Along the Rhine River, there's a tiny piece of Germany surrounded on all sides by Switzerland. Büsingen am Hochrhein is an enclave and an exclave that consists of just 3 square miles of territory that is home to over a thousand residents. BBC Travel visited it and learned how this Alpine village remained German territory:

For Büsingen, the problem began in 1693, long before Germany existed. The village was under Austrian control when a family feud over religious allegiance led to the kidnapping of the Catholic-leaning feudal lord of Büsingen. His cousins hauled him to the nearby Swiss (and Protestant) town of Schaffhausen, where he was sentenced to life in prison. It took six years and the threat of Austria invading Schaffhausen to finally free the lord.

A few decades later, when Austria sold its local holdings to the Swiss canton of Zurich, it held on to Büsingen – strictly out of spite, according to historians. “They said it would never go back to Switzerland. Never, ever, ever,” the deputy mayor said.

That meant that when parts of the Austrian Empire were later absorbed by Germany in the 19th Century, Büsingen was claimed by the new republic.

The orderly Swiss tried to clear up the mess in 1919 when it held a referendum that saw Büsingen residents voting by 96% to leave Germany. But Berlin wasn’t interested in giving the town up because Switzerland offered nothing in return.

The people of Büsingen effectively live in two different nations and cross the border as needed:

Nowhere is the division more evident than at Restaurant Waldheim. A line painted across its outdoor dining terrace marks the international border, so it’s possible to be served a plate of schnitzel in Switzerland, and then reach into Germany to grab a stein of beer from the other side of the table.

Still, for residents, living a binational life brings up daily contradictions and choices. Although commerce is typically conducted in Swiss francs and most residents work in nearby, larger Swiss towns, they still must pay the higher German income taxes. Children go to a local (German) primary school, but parents decide in which country they’ll attend high school. Likewise, Büsingen locals have both German and Swiss postal and international telephone codes: callers can dial either Germany’s +49 or Switzerland’s +41, and still ring a resident. And perhaps most notably, the town’s football club is the only German team allowed to play in the Swiss league.

-via Nag on the Lake | Images: Google, Hansueli Krapf

By the standards of aircraft carriers, that's quite cheap!

The São Paulo began its career in 1963 in the French navy. The French sold it to the Brazilians in 2000, where it became that nation's flagship.

It was mostly a disappointing experience for the Brazilians, as the ship required very expensive and repeated upgrades and overhauls. The Drive explains that the Brazilians grew weary of this incessant work that prevented the ship from sailing actively most of the time. In 2017, they decommissioned the carrier.

It's now up for auction. You (or, perhaps, the State of Wyoming) can become its next owner. So start digging through the couch cushions for loose change.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Rob Schleiffert

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Won't you be Captain America's neighbor? His friends, H the Owl, Scarlet Henrietta, and Iron Trolley would like to sing a song. Do you want to join them? They welcome you and like you just the way you are in this cosplay by @psy_phi.

Photo: Cosplay in America

Apparently the Martha Stewart brand is more than just refined, tasteful decor and furnishings. It can cut a swath through the winter hell outside your home in order to prepare a Vietnamese-style chicken soup in your Instant Pot. Her buddy Snoop will provide brownies.

I don't need a snow thrower here in Texas. But if she offers a stump grinder, I'll look into it.

-via Aaron Starmer | Photo: Snow Joe

A few years ago, when I heard that some people play money to watch other people play video games, I was confused. It was explained to me that this is similar to watching other people play sports. That makes sense, although I don't see the appeal of that activity either.

I nod and smile when young students at my college tell me about their favorite streamers on Twitch. Given that it's a huge industry and it's possible to earn money through it in a variety of watching-other-people-play-video-games related professions, I can respect it.

With the appropriate cheat codes, I could probably make it through this fake video game left by Jeff Wysaski's Obvious Plant project.

It's a grand symbol of the entire Rebel Alliance and the work of Luke Skywalker. Redditor Marcus_Nery made this custom ceiling fan. One of its best features is that if it takes damage, R2 can do minor repairs on the spot.

Disney should definitely market these. There should be a huge consumer market for them.

-via Geekologie

Haburu loves to nap on his human's noise-making machine. Sometimes the noises that he uses it to make, such as something called "Brahm's Lullaby," are even soothing.

What's even better is when the hammers of the noise-making machine provide a gentle massage along one's back. The human and his machine are useful.

-via Twisted Sifter

For 25 years, Dr. David Scheel of Alaska Pacific University has studied octopodes.

When he got divorced, his ex-wife got all of the living room furniture. This freed up a lot of space. He decided to fill it with an enormous saltwater aquarium. That's when Heidi the octopus came into his life.

He watches Heidi a lot. During one scene in the PBS show Nature, Scheel describes watching Heidi sleep. She changes color several times. Scheel thinks that she's dreaming and narrates the dream.

-via Twisted Sifter

When someone says that you have the wrong number, listen.

Sadly, the police officer in Winfield, Missouri did not get to attend the game. It was a lonely, if amusing evening.

Perhaps the cop should have offered to pick his new friend up. All he would need is an address.

-via Dave Barry | Images: Winfield Police

Photographer Joseph Ford and knitting artist Nina Dodd combined their skills to show people blending into very specific backgrounds by wearing very specific sweaters. Their project, which is appropriately titled Knitted Camouflage, is an incredibly detailed project that must have taken meticulous planning--especially for Dodd. Perhaps in the future, we'll see clothing that does this automatically.

-via Colossal

Night vision goggles are amazing, but they're also bulky, limit your field of vision, and require electricity. What if you could just inject the ability directly into your eyeballs? Would you do it?

Research from the University of Massachusetts Medical School suggests that may be a possibility. Popular Mechanics reports:

In a study from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, researchers injected nanoparticles that converted infrared light into visible light into the eyes of mice. Those mice were then placed in a maze along with mice who didn't receive the injections, and were able to find their way out of the maze. The nanoparticles bound to the photoreceptors of the mice's eyes and provided night vision for up to 10 weeks without any ill effects.

Can we transfer this technology to humans?

Xue Tian, a scientist based in China, is quoted as saying he “definitely” thought it would work in humans.

-via Instapundit | Photo: US Air Force

Is there some journey that is especially memorable for you? Rachel Binx offers to turn it into jewelry with GPX Jewelry. The 3D printed pendants measure about 1.25 inches across. You'll need to save your route as a .gpx file, then upload it to to the website. In about a month, you'll receive your own personalized pendant.

-via Flowing Data

Once spoken by millions of people and the home of a vast body of literature, Yiddish fell into sharp decline during the 20th Century. These days, it can be especially rare to encounter dogs who can understand the tongue, let alone speak it.

That's why the Workmen's Circle, a Jewish cultural organization in New York City held a Yiddish class for dogs and their humans. ABC 7 News reports:

A 'Yiddish for Dogs' class was held on Sunday in Central Park. It was put on by the non-profit Workmen's Circle, which offers the largest Yiddish language program in the world, with more than 800 students annually.

Dogs and their owners learned how to respond to commands such as 'sit' and 'stay' in Yiddish.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Workmen's Circle

A man in Kaikohe, Northland, New Zealand strode into a convenience store with a machete. He was, of course, up to no good.

So the store manager activated his fog machine.

What, you don't have a fog machine in your home or place of business? This is, apparently, a long-used crime deterrent. Not only does the fog make seeing the loot and victims difficult. It can also coat the robber with traceable chemicals.

I had never heard of this, but now I think I really need one to get out of awkward conversations. For this scenario, a fog machine that hangs on my belt would be ideal. If find myself trapped in a one-sided conversation with someone who won't shut up, I can press the button and escape.

-via Boing Boing