Geese mate for life and when the female lays her eggs the male guards the nest. When this goose lost her mate she nested in an urn in a Buffalo, New York cemetery but, with no male to guard her, she was vulnerable to predators.  A deer stepped into the breach and has taken on the role of protector of this mother goose and her soon-to-be goslings for more than a week.

The deer now spends its days near the urn acting as guardian when needed.  As passersby approach the area the deer stands and places itself between the person and the nesting goose.  On one occasion the deer even took a protective stance attempting to fend off a barking dog near the area of the urn.

The exact location is not being revealed to prevent the curious from disturbing this unusual domestic arrangement.

Link - Via Arbroath

(Video Link)

YouTube user peteqwerty51 made a steel guitar from a stainless steel sink. It plays rather well! This is his first sink guitar, and he's already planning improvements for the next one.

via Walyou

Aha! I knew it! Those aren't bearskin caps after all, as this ad for Eurostar by the Leg Agency proves.

Link via reddit | Agency Website

(Video Link)

Actually, the Segway would be a fairly sound vehicle for modern jousting, as this commercial for the State of Washington's lottery illustrates. But buying lottery tickets is probably not a likely route to this most excellent goal.

via DVICE

Michael Sacco of Fanboy has several pictures of cosplay competitions from fan conventions in the 1970s, including Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Marvel Comics. Pictured above is Wendy Pini as Red Sonja. Pini is a now comic book artist and with her husband was the creator of Elfquest.

Link

German artist Iris Schieferstein made these shoes, dubbed "Vegas Girl" out of stag hooves and revolvers. She's worked extensively in taxidermy.

Link | Artist's Website | Photo by the artist (I think)

Scientists have developed an image scanning program that can distinguish between individual zebras by their stripes:

When a zebra has been entered into the database and given a StripeCode, the researchers match another picture of the same animal by comparing the StripeStrings of the new and original images. Each image will generate a different set of StripeStrings, but the underlying ratios of black and white should remain similar.

By finding the StripeCode with the most similar StripeStrings in the database, the system is able to accurately identify the correct animal. Other existing zebra identification systems are less accurate, more complex, and require a greater level of manual input from the user.

Link via io9 | Photo by Flickr user ross_hawkes used under Creative Commons license

Previously: Tim Flach's Barcode Zebra

The great thing about cupcakes is, well, everything. But it turns out that they can be improved upon. If you're looking for a faster way of shoving cupcakes into your mouth, you might want to try the PushCake by the Meringue Bake Shop in Orange County, California. Do you need more cupcake? Just push the bottom up.

http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2011/4/7/push-it-pushcakes-by-meringue-bake-shop-orange-county-ca.html via Super Punch | Photo: Meringue Bake Shop

Yes, it's customary to celebrate happy occasions with cake, but if you think about it, you need cake much more during the bad times. So forget greeting cards filled with platitudes - use cakes filled with sugary goodness!

Jen over at Cake Wrecks has a fantastic post about some unusual uses of cakes to deal with life's sadder moments: Link

Kostas Syrtariotis of Kostas Design created this fantastic book shelf that looks just like a tree: Link - via Like Cool

What if Moses had Facebook? That's what Jewish content website Aish.com asked (and answered) with this clever YouTube clip:

You might want to thoroughly inspect any piece of used furniture before you bring it into your house. You never know what could be hiding inside.

Richmond, Virginia man learned that lesson early Wednesday morning when a snake apparently slithered out of a chair he received nearly a week earlier.

Barrett Edwards tells CBS 6 he was in bed watching TV inside his Dill Avenue home Wednesday morning when he got up to use the bathroom.

Upon exiting the bathroom he saw a boa constrictor coiled up atop a bathroom vent. "I turned around and there was a snake right there," Edwards says.

Buddy the boa constrictor was luckily unharmed.

Link

Mini Samurai Umbrella - $19.95

April showers bring May flowers.  Are you looking for a stylish umbrella to keep you from getting all wet? You need the Mini Samurai Umbrella from the NeatoShop.  Go ahead, tell that rain you mean business!

The Samurai Sword Umbrella is also available as a full sized umbrella.

You Tube Link

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for all your oddball needs.

(YouTube link)

Everyone has dreams. This cat dreams of being a cosmonaut. If he'd read yesterday's post on that same subject, he might not have been so ambitious. This is an ad for a Russian lottery. -via The Daily What

In 1973, architect Ricardo Bofill bought an abandoned cement factory in Barcelona and converted it to use as his business offices, creative studio, and home. He spent two years remodeling: tearing down some buildings, converting others, and leaving some of the original equipment in place for its charm. The result is an inspiring and overwhelmingly spacious headquarters. See more pictures at yatzer. Link -via b3ta