At one point or another we’ve all thought about how exciting or terrifying it might be to actually encounter intelligent alien beings from another world. What would you do if you were the FIRST human to make contact with the aliens? This helpful guide outlines a few simple things to remember when you encounter E.T. (Such as don’t call them E.T.).  Link

Driving around Los Angeles, New York or any city you may be dismayed by all the graffiti that covers buildings and over passes with unintelligible scribbling. If you’re going to make graffiti make it a work of art, like these awesome creations celebrating Star Wars.  Link

From to Google Wave to the Microsoft KIN, we have seen lots of failed technology  in recent years. However nothing seems as doomed to fail as “The Wearable Computer.” Check out this list of the 50 Worst Fails in Technology History  Link

Neatoramanaut Senor Mysterioso (featured previously) did something neat that you would never have thought of in a million years. He crocheted an entire gun store! The pistols in the display case, the ammo boxes, the weapons hanging on the walls -all made of yarn! This was his Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis project. See details in his Flickr set for the installation. Link

(Image credit: Flickr user SenorMysterioso)

Ah, the 19th century, when men wore their manliness right on their faces -or maybe they were just afraid of the barber. Luckily, cameras were around during the US Civil War so that we may still admire the mustaches, beards, muttonchops, goatees, and sideburns of brave battlefield soldiers. Smithsonian presents 24 of these faces, and asks you to vote for the best. Ambrose Burnside actually had a style named after him. John McAllister Schofield made up for being bald on top with a foot-long beard. And I believe Alpheus Williams could hurt someone with his waxed whiskers. Pick your favorite! Link

(YouTube link)

It's just cruel to tease a dog like this. I'm glad Clark doesn't really understand English that well. -via reddit

Inflatable Tongue -  $3.95

Are you looking for a fun way to ease office tension and gross out coworkers?  You need the Inflatable Tongue from the NeatoShop.  This realistic, soft, and stretchy tongue inflates to 3 times it's original size!

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fun-tastic Gag Gifts & Pranks!

Happy Monday!

A home in Greenville County, South Carolina burned for hours as firefighters battled the blaze. The family was away from home, but Mia the one-year-old Belgian Malinois was inside. The dog saved herself by hiding in a bathtub in the basement!

Mia's owner, Chris Brumby, was amazed at how the dog survived, but said he knew she was smart.

"She acts like a human for most things," Brumby said. "And that kind of showed it. She knew where to go and hide."

He said Mia was able to get to a bathtub on the lowest level of the house, where she waited as firefighters doused the home with water. As the water ran down into the basement, it filled the bathtub and soaked Mia, keeping her safe from flames, Brock said.

Brumby said the dog has learned how to open doors throughout the house, and that she had to open four doors to get to the bathtub where she was found.

Six hours after firefighters arrived, they found Mia, wet and sooty, but well. The cause of the fire has is not yet determined. Link -via Arbroath

Craftster member blupony808 made this awesome plush angler fish out of fabric, garden hose, a night light, paint, and imagination. Yes, it lights up, too! This project won the monthly challenge at Craftster. See more pictures of how she built it. Link -via Rue The Day

The following is an article from the book Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History Again. The East German government called the Berlin Wall "the Anti-Fascist Protection Barrier." But the machine guns along its length were pointed inward, toward East Berlin, not outward.

Shortly after midnight on August 13, 1961, the city of Berlin was cut in two. Soviet and East German troops moved in and ringed the city. Train service between the two cities was stopped. Telephone lines were cut. Streets connecting East and West were sealed off. The construction of the Berlin Wall had begun. The people of East Berlin were being locked in.

EAST SIDE, WEST SIDE

At first, the wall consisted of barbed wire, concrete barriers, and tanks. When complete, it was 100 miles (161 km) of pure concrete, 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4 meters) high. It extended 28 miles (45 km) through the heart of Berlin and some 70 miles (113 km) around the city to isolate West Berlin from the rest of East Germany, which surrounded it.

The wall was painted white, not to make it prettier, but to make it easier for border guards to see and shoot at anyone attempting to climb over it. A second wall was built 100 yards (91 meters) to the east of the first wall. In the no-man's-land (known as the Death Zone) between them were 293 watchtowers along with searchlights, killer guard dogs, self-firing guns, and land mines. Over the years, the wall was rebuilt three times to make it harder and harder to breach.

THE GREAT ESCAPES

President Obama called a late night news conference to announce that Osama bin Laden is dead. He was shot in a firefight in Pakistan:

Osama bin Laden, the Saudi extremist whose al-Qaida terrorist organization killed more than 3,000 people in coordinated attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, is dead following a military operation in Pakistan and the U.S. has recovered his body, U.S. President Barack Obama announced Sunday night.

"Justice has been done," the president declared as crowds formed outside the White House to celebrate, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "We Are the Champions," NBC News reported.

Obama said bin Laden, whom he called a terrorist "responsible for the murder of thousands of American men, women and children," was killed in Pakistan earlier in the day after a firefight in a military operation that was based on U.S. intelligence.

Link

Early Friday morning, I predicted that Princess Beatrice's hat would be the instant meme to arise from the royal wedding. Now it's all over the place. You've really hit the heights of instant pop culture when you are enshrined in a cupcake. Wir Machen Cupcakes of Munich, Germany created this lovely tribute to Princess Beatrice's hat. Link -via The Daily What

(Video Link)

There's always a better way to build a mousetrap. Or, in this case, an aluminum can crusher. I dunno -- I figure that there's got to be a cheaper way than this solution.

via Jalopnik

It seems like a silly question, some say that heavy people who exercise can actually be healthier and live longer lives than their skinny but sedentary friends.

Well, maybe. Adam Bean of Runner's World asked two experts what "fit" really means:

RW: Do the benefits of exercise matter more than losing weight?
YES: Physical activity can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of your weight. Whether you're talking about boosting good HDL cholesterol, lowering bad LDL cholesterol, reducing blood pressure, and so forth—all these can be improved with exercise, even if you don't lose weight. And this results in a lower cardiovascular-disease risk. Physical activity seems to have a profound effect on overall mortality risk as well—again, regardless of your weight.

NO: Exercise can improve your health, but you can list more than 50 medical conditions—from diabetes to arthritis to acid reflux to sleep apnea to certain cancers—that result from complications from carrying excess weight. Even losing five or 10 pounds will lower your risk of developing these issues and improve your health.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7120,s6-238-267--13891-0,00.html (Photo: Shutterstock)

Does an angry and vengeful God make for better people? Apparently so according to a new study by University of Oregon psychologists, who found the link between one's willingness to cheat and the belief of a benevolent God:

In line with many previous studies, it found no difference between the ethical behavior of believers and nonbelievers. But those who believed in a loving, compassionate God were more likely to cheat than those who believed in an angry, punitive God.

"The take-home message is not whether you believe in God, but what God you believe in," said Azim Shariff, a psychologist at the University of Oregon. Shariff conducted the study with psychologist Ara Norenzayan, who had been his doctoral advisor at the University of British Columbia.

Doesn't this remind you of the age-old joke of "I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness."

Link