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CONTENT WARNING: NON-STOP FOUL LANGUAGE IN THE ABOVE VIDEO (BUT NOT BELOW)

James Ross-Munro and Kane Wiblen, who are very Australian, had been out drinking and partying most of the night. They decided to stop at an Oporto convenience store for some noodles. As they walked up, they saw two masked men leap out of a car and run into the store. Ross-Munro then opened the door of the getaway car and took the keys out of the ignition.

They caught the entire hilarious incident on camera. Their video (above) has gone viral and the pair have become celebrities. They then went on a morning news show and gave one of the most extraordinary interviews in journalism history:

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One reporter commented that, shirtless, Ross-Munro looked pretty muscular. Did he go to the gym? "Mate, I don’t go to the gym, haven’t been to the gym in years. The only gym I go to is Jim Beam, that’s about it."

Ross-Munro came away from the encounter unscathed except, News 9 (auto-start) notes, for his broken thong.

-via Lost at E Minor

Your baby hasn’t been born yet, but he already has a lot to talk about. And he has a phone. Morgan Shanahan of BuzzFeed composed 17 text messages that unborn babies would send if they could. From lived experience your child knows more about the internal workings of your body than anyone else. And he has no filter for his feedback.

(Photo: Ogiyoshisan)

Some people call Lake Yamanaka “Swan Lake.” This beautiful lake within sight of Mount Fuji in Japan is the home of many birds highly sought by birdwatchers, especially whooping swans. City dwellers in search of nature come here and ride on swan-shaped paddle boats or take the enormous swan-shaped excursion ship across. Or, if you’re a bit more daring, you can take an amphibious bus into the water. You can read more about the lake and its amenities at Atlas Obscura.

I know: when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. But when the snow melts, someone will have to clean up your mess.

Twitter user @MagTecht_fuka spotted this snow sculpture in Saga Prefecture in southern Japan.

-via Brian Ashcraft

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The little newborn foal filmed by Sammi Hill experienced his first sneeze and went for a tumble. Either he’s a bit unsteady on his legs or he’s discovered a superpower. Get back up try again, little foal.

-via Tastefully Offensive

Ah, Vegemite! The yeast extract that is a popular food in Australia is less well-known in the United States. What does it taste like? Food blogger Ben Starr says that “a fingerful of Vegemite is like a meaty, salty punch in the face.”

So it would therefore make the ideal basis for a cheesecake. Chef Billy Law made one. He says that you shouldn’t judge it until you’ve tried it because “salt brings out the sweetness in food, and this works the same way: the salty Vegemite enhances the sweetness of the cheesecake.”

-via Lost at E Minor

A kotatsu is a piece of furniture from Japan. It’s a table with a heater under the bottom and a blanket along the edges. You can sit at the table to warm yourself during chilly winter.

That’s what these cats doing. Caroline, a maker of candy cats whose work we’ve featured previously, made these adorable and edible kittens (translation).

During the winter, I would like to have a kotatsu, but one large enough to live in.

Cat Georgi is a hair dresser from Abkhazia. He’s overcome a brutal childhood devastated by the ethnic wars of the Caucasus region to become a fabulously successful hairdresser. Georgi can do anything with long hair, which is the marble from which he sculpts elaborate shapes. His works include this hairstyle that has a built-in hat. You can watch a brief video of its composition here.

-via Everlasting Blort

(Photo: UK Parliament)

Put that snifter away! You’re not allowed to sip on whisky while sitting in the House of Commons. No one is—except for one person. It’s the Chancellor of the Exchequer and for a good reason.

Marcus Ethridge and Howard Handelman write in Politics in a Changing World that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is permitted a single drink when delivering the annual Budget Statement. I’m sure that he needs it.

-via Messy Nessy Chic

The daughter of Imgur member Cymcherrytree picked a rose. There was a special gift hidden inside: a little lizard taking a nap. Noting that it was a special moment, she remarked “As long as I live I will probably never see this again.”

You can see more photos here.

-via Messy Nessy Chic

It’s snowing heavily wherever redditor anneewanee lives. Her two dogs want to play outside, so she shoveled and shaped the snow in her yard into a maze.

The dogs are really enjoying it! For a while, they ran head-first into walls before they realized that some paths had dead-ends. You can see more photos here.

-via Boing Boing

(Photo: University of Tokyo and Kyoto University)

People may lose their ears in accidents or are born with disfigured ears. For these unfortunates, there’s a new hope: artificially-grown ears. Scientists at the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University took human cells and grew them in an ear-like shape with a mold. This ear form was then implanted on the back of a living rat and left to grow, nourished by the rat’s body, for 2 months. The result is a living human ear measuring about 2 inches long. Discovery reports on the development of tissue engineering:

So-called tissue engineering is being explored to grow other kinds of body parts, too, including noses and windpipes.

The Japanese researchers say because their ear is a living part, it would develop as a child grew.

They hope to start clinical trials in about five years.

-via Dave Barry

Dexter is a Boerboel, a working and guard dog of South African origin. At 175 pounds, he’s a lot for the vet techs to handle. Here he is at the veterinary clinic getting his nails trimmed. Two techs appear to have him under control while the third works on his nails. But when a 175-pound dog decides to leave, nothing is going to stop him. Dexter bolts and one tech rides him like he’s a bucking bronco at a rodeo.

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The remaining vet tech appears to crack up laughing.

-via Tastefully Offensive

(Images: Kirsten Dirksen)

Charles Sacilotto and Marie Granmar of Stockholm, Sweden, found a novel way to keep their summer house warm all year around, even during brutal Scandinavian winters. They built an entire greenhouse around the outside of their home. The 4-militmeter thick glass keeps it toasty inside. Sacilotto says “At the end of January it can be -2°C outside and it can be 15 to 20°C upstairs.”

(Photo: Klearchos Kapoutsis)

These aren't mutant ewoks. They're Kukeri--ceremonial protectors from Bulgaria who annually drive out evil spirits. On January 23, men don these elaborate, hairy costumes and set about the task of combating dark forces (note the red swords that look like light sabers) in order to protect the fertility of their towns.

The Kukeri are one of many wild men of Europe--old pagan shamanistic traditions that endure to this day. Photographer Charles Fréger, who previously showed us the painted elephants of India, explores this continent-wide tradition in his book Wilder Mann: The Image of the Savage. You can see photos of 18 of these wild men at Flashbak.