Scientists upbeat on development of invisibility cloak

China – Mainland scientists are increasingly confident of developing the world’s first invisibility cloak, using technology to hide objects from view and make them “disappear”.

The central government has funded at least 40 research teams over the past three years to develop the idea, which until now has largely been the stuff of science fiction and fantasy novels like the Harry Potter series.

The technology would have obvious military uses such as developing stealth aircraft, but Beijing believes the research could lead to wider technological breakthroughs with broader uses, scientists involved in the research said.

The main approaches are developing materials that guide light away from an object, creating electromagnetic fields to bend light away from what one is trying to hide and copying nature to make hi-tech camouflage materials. More

Dog Needs Surgery After Eating Girls Homework

Colorado – A family dog is recovering after emergency surgery after eating a girl’s homework.
It’s the oldest line in the classroom - ”My dog ate my homework.” But in this case it was painfully true.
“I made a volcano project out of candy and I pinned the candy to a foam base,” Payton said.
Payton and her dog Reggie share a love of school science projects.
“It was Mt. Haleakala in Maui,” Payton said.
Reggie’s hunger for knowledge landed him in surgery. Fifty straight pins showed up on his abdominal X-ray. More

Fallen tree looks like a dog

UK – Council workers in Ipswich thought they were barking up the wrong tree when they saw this.
Workmen were clearing up the town’s Alexander Park after the recent storms, and discovered a dog’s head in the upturned roots of a fallen oak tree.
Alexandra Park and Holywells Park in Ipswich have still not re-opened due to damage by St Jude’s storm, reports the Ipswich Star. More

This company will send your stuffed animal on a vacation

Your teddy bear has always wanted to visit Tokyo in the spring. Fortunately for Mr. Bobo, there’s Unagi Travel, the “Japan Travel Agency for Stuffed Animals.”
The travel agency gives tours not to you but to your favorite plush toy.
For fans of the movie “Amelie,” in which a garden gnome disappears from a front yard and mysteriously appears in photos taken at tourist sites around the globe, this is kind of like that: Give your teddy a grand adventure while you sit at home. Talk about a toy story.
The odd but oddly adorable idea goes like this: Head to the Unagi Travel website and book your toy’s tour. Price points are reasonable, but you pay for shipping to Japan. They send your toy back for free.  More

Violin that played as Titanic sank sells for $1.5 million

A violin that was being played as the Titanic went down was sold for 900,000 pounds ($1.46 million) at auction on Saturday, a record price for memorabilia from the doomed ocean liner. Band leader Wallace Hartley played the instrument, trying to calm passengers as the ship slipped into the frozen waters of the North Atlantic in April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Hartley`s band played the hymn "Nearer, My God, To Thee" as passengers climbed into lifeboats. Hartley and his seven fellow band members all died after choosing to play on. More than 1,500 people died. When Hartley`s body was recovered more than 10 days after the disaster, the violin was found in a leather case strapped to him, according to the folklore that has grown up around the event. More

Kitten survives 40-minutes inside a running washing machine

California - The ordeal of a California cat that survived a 40-minute ride in a washing machine was selected as one of the most bizarre pet insurance claims of the year. Veterinary Pet Insurance, based in California, said the 11 finalists for then Hambone Award, given annually to the strangest claims each year, includes Natasha, a 6-month-old kitten that took a ride in Oakland owner Daryl Humdy`s washing machine along with a load of laundry, the Oakland Bee reported Friday. "She had always been very nosy about the washing machine," Humdy said. "She would always peek inside it, but I never thought she would hop in." More

Blind chicken brought back to life

A blind chicken has been brought back to life after its dedicated owner gave it CPR for over three hours. Chooky Wooky was recently blown into the backyard pool at 14-year-old owner Rayna Rapo`s home in Sydney, Australia. Fearing that her pet was dead, Rayna plucked her out of the water and tried to revive her. And even when her mother Roberta suggested that Chooky Wooky couldn`t be saved Rayna was determined not to give up. More

Steve Jobs was given the night shift at Atari because of his personal hygiene

Steve Jobs is undoubtedly one of the most successful men of the century. He was the mind behind all the Apple products that we know and love. In 2010, it was estimated that Steve Jobs net worth was $8.3 billion. However, when he was younger, he may have had questionable hygiene. Steve Jobs used to work at Atari in order to provide himself with a wage so he could survive. Allegedly, Jobs was actually put on the night shift because of his hygiene. It is said that he never bathed, and would walk around the office in his bare feet.

Fencing coach stops robbery

Tennessee – A fencing teacher put his sword to good use, foiling a robbery he stumbled upon during a trip to the local shopping center.
Franco Scaramuzza was pulling into the shopping center’s parking lot when he saw two men attack a couple with pepper spray and take a purse, WSMV.com reported.
“The first thing that went through my head is somebody should do something, and that’s when I got really upset and disappointed with myself, because I realized I had the opportunity to do something.
And I didn’t want to be a hypocrite who just tweeted about it,” Scaramuzza told the station.
The instructor grabbed his epee, jumped out of the car and charged the suspects. More

Attempt to fly phone into prison on pigeon fails

Brazil – A woman’s attempt to fly a mobile phone into a prison on the back of a pigeon failed when the exhausted bird collapsed just after clearing the jail walls.
Cristielli Mansa, 21, had attempted to send the device to her boyfriend, Wagner Machado Rodrigues, 19, who had been arrested for drug trafficking.
Unfortunately for the pair, the pigeon cleared the three-meter high wall of the Central Prison in Porto Alegre, Brazil, but then fell right in front of a patrolling prison officer’s vehicle. More

12 firefighters in 3 fire engines sent to rescue teenage girl stuck in a swing

London - Three fire engines and at least twelve firefighters were mobilized to rescue a teenage girl who was stuck in a child`s swing. The girl slid herself into the swing in Finsbury Park, north London, yesterday afternoon, but was unable to get out without assistance. The large contingent of firefighters, who arrived in three separate fire engines, were eventually able to free her after removing the swing from its frame. A bystander told MailOnline: `She had her hands in her head, embarrassed, and was being filmed by her family and was clearly stuck in the child`s swing.  More

Buckingham Palace seeks timekeeper for queen`s clocks

LONDON - Buckingham Palace announced it is seeking someone to be responsible for winding the queen`s 1,000 clocks for $50,035 per year. The advertisement on Queen Elizabeth`s official website says the Royal Horological Conservator will be based in Buckingham Palace, but will also have to travel to Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Balmoral and Sandringham to make sure all of the monarch`s clocks are wound and set to the accurate time, The Mirror reported Monday. The post-holder will be primarily responsible for resetting the clocks for the time changes in March and October. More

The world’s most extreme camping trip

Germany – Campers craving the ultimate in peace and quiet can now find it 500ft up a sheer mountain face.
Accommodation comes in the form of a ‘portaledge’ – an incredibly strong frame covered in canvas, secured to a cliff face in the German Alps.
Campers have to scale the mountain to get to their bed for the night – and can only bring with them the bare essentials of a sleeping bag, a rope and a basic dinner.
Fearless adventurers sleep alongside an instructor, who takes up the outside position just inches from the 500ft sheer drop.
The two campers wear a safety harness to stop them falling should they roll over in their sleep. More

Deluxe hotel for chickens

UK - A Kent woman has taken advantage of the boom in hen keeping by opening a deluxe hotel for chickens. Fowlty Towers, the plush resort is a home away from home for hens while their owners are on vacation. It is run by Julie Smith, who says she has been inundated with requests for rooms. Dedicated customers even book months in advance to secure a spot for their prized birds. The five star accommodation features 3ft long runs attached to luxury enclosures.

Distressed owl turns out to be garden ornament

Scotland - When animal welfare officers were alerted to a `distressed` owl in a Scottish front garden they were quickly on the case. The Scottish SPCA received a call from an anonymous Aberdeenshire resident with concerns for a bird that had apparently been left tied to a tree all night. When an officer arrived at the scene, however, he discovered the motionless owl was in fact a plastic garden water feature. `I had a feeling as soon as I approached the property that something wasnt quite right,` explained Chief Inspector John Carle. More

Firefighters save bearded dragon lizard`s life with oxygen mask

UK - A group of hero firefighters did what firefighters do andimprovised to save the life of abearded dragon lizard, who was rescued from his burning container. Thorn was given oxygen using a mask designed to treat humans, following the incident in its basement home in Pedmore Road, Lye, West Midlands. Fire crews responded after a bulb in the two-year-old lizard`s vivarium enclosure overheated and caused a fire that spread throughout. Lucy Evans, a firefighter who attended the scene, said: "Thorn was desperate for air and at first we thought it was dead." More

Firefighters rescue man stuck in chimney

Washington - Firefighters chiseled a hole through bricks early Tuesday to rescue a man who had gotten himself stuck inside a 20-inch wide chimney space at a Washington home that had been converted to apartments.
The young man was not hurt and was not suspected of a crime, but it’s unclear why he apparently climbed into the unused chimney, Tacoma Battalion Chief Dyre Fudge said.
“Stories range from `hide and seek” to `repairing the ceiling. Nobody was able to get the straight story,” Fudge said.
“I’m in my 35th year, and it’s something different every day. You can’t make it up,” he said. More

Grass clippings blamed for police cruiser fire

Florida - A Clay County deputy got quite a surprise when returning to his car during a traffic stop. The deputy`s patrol car had burst into flames. A Sheriff`s office spokesman told Channel 4 that the deputy parked the cruiser on a pile of freshly mowed grass, which reached a very high temperature when it touched the undercarriage of the cruiser. More