Authorities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in the state of Washington have captured a rabbit that sipped water contaminated by radioactivity:

A radioactive rabbit was trapped on the Hanford nuclear reservation, but there is no sign any people were exposed to the animal.

Washington state Health Department workers with the Office of Radiation Protection have been searching for contaminated rabbit droppings.[...]

The rabbit trapped at the 300 Area caught the Health Department's attention because it was close enough to the site's boundaries to potentially come in contact with people - if it had been caught by a dog or if its droppings were deposited in an area open to the public.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/106768873.html via Ace of Spades HQ | Image: MGM

To be more precise, it's a flying, radio controlled scale model of shark. Sadly, it's not actually a shark that flies that you can control at will.

The Flying Shark from Nitro Planes has as a 33 inch wingspan and can fly at full power for four minutes. You can watch a video at the link.

Link via Gizmodo

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Instructables user Mangetout turned an aluminum drink can into a very nicely embossed metal box. In this video, he provides step-by-step instructions on how you can do likewise. Once you look at the finished product, you'll be amazed to think that it was originally an energy drink can.

Link via Make

Don't you hate it when stuff from your pockets gets lost in the cracks between couch cushions? The design firm Daisuke Motogi Architecture decided to make this a feature, rather than a bug. The "Lost in Sofa Chair" comes with many different cracks into which you can store books, phones, and other implements that you want nearby.

Link via CrunchGear | Photo: Daisuke Motogi Architecture

Artist Jessica Harrison made a set of ceramic and epoxy resin figurines that look like refined 19th Century ladies suffering from ghastly wounds. Pictured above is Grace. There are thirteen more examples at the link.

Link via Nerdcore | Photo by the artist

Previously by Jessica Harrison: Mouth Eyes

Three years ago, we featured the amazing papercut letters of artist Annie Vought. Since that time, she's added extensively to her portfolio.

The above image isn't a photograph of just a piece of paper. It's a letter written on paper, and then all non-inked areas cut out. This work is entitled "PS No more Calls for You from Sexy Girls."

Link via Dude Craft

Microsoft, concluding that taxi drivers may be a good source of directions for its online mapping service, gathered GPS data from 33,000 cabs in China:

Taxi drivers, in general, are far more knowledgeable about the cities in which they drive than Google could ever be alone. London cabbies spend years learning what's called "The Knowledge," a requirement to become a certified cabbie. Studies have shown that parts of cabbies' brains are larger than average as a result of The Knowledge.

Microsoft hit on a way to pick cabbies brains in China, pulling that knowledge into a database. They collected GPS data from 33,000 cabs, reports Technology Review. The software giant presented its findings at the International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems in California this week. The researchers say the routes produced by their system are faster than 60% of those suggested by Google Maps -- saving about 5 minutes, on average, on what would otherwise be a 30-minute drive.

Link | Photo via Flickr user Ivan Walsh used under Creative Commons license

Researchers led by Eberhart Zrenner of the University of Tuebingen, Germany, have developed an eye implant that is able to restore partial sight to people suffering from a form of blindness called retinitis pigmentosa:

One subject, 46-year-old Mikka Terho from Finland, was able to read large letters and a clock face, and differentiate between shades of gray a few days after the implant and his eyes eventually became adjusted to the light.

The chip, operated by a battery-powered cable implanted behind the ear, converts light into electrical impulses that act on the optic nerve. The device did not work on the other eight volunteers because it was implanted less deeply in the eye, according to the paper.

Link via io9 | Image: Zrenner, et al.

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This video, allegedly taken last September near Newfolden, Minnesota, shows a hunter in a tree stand. A black bear wanders by and decides to climb up the ladder of the stand to where the hunter sits.

via reddit

Previously: Bow Hunters Wed in Tree Stand, Clad in Camo

The blog The Price of Travel assessed the average rate for a 3-kilometer taxi ride in one hundred cities. The editors observed that, with some exceptions, taxis were almost the same level of automotive quality worldwide. Higher-quality cars did not necessarily correlate with higher rates.

These were the ten cheapest rates:

$0.90 – $1.58 Delhi, India
$0.97 – $1.28 Mumbai, India
$1.04 – $1.73 Cairo, Egypt
$1.14 – $1.71 La Paz, Bolivia
$1.17 – $1.87 Manila, Philippines
$1.22 – $2.03 Mexico City, Mexico
$1.23 – $2.94 Panama City, Panama
$1.23 – $1.68 Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
$1.24 – $1.86 Fez, Morocco
$1.29 – $1.94 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Link via Marginal Revolution

Photo of taxi in Mumbai by Flickr user Jody McIntyre used under Creative Commons license

Comic book artist Leigh Gallagher posted a sweet multi-panel comic about his relationship with his girlfriend, Niki. At the end, he proposed marriage to her.

Proposal and Niki's Answer via Geekosystem

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YouTube user kittenbinbitten created a video illustrating what it would look like if Kratos from the video game series God of War decided to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Watch it until the end for the punchline.

via Nerd Bastards

Previously: If God of War Was a Wes Anderson Movie

That's not a painting by British street painter Banksy. It's a costume designed and worn by George Schnakenberg to look like Banksy's "Love Is in the Air" stencil. Schnakenberg painted his clothing and bundle of flowers to create the necessary impression when properly posed. At the link, you can view several process photos showing how he did it.

Link via Make

The Ugly Bug Ball is a dating website marketed to people with, uh, unique aesthetic qualities. It's now celebrating its first marital engagement:

Mr Clifford, 36, a carpet fitter who has a ''face that makes children cry'', said: ''I've been a joke to women for years because of the way I look.

''I always thought that I was too ugly to meet Mrs Right but my life changed when I met Janine.

''She's beautiful and I love her in every possible way. I still can't believe this is happening.''[...]

Miss Walker, a shop assistant who lives with her parents, agreed.

''The rest, as they say, is history,'' she said.

"I appreciate that Tom isn't Brad Pitt, but then I'm no Angelina Jolie either.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to me Tom's the perfect, handsome prince."

She added: "I'm just so pleased to have been able to meet him, and I'm head-over-heels in love."

Link via Geekologie | Official Website | Photo: SWNS

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Epic Meal Time created the Angry French Canadian. It's a sandwich consisting of bacon, hotdogs, poutine, and eggs, drenched in maple syrup and resting on a baguette.

via Geektoplasm