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Antique Chandelier Crashes To Missouri Senate Floor
Baby Jesus Face Painted Black
Martians Purposely Screwing With Earthly Probes

New Year's Flying Fridges Warning

BBC: New Year's flying fridges warning

South African police will crack down hard on anybody throwing old fridges from high-rise buildings during the New Year's holiday, they say.

Police and soldiers are on patrol in Johannesburg's notorious Hillbrow suburb, famous for the practice.

Throwing heavy objects from balconies and firing guns have become something of a bad "New Year's institution," said police Inspector Kriben Naidoo.

It is not clear why Hillbrow residents have taken to seeing in the New Year by throwing objects such as fridges, microwave ovens, beds, rubbish bins and condoms out of their windows.

Some also aim their New Year fireworks horizontally, so they go from one high-rise apartment into another.

Revellers have been killed in the past after being hit by stray bullets.

The Smoke-Free Zone

Further to my post earlier today about whether a ban on smoking in public places should be introduced here are some interesting facts from today's Financial Times

Almost as soon as you stop smoking your health improves; after the following periods of time, you will notice:

20 minutes - blood pressure and circulation improve.
Eight hours - oxygen levels in the blood return to normal, and nicotine and carbon monoxide levels reduce by half. 48 hours - there is no nicotine in the body.
72 hours - breathing becomes easier and energy levels increase.
A few days - sense of smell and taste are sharper.
Four weeks - the skin looks younger and healthier.
One year - the risk of heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker.
10 years - the risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker.
15 years - the risk of heart attack is similar to that of someone who has never smoked.

Gran's Heart Attack On Jet With Medics

BBC: Gran's heart attack on jet with medics

A grandmother who suffered a heart attack on a plane could not have wished for better care.

When the stewardess put out the call: "Is there a doctor on the plane", 15 cardiologists stood up to help 67-year-old Dorothy Fletcher.

The doctors were en route to Orlando for a heart conference.

"My daughter was with me and you can imagine how she felt when all these doctors stood up.

NYE In Japan

Apparently New Year's Eve in Japan is a lot more peaceful than elsewhere in the world. One benefit of this is that you can get to sit down on a train, something that is not usually possible for most commuters. The picture on the left shows a train on a normal day and the picture on the left shows it during the New Year. [via Tokyo Times]

Teacher Wins Underground Marathon

Ananova: Teacher wins underground marathon

A Belgian teacher has won the first cave marathon. Marc Papanikitas ran with a torch attached to his head behind a cyclist who showed the runners the route. He completed the course in two hours, 40 minutes and 39 seconds.

More than 100 people took part in the underground marathon in the caverns of Valkenburg in Holland. They ran 25 rounds of a 1,690 metre course, reports Het Laatste Nieuws.

The Great Port Clinton Walleye drop

Although Port Cinton is a small town, its spirit is huge - especially on New Year's Eve! For the past six years, thousands have braved the cold and gathered for hours, in waiting for the"Madness at Midnight" Walleye Drop.

Port Clinton is the "Walleye Capital of the World," so what else would they do on New Year's Eve but drop a 20-foot, 600-pound walleye from the sky at the stroke of Midnight!

Watch it live here. Sounds better than the fireworks display in London which is basically being put on just for the cameras. People are being encouraged to watch it on the television!

Satellite Image of Bam, Iran

This one-meter resolution satellite image of Bam, Iran was taken by Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite on Dec. 27, 2003, just one day after a catastrophic earthquake struck the historic city. The full image shows widespread destruction as a result of the 6.7 magnitude earthquake that leveled 70 percent of the buildings according to news reports.

Clearly seen in the center of the image is the 2,000-year-old citadel, considered the world's largest mud fortress. According to news reports, much of the medieval fortress crumbled like a sand castle when the quake hit. The citadel was a popular tourist attraction and is on the register of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and has been a World Heritage site.

Is It Time To Stub Out Smoking?

With Ireland due to ban smoking on virtually all public places including pubs and with Scotland seriously considering a similar ban, is it time for the rest of Britain to adopt a smoking ban?

The Great Mountain Chase

Try to get to the top of the mountain in your hot-air balloon whilst avoiding the obstacles. [via Entensity]

Parking Game

Test out your parking skills with this game from Danske Bank.

'Most Influential' Websites Named

BBC: 'Most influential' websites named

Google, eBay and Friends Reunited are among key influential websites which have had the biggest impact on UK web users, say analysts Nielsen Netratings.

Early commerce and price comparison sites like Amazon, Kelkoo and Easyjet, have paved the way for online shopping.

While community-based ones like file-sharing network Napster, web diary site Blogger, and AOL Instant Messenger are named pioneers in the top 10 list.

The Eight Biggest Tech Flops Ever

Yahoo! presents: The Eight Biggest Tech Flops Ever

Some of the greatest flops of all time have come from high tech. Millions of dollars and countless person-hours have been wasted creating products so bad, so misguided, and so difficult to use that entire companies have been destroyed.

The CatSeat

Pet owners fed up with cleaning litter trays have been given an alternative - a toilet seat for cats.

Kevin Rymer designed the seat which he hopes will wean cats away from the litter tray into the family bathroom.

Here's some information from their FAQ.

How can the CatSeat™ toilet train my cat(s)?

Once your cat(s) is successfully using the CatSeat™ as a replacement to the litter-box, it is designed to mount to your toilet. It is slightly oversized to allow your cat(s) to easily balance on the seat, and the textured shelves replace the feel of litter which satisfies their need to "cover up".

Does the CatSeat™ function like a regular toilet seat?

If you decide to mount the CatSeat™ to your toilet, it functions exactly like a regular toilet seat. It lifts up and operates just as you would expect. It is almost as if they have a separate seat all to themselves.

Thankfully the makers of the CatSeat have made the seat big enough for more than one cat to share so there'll be no long queues for the toilet. The makers claim that as many as 7 cats can use the CatSeat at the same time!

The CatSeat can be yours for just $109.95. [via Ananova]

Would You Want These Running Your Country?

Ananova: Tatu take on Putin

Tatu are running against Vladimir Putin in a bid to become joint presidents of Russia.

Yulia Volkova, 18, and Lena Katina, 19, have vowed to win the election battle in March.

The girls believe they can do a better job than current head of state Putin.

Yulia and Lena will have to convince officials they are eligible to run as rules state candidates must be at least 35 years old.

But the pair insist they are old enough because their combined age is 37.

Despite the singers' political ambitions, President Putin is expected to win the March 14 vote and clinch his second term in office.

Sir WWW

BBC: Web's inventor gets a knighthood

The inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, has been awarded a knighthood for his pioneering work.

Dubbed the "Father of the Web", he came up with a system over 10 years ago to organise, link and browse net pages.

The British scientist, who lives in the US, was told he was getting the unexpected Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year honours list a few days ago - by telephone, not by e-mail.

Sir Tim said the honour was an acknowledgement that the net was becoming globally powerful, and not just a "passing trend".

"There was a time when people felt the internet was another world, but now people realise it's a tool that we use in this world."

Introducing The Pet Umbrella

The Pet umbrella keeps your pet dry and comfortable in rain, sleet or snow.

Features include a clear oblong arc trimmed with classic plaid waterproof fabric and ergonomic, angled handle with padded comfort grip.

An umbrella leash with hook attaches easily and quickly to your pet's collar or harness. Clear umbrella body allows full view of pet.

Pet owners need not feel left out -

Pet Umbrella is also available with its matching People Umbrella

[via kottke.org]

Extreme Weather Pictures

WeatherPix has an excellent collection of lightning storm pictures as well as other weather pictures.

Beware Of The PayPal Loophole

The PayPal Buyer Protection is supposed to protect eBay auction winners from fraud by covering transactions to a value of $500 dollars.

A rather serious problem however, comes to light when you try to make a claim, as Bill Felkner from Rhode Island found out, the hard way.

Bill Felkner bid on some autographed football cards in an eBay auction and won. He paid $472 dollars through PayPal, safe in the knowledge the transaction deal with the seller would be sound.

However all Bill Felkner got in the post was an empty envelope. He said,

"When I contacted PayPal, they have a form you fill out and the second line on the form says, 'Did you receive anything? Click 'yes' even if it was empty,'. But this automatically disqualifies you from the protection program as it is now a dispute-of-goods issue and not a non-receipt issue. It's an automatic disqualification from protection if you receive anything, even if it's an empty envelope. They don't want to talk about it, so really you're left to deal with the seller."

[via ITVibe]

Fastest Pentiium 4 - 5.25GHz

The guys at Tom's Hardware Guide managed to get a P4 running at a blistering 5.255GHz! All it required was a constant supply of liquid nitrogen. As you can see from the picture, temperatures of -190°C can cause things to get a little icy. Read the full story here, there is a also a video to accompany the article.