A Serbian union official, Zoran Bulatovic, cut off his finger and ate it in protest over wages that haven't been fully paid in years. He says he did it to show how desperate some workers have become. "We, the workers have nothing to eat, we had to seek some sort of alternative food and I gave them an example. It hurt like hell," he said. I'd hate to see what Zoran decides to do about workers getting limited bathroom breaks.

He only gets groceries once a year.

Sockatume writes "Shingo Maeda and colleagues at Waseda University have created a polymer gel that walks under its own chemical power. The team exploited the oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction to create periodic changes in the size of the polymer, and built a tensed structure that would amplify those small movements into a horrifically potent gait. The current version only walks across a notched surface, but the team are working on a terrible new form that will cross smooth surfaces like a snail. The team say they intend to apply it in the self-assembly of small structures. Suddenly, I can't stop screaming."

The residents of Tuscarora, Nevada are getting ready to fight the annual invasion of mormon crickets with the power of Rock-N-Roll. Trial and error has shown that the crickets don't think much of Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones. The residents circle the town with boomboxes at regular intervals to drive off the millions of crickets. "It is part of our arsenal. You'll wake up and there'll be one sitting on your forehead, looking at you." says Laura Moore, an unemployed college professor and one of the town's 13 residents. The crickets devastate crops, cause slicks on the highway and evidently love rap.

It doesn't sound so bad when you say it like that.

When Alcoa Inc. wanted to build a new aluminum smelting plant in Iceland, they were forced to hire an expert to make sure that none of the country's "hidden people" lived underneath the proposed building site. The legendary elves provoke serious apprehension in much of the country's population. An Alcoa spokesman said that the inspection (which delayed construction for six months) was costly but necessary. "We couldn't be in the position of acknowledging the existence of hidden people," he added. The job of an elf finder is not as easy as you might think. With a +2 racial bonus to hide, elves can be quite elusive. Ogre spotter, now that's an easy job.

Being devoured has never been so good for your skin.

pdclarry writes "A Boeing 747 that serves as an Air Force One backup and two F-16 fighters escorting it caused a brief panic among office workers at the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan this morning, as large numbers evacuated the buildings. The incident was also spurred evacuations in Jersey City across the Hudson River from Manhattan."

Thanks to voters in the heart of the Swiss Alps the horror of nude hiking has finally come to an end. The people of Appenzell, Inner Rhodes voted to impose a 200 Swiss franc ($176) fine on anyone brazen enough to take off their pants and walk around at 7000 feet. Naked hiking started to become a problem last autumn when naked hikers — primarily Germans — started showing up in eastern Switzerland. "The reactions of the population have shown that such appearances over a large area are perceived as thoroughly disturbing and irritating," the government said in a statement.

adeelarshad82 writes "Apple and the maker of the "Baby Shaker" iPhone app issued an apology Thursday for creating an app that was "greatly lacking in taste." Sikalosoft stressed that Apple approved its app, but acknowledged that it was in poor taste. The app allows people with iPhones to download an image of a baby, which they then shake to death. It has since been pulled."

Homeland Security's "Turn Yourself In Day" was an unexpected success.

Stephanie McCraw, widow of Curtis McCraw, is suing Settlers Life Insurance after they refused to pay because Mr. McCraw had a "pre-existing condition," unrelated to the cause of his death. Curtis McCraw, who had hepatitis C, was gunned down by unknown assailants last April in Knoxville, Tennessee. "Mrs. McCraw lost her husband and wants this life insurance company to pay what is owed her. The policy is not specific as to whether there is a difference as to how you die. It does not even say you won't get paid if you have a pre-existing condition. Yet, the company is denying this claim because her husband had Hepatitis C, something totally unrelated to the way he was killed," said Curtis's lawyer, William Hotz.

Kathy and Rich Nelson are still a little shell shocked after a stray 102-pound artillery shell narrowly missed their house and plowed a path through their woods. The shell fired from Camp Ripley, Minn., was one of eight inert wax-filled rounds fired during a test by BAE Systems. The shell streaked over the Nelson home, startling three remodelers, two of whom were outside sawing cabinetry materials. "I was upstairs and had the window open and I heard this loud ppsshh, like a giant bottle rocket being set off, and it wasn't three seconds and it was right over us," said Loren Patnode of Patnode Custom Cabinets.

I don't think those words mean what you think they mean.

IS4110 writes "A new racing car made with potatoes and carrots and powered with chocolate waste has been developed by the Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre of the University of Warwicks in the UK. The university's vehicle, called WorldFirst F3 project, has a steering wheel made of curran, a material derived from carrots, that is expected to replace glass fiber and carbon fiber. It also has a racing seat made of SoyFoam, a soybean oil-based, flexible foam material. Wing mirrors incorporate materials derived from potato starch, a bib made from flax fiber, and lubricants based on plant oils."

Maybe he didn't have enough for everyone, or maybe it was just incredibly poor judgement on his teacher's part, but a 5-year-old boy was sent home with a bag of poo in his backpack. The bag came with a note from the teacher that read, "This little turd was on the floor in my room." "I'm still kind of in shock over this, because why would somebody do this? It's disgusting!" said the boy's father. The school's superintendent said the boy's teacher and the school principal are being questioned.

Police say 33-year-old Terrence Croskery was fresh out of bludgeoning weapons when he tried to scare off deputies with a battle axe, a knife and a broad sword. The Bay County Sheriff's Office says that deputies responded to the Sting Ray Motel after management called 911 to complain that a guest was acting strange. When officers arrived Croskery threw a battle ax and a 6-inch knife through the window, pulled a broad sword, and locked himself inside the bathroom.

Jagshemash! Kazakhstan is in the process of building the world's first alien embassy with attached UFO landing pad and checkpoint. A large plot of land in the city of Almaty has been allocated for the project. The embassy will include a guesthouse, theater, and translation service. The government believes open contact with aliens will happen soon and by being the first nation to specifically create such facilities they will reap economic rewards. The Kazakhstan Government also see this as a chance to demonstrate their nation's forward-thinking policies. Nice!

AlHunt writes "Two central Pennsylvania friends spent most of March in a text-messaging record attempt — for a total of 217,000. For one of the two, that meant an inches-thick itemized bill for $26,000. Nick Andes, 29, and Doug Klinger, 30, were relying on their unlimited text messaging plans to get them through the escapade, so Andes didn't expect such a big bill. 'It came in a box that cost $27.55 to send to me,' Andes said. After a 'panicked' call, Andes says his cell phone company assures him he won't have to pay it."

I can't say much for the game play, but at least it's only a quarter.