the victim and somehow the barb penetrated some part of her body, which caused her to fall back and hit her head on some portion of the vessel," Pino said.
"We don't know exactly which one of those things caused her death."
Her father who was driving the boat " had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously," Pino said.
Eagle rays are common in warm or tropical waters and are often seen near coral reefs. The spotted creatures can have two to six short, venomous barbs near the base of their whip-like tails.
The rays often swim near the water's surface and can leap out, especially when pursued, but are generally shy of humans.
"All rays leap out of the water from time to time but certainly to see one collide with a vessel is extremely unusual," Pino said.
"Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites," said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada.
"They do not attack people."
Judy Zagorski, 57, was on holiday with her family on the boat when the bizarre incident happened.
It was not immediately clear if she was killed by the barb of the 6ft spotted eagle ray or whether she suffered a fatal injury when she banged her head.
The incident off the Florida Keys was reminiscent of the freak death of Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin who was killed by a different type of ray while filming on Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 2006 when its barb pierced his heart.
Spotted eagle rays can grow up to 17 feet in length and weigh up to 35 stone. They are known to occasionally jump out of the water, but are not aggressive.
"It's a bizarre accident," said Jorge Pino, an agent with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Mrs Zagorski and her familym from Michigan on an early Easter break, were aboard a boat in the Atlantic Ocean, off the city of Marathon in the Florida Keys, he said.
"A large ray jumped out of the water and collided with the victim and somehow the barb penetrated some part of her body, which caused her to fall back and hit her head on some portion of the vessel," Pino said.
"We don't know exactly which one of those things caused her death."
Her father who was driving the boat " had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously," Pino said.
Eagle rays are common in warm or tropical waters and are often seen near coral reefs. The spotted creatures can have two to six short, venomous barbs near the base of their whip-like tails.
The rays often swim near the water's surface and can leap out, especially when pursued, but are generally shy of humans.
"All rays leap out of the water from time to time but certainly to see one collide with a vessel is extremely unusual," Pino said.
"Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites," said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada.
"They do not attack people."
Amazing pictures capture elephants making a gigantic snowball
They are more used to a balmy climate, but as these amazing pictures show, elephants love to play in the snow too.
Two of the massive mammals played together in the cold safari park in Ontario, Canada and even made a gigantic snowball together.
The elephants at the African Lion Safari in Hamilton, used their trunks to gather the snow and pile it high to create the massive ball of ice.
They worked hard to compact the snow and the structure was so stable that one of the safari park workers could stand on it.
The park was founded by a retired Canadian Army colonel and opened its doors to the public in 1969. From 1985 they made a concentrated effort to breed Asian elephants. And if these pictures are anything to go by, their descendants are having a ball.
via videosift.com
Two of the massive mammals played together in the cold safari park in Ontario, Canada and even made a gigantic snowball together.
The elephants at the African Lion Safari in Hamilton, used their trunks to gather the snow and pile it high to create the massive ball of ice.
They worked hard to compact the snow and the structure was so stable that one of the safari park workers could stand on it.
The park was founded by a retired Canadian Army colonel and opened its doors to the public in 1969. From 1985 they made a concentrated effort to breed Asian elephants. And if these pictures are anything to go by, their descendants are having a ball.
via videosift.com
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