(Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

For hundreds of years, fishermen in Taiwan have used fire to catch sardines. When a fisherman holds a firey stick over the water, sardines leap out to chase it. That's when other fishermen sweep in with nets to catch them.

It used to be a common practice, but now there are only about 3 boats left that still use fire fishing. They operate at nighttime from May to July. On a good night, a crew can get 3-4 tons of sardines, which will sell for about $4,500. Reuters reports:

"My daily earnings are unstable, but for a living I need to sail," Jian Kun, a 60-year-old boat owner, tells Reuters of the fire fishermen's plight.

The government provides a subsidy to the fishermen to encourage them to continue fire fishing and also filed the technique to the Department of Cultural Affairs for registration as a cultural asset in 2014.

And the annual Jinshan Sulphuric Fire Fishing festival was started in 2013 to help promote the practice, while photography tours have been set up to generate interest and boost finances.

The method of lighting the fire has been updated to include the use of calcium carbide, but the boats are old, with little to ease the physical toll on the fishermen who average around 60 years old.

-via Jonah Goldberg

31 & Change, a wood furnishings studio in Chicago, produces skateboards made of whole slabs of sliced walnut wood. Even the bark is still attached! They're called Logan Boulevard boards after the famous Chicago skatepark of the same name.

-via Nerdcore

Man with first hand transplant uses limb to save his wife's life  https://t.co/h5MFsMQqIM

— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) July 9, 2016

In 2012, Mark Cahill, 55, became the first person in the UK to receive a hand transplant. His new limb became essential recently when he had to perform CPR on his wife.

Cahill found Sylvia, his wife, gasping and unable to breathe. He called emegency services on his phone. He held the phone in his transplanted right hand and listened to instructions for CPR while performing chest compressions with his natural left hand.

Paramedics soon arrived and revived Sylvia, who was clinically dead for 19 minutes. She's currently recovering. The Telegraph quotes her:

Mrs Cahill, who is recovering from her heart attack, said:  "Even before this we were so grateful to the donor family for the new lease of life it gave Mark. Now we are even more grateful. I can't thank them enough." 

(Photo: Jamie Hanson)

This is Mr. Fluffy Bum. Isn't he cute?

He's also unusual. Mr. Fluffy Bum lives in Queensland, Australia, where pet rabbits are so strictly regulated that they're practically illegal. That's because rabbits are an invasive species in Australia. After being introduced in 1859 from Europe, rabbits took over native habitats and eventually soared to a population of 10 billion.

Australian governments have long labored to end the lapine menace. In the state of Queensland, it's very hard to legally own a rabbit. That was a problem for magician Nick Britt. The Courier Mail reported last year:

Queensland is the only state in Australia that strictly prohibits keeping domestic rabbits as pets. Offenders face fines of $45,500.

Mr Britt is one of 34 magicians in Queensland permitted to keep a rabbit, but he said the application process was extreme.

“I had to apply for a permit, provide proof that I was a magician with publicity photos and send through an escape plan in case he got loose,” Mr Britt said.

The pet required immediate desexing and microchipping and his permit must be renewed every two years or he could face extradition.

“I also had to find a veterinarian from the UK to perform the operation because no one in Queensland is used to dealing with rabbits,” he said.

-via reddit

(Photo: Makuake)

Lurking beneath the surface of the tea in your cup is a deadly predator. It's steeping in the water, waiting for the right moment to leap out and devour the label.

Tokyo Weekender reports that the Daisho Fisery Company in Japan has designed these novel tea bags. The Great White Shark is filled with a rosehip and hibiscus tea that gives the water a blood red tint. The comparatively harmless whale shark is filled with green tea. Choose appropriately.

-via Foodiggity

(Photo: News.Cn)

Choose your major wisely because you don't want to just flush your money away. The new building for the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power in Heinan, China is, appropriately, shaped like a massive toilet. The Chinese central government is circulating photos of it to describe its recent move to ban "weird buildings."

Proper architecture, the government argues, does not try to imitate other objects, such as cell phones or human genitals. You can see photos of other weird Chinese buildings at Shanghaiist.

-via Technabob

(Photo: The Prince of Venice)

His Royal Highness Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice, is the grandson of King Umberto II, the last King of Italy. That nation abolished its monarchy in 1946 and exiled the royal family. So Prince Emanuele has lived most of his life abroad.

Lately, he's been in Los Angeles. He learned that the food truck business was booming there and saw an investment opportunity. So he created an Italian cuisine food truck called The Prince of Venice, which is one of his formal titles, and painted it with the colors of the House of Savoy. The Telegraph reports:

“I came to Los Angeles six months ago for an event and I realized there were various Mexican and Asian food trucks around, “ the prince told Italian magazine, Chi, in an interview.

“I thought ‘why don’t I try it?’ With a food truck with fresh Italian pasta that is loved around the world.” […]

The would-be heir, who was born in Geneva and is married with two children, says his new business is flourishing and he’s relishing the role.

He has hired a chef, Mirko Paderno, and sells dishes like fettucine with shrimp and clams or linguine with truffles for as little as $15.

With fairy wings, a glittery green color, and poofy white tops, these Tinkerbell high heels by Etsy seller Laura Ireland are perfect! Offbeat Bride suggests them as bridal wear and I agree. They're also available in a lower heel height, which is good news if your walk down the aisle is a long one.

(Video Link)

8 men sat in a holding cell in the basement of the courthouse of Parker County, Texas. The only guard watching over them suddenly collapsed, losing consciousness.

Worried about him, the prisoners broke through the metal gate, then began screaming and pounding on doors, trying to get help from outside. Sheriff's deputies upstairs in court heard them and rushed down, then herded the prisoners back into the cell.

The officers found that the guard on the floor had no pulse. They performed CPR. Paramedics soon arrived and took over until the guard's heart re-started. Thanks to the prisoners' warning, he's still alive. WFAA 8 (auto-start) reports:

Parker County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Speegle says he didn’t know what to expect when he got downstairs.

“He had keys," Speegle said. "Had a gun. It could have been an extremely bad situation." […]

Capt. Mark Arnett believes prisoners certainly helped the guard, and likely saved him.

“He could have been there 15 minutes before any other staff walked in and found him,” Arnett said.

-via Huffington Post

(Fowl Language Comics/Brian Gordon)

Borrow a child's stuff animal and try it. You'll feel better. And then, as Mister Rogers advised, look for the helpers.

(Things in Squares)

She earned her sexy doctoral hood and gown, so, yes, she's a real scientist. And she won't take your snide remarks in the lab. Respect the science.

-via Tastefully Offensive

Tapazeria Rocchetti, a furniture and upholstery design firm in Rome, produces stately pieces of luxury furniture that you would be proud to have in your home. Now it's true that not everything that comes from the studio looks like an animal. These are just the best that the Rocchetti family offers.

(Photo: Domino's UK)

Domino's Pizza UK commissioned this sofa. The design is a bit cheesy but the crust is soft and comfortable. It was on display at the recent Isle of Wight music festival in June, but will end up in the home of a lucky contest winner. It would be ideal for an evening with friends, then for breakfast the next morning.

-via Brand Eating

(Photo: WDAY 6)

A month ago, the First Lutheran Church in Fargo, North Dakota erected a statue showing a homeless man wrapped inside a blanket and lying on a bench. It's a copy of Timothy P. Schmalz's statue called "Homeless Jesus," an emotionally powerful image inspired by the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

The statue has already inspired responses from passersby. The Fargo Fire Department has been summoned to the scene twice by people who thought that the statue was a real person in need. WDAY 6 reports:

Fargo police Sgt. Kevin Pallas said the Police department has responded to at least two calls, one on Sunday, July 3, and another the week before.

“It’s not a common call. It just shows we have concerned citizens who are willing to make the call,” he said. “That’s encouraging.”

The Rev. Laurie Neill said the church’s staff was expecting a few 911 calls about the statue based on similar calls in other cities where the statue has been installed.

-via Nothing to Do with Aborath

(Video Link)

Kenneth Leverich is a champion weightligter and CrossFit competitor. He's young and in fantastic physical condition.

He doesn't look young in this video, though. That's because makeup artists hired by Thrillist spent 4 hours transforming him into an octogenarian.

Then Leverich went to the famous Muscle Beach outdoor exercise area at Venice Beach, California. He stunned the younger men with his displays of strength.

-via Blame It on the Voices