Did you leave your phone at the hotel? Don't feel bad, because that ain't nothing compared to what some people left behind at Travelodge hotels!

The list of lost-and-found items compiled by the budget hotel chain include Frederick the Hamster and an 18-month-old baby.

Among the quirkier items left behind include a life-size Mr Blobby costume, a case full of 100 Duchess of Cambridge masks, and an urn containing the ashes of a guest’s late wife.

One careless visitor left a box contained £50,000 worth of watches and a newlywed bride nearly lost her Vera Wang wedding gown when her husband forgot to pack it.

Staff at Nuneaton Travelodge were even treated to a Christmas surprise when a couple left an entire Santa’s grotto is their room.

They appear to have held their own early celebrations, and left a whole Christmas tree with decorations, lights, a model reindeer, a Father Christmas outfit and a turkey dinner behind.

An 18-month-old boy was accidentally left behind in a Winchester Travelodge, after his busy parents each thought the other had placed him in his car seat.

They drove away to attend a wedding, before realising their toddler son was not in the back of their car moments later.

An energetic Roborovski hamster was also found in his cage in Knutsford, after his forgetful owner drove back to Bristol without him.

Link

Don't worry, PETA! No hamsters were harmed in the making of this epic Hamster-powered Soda Bottle Submarine (Material cost of this awesomeness? $57!). Behold, HMS Hamstar!

If you feel bad about your hamster’s efforts to run in the hamster wheel without getting anywhere, you might want to get him a car. It can run in place, on the floor, or on a track, and the wheel is detachable, in case the car is just not his style. Link -via Breakfast Links

This animated short story is from Jacob Frey and his fellow students at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg. The real ending comes after the credits begin. -via Bits and Pieces

Katja’s hamster Fred has a home to die for, for a hamster. Katja converted an Ikea Expedit bookcase into a multi-level hamster home featuring a different room for each activity. Fred has a large room for running, stairs and ladders to traverse, a room to burrow in, a room to take a dust bath in, a room to eat in, variable lighting, and plenty of places in which to explore and play. See more pictures and find out how it was done at Pawesome. Link

This little feller, a European Hamster (yes, they also exist in Russia), turns out to be quite a feisty little rodent, as these two hapless Russians found out the hard way (they need the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!). In Soviet Russia, hamsters eat you!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via metafilter

Do you remember the Hamster Dance from 1997? It’s back again. Katie the hamster is dancing on the computer! -via Arbroath

Crash happens, even to the best of hamsters … Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] (warning: NSFW language)

Hamsters are untrainable, you say? YouTube contributor and small animal trainer Flybybutterflies set up this obstacle course of five hurdles, a seesaw, an up-and-down weave, a hoop and a collapsed tunnel, and the hamster conquered the course with ease. Wait for the slo-mo replay at the end. And in another video, Flybybutterflies demonstrates how she trains hamsters to do this.

– via cuteoverload

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.

Did you ever think you’d see hamsters playing musical instruments? -via Arbroath

“The hamster in the world of children is that little cuddly animal. Often, the adults who come here have wanted or did have hamsters when they were small,” said Mr Falquerho, who was dressed as a hamster.

The price for the room is currently 99 euros for a night, but the price will go up when Wifi and a TV screen are installed. Link -via Arbroath

What do you think this little guy is dreaming about? Feilds of food and fluffy bedding? Whatever it is, it certainly seems to be delicious and fun.

Link Via Cute Overload

Photo: pyza* [Flickr]

This week’s Neatorama and Hobotopia’s Caption Monkey photo of a hamster named Piórko came to us via the always awesome Cute Overload. I think there’s more to this hamster than meets the eye.

As usual, the funniest caption will win a free black and white custom Monkey drawing from Adam "Ape Lad" Koford. Game rules are simple: place your caption in the comment. One caption per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you’d like.

And "You shall not pass" is taken, mmkay? Oh, by the way, that phrase is a variation of a World War I propaganda slogan "They shall not pass" made famous in the Battle of Verdun on the Western Front. J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, was himself a soldier who fought during World War I.

Be sure to check out Adam’s blog for inspiration. Good luck!

Update 6/23/09 – Adam has picked the winner! Congratulations to JB who won with this caption: I don’t mind the baths, but do you have to BLOW DRY?!?

Forget Evel Knievel! He’s got nothing on the world’s greatest daredevil, Hammy the Hamster! (Yes, the same Hammy the Hamster that went organic a while ago). According to Spot Motorcycles:

… no hamsters were harmed in the making of this extraordinary movie. Hammy announced his retirement shortly after completing this jump but, like many other famous daredevils, may find the lure of the spotlight to be too great to sit on the sidelines for long.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Urlesque

This is quite the magic trick. This little tiny hamster can make the whole carrot just disappear.

Link Via ICanHasCheezburger

You don’t need a hamster ball to take your hamster out for a "wok" … Is this video clip funny or cruel? You decide …

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Christophe.

This adorable video is brought to you by The Cooks Den. In trying to evaluate whether organic veggies and fruits actually taste better, they decided to try an unbiased judge -Hammy the Hamster. How semi-scientific of them.

The results seemed to show that the little girl preferred organic veggies in five out of the six foods tested.

Study Link & Video Link Via Boing Boing

Technically it’s an iRobot, but it’s pretty much the same thing. It kinda reminds me of Dr. Robotnik’s creations, only alot less evil.

– via Make

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by JKirchartz.

Either somebody messed up or the news anchor just got pranked royally.

When reporting a sad news about Molly Bish, a 16-year-old girl who disappeared eight years ago, WFSB Connecticut news anchor Kara Sundlund came face to face with an unlikely suspect …

– via lemondrop

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by bckids1208.