Australian teachers drew a fair bit of criticism from authorities when a mock class hanging left a student gasping for a new class project. The student fell from a table while his classmates were photographing a staged hanging as part of an English class project. The students and teachers ran to the boy and cut the rope when he fell, but not before he turned blue. "It beggars belief that such an incident could take place. I'm a parent. The last thing I've ever wanted any of my children to do is put a rope around their neck," Queensland state Education Minister Geoff Wilson said. Needless to say the Faux Gas Chamber that the children have been working on for the past semester has been put on indefinite hold.

Janine Sugawara was so shocked and dismayed when she learned that "Crunchberries" were not actual fruit that she sued, on behalf of herself and all other painfully ignorant people who thought Captain Crunch ran some sort of brightly colored berry farm. I can't imagine what she thought a Butterfinger was composed of. Common sense won in this instance when a judge of the US District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed the lawsuit, saying "In this case ... while the challenged packaging contains the word 'berries' it does so only in conjunction with the descriptive term 'crunch.' This Court is not aware of, nor has Plaintiff alleged the existence of, any actual fruit referred to as a 'crunchberry.' Furthermore, the 'Crunchberries' depicted on the [box] are round, crunchy, brightly-colored cereal balls, and the [box] clearly states both that the Product contains 'sweetened corn & oat cereal' and that the cereal is 'enlarged to show texture.' Thus, a reasonable consumer would not be deceived into believing that the Product in the instant case contained a fruit that does not exist. ... So far as this Court has been made aware, there is no such fruit growing in the wild or occurring naturally in any part of the world."

I want to watch I believe in a thing called love next.

One of these things is not like the other.

According to scientists, city Great Tits prefer other city Great Tits over country Great Tits. (Lets act like adults). The researchers found that the city dwellers responded more strongly to songs of fellow city dwellers and the same held true for the bumpkins. The average minimum pitch of male Great Tit songs in noisy urban areas was higher than in quieter, rural areas just a few miles away. Dr Rupert Marshall, of Aberystwyth University, Wales, and his team recorded bird song in 20 different cities in Britain. He says, "People speak louder and higher in noisy places like pubs and bars but still recognise their friends' voices once they go outside. Great tits seem to learn the high notes from their neighbours but don't respond as strongly to lower rural tones even when it's quiet."

BBVA, Spain's second-largest bank, has offered most of its 30,000 staff the option of taking the next 5 years off at 30% pay, with their health care costs covered, and the guarantee of their jobs back when they return. The bank says this is an opportunity for employees to spend more time with their families and get involved with other "professional projects." I call it the layoff plan of the gods.

Eugene Scott Duncan's decision to rappel down a high voltage power line tower behind his house ended as you might predict it would. When he finally touched one of the wires, that carry as much as 46,000 volts, he fell to the ground and was taken to Raleigh General Hospital. Police say they will investigate the incident and may charge Duncan with trespassing on the line.

Not only did she make everyone late for the early bird specials, but she also forgot her coupon for a free cinnamon roll.

A select group of 17 Uighur Muslims held in Guantánamo, and waiting for a nation to grant them asylum are getting laptops and web training from the US military. Their web training will take place in a virtual computer lab the military has set up. The lessons will be limited to DVD language training as well as a basic users skill — set to help in any future employment options. Nury Turkel, an Uighur rights activist, said the training would help the men "be reintroduced into a modern society," adding that it "also would give hope to the men that their freedom is nearing." This special group already gets to order fast food and use a phone booth for weekly calls. I think the government is on to something here. Nothing keeps a man pacified like an occasional phone call, a cheeseburger, and surfing for a little porn.

Mark Malkoff is taking some drastic measures to get over his fear of flying. He plans on spending a month flying back and forth across the country. Most days Mark plans on taking 5-6 trips to various locations, but may take as many as 12 flights on some occasions. "The only time I might get off is if I have to switch planes. Maybe I'll go on the tarmac," he said. Malkoff is a comedian, writer and filmmaker who made headlines last year for living in an Ikea for a week.

A 15-year-old boy proved that there is virtually nothing that a teenager won't eat, when he consumed fetal pig testicles during his biology class, on a dare. The student made $50 for the stunt and won a trip to the hospital, after school officials became concerned about the possible effects consuming formaldehyde soaked testicles might have on a growing young man. "It was just like swallowing a pill," said the boy, who can't be identified because of his age. "It wasn't that bad."

Good luck with that.

Jon Matthews won £5,000 by beating the odds, even the 50/1 odds offered by bookmakers William Hill, when he remained alive until June 1, 2008. The same bet for June 1, 2009 paid out another £5,000 today. In April 2006, Matthews was diagnosed with mesothelioma and his doctor only gave him a few months to live. "I think I'm the first person in the world to bet on my own life," he said. The longest doctors at Harefield Hospital have heard of anyone surviving this type of cancer after diagnosis was 25 months. "I reached 26 months a year ago and on June 1 this year I will have reached 38 months," he said. "When I was diagnosed I was told mesothelioma was a death sentence." Jon has again placed a bet for next year and will get a 100/1 payout this time if he lives until June 1, 2010.

It may be tastier than fire ant salad, and safer to eat than staple cake, but the Chinese government has stopped restaurants in the southern province of Guangdong from serving chickens that have been bitten to death by poisonous snakes. The dish, which is supposed to have detoxifying properties, has caused an uproar with local media and bloggers. "Although nobody has been poisoned, this at the very least is an irregular way of slaughtering poultry," the Chongqing Business Daily quoted a local health official as saying.

Part of the government's new total acknowledgment protocol.

For the first time ever, Oahu residents had to use their phones or computers to vote with some surprising results. 7,300 people voted this year, compared to 44,000 people the previous year, a drop of about 83 percent. "It is disappointing, compared to two years ago. This is the first time there is no paper ballot to speak of. So again, this is a huge change and I know that, and given the budget, this is a best that we could do," said Joan Manke of the city Neighborhood Commission. She added that voters obviously did not know about or did not embrace the changes.

courteaudotbiz writes "French ISP Orange has been fined 13000 Euros after being sued by a man named Mohamed Zaidi, who has been assigned the temporary password 'salearabe' (dirtyarab) by e-mail after he placed a support call. At the hearing, the prosecutor called the password 'offensive, insulting and even defamatory.'"

An anonymous reader writes "Shopping for a new mouse? Got $20k to blow? Well then we have the the mouse for you! The world's most expensive computer mouse, cast from 18 carat white gold and set with 59 brilliant cut diamonds. "A perfect gift for a 60th wedding anniversary, as diamond is the traditional gift for this event, it is also a great choice for a 50th wedding anniversary, as Gold is the traditional gift for this event!" the site says that sells the mouse. I don't know about you, but I don't have $20k burning a hole in my pocket!"

Avril Grube's three-year-old son Gavin was taken by his father over 27 years ago. Gavin was taken to Hungary and despite appeals to the Hungarian embassy in London, the British embassy in Budapest and an appeal to Margaret Thatcher, the boy was never returned. Last October Avril's sister typed the boy's name into Google and found a link to someone of that name on Facebook. Several weeks later mother and son were reunited. "I couldn't sleep, I just sat waiting for him to arrive. Even though it has been nearly 30 years, when I first saw him I recognized him, he has my eyes. I was so overcome and just said 'my beautiful son' over and over again. He was very quiet and overwhelmed. We just hugged each other. It is the happiest day of my life, there are almost no words to describe it," Avril said.

Ali Soufan, a former FBI interrogator, says that Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard, Abu Jandal, talked about the 9/11 attack only after he was given sugar free cookies. Jandal is diabetic and was unable to eat the regular cookies given to him with his tea. Noticing this, Soufan offered the suspect sugar-free cookies at their next meeting. Soufan says it was this act of kindness, not rougher methods, that opened up a dialogue between the two. "We had showed him respect, and we had done this nice thing for him. So he started talking to us instead of giving us lectures," Soufan said.