Follow-ups

Ironic deaths 2/4/10 A woman who fell from her high-rise apartment in Hong Kong died - along with the woman she fell on. British researchers find that people really can be bored to death. And singing Frank Sinatra's "My Way" at a karaoke bar in the Philippines might get you killed.

The chair and the car 2/3/10 Reader Brian points out that the stain at the top of the Lincoln chair is due to hair pomade and not the bloodstain that many mistake it for.

Bees 1/30/10 After reading this post, reader Lisa Wood sent me the link to this charming short film. An Australian study shows that bees may be able to recognize faces. As few as 30 Asian giant hornets can decimate a hive of 30,000 honeybees.

Vivisection 1/22/10 Reader Cynthia said this post reminded her of the scene in the movie "Hannibal" where Lecter opens the cranium of his drugged but ambulatory victim and serves him up some of his own brains. Here are some photos of a prefrontal lobotomy. An article debating having pets "debarked" - and 2 examples of what dogs sound like afterward. A Rhode Island man has been charged with animal cruelty and unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine after operating on his own dog. A California biologist made headlines in the 1930s when he put a dog to death and brought it back to life.

Gatorland! 1/21/10 Two British crocodiles have been taught to respond to their names. An alligator has been found in Kansas. New York marks the 75th anniversary of the urban legend about alligators in the sewers.

Disaster intensity scales 1/13/10 Yellowstone National Park is being shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes.

Views from space 1/11/10 A schematic drawing showing the distribution of satellites orbiting the earth. Previously unseen video of the Challenger disaster is released and evidence reveals that the astronauts were alive during the fall. The International Space Station is getting a new observation dome. Take this fantastic video tour of the ISS.

Thwarted 1/7/10 A suspect in the theft of the Auschwitz sign has been arrested in Sweden.

Good cove, bad cove 1/6/10 Bats and dolphins evolved separately from the same sonar gene.

Volcano videos 1/5/10 Scientists discovered a new type of lightning during the eruption of Mt. Redoubt. Lava threatens the last home in Royal Gardens, Hawaii.

Snakes to the rescue 1/4/10 The tentacled snake of Southeast Asia tricks its prey. A dog in New Zealand saves 3 kids from a deadly tiger snake. Giant extinct snake likely fed on crocodiles, according to American researchers.

Happy New Year! 1/1/10 This man uses glass(es) as an instrument.

Bushmeat 12/27/09 If you want to wear fur without feeling guilty, wear nutria fur. If you want to get rid of your fur coat, the Humane Society suggests giving it away to be used by a needy orphaned animal. Read about the strange things - including bushmeat - that U.S. Customs officials confiscate.

Secret rooms 12/25/09 A Georgia couple has discovered a trapdoor leading to a secret room in their house.

Child heroes 12/23/09 A New Jersey toddler has saved her grandmother's life.

Otis elevator, part 2 12/13/09 A woman in Ukraine is killed by an elevator.

Hermit - 2 scenarios 12/8/09 A Chinese couple lived in a cave for 50 years. Worms are eating away the centuries-old carvings in England's Royston Cave.

More white tigers 11/24/09 A live bull put in a tiger's cage in a Chinese zoo has failed to provoke the beast's natural instincts. More about China "farming" tigers. Genetic analysis reveals that tigers evolved much earlier than thought. The Sumatran tiger may go extinct by 2015. A leopard tries unsuccessfully to snack on a porcupine. Meanwhile, a friendly porcupine begs for food at a Colorado ski resort.

Stone/house 11/19/09 A 10' boulder crashed through the wall of a Tennessee woman's house.

Cloaca 11/17/09 Artist William Delvoye also tattoos pigs. A Japanese company has invented a device that recycles office waste paper into toilet paper.

Circus animals on the lam 11/13/09 A monkey has been spotted roaming the suburbs of Darwin, Australia. Three cheetahs made their escape from a New Zealand wildlife park by swimming across a moat.

Fatal coyote attack 11/2/09 A pack of vicious beagles is terrorizing Long Island.

Engineering feats 11/1/09 A list of the world's 18 strangest tunnels includes the Chunnel.

Tree mummies 10/30/09 Chemists have discovered the female sex hormone progesterone in walnut trees.

Burqa 10/20/09 Dubai has annulled a marriage contract after the groom found, upon lifting his bride's niqab that she was cross-eyed and had extensive facial hair.

Dinosaur eggs 10/3/09 China is reexamining the sites of major paleontological discoveries. A list of 14 bizarre dinosaurs and extinct species. Di0nosaur extinction caused some birds to become flightless. The color of dinosaur feathers is identified. American paleontologists discover a new species of tyrannosaur in New Mexico. Thousands of dinosaur footprints have been found in China. An American scientist has uncovered a nearly pristine spider fossil in China. Large fossils found in Utah are challenging existing notions of mass extinction.

Oarfish 9/25/09 Video of the elusive oarfish swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.

Optical illusions 9/23/09 Stare at the outer figures and the inner figure appears to change directions.

Eskimo snow 9/14/09 The last speaker of the Bo language of the Andaman Islands has died. Meanwhile, King's College London has done away with its Palaeography Department.

World's heaviest insects 8/28/09 Scientists in Costa Rica are growing edible insects to evaluate them as an alternative food source. Here is an amusing slow-motion video of a dragonfly escaping from a frog.

Stain 8/6/09 Rapatronic photographs captured in the instants after a nuclear explosion.

Creative cremains 7/24/09 An artist in the U.K. creates sculptures that are displayed underwater and become artificial reefs.

Humboldt squid 7/17/09 A New Zealand scientist wants to attempt to keep a giant squid alive in captivity. The incredible vampire squid turns itself inside out to avoid predators.

Birthing and hoarding bunnies 6/18/09 An Ohio woman has 70 cats thanks to an abusive husband. A vengeful ex-husband in Sweden pushed 19 mice through his ex-wife's mail slot. Fifty animals have been removed from the home of a Texas couple.

Hazards of hail 6/16/09 Atmospheric ice crashed through a Pennsylvania woman's roof. The world's largest meteorite fell in Namibia. Crystals harder than diamonds have been found in a meteorite by French scientists. American astronomers may have found evidence of giant meteors hitting the earth 1,500 years ago.

Two of a kind 6/12/09 A list of 15 Cute animals that will cause you horrible harm includes the platypus.

Gladiators 6/5/09 Fire festival features helmet much like those worn by gladiators. Roman army knife has the ingenuity of a Swiss army knife. British filmmakers uncover the lost source of a Roman aquaduct.

Elusive animals 6/4/09 Two new fossil rodents have been discovered in Utah. A new species of frog identified in Papua New Guinea changes color. A new kind of single-celled organism has been found in a British pond. A new spiny pocket mouse has been found in Venezuela. An Israeli scientist went on a secret mission to Iran to capture 4 Persian fallow deer and save them from extinction. Meet Japan's "living fossil," the giant salamander. A Canadian scientist is analyzing the recent evolution of birds' wings. A Canadian study shows that some birds use their feathers like cats use their whiskers. Scientists are filling in the evolutionary family tree of arthropods.

Forked tongue 5/13/09 The latest trend in body modification is a lip window.

Vultures 5/4/09 Watch what happened when a vulture crashed through the windshield of a helicopter.

Skellies 4/29/09 Italian police have found a skeleton that was pieced together from the remains of 5 people. Extra bones were also found at the site of the disposal of a Minnesota murder victim. Three Neanderthal teeth have been found in Poland. Skeletal remains dating back 8,000 years have been found in Malaysia. The skeleton of a Western man has been found in an ancient Mongolian tomb. DNA testing on ancient bones in Italy reveals East Asian ancestry.

Mastectomy tattoos 4/27/09 Every time you click at the Breast Cancer Site, sponsors pay for free mammograms.

Ocean garbage dump 4/23/09 More effects of trashing the ocean.

Frank Gehry 4/13/09 A slideshow of the World's 18 strangest homes.

Robo-animals 4/9/09 A cat in the U.K. is the 1st feline recipient of an artificial knee. An injured eagle's beak is repaired by a dentist. A lame duck inspires a handicapped British boy to walk.

Centenarians - and then some 3/26/09 The last U.S. veteran of World War I has turned 109. A 100-year-old pedophile released from prison in New York has been rearrested.

Toads encased in stone 3/23/09 In 1897, a horned toad was placed in the cornerstone of a Texas courthouse; in 1928, the courthouse was demolished - but "Ol' Rip" was still alive.

Designer legs 3/15/09 A Scottish prosthetist was fired for outfitting an amputee with 2 left feet. It is suggested that the aesthetics of today's prosthetic limbs will stir envy. An ancient skeleton proves that amputations were performed in the Stone Age.

Kangaroo home invasion 3/15/09 Australians are asked to keep whacking cane toads to kill the invasive species. Australian farmers are told to dynamite rabbits. And authorities are going to feed the feral camels to the crocodiles.

Shark attack capital 3/12/09 Florida researchers have created a shark-bite severity scale. An Australian surfer has fought off a shark with his fists and a New Zealand girl survives being bitten by a shark. A neary 10' hammerhead was caught and released at a Florida beach. And a wind-surfer at another Florida beach was killed and eaten by a shark. The whorl-tooth shark lived 250 million years ago and the elusive frilled shark is a "living fossil." A tiger shark eats an underwater camera set up to monitor the Great Barrier Reef. A killer whale takes down a great white shark.

Shakespearean insults 3/10/09 British archaeologists have found that Tudor theater-goers liked to snack on oysters, crabs, and mussels during performances.

Killer chimpanzees 2/17/09 A film shot entirely by chimpanzees will air on British television. Nonja the orangutan is selling the photographs she takes on e-bay. Chimps more selfless than they have been given credit for, according to new German study. A Dutch team has found legendary giant lion-eating chimps in Congo.

Marine creatures 2/15/09 A 10' Japanese spider crab was caught by fisherman and is now on display in Britain.

Disturbingly young parents 2/14/09 A 9-year-old Chinese girl has given birth to a healthy infant. A woman with no vagina got pregnant after being stabbed during a knife fight. Ultrasound cannot detect the condition of being born without eyes.

Embalmers and anthropologists 2/4/09 Dario Piombino-Mascali's book about embalmer Dr. Alfredo Salafia has been published (with text in Italian).

Natural mummification 1/23/09 The mummified body of a woman who has been death for about 4 months has been found in Moscow.

Corsets and wasp-waists 1/12/09 Meet Cathie Jung, who has a 13" waist.

Diagnosing the canvas 1/2/09 Italian scientists have applied for permission to exhume the remains of Leonardo da Vinci to compare them to the "Mona Lisa," which some believe to be a sel-portrait. Danish and Czech researchers have been given permission to exhume the remains of astronomer Tycho Brahe to determine the exact cause of his death.

Progeria 12/24/08 Photographic portraits of a 24-year-old man with progeria. Photos of the transformation of a 67-year-old actor into a young man with progeria.

Auroras 12/23/09 A strange object in photographs of the aurora borealis has been identified.

Conjoined twins 11/29/08 The parents of South African conjoined twins have decided not to separate them. After surgery, an Indian girl born with 8 limbs is thriving. Siamese crocodiles.

Ice swimmers 11/20/08 A description of what it's like to freeze to death. A man stranded on ice in the North Sea is rescued after a German woman spots him on a webcam. Photos of the "bleeding glacier" in Antarctica. An international team of scientists has confirmed a mountain range under the antarctic ice. The winter of 1779-1780, when the Hudson River and Long Island Sound froze over. New glaciers discovered in the mountains of Albania by British geographers.

Oldest zoo in the world 11/10/08 A parasite is spreading between zoo animals and their keepers. Specialists at the Philadelphia Zoo saved the life of the victim of a cobra bite. Baby giraffe is born at the Memphis Zoo. A pack of stray dogs kills 13 animals at a Bulgarian zoo.

First U.S. face transplant! 2/17/08 A Canadian girl is having rare craniofacial surgery to correct a genetic condition.

Elephants 10/30/08 A California collector has run into trouble with the law by selling an elephant skull. Elephants do not walk or run, they do both at the same time.