According to Reuters, the Chendu wildlife research center has created a profit generator from panda poo. Researchers have designed 2008 Olympics souvenirs from the excrement, including photo frames, bookmarks, and panda statues. Jing Shimin, assistant to the director of the research base, commented that the expected profits from the souvenirs will offset the $770 panda excrement disposal costs the research center incurs monthly. Shimin also stated, “They don’t smell too bad because 70 percent of the dung is just remains of the bamboo that the pandas are unable to digest.”
To celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games, the poo sculptures will highlight pandas performing various Olympic sports, with more expensive statues containing a panda hair. more
 Two-year-old cat Oscar has become a medical celebrity for his uncanny ability to predict death, according to Times Online. The feline resides in a Providence, Rhode Island nursing home where he was adopted as a pet for s dementia unit in the facility. After six months in his new home, the staff noticed that Oscar would make rounds in the unit and sniff or watch patients. Staff noted that Oscar would consistently sit beside patients a few hours before their death, as if holding a feline vigil.To date, the cat has presided over the deaths of 25 patients. The New England Journal of Medicine reported, “His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to notify families.”Further evidence supports the staff’s claims of Oscar’s predictions. Dr. David Dosa, who wrote an article about the cat, commented that Oscar is generally aloof and stated, “This is not a cat that’s friendly to people.”
Dr, Joan Teno shared her experience with Oscar’s prediction of pending death. Dr. Teno noted a woman’s symptoms indicated death was near for the patient, but Oscar did not stay with the patient. The doctor thought Oscar’s streak was broken. However, the doctor’s anticipation of the woman’s death was ten hours too early, and Oscar did return to sit beside the woman mere hours before her passing.
No one is sure of the source of Oscar’s predictive talents, though many believe there is a biochemical explanation. Most families express gratitude for Oscar, as his behavior allows families to have advanced warning of their family member’s passing. When asked why Oscar was sitting beside his grandmother, one child explained, “He is here to help Grandma get to heaven.” more
Last week, Oregon resident Kent Couch gathered up instruments for measuring altitude and speed, a global positioning device, a parachute, bags of water and some snacks as he prepared to fly to Idaho in a lawn chair. According to CNN.com, the 47-year-old gas station owner successfully flew in a lawn chair once before, using helium balloons to lift the chair and the plastic bags of water to act as ballast. The first flight lasted six hours.On this second flight, Couch made adjustments to his design to enable smoother travel. He reconfigured the 105 balloons to make them easier to deflate for a more gradual descent. He outfitted the water bags with spigots for a more controlled ascent. Couch hoped his new design would help him reach his goal of flying the lawn chair to Idaho.Couch’s latest flight was a remarkable success, though he fell short of reaching Idaho. The amateur aviator averaged a speed of about 25 miles per hour and covered a distance of 193 miles while his wife and pet Chihuahua followed him from below. Couch commented on the beauty of the journey, noting its peacefulness and stating that he could hear cattle and children below. Couch was delighted to experience traveling through some low-laying clouds. The man decided to stop his travels short of his goal when he noted his ballast and water were low and he was headed for rugged terrain. Unfortunately, when Couch jumped from the lawn chair, the wind blew away the chair and his video recorder. He hopes to reclaim these artifacts of his amazing journey. more
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People can learn to suppress their emotional memories if they practice it, a recent research reveals. A group of researchers at the University of Colorado conducted a special experiment with 16 individuals to see if they could actively suppress their own memories… more
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who startled his neighbors when he hurled his computer out of the window in the middle of the night, was let off for disturbing the peace by police who sympathized with his technical frustrations… more
KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - A game of cat and mouse is under way between the U.S. government and Florida’s Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum over the fate of dozens of felines roaming the former home of the Nobel Prize-winning author… more
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What started off in 1996 as a goofy radio station promotion has evolved into a nationwide phenomenon. Redneck Games creator Mac Davis explains, “Back in 1996, Atlanta was going to host the Olympics and a lot of jokes were being made about a bunch of rednecks hosting the Olympics. So I figured, if that’s  what people expect, let’s give it to them!”… more
A bank robber whose cunning plan consisted of taping foliage to his arms to disguise himself as a tree has been arrested… more
AT LEAST 35,000 skygazers descended on the town of Roswell at the weekend to mark the 60th anniversay of the purported flying saucer crash on a ranch… moreWhen neighbours complained about a bad smell coming from a darkened flat, police in the southwestern German town of Kaiserslautern were prepared to find a dead body… more
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