Tall Tales (31 March)

• A dairy farmer in Garland, Australia has helped to deliver both a calf and his own baby daughter - on the same night!
• A contestant on the German version of "Big Brother" has been booted out of the house for having a prominent 'S-S' tattoo. The man, a KISS fan, claims it's just a tribute to his favourite band.
• A half-mile-long reclining 'goddess' will be created out of waste material from a coal-mining operation to hide the mine-scarred landscape alongside Britain's A-1 highway north of Newcastle. The 'ground sculpture' will feature 100-foot-high breasts.
• Sports stadiums do it so why not people? A 33-year-old Seymour TN mother of 5 has put her naming rights up for bid on eBay. Terri Iligan's best offer was $15,199 from the Internet site Golden Palace Casino. She will officially be named goldenpalace.com once the legal work is complete.
• The Australian government's 'pay for population' program seems to be working. The 133,400 babies born Down Under in 6 months last year were the most in a half-year period in 14 years. In an effort to increase the country's shrinking tax base, the government now pays Aussie moms $2,319 for each new baby. (Meanwhile in China it's against the law to have more than one.)

The Big One (31 March)

Dr Martin Nowak, an eye surgeon in Michelfeld, Germany, has discovered the world's largest known prime number - or at least his computer did. The number has 7,816,230 digits, and if printed in its entirety, would fill 235 newspaper pages.
- "New York Times"

Death & Taxes Soon To Apply To Irish Artists, Too (31 March)

Ireland's tradition of granting full-time professional artists tax-free status on their income may be in for some changes. The country's Labour Party is suggesting that writers, artists and musicians earning more than 100,000 euros (circa $130,000) a year should lose their tax-free status. About 1,500 'artists' are now enjoying tax-free status.
- CBC Arts

For The Record (31 March)

An African lecturer has delivered the world's longest lecture after talking non-stop for 88 hours and 4 seconds - more than 3 days - on the topic of democracy at Jagellonian University in Krakow, Poland. 20-year-old Errol Muzawazi from Zimbabwe broke his old record of 62 hours and 30 minutes. However, he was talking to himself through the majority of his latest effort because - his entire audience fell asleep.
- Ananova

Buzzwords (30 March)

New cutting-edge vocab ...

• 'Veggie Vision' - Now being tested in some supermarkets, it's new technology that recognizes fruits and vegetables when costumers place them on the self-serve check-out. That way they can't cheat by coding in cheap snap beans when it's actually expensive asparagus.
• 'Surgery Buddies' - A developing trend in which friends or family members schedule the same type of surgery together. These days, most recovery takes place at home and can be lonely so having a supportive partner helps.

Adolf Had An A-Bomb (30 March)

In his new book "Hitler's Bomb", German historian Rainer Karlsch claims that during WW2, a few dozen Nazi scientists built an atomic reactor near Berlin which was functional for a few weeks and used to create a tactical nuclear weapon - much smaller than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - but still a nuke. Citing documents from Soviet and Western archives, Karlsch claims the Nazis detonated at least 2 of the bombs, including one on March 3, 1945 which killed several hundred POWs and concentration camp inmates.
- BBC

Amazing Fact (30 March)

'Happy', 'Sleepy', 'Sneezy', 'Grumpy', 'Bashful', 'Doc' and 'Dopey' were the final names decided upon for "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" in the 1937 Disney classic. However, many other names were considered, including 'Scrappy', 'Snappy', 'Hoppy', 'Weepy', 'Dirty', 'Cranky', 'Hungry', 'Lazy', 'Dumpy', 'Flabby', 'Thrifty', 'Shifty', 'Nifty', 'Wistful', 'Graceful', 'Helpful', 'Tearful', 'Awful', 'Snoopy', 'Gabby', 'Crabby', 'Silly', 'Dippy', 'Sappy', 'Gloomy', 'Daffy', 'Busy', 'Dizzy', 'Hotsy', 'Jaunty', 'Puffy', 'Chesty', 'Jumpy' and 'Biggo-Ego'.
- "Orlando Sentinel"

Only You Can Prevent Spam (29 March)

British-based security firm Mirapoint says many e-mail users are careless and irresponsible, and that's what's helping to sustain the spam industry. For instance, their research shows 1 in 10 e-mail users have purchased products advertised in junk mail, thus making it a fairly attractive business given its inexpensive cost. A market analyst says until people stop buying, security threats including spam, viruses and so-called 'phishing' scams will continue to proliferate.
- BBC News

M-Pez-3 (29 March)

The Pez dispenser, is about to go digital! Gadget design company Lincoln West Studios will soon begin selling MP3 players modelled on the candy's big-headed plastic sleeves. The 'Pez MP3' will arrive sometime this summer, built around a 512-MB computer chip and an LCD screen. The device will look exactly like a traditional Pez dispenser from 2 sides and will come in a variety of colours. Unfortunately, there's no room left to fill it with any of the little candies, but you can swap out its plastic head with any made for regular Pez dispensers. MSRP: about $US129.
- CNET News

Worldwide Noos (29 March)

• A driving instructor in Amsterdam, Netherlands has been arrested after arguing with a fellow motorist over his student's driving skills. Things escalated, the motorist pulled a knife, then the instructor hit him with a baseball bat! Now they're both going to court.
• A Czech tractor driver has died after being crushed by - 8 tons of crap. The 34-year-old was killed when the manure load fell on him as he was dumping it in a field.
• The UK's Cambridge University has banned Scottish students from wearing kilts at graduation ceremonies in order to underline its policy that all students are equal.
• 40-year-old US resident Dai Yueqin has given residents of her hometown of Tong Xiang, China a treat by letting down her hair - all 4.2 m (13.8 ft) of it! Even though she hasn't cut her hair since she was 14-years-old, there's still at least one person with longer hair. According to "Guinness World Records", Thai healer Hoo Sateow's locks were measured at 5.15 m (16.9 ft) in 1997.

Amazing Fact (29 March)

Hey, seen your first worm of Spring yet? Huh? Worms travel upward through the soil as the ground gradually thaws, about 3 vertical feet from their winter quarters to the surface. Their appearance above ground usually coincides with sightings of the year's first robins.
- "Ben Franklin's Almanac"

Easter Monday tradition (28 March)

On Easter Monday in 19th-century England, some counties such as Lancashire and Cheshire practised 'heaving' when the men lifted women, and on Easter Tuesday women 'heaved' men. The process involves 2 people joining hands across each other's wrists, having the person to be 'heaved' sit on the arms, and then carrying her/him several yards along a street.

No Shorts For Shy Sumos (28 March)

A tussle has broken out in Japan's tradition-bound sumo world over the right to - wear pants. Sumo wrestlers traditionally compete naked except for a 'mawashi', an arrangement of wrapped cloth that preserves a bare minimum of modesty. But now the Sumo Amateur Association has hit upon the idea of allowing shy youngsters to wear 'Sumo Pants', a more substantial garment similar to cycling shorts, in order to help boost the dwindling numbers of kids taking up the sport. Refusing to part with thousands of years of tradition, the sport's professional body, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai, has made it clear it will not allow pants into the ring.
- Reuters

Predictable Violence (28 March)

A pair of statistical researchers from the University of New Mexico claims that random acts of violence - including terrorist attacks and wars - actually follow very predictable mathematical trends. Aaron Clauset & Maxwell Young have written a paper about the phenomenon in which they claim that seemingly random and emotional outbursts of human violence actually follow math laws which are as 'dull and predictable a the laws of gravity'. Using an aspect of statistical analysis called Power Laws, the researchers have analyzed terrorist attacks worldwide since 1968 and concluded that the next major terrorist attack will occur in about 7 years.
- "World Science"

Circus Cops (28 March)

A new police motorcycle squad has been formed in Jakarta to patrol the Indonesian capital's mean streets and also - perform circus-style stunts to entertain the public! The 25-man squad, kitted out with Harley-Davidson hogs, is expected to combine duties policing the city's notorious traffic with weekend displays of motorcycle prowess, such as standing on the saddle, riding in formation and negotiating slaloms.
- Agence France Presse

Amazing Fact (28 March)

This month at a robotics conference in San Diego CA, 3 different robotic arms were pitted against a 17-year-old girl in an arm wrestling competition. The high-schooler took 2 of the 3 arms down in 4 seconds, and polished off the 3rd arm in 26 seconds.
- "Scientific American"

New Town To Sign-On (25 March)

This week planning sessions are underway to create a brand new town just west of Sioux Falls SD in which the main language would be - sign language. The entire town is to be designed to make life easier and more practical for deaf and hard-of-hearing residents. It would be named 'Laurent' after Laurent Clerc, the French educator who pioneered what's known as 'American Sign Language'. It's hoped the town will be ready to welcome both deaf and hearing residents as early as next year.
- CNEWS

Virtual Application (25 March)

These days, before your résumé ever gets eyeballed by a personnel manager, it's often fed through a high-speed 'Résumé Scanner' that flags the best candidates for the interviewer to review, based on search requirements that often include keywords. Among the buzzwords often searched ....

• Job Titles/Departments (manager, supervisor, human resources, accounting)
• Computer Program Proficiencies (CAD, Oracle, Excel)
• Degrees/Certifications (MBA, LPN, CPA)
• Skill-Based Descriptions (managed, supervised, team player, independent worker)
• General Business Terms (budget, sales quota, information services)

Worldwide Noos (25 March)

• A 53-year-old Woodley UK husband has repaid his wife off 33 years, the woman who donated a kidney to save his life - by dumping her for her sister-in-law! After successfully revering from the organ transplant, the ungrateful sod wasted no time in moving in with her brother's wife.
• After her groom failed to show up for the ceremony, an Indian bride has been married off to - a clay pot. It seems the groom had cold feet - literally: An officer with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, he became stranded due to heavy snowfall. So resourceful relatives suggested the show go on without him, although a photo of the groom was placed behind the pot.
• A man who has won over $26 million, Germany's biggest-ever lottery prize, is planning to use it to build - the world's largest pigeon loft. Yep, that's his dream - a house in the country where he can breed birds without disturbing neighbours.

No Pricks Allowed (24 March)

A new injector being developed by bioengineering students at the University of California at Berkeley may help ease the dread of getting a needle by taking all the pain out of the equation. The 'MicroJet' uses an electronic actuator that propels vaccinations, insulin or other drugs through the skin of patients without the device even touching them. If testing proves positive, we may one day be able to say goodbye to the hypodermic needle.
- ANI

Building A Better Alarm Clock? (24 March)

Gauri Nanda, a 25-year-old scientist at MIT's Media Lab, has come up with a gizmo she calls 'Clocky' that's designed to get sleepyheads moving in the morning. It looks like a roll of toilet paper covered with shag carpeting, or perhaps one of those Tribbles from "Star Trek", with wheels attached at both ends. When the snooze button is pressed, the clock rolls off the table and trundles to a hiding place where it lies in wait for 10 minutes before going off again. Each day it rolls to a different hiding place. She hopes to have 'Clocky' on the market in about a year.
- "Daily News"

Beware Of Numb Thumb (24 March)

People addicted to cell phones can get overuse injuries from too much text messaging, according to Australia's Dr Robert Menz. He cites the case of a 13-year-old girl he recently treated for 'texting tendinitis' after she sent too many text messages. Her one-thumb texting style led to a painful, 1-inch swelling of a tendon on her forearm. With rest, the lump disappeared in a week, Menz says.
- Australian Broadcasting Corp Online

H-D Cinema (24 March)

A project is underway to replace all of Ireland's traditional 35 mm film projectors in theaters with digital counterparts, a change that would make the country a world leader in digital cinema. A spokesman for the Irish Film Board says the pure digital projection ensures picture-perfect quality on the silver screen. By March 2006, more than 500 theatres across the country will be fitted with the projectors and the accompanying hardware needed to download encrypted films via satellite to a computer server.
- CBC Online / UK Press Association

Buzzwords (23 March)

• Here's a new term leaking into our lingo: 'Carbon-Neutral', a new environmental strategy that involves planting trees to offset greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. For instance, the NFL intends to plant several acres of small trees before next year's "Superbowl" in Detroit, to offset the big game's traffic and energy use.
• Show biz trade paper "Variety" will publish "The Hollywood Dictionary" this August, listing, among other things, the slang terms the paper has coined since it began publishing in 1905. Among them - 'punch line' (1921), 'payola' (1938), 'strip-tease' (1936), 'shoot-'em-up' (1953) and the very term 'show biz' itself (1945).
• A new definition of the word 'wedgie' will finally appear in the new edition of "Webster's New World College Dictionary" coming in May. As well as the traditional definition as 'a type of shoe', the following will also appear - 'Noun. A prank in which the victim's undershorts are jerked upward so as to become wedged between the buttocks.'

Ah, That 'Splains It! (23 March)

According to new research, Robert Louis Stevenson's famous story "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde" was written while he was under the influence of - a hallucinogenic drug. Researchers now believe the Scottish author wrote the classic exploration of good and evil while being treated with a derivative of 'ergot', a potentially deadly hallucinogenic fungus. The mould, which affects rye and wheat, has been known to cause hallucinations, convulsions and even death.
- "Times Online"

Mommy, My Cheeseburger's Crying! (23 March)

New research at the UK's Bristol University has found that farm animals are much more intelligent and emotional than commonly thought. Testing carried out on cows, pigs, goats and chickens found that all of these animals are remarkably similar to humans when it comes to socialization, and all have complex mental lives which include the ability to nurture long-term friendships and become excited by intellectual challenges. For example, they found that cows actually form cliques with their friends and are able to bear a grudge against another cow for several years.
- "The Australian"

Too Stupid For Us To Make Up (23 March)

• North Korea's whacky dictator Kim Jong Il has ordered that citizens may no longer watch imported videotapes, particularly any from South Korea. To crack down on home viewing, police encircle an entire neighbourhood, cut off electricity, then go door-to-door inspecting tape players to find what videos are inside.
• This summer in an effort to stop glaciers from melting, Swiss authorities are planning to wrap them - in tin foil. Some 30,000 square feet of the Gurschen glacier will be covered as a test at the beginning of MAY.
• A badly injured 'alien' was rushed to hospital in Aracruz, Brazil after locals witnessed a fireball falling from the sky. Many people were terrified that an alien invasion was taking place. Emergency room doctors quickly confirmed the 'alien' was - a burnt rubber doll.
• A sleep-walking British man has been discovered by his wife mowing the lawn ... at 2 am ... naked. Since she'd been told it's dangerous to wake a sleepwalker, she just unplugged the electric mower, went back to bed and let him get on with it. Her 34-year-old husband later returned to bed and remembered nothing about the incident in the morning.

The Beer Church (23 March)

If beer is your religion, the online 'Beer Church' is a good pace for you to worship. In fact, you can not only join this church, but become an ordained minister - for only 20 bucks. As a member of the beer cloth, you must devote yourself to promoting the 'goodness of beer with the spirit of unity, peace, goodwill and charity'. Oh yeah, you also have to 'drink beer and like it'. This is no splinter group - at last count the Beer Church had over 100,000 registered members from 26 different countries around the world.
For more info check out the Beer Church website.

Remote Control Car (22 March)

Listen up all you people with hi-tech vehicles! Christine Djordjevic of South Haven IN stepped outside one morning last week to discover that her car -- which she says is 'possessed' - had driven itself across the street and crashed into a neighbour's house. How could that happen? It seems she accidentally bumped the button on her key chain that activates the car's remote starter. And since the car had been parked in reverse gear, it backed up and didn't stop until it crashed. The accident caused several thousand dollars to the car and a like amount to the house.
- "NWI Times"

World's Best Beer? (22 March)

A group of Swedish beer aficionados has taken it upon themselves to sample and judge some 6,754 brands of beer from 144 countries. No wonder their Website is called 'OhMyHead.org'. According to these self-taught experts, Belgium rules the world when it comes to brewing beer, as 3 different Belgian beers hold down the top 3 spots in their rankings. The overall winner is 'Drie Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek'. Canada's top beers - 'Unibroue Quelque Chose 1996' at #20 and 'Wellington Imperial Stout' which ranks #49 on the list.
For more info check out the Ohhh My Head website.

CSI: Refrigerator (22 March)

Hard to believe, but police say many thieves just can't resist tucking into a snack after breaking into a home, and traces of saliva on food remains can yield a telltale signature of the criminal's DNA. As part of a study, forensic researchers at National University in La Jolla CA organized a dinner party and used swabs to recover saliva from the leftovers. The best DNA results came from cheese, carrots, apples and pizza. Chocolates, on the other hand, are almost useless for providing samples.
- "New Scientist"

Eau De Bertolli (22 March)

A team of Italian archaeologists working in Cyprus believes it has discovered the site of an ancient perfume factory from the Bronze Age. The 4,000-year-old perfumery is thought to have manufactured fragrances for export across the Mediterranean. Scientists have reconstituted 12 different perfumes from traces of scents found in clay bottles at the site. So far, they have extracted essences of laurel, cinnamon and myrtle which were likely designed to be mixed with - phew! - olive oil.
- BBC News

The Cheap Date Pill (22 March)

Russian scientist Emil Chaibery, who Last Year introduced the pill to cure hangovers has now gone one step better by creating a pill to help you - get drunk on less alcohol. The 'RU-21 Red' is also designed to enhance intoxication and keep you drunk longer, thanks to a grapevine extract which supposedly slows down the oxidation of alcohol. While his hangover pill is now widely available as a 'natural dietary supplement', Chiabery says his new creation may be kept under wraps because he doesn't want to cause social problems.
- "Daily Telegraph"

Scientists Say (18 March)

A compendium of recent 'discoveries' ...

• Scientists say ... humour is almost as good as a good whack of insulin. Japanese researchers have observed that after diabetics watch a comedy program, their blood-sugar levels go down.
• Scientists say ... eating fish can help depression. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish like salmon, sardines and tuna seem to help to both treat and prevent depression.
• Scientists say ... alcohol drinkers are 3.5 times more likely to die from injury than non-drinkers. Booze is a particularly large factor in drowning.

Amazing Fact (18 March)

Tomorrow is "Maple Syrup Saturday", traditionally the unofficial opening of 'sugaring off' season. Did you know ... or really care ... that a maple tree is usually tapped when the tree is at least 45-years-old and has a diameter of at least 12 inches?

Worldwide Noos (17 March)

• A new hotel is coming to Siberia with a special parking lot for - reindeer. The inn, in the north Russian city of Nadym, will open in time for a major annual sports competition that includes - what else? - reindeer racing.
• Finnish designer Jussi Aro has invented a battery-powered tunic for dogs that sends 1,000 volts through anyone who tampers with it while the pet feels no pain whatsoever. What the hell for? Each year, as many as 30 dogs are killed by wolves in Finland, but a predatory wolf biting into Aro's gizmo would find it a truly shocking experience.
• Thieves in Germany have broken into a warehouse in the town of Steinfurt and made off with 200 fully-loaded - chewing-gum machines. The machines and their contents are worth more than $13,000.

Buzzwords (16 March)

New cutting-edge vocab ...

• 'Stealth Parenting' - Performing childcare duties while pretending to be at a business meeting or other work-related function, ie: lying about a breakfast meeting while taking a kid to school or about client appointments when sneaking home to look after a sick kid.
• 'Cyberbangers' - Online gangsters who turn Websites into their own virtual turf by uploading their numbers and neighborhood names and threatening anyone who dissents. ("The city rec department had to take down its Website thanks to cyberbangers throwing up tags all over it.")
• 'Facebooking' - What college students are doing when they post their profiles and photos at FaceBook.com, then choose the amount of access they want to give other students who attend the same institution. You need an email address with the .edu suffix to register. ("Dude, I facebooked you last night online. Wow, hot you're not in person.")

Talking 'Bout My Generation (16 March)

According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the new generation of kids (the so-called 'Generation M' for 'millennium', people born in one millennium but growing up in another), spends more hours playing video games, watching TV, surfing the Web and chatting on cell phones than many of their parents spend at work. The average Gen-M-er is exposed to 8.5 hours a day of all types of media. But here's the real difference with this group - they pack that into just 6 hours and 21 minutes, because they are so good at multi-tasking. And researchers say there's no sign they're sacrificing school work, sleep or physical activity in order to do it.
- "San Jose Mercury News"

As A Second Language (16 March)

University of Cincinnati anthropologist Joseph Foster says the easiest new language to learn is the one most similar to the learner's native language. Therefore for a Turk, Japanese is easier to learn than English. But for a Spaniard, English is easier than Japanese. The British Foreign Office reports that its staffers find Japanese the second-most-difficult language to learn right after Hungarian.
- "Sydney Morning Herald"

Wacky World Of Noos (16 March)

• A so-called 'lucky tree' in China is supposed to have the power to grant your wishes. But last week, a 62-year-old man and his 4-year-old grandson were sent to hospital by the 'lucky tree' after a branch broke off and pinned them to the ground, giving them both minor head injuries.
• Malaysia's Education Ministry is urging schoolchildren to watch more English-language TV programs - even cartoons - to improve their science and math marks. Huh? Yep, they need to improve their English because that's the language in which science and math are taught.
• Dutch growers have been called in to plant hundreds-of-thousands of tulips at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport to deter mice. Authorities hope the smell of the flowers will drive away the mice, which have been attracting birds such as buzzards and herons. Airport bosses are also using dog patrols, alarm pistols and audio tapes with shouting noises to get rid of the mice.

Weird Science (15 March)

A new 'scientific' paper entitled "Effect of Hydration & Vocal Rest on the Vocal Fatigue in Amateur Karaoke Singers" details a series of experiments which came to the stunning conclusion that - drinking water while at a karaoke bar will help keep your throat in singing shape for a few extra hours. Meanwhile, researcher Wolter Seuntjens has wasted his waking hours systematically studying all available knowledge about yawning, and concluded that 'yawning is extremely complex and significant behaviour that appears to have an erotic side'. He'll publish a book on the subject called "On Yawning: The Hidden Sexuality of the Human Yawn".
- "Annals of Improbable Research"

A Student Of The Law (15 March)

23-year-old British journalism student Richard Smith is planning a bizarre crime spree across the USA during which he'll attempt to break 40 of the strangest state and town laws. His inspiration came when he heard there's a Florida law which prohibits widows from parachuting on Sundays. After a bit of research, he compiled a list of his favourite stupid laws and hopes his 18,000-mile trek to break them will create enough material for a book and perhaps interest from a TV network. Among the odd laws he intends to flagrantly break ...

• No falling asleep in a cheese factory (South Dakota)
• No playing cards against a Native American (Globe AZ)
• No saying "Oh boy!" (Jonesborough GA)
• No playing golf in the street (Albany NY)
• No giving lighted cigars to dogs and/or cats (Zion IL)
• No being seen wearing a strapless gown (Miami FL)

Flushing Trees Down The Toilet (15 March)

Wang Yuiqin (yee-GEEN), an executive with the Shanghai Paper Trade Association, warns that rapid deforestation will soon destroy what's left of China's pulp industry if current usage continues. The big problem? Too much TP! The 140,000 tons of toilet paper the city of Shanghai uses annually consumes some 80,000 tons of pulp, equal to about 300,000 tons of wood. Wang says his group is encouraging the 'application of new materials and technologies'.
- Reuters

Amazing Fact (15 March)

In every deck of playing cards the King of Hearts is sticking his sword through his head. That's why he's often called the 'Suicide King'.

Too Stupid For Us To Make Up (14 March)

• Homeless Dutch street people are being chauffeur-driven ... to their favorite panhandling spots! Vagrants from Sneek are taken to an overnight shelter in nearby Leeuwarden each evening by taxis paid for by local taxpayers. Then, at 9 am the next morning, they're driven back to 'work'. Although the trip costs close to $150 a day, authorities in Sneek say it's cheaper for the town than building a shelter of its own.
• Police in Lucknow, India are on the hunt for a beautiful woman who slaps her male victims upside the head before running off with their valuables. So far, 3 men have reported being robbed by the woman, one slapped so hard he nearly passed out before realizing she'd taken his wallet and motorbike. The woman's tactics have earned her a nickname that translates to 'The Girl Who Makes Your Ears Ring'.
• Romanian doctors have removed a man's wedding band ... from his penis! The married man from the town of Rovinari isn't sure how the ring got there, but told doctors he had a one-night-stand with another woman and he suspects she wanted to get back at him because he fell asleep during sex.

Who Wants To Be A Billionaire? (14 March)

Highlights of "Forbes" 19th annual listing of the world's billionaires ...

• The collective net worth of the world's 691 billionaires is now $2.2 trillion, up $300 billion from the combined net worth of the 587 people listed last year. That means there are more than 100 new billionaires in the world this year.
• The world's richest remains Microsoft founder Bill Gates at $46.5 billion, followed by investor Warren Buffet at $44 billion.
• Top Canadian is Kenneth Thomson & family at #15 with $17.9 billion US. Galen Weston & family rank #35 with $9.9 billion. Jeffrey Skoll (eBay) is 94th with $5 billion and Vancouver's Jim Pattison ranks 107th with $4.8 billion. There are a total of 17 Canadian billionaires.
• Entertainment billionaires include Oprah Winfrey ($1.3 billion), Steven Spielberg ($2.75 billion), George Lucas ($3 billion), and ex-con Martha Stewart ($1 billion).

Weird World Of Noos (11 March)

• The Athenaeum Pontificium Regina Apostolorum, a prestigious Vatican-backed college in Milan, is rolling out a new 2-month course - in exorcism! The idea is to give would-be Roman Catholic priests the proper tools for battling Satan over the souls of the possessed.
• Unlike most ski jumpers, entrants in this weekend's 2nd "Unofficial Norwegian Tree Ski-Jumping Championships" will lose points for smooth and graceful landings on the snow. Competitors will be aiming for the trees - and the higher they land, the better! To qualify as a completed jump, the skier has to hang onto the tree without falling to the ground.
• An upscale Hong Kong grocery store has been fined the equivalent of $641 for selling a container of Bunalun Organic Vanilla Granola Breakfast Cereal that was infested with - 575 tiny beetles. Unfortunately for the store, the customer who bought it turned out to be a lawyer.
• Online love has cost Charles Gonsoulin some body parts. The 41-year-old sneaked into Canada, making it all the way from Pembina ND to Emerson MB on foot to see his Internet girlfriend. The bad news is - he suffered frostbite from 100 hours of exposure to cold temps and had to have all his fingers and half his toes amputated.

Name That Tune - For A Buck: (10 March)

A new service called SongLink'd is the latest iPod-era gimmick. Say you're at a bar and there's a tune playing you like but you don't know what it is. You just whip out your cell and dial 866-SONG-411. A voice cues you to hold your phone up to the sound source while it makes a 15-second digital recording. SongLink'd then tries to match that snippet to 2.5 million digitally recorded songs in its database. A few seconds later, you get a text message on your cell with the title of the song, the artist and a link to a Website where you can buy it. For this, a charge of 99 cents per song will appear on your phone bill. But at least there's no cost if the service can't ID your tune.
- "Daily News"

Ah, Peace & Quiet At Last! (10 March)

Are you sick to death of the din of dumb conversations and the perpetually annoying diversity of ring tones emanating from cell phones? Maybe you need a 'Cell phone Jammer', newfangled gizmos that interfere with mobile phone signals and cut-off reception to any that are within a 15-meter radius to the user. They're apparently selling like hot-cakes both online and on the streets of NYC. One small detail - they're illegal in many areas. And oh yeah ... they also can cost circa $325!
For more info check out the Global Gadget UK website.
- "New York Post"

Helpful Hints (10 March)

• To lower fat and cholesterol, replace most of the oil in your baking recipes with plain, unsweetened applesauce.
• Pam cooking spray will dry fingernail polish quickly.
• Reuse fabric softener sheets to clean the rings in your bathtub. They are also good to clean around faucets and sinks.
• Candles burn slower and last longer on your dinner table if you put them in the freezer the day before you use them.
• Remove lipstick from clothes by rubbing in a dab of vegetable shortening, then rinse the stained area with club soda.
• Wash fruits and vegetables with a mixture of 3 tablespoons white vinegar to a quart of water. This will remove any trace of pesticides.

Buzzwords (9 March)

New cutting-edge vocab ...

• 'Leather Spinster' - A heterosexual or asexual woman who is happily unmarried and has no desire to seek a mate. (The name comes from a book title.)
• 'Dooced' - To lose your job for something you posted on your blog or Website. ("I've been dooced just for uploading that naked photo of the boss's wife!")
• 'Modders' - Slang for 'computer modifiers' who enjoy revving up a PC's performance and dressing up computer cases much like an auto enthusiast would customize a car. ("Thanks to modders like Eduardo, we have to tell new employees not to expect hydraulics on their work stations.")

No, This Isn't "Da Vinci Code" Fiction (9 March)

Every pope has a chief of staff, called the 'Camerlengo'. When a pope dies, this cardinal chamberlain's duty is to certify that he is indeed dead. The ritual tradition is to strike him on the forehead with a silver hammer, call his baptismal name 3 times and place a cloth over his mouth. If the pope does not respond, the Camerlengo declares him dead, authorizes a death certificate and then seals the papal living apartments. Later, the silver hammer is used to scratch and break the papal ring and seal, so no documents can be forged in his name. The current Camerlengo is Eduardo Cardinal Martinez Somalo. The current favourite to replace John Paul II (if and when) is no-fun conservative, Cardinal Ratzinger.
-PopBitch.com

Jumbo Mural (9 March)

8 artists from Thailand have entered the "Guinness Book of World Records" after selling a painting for $39,000. That doesn't sound like a spectacular amount until you realize the 'artists' are - elephants. At the Mae Sa Elephant Camp they've been trained for years by prominent painters to create both abstract and realistic paintings, making them the world's only pachyderm painting group. Their painting "Cold Wind, Swirling Mist, Charming Lanna Number One" has been sold to an American art lover. Profits go to care for the 78 elephants currently living at the camp.
- Australia's ABC Network

Beam Me Up Later (9 March)

The US Air Force recently spent $25,000 for a study by a company called Warp Drive Metrics to investigate the feasibility of - 'teleportation'. Yep, they wanted to know if and when it will be possible to have matter dematerialized at one place and recreated at another, just like on "Star Trek". Perhaps not surprisingly, the study concludes that we are still a long way from being able to teleport either human beings or inanimate objects.
- NBC News

Protecting Nemo (9 March)

New legislation is being introduced by the UK government that will protect - goldfish. If and when the law goes into effect, owners could face prosecution if the fish-bowl or tank is not of appropriate size and even if the gravel is not cleaned. Leaving dead fish in the bowl would also be outlawed.
- "The Sun"

Quit Goofing Around And Get To Sleep! (8 March)

One of several ideas researchers have for robots on display at Microsoft Corp's annual gadget showcase is - a kids' teddy bear. But this isn't your average bear! The head on the plush prototype swivels to follow its owner, using a face-recognition program. The hi-tech teddy also allows parents to talk to their child through a special phone, or monitor activity via a camera and wireless Internet connection.
- "Social Studies"

Bridge Of Sighs (8 March)

A bridge in Scotland has been nicknamed "Rover's Leap" because at least 5 pet dogs have died by jumping off it since October. Animal psychiatrists say they have no explanation for the lemming-like behaviour on the 40-foot-high span in Dunbarton.
- "NY Post"

The Big Sleep (8 March)

A new AC Nielsen poll on the sleep habits of over 14,000 people in 28 countries finds that people worldwide seem to be getting to bed later, due to more and more distractions such as the Internet, late-night entertainment and all-night shopping. Highlights of the poll ...

• In general, Asians not only get to sleep later than most North Americans and Europeans but also wake-up earlier.
• Portugal boasts the most night owls, with 75% regularly staying up past midnight.
• Indonesia has the most early-risers - 91% roll out of bed by 7 am.
• Japanese get the least sleep. 41% say they get 6 hours or less per night.
• Australians get the most Zs, with 31% averaging more than 9 hours a night.

Most Secure Places On Earth (8 March)

• Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station - Built 2,000 feet underground, it serves as the control centre for NORAD (North American Air Defence Command).
• HavenCo - A data-protection company 6 miles off Britain at Sealand in the North Sea, it has a very short list of people who are allowed access.
• ADX-Florence Prison - This Colorado maximum security prison uses highly sophisticated technology so that a single prison guard can control several cell blocks.
• Saddam Hussein's Baghdad Bunker - Designed so its occupants could survive a direct hit from an atomic bomb and then remain inside for 6 months.
• Mormon Church Records Vaults - Metal gates bar the tunnel entrance to vaults that are encased in rock at Granite Mountains UT.
• Fort Knox - The bank vault that houses the USA's gold is lined with granite walls and protected by a door that weighs 24.6 tons. No one person is entrusted with the combination.
• The 1960s Bar - A radiation-proof British pub located deep underground in the Burlington Bunker in Wiltshire UK. It's part of the British government's emergency government HQ.
• Air Force One: The US presidential aircraft is a modified Boeing jet that features the most recent safety technology. The communications system includes 85 telephones, as well as multi-frequency radios for air-to-air, air-to-ground, and satellite communications.
• Area 51 - This top-secret US military facility 90 miles north of Las Vegas was originally used to test the U2 spy plane. The area is also associated with UFOs and various conspiracy stories.
• Bold Lane Parking Garage - The most secure parking garage on Earth is located near a shopping centre in Derby UK.

For The Record (8 March)

A Chinese man can blow up balloons and blow out candles - with his ears! 55-year-old Wei Mingtang, a factory worker from Guilin city, discovered his ears leaked air over 30 years ago. He then came up with the idea of using them to inflate balloons with the aid of a pipe. At a recent city festival, he also managed to blow out 20 candles within 20 seconds using a hose leading from his ears.
- "Nanguo Morning News"

What's In A Name? (7 March)

Chocolate-maker Nestle is experiencing a boom in the sales of its Kit Kat chocolate bars in Japan, where students studying for exams have been feverishly buying them up in order to obtain the good luck the candy supposedly brings. Nestle has had trouble keeping the chocolate bars stocked ever since entering the Japanese market, due to the similarities between the phrase 'Kit Kat' and the Japanese phrase 'Kitto Katsu', which traditionally has been used by students to wish each other luck before important exams.
- "Curious Times"

Tasty Tunes (7 March)

A 27-year-old Swiss musician has the world's most extreme case of 'synaesthesia' [sin-as-THEES-ya], the phenomenon whereby hearing music triggers a response in other sensory organs. The woman, who chooses to remain anonymous, not only sees colors when she hears music but also gets various tastes on her tongue according to the notes she hears. For instance, an F-sharp causes her to see the color violet while a C makes her see red; and she experiences tastes ranging from sour-and-bitter to low-fat cream and mown grass, based on the tone intervals in music. Zurich University neuro-psychologists have been astounded while studying her extremely rare disorder ... or would it be a gift?
- "Nature"

Football (Soccer) Moms Will Love This (4 March)

A Russian car-maker has come up with a new vehicle to compete with the US-made Hummer.
The 'Kombat' is said to be bigger, faster, heavier and - thirstier. The cheaper model offers a mini-bar, DVD player, TV screens and can defend against machine gun and sniper fire. The most expensive version is also able to deflect anti-tank rounds.
- "The Guardian"

The Smell Of Money (4 March)

A trio of business professors from HEC Montréal, Ryerson University and Western Kentucky University have conducted a study on how various scents affect consumer buying patterns. Among their discoveries - a citrus smell of oranges with a hint of lemon seems to magically encourage shoppers to spend more money.
- "Globe & Mail"

Felons In Diapers (3 March)

It seems unbelievable, but 4 Bangladeshi infants have been forced to appear in court in their parents' arms accused of - looting and causing criminal damage. The little ones, aged 3 months to 2 years, have been released on bail after a brief hearing. The magistrate in the southern city of Chittagong says the case obviously appears to have no merit but the truth will have to be uncovered in court. How can this happen? In Bangladesh, anyone can file a criminal case and the procedure is often used simply to harass people.
- BBC World News

The Safest Car Colour? (3 March)

According to a new study by researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand that assesses the effect of car colours on the risk of serious injury in accidents, silver cars are 50% less likely to be involved in a crash resulting in serious injury compared to white cars, perhaps because silver is a reflective colour. The risk factor for white, yellow, grey, red and blue cars is in the mid-range. The least safe car colours are brown, black and green. Globally, about 3,000 people die in car accidents - every day!
- "British Medical Journal"

And Now Plastic Surgery - After Death (3 March)

Controversial German artist Gunther von Hagens, whose exhibitions made from human and animal remains have attracted millions of visitors around-the-world, wants to build a factory to mass-produce his art. He's already bought land and industrial buildings in a western Polish town to house his so-called 'plastination process', a method of preserving human and animal bodies by replacing natural body fluids with solid plastic. The process both preserves tissues and gives rigidity, enabling the corpse and its organs to be displayed in exhibitions.
- UK Reuters

Ways To Amuse Yourself (3 March)

• Buy a TV exactly like your neighbours'. Then you can annoy them by standing outside their window and changing their channel using your identical remote control.
• Walk up to a store employee and tell him/her in an official tone, 'Code 3 in Aisle 4' and see what happens.
• Putting just the right amount of gin in your goldfish bowl makes the fishes' eyes bulge and causes them to swim in an amusing manner.
• When your money comes out of the ATM, scream "I won! I won! Third time this week!"
• Drill a 1-inch hole in your refrigerator door. This will allow you to check that the light goes off when the door is closed.

Buzzwords (2 March)

Cutting edge vocab ....

• 'Covenant Marriage' - A new form of 'extreme wedding' said to be based on biblical teachings that's spreading among evangelical Christians. Couples must undergo premarital counselling, sign an affidavit, and promise to seek more counselling if trouble arises in the marriage. Divorce is allowed only in cases of 'cruel and barbarous treatment' and requires a waiting period of at least 2 years.
• 'Vanity Sizing' - The practice of putting a smaller size label on a larger size garment in order to flatter the prospective buyer. ("Oh look, I must have lost weight ... I squeezed into an 18!")
• 'Fictomercial' - A work of fiction in which a company pays the writer to incorporate the company's products into the story. (Sort of the print version of 'product placement'.)

From Star Trek To Reality? (2 March)

Electronic engineers at the University of Pennsylvania are researching a device they say could make objects 'nearly invisible to an observer'. The contrivance works by preventing light from bouncing off the surface of an object, causing the object to appear so small it all but disappears.
- "National Geographic News"

Gizmos & Gadgets (2 March)

• A new synthetic tooth enamel can repair early tooth decay without drillings or fillings. Japanese researchers at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo have found that a fine paste of a material that mimics natural enamel can be used to repair small cavities in just 15 minutes. The downside - the acidic mix can cause painful injury if it touches the gums.
• Home sound systems as we know them may soon become a thing of the past. The new Sonos Digital Music System lets you wirelessly tap into music stored in your computer. Using an iPod-like remote control and a pair of wireless hubs called 'ZonePlayers' with built-in amplifiers that channel music to speakers, you can put together play lists from whatever's downloaded in your computer ... for about $1,200.
• If you think marriage vows are not enough to bind people together, rings made of your spouse's bone cells may be the ultimate gesture. The idea has been hatched by Nikki Stott, a jewellery designer at the Royal College of Art in London, who's collaborating with Ian Thomson, a bio-engineer at King's College. The painful part of the idea - the lucky couple has to provide bone cell samples. Stott says it's for people who 'want to give a bit of their body to each other'.

New Age Pickpockets (2 March)

It's amazing some people are afraid to make an online purchase with a credit card, considering using one in a restaurant is far more risky. According to a new survey conducted by Javelin Research and the Better Business Bureau, the top sources of identity theft are ...

• Lost or stolen wallet ... 29%
• Fraud that occurs during an in-store or phone transaction ... 12.9%
• Corrupt employees ... 9%
• Stolen mail ... 8%
• Spyware on the computer ... 5%
• Sifting through garbage ... 2.6%
• Computer viruses ... 2.2%
• 'Phishing' through fraudulent e-mail ... 1.7%

Budget-Stretchers (2 March)

A few innovative money-saving tips to pass along ...

• You can cancel your gym membership and still lose weight quickly by eating raw pork or rancid tuna. The subsequent food poisoning/diarrhea will enable you to lose 12 pounds in only 2 days!
• Save on electricity by turning off all the lights in your house and walking around wearing a miner's hat.
• Save on gasoline by pushing your car to your destination. Invariably passers-by will think you've broken down and help you out.
• Old telephone directories make ideal personal address books. Simply cross out the names and address of people you don't know.
• Avoid parking tickets by leaving your wipers turned to 'fast wipe' whenever you leave your car parked illegally.
• Quit paying to heat up all that bath water. Wrap yourself in masking tape and remove dirt by simply peeling it off.
• Fool other drivers into thinking you have an expensive car phone by holding an old TV or video remote control up to your ear and occasionally swerving across the road.

Who Says Only Love Can Break Your Heart? (1 March)

Johns Hopkins University researchers have discovered that bad news can 'break your heart', creating similar damage to a heart attack. An investigation of patients suffering from heart attack symptoms who hadn't actually experienced one revealed that most had experienced a severe emotional shock - the death of a loved one, a crime, speaking in public, being in court, even being surprised by a party - just a few hours before the onset of symptoms. The experience apparently sends a surge of stress hormones to the heart. The good news is, the damage seems to be temporary and most fully recover after a few weeks.
- "Fortean Times"

Snooze And Lose (1 March)

Sufficient sleep is essential not only for overall health but also to stay trim, according to Dr Hsiao Tun-jen, a member of the Taiwan Medical Association for the Study of Obesity. A study of close to 4,000 people finds that those who sleep more than 6 hours a night are generally slimmer than those who sleep less.
- "Sydney Herald Sun"

The Pie Icon (1 March)

Demonstrating a deep understanding of its computer-gaming audience, Sony has built the ability to order pizza into its latest online multi-player game. Type the command '/pizza' while playing "Everquest II", a fantasy game with 330,000 active players and you get the Pizza Hut Website where you can place orders for delivery. A Sony spokesman says he believes this is the first time a game accepts orders for real-world items.
- "NY Daily News"

Too Stupid For Us To Make Up (1 March)

• Parents of the 5- to 9-year-old pupils at the Broomley First School in Stocksfield UK are furious and are helping their youngsters launch a petition against overprotective education officials. The problem? Kids have been ordered to stop playing tag - because it's too dangerous!
• Weather forecasters in Moscow, Russia now face heavy fines if they get the weather wrong. Mayor Yuri Luschkov has decided they'll be held personally responsible for financial losses the city incurs due to an incorrect forecast.
• A new survey reveals that 70% of single Japanese women prefer not to wed and believe they can live happily for the rest of their lives - alone.

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