José Halloy and colleagues at the Department of Social Ecology at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium discovered that the cockroach Blattella germanica makes decision in a simple democracy.

Cockroaches govern themselves in a very simple democracy where each insect has equal standing and group consultations precede decisions that affect the entire group, indicates a new study.

Halloy tested cockroach group behavior by placing the insects in a dish that contained three shelters. The test was to see how the cockroaches would divide themselves into the shelters.

After much "consultation," through antenna probing, touching and more, the cockroaches divided themselves up perfectly within the shelters. For example, if 50 insects were placed in a dish with three shelters, each with a capacity for 40 bugs, 25 roaches huddled together in the first shelter, 25 gathered in the second shelter, and the third was left vacant.

When the researchers altered this setup so that it had three shelters with a capacity for more than 50 insects, all of the cockroaches moved into the first "house."

Halloy and his colleagues found that a balance existed between cooperation and competition for resources.

Link (via Collision Detection)

Forbes did an interesting survey of their billionaires, and found that more of them are virgoes than other zodiac sign!

So far, we have confirmed the birth dates for 613 of our 793 billionaires. Of those, more than 70, or roughly 12%, were born between Aug. 23 and Sept. 22, making this earth sign the most common among billionaires.

It’s a bit ironic that top astrology honors for this male-dominated billionaires list goes to the sign symbolized by a virgin, but it actually isn’t too surprising. Virgos are known to be hardworking, determined, detail-oriented and analytical. They are driven more by their desire to achieve excellence at whatever they do than by the pursuit of riches, according to astrologer Michael Lutin.

This explains why I'm not a billionaire! Link (via Fortean Times)

Taxidermist Walter Potter (1835-1918) made these unusual dioramas from preserved animals. Check out his other artworks: http://www.acaseofcuriosities.com/potter.html (via Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society)

Apparently, US President Harry S. Truman loved loud Aloha or Hawaiian shirts. There's even a museum collection of his favorite shirts! http://www.nps.gov/hstr/exhibits/aloha_shirts/aloha_gallery.htm (via Information Junk)

It's hard to pick one of Sam Bassett's photos - he has so many fantastic ones. Link

This one is making the rounds on the 'Net: Weird Food Art.

Better Living Through Design blog has this cool bowl. It is made from plastic toy soldiers melted down and molded into a bowl. Link

Visionaire Product makes the world's only flushable toddler urinal called Peter Potty.

From the website:

With the Peter Potty®, the potty training time is reduced by 6 months on average. Because the Peter Potty® is adjustable, and the right size for little boys, it is eliminates accidental messes during the potty training process.

http://www.visionaireproducts.com/

Someone is selling this running replica of Star Wars Landspeeder, made from a 1988 Ford Escort for £8,000. Link

George Barris made this pimped-up coffin mobile for "Grandpa" of the 60's Munster TV show.

This dragster goes from 0 to over 180 mph in a matter of seconds with a parachute for brakes. An ornate Owens-Corning Fiberglass casket, trimmed in royal purple velvet silk and embodying a very lively 350 H.P. Ford Mustang engine with a 12 volt Autolite electrical system.

The exterior of the casket, which rests on a tube chassis has a quiet antique gold finish with sedate Italian gold leaf. Appropriately, the dragster accommodates one person. He is positioned in the rear of the dragster behind the engine and under a clear plastic bubble which allows greater speed through streamlining. At his command is a four on the floor speed shift which diverts the power of the 360 cubic inch engine to the rear wheels, 11 inch Firestone racing slicks mounted on specially made 10 inch deep Rader drag Reynolds aluminum wheels. Up front are imported Speedsport English buggy wire wheels with 4 inch Italian tires. The radiator is a casket in a casket solid brass by Radiator Dynamics, and the grille is a marble gravestone with the following inscription: Born 1367, Died ?

Checkout George's other fantastic cars: http://www.barris.com/gallery.html

Take a look at this video clip of the giant centipede Scolopendra gigantea robusta killing and eating a mouse. Scary!

Link (via Starspirit)

RunBot, the fastest robot on two legs, was developed by Florentin Wörgötter, from the University of Göttingen in Germany.

The robot is controlled by a simple program that mimics the way neurons control reflexes in humans and other animals. Unlike most other two-legged robots, RunBot has few sensors and can detect just two things – when a foot touches the ground, and when a leg swings forward.

http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn8957-speedy-robot-legs-it-to-break-record.html (Don't miss the videos!)

Mike Steven and colleagues from the University of Nottingham have discovered that plants can detect leaks in natural gas pipelines.

“Our study was about testing the ability of satellite remote systems to monitor gas leaks via the spectrum of reflected light from plants, which changes when the plants are stressed”, says Steven. “A satellite image of the stress responses in vegetation should identify gas leaks at least as well as a visual report from a helicopter, which is the current method, and would be safer and possibly cheaper.”

Link

Found at DPChallenge, made by Art Roflmao, this entry titled Grapes of Wrath really makes me ROFLMAO for real! Link (via VapidAndVain)

Take a look at Laurie's awesome pencil drawings: Link