A man fishing in the Nile river at Qena, Egypt, spotted a stork that had a suspicious electronic device attached to it. He captured the bird and alerted authorities to a possible case of espionage. Qena security chief Mohammed Kamal explained what happened then.

Puzzled officers examined the bird, fearing the gadget was a bomb or spying equipment, and then called in veterinary experts.

Eventually, they discovered it was a wildlife tracker used by French scientists to follow the movement of migratory birds, said Ayman Abdallah, head of veterinary services in Qena.

He said the device stopped working when the bird crossed the French border, absolving it of being a spy.

But he said it would have to remain in police custody for the time being because officials need permission from state prosecutors to release the bird.

And you thought the stork only brought babies. Link -via Arbroath

(Image credit: AP)

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So, you're supposed to bring something to the picnic and you don't want to cook. Mark Rober's recipe for watermelon smoothies requires no cooking, but is sure to impress the relatives -and you'll be remembered as the coolest aunt or uncle ever! Just make sure you get a seedless watermelon, and allow time for it to be thoroughly chilled. -via Viral Viral Videos

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Remember that old trope in cartoons where a hypnotist would swing something on a string back and forth and say "You are getting sleepy…sleepy"? It apparently works, or at least it did on these three kittens. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

My wife wanted a run-of-the-mill birthday party. I asked her, "So just a generic party?" This is the result.

He admits he got the idea from a previous generic party. There are more pictures of the decorations, and the priceless inside of the card. Link -via Pleated-Jeans

In Russia, firetruck apparently has a completely different meaning. Perhaps that's how they deliver fire in Russia ... Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]

The world's oldest continuous "social settlement" is der Fuggerei in Augsburg, Germany. It was established 1521 by Jakob Fugger, a wealthy banker, merchant, and mining investor, to house the needy. The rent is the same as it was then, one Rhenish Guilder, which is less than one euro. Per year. The 67 houses of Fuggerei hold 140 apartments, with 150 residents. The neighborhood is a gated community, so to speak, with enclosed walls, its own church, and a museum. It is still supported by the Fugger Foundation, through returns on its investments over almost 500 years, supplemented by admission to the enclave and museum, which costs 4 euros. Link -Thanks, Bill Badrick!

(Image credit: context medien und verlag Augsburg)

Tumblr user Yitzus came across this amazing find:

LOOK WHAT I FOUND! A TABLETOP LIBRARIAN GAME! WHO NEEDS DUNGEONS AND/OR DRAGONS WHEN YOU COULD BE FILLING OUT BUDGET SHEETS, DEALING WITH DRUNKEN PATRONS, AND FILING FOR GOVERNMENT AID!

What is this thing? Well, I logged into the library database WorldCat and did a search. This is a game published by the consulting firm Harwell Associates in 1977. It's designed to simulate the experience of a library director.

It's fun! I'm already a third-level cataloger/mage. The encumbrance rules are a pain, but we are talking about 70s-era data storage.

Link -via Breda Fallacy

J.B. Cada and Stephanie Santos of the Regali Kitchen made this Doctor Who cake for Jolly on his birthday. It's a a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting (I'm sold right there) and edible characters. Notice the Weeping Angel is shown both covered and uncovered. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

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Students at Webster University in St. Louis produced this ad for Tenth Life Cat Rescue. Adopt today and you'll be on your way to fulfilling Saturday nights! -via Arbroath

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The video production company Super Frog Saves Tokyo set up a photo booth at the wedding of Ellie and Quang that had a high-speed camera to take slow-motion videos. Snippets of the wedding party and guests were taken at 160 frames per second. The resulting edit is a lovely souvenir of the happy day! The added music is "Blurred Lines," in case you either want to mute it or turn it up. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

We love the work of Mentalgazzi, a German street art collective. This is a ticket validating machine, which is in either Berlin or Cologne depending on the source.

Link -via Global Street Art

2-year old Alejandro had Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Medical insurance wouldn't cover a powered wheelchair until he was 5 years old. That was unacceptable to Shea, his father, who bought a wheelchair on eBay and modified it so that Alejandro could control it with his feet:

After unsuccessfully trying to repair a broken digital kitchen scale [Shea] was inspired to reuse the sensors as pedal inputs. [Alejandro] has limited foot strength and the sensitive strain gauges are perfect for picking it up. Above you can see the sandal-based interface he built. The two feet working together affect steering as well as forward and reverse. The pedal system is connected to the wheelchair using a Digital to Analog converter chip to stand-in for the original analog joystick. 

At the link, you can watch a video of Alejandro maneuvering the wheelchair.

Link | Project Website

(Photos: Adriano A. Biondo)

From both the front and the back, this kindergarten building in Karlsruhe, Germany looks like a cat:

Designed by artist Tomi Ungerer and architect Ayla-Suzan Yöndel, the educational venue adds a dose of whimsy for children to take delight in going to school. Each day, students are given the opportunity to playfully enter through the mouth of the cat into the spirited belly of the cuddly feline where the space is built to house 100 children.

You can see more photos at the link.

Link -via Technabob

"OMG! You've never seen the Internet?"

How would you explain the Internet if you've never been online? Justine Sharrock of Buzzfeed asked a handful of inmates from California's San Quentin State Prison who began serving long sentences in prison without ever having been on the 'Net before. Here's what they said:

I have seen the advertisements of both the internet and the apps on the television, but I never paid close attention about their usage. I did not consider their significance.

I was completely in the blind about the purpose. I thought they were just sites for people to socialize and spend their idle time.

- Jorge Heredia, 37; entered prison in 1998

"Sites for people to socialize and spend their idle time" Nailed it! Read the rest over at Buzzfeed.

Photo: David Rennie, Mandurah Wetlands, Western Australia

Photographer David Rennie captured this fantastic photo of an encounter of an osprey and a spoonbill in mid-air. Rennie wrote that the young osprey was learning to fish. It was her sixth try one morning, when she came out of the water and looked at her talons to see why she missed her prey. At that exact time, a spoonbill was coming in to land and the two had a "near miss."

Rennie's photo won overall winner at the Australian Geographic's 2013 ANZANG Nature Photographer of the Year contest. It beat more than 1,800 photographs submitted from around the world.

View the rest of the winners over at Australian Geographic's website.