Jessica Mischner writes "If the mechanical energy generated by the movement of Tibet's spinning prayer wheels could be harnessed, we could potentially reduce the size of our current carbon footprint and supplement an inadequate and unreliable electrical grid for numerous individuals. The Prayer Wheel Energy Generator, designed by Taikkun Yang Li does just this by transforming all of those good vibes into electricity that could be used to provide reliable energy for daily needs such as evening lighting."

If you live in Madrid or Barcelona, you might not notice the air pollution due to your contact buzz according to a new study. The Superior Council of Scientific Investigations found the air in those cities to be laced with at least five drugs: amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids, lysergic acid and most prominently cocaine. Researchers found cocaine in concentrations between 29 and 850 picogram per cubic meter of air. The group stresses that the air samples were taken in high drug areas and don't represent most of the air in the cities.

Father David Buckley, of the Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Catholic church, stopped watching Dogma long enough to unveil a Marcus Cornish bronze statue dubbed "Jesus in jeans." The seven-foot high statue depicts Christ in jeans and a button-down shirt, with neatly trimmed hair and beard, a man of the 21st century. The £35,000 sculpture was funded with money left by Winifred Gregory, a member of the church who died last year. Father Buckley said, "You are always looking for new ways to enrich people in the experience of Christianity and it is good people can be open-minded to appreciate it. On the continent you often encounter modern representations of Jesus but it is not so common over here. We wanted a figure of Christ not in suffering but dynamic and welcoming. We felt this design summed up the spirit and activity of Christ perfectly and I think it speaks for itself."

Everyone, just do what comes naturally.

eldavojohn writes "What do you do when a foreign species has been introduced to your land from another continent? Bring over the natural predator from the other continent. Scientists in Texas have introduced four kinds of phorid flies from South America to fight fire ants. These USDA approved flies dive bomb ants and lay an egg inside the ant. The maggot hatches and eats away juicy tender delicious ant brain until the ant is nothing more than a zombie that wanders around for two weeks before the head falls off and the ant dies. A couple of these flies will cause the ants to modify their behavior and this will be a very slow acting solution to curb the $1 billion in damage these ants do to Texas cattle ranches and — oddly enough — electrical equipment like circuit breakers. You may remember zombifying parasites hitting insects like cockroaches."

bokske writes "An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill. Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday, after the flagrant fumes prompted someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in. Just another day at the office."

An Indian man, who has seven daughters and a wife who must be chronically congested, has not washed himself in 35 years. He believes that not washing will ensure that his next child will be a boy. Instead of bathing and brushing his teeth, Kailash "Kalau" Singh stands on one leg next to a bonfire, smokes marijuana, and says prayers to Shiva. "It's just like using water to take a bath. A fire bath helps kill germs and infection in the body," Kalau was reported as saying. Kalau now tills fields after he had to sell a grocery store he owned, when people stopped shopping there due to his "unhealthy personality."

If you've ever thought that the living room could really use a chair covered in spikes, or that you'd love to get your grandmother another tongue clamp for her collection, an upcoming auction in New York may be for you. Guernsey's Auction house has 252 different torture implements for sale, most which date back to the 17th century or earlier. The entire collection is estimated to be worth $3-$4 million and some individual pieces come with rare books showing "early engravings of scenes of torture." Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's Auctions, said, "These are devices created to cause pain ... very diabolical devices. There is one pretty much to cause pain to any part of the body. It's fascinating but terrible."

Punishment has never been so much fun.

bfire writes "McDonalds has earmarked potential changes to seating plans in some restaurants to prevent free Wi-Fi users from monopolizing seating, particularly in peak periods. The availability of Wi-Fi means people are now spending 35 minutes in McDonalds — rather than the average ten minutes that patrons used to spend eating there. But it appears not everyone is happy with the increased 'stickiness' of customers, with some licensees in Australia reporting that Wi-Fi users aren't turning over seats fast enough. The restaurant chain is considering options including space demarcation to deal with the problem."

The Kelly Tarlton Arctic Encounter in Orakei, New Zealand, is gearing up to hold the first ever "Penguathlon". The five events that the King and Gentoo penguins will be competing in are: football, Frisbee, surfing, swing ball and waddle races. There are even special penguin games for children, who wear giant penguin feet (leopard seal insurance available at the ticket office). "New Zealand has the greatest diversity of penguin species and is arguably the best place in the world to see them. As well as being great fun, the Penguathlon gives people a fantastic chance to get up close with them as well as gaining a better understanding about their welfare," said Gregg Anderson, Tourism New Zealand's Regional Manager for UK and Europe.

A school bus driver in Hempstead, N.Y. found a pair of pipe bombs in her driveway last Friday. Since she has spent years of her life dealing with some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, New York public school students, she didn't think twice about wrapping them up in a towel, putting them in the bus, and hand delivering them to the local police station. The police on the other hand didn't think it was such a good idea and told her to pull over immediately after she called and told them her plans. An Atlantic Express spokeswoman, the driver's employer, said, "It's unacceptable in every possible way. She will not be driving for this company again."

I think you'll find all the important food groups covered here.

Having figured out everything there is to know about space, and being huge fans of Space Jam, NASA has left some of their sciencey stuff behind and made room for a pair of basketballs on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. One of the balls comes courtesy of The Harlem Globetrotters, and the other is on loan from the University of Chicago. It was used by Edwin Hubble in a 1909 victory against Indiana University. "It is only fitting that the team that has seen more of the world than any other in history would have a presence beyond the stratosphere," Globetrotters chief executive officer Kurt Schneider said in a news release.

A Pueblo County High School history teacher was surprised that people would think giving 110 freshmen an assignment to come up with a plot for an act of terrorism was a bad idea. The teacher says the assignment was to illustrate an act of terrorism on American soil, and that she just learned places and dates in college, and not common sense. Gini Fischer, a mother of one of the students, says, "To ask them to use their creative energies to come up with a plot for an act of terrorism is very ludicrous".

A middle school in China has encouraged children to punch effigies of their teachers to work out frustration. Lichang 1st Middle School in Jinan puts pictures of their teachers on sandbags and gives the kids boxing gloves as part of a new "physical release" program. The school also offers private chat and consultation rooms so the students can use their words and not their fists, but Vice principal Meng Fanxiang says that most boys choose the sandbags. "Adolescent students may have a lot of problems and be under great pressure from studies. It's better for them to release it within the school than other places," Meng says. While this is a big step in the battle against school and workplace resentment, it is still frowned upon to tape a sign that reads, "Your Face!" to a pumpkin in your boss's front yard and shoot it with an AR-15. I guess everyone deals with frustration differently.

"What if every little girl's dream became mankind's worst nightmare?"

I would love to discuss your complaint. If you could just give that bolt a half turn, we can get started.

whoever57 writes "In response to the school shooting in March in which 16 people were killed, the German Government plans to ban all games in which players shoot at each other with pellets. The rationale for this is that 'paintball trivializes violence and risks lowering the threshold for committing violent acts.' Fines could be up to 5,000 euros."

BoyIHateMicrosoft! writes "A friend of mine sent me this link today about a group of MIT students who have created something called a WoWPod. It's like a playhouse for WoW players. It has everything from Refreshing Spring Water, to food (Like Crunchy Spider Surprise of course!) to a toilet and of course the appropriate gaming gear."