A bank in Australia has a cute advertising gimmick. They want to make you happy, and figure singing kittens will do the job. Enter your name (as long as it isn’t too long), and the kittens will sing a song for you! http://www.happybanking.com.au/ -via Arbroath

This flash animation by Celarent stars Mario as a Soviet-style worker/hero who fights the evil mushrooms. The look is reminiscent of classic propaganda posters. Music by the Russian Red Army Choir, Proshchanie Slavianki, and Nintendo. Link -via reddit

If you want to cook something new, you know someone out there has done it before. Food Blog Search is a specialized search engine for recipes posted on food blogs. When you’ve got hundreds of recipes for “curry chicken”, you’re bound to find one that fits the ingredients you have on hand. It’s also a way to explore new and different sites about food. And it’s not just recipes! I typed in “Leap Day party” and found lots of interesting posts. Link -via the Presurfer

lowercase L is a blog dedicated to the misuse of the letter L. Blogger William Levin explains:

I have noticed that, when people create handwritten signs, they sometimes choose to capitalize every letter except the letter "L". I can understand using some lowercase letters like "i" and "y", to stylize the handwriting. But why confuse matters by using the only letter that, when lowercase, is identical to an uppercase "I"?

I have seen this before, but I didn’t know it was so common! Link -via mental_floss

George the parrot lost a leg 18 months ago when he was attacked by an unidentified wild animal. Since then, he’s had a hard time getting any sleep, as he tries to balance on one foot. It’s even driven him to swearing! But Dr. Glyn Heath of the University of Salford’s School of Health Care Professions has modeled a prosthetic leg for George. Although Dr. Heath has made many false limbs for animals, this is his first prosthetic for a bird. Link

Two days later, the report came out on George’s reaction to his new leg. He ate it. Link -via Arbroath

Can a woman’s hair really support a man’s weight, as in the story of Rapunzel? Can a carpet ever fly? And how would you steal someone’s voice, like Ursula does in The Little Mermaid? It turns out that some of that magical stuff is actually possible -except for that “happily ever after” part, of course. Link -via Bad Astronomy Blog, where you’ll find some more suggestions for this topic.

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So that’s how they do it! This video shows how morning glories find and twine around any support they can. One frame was shot every ten minutes. Link -via Arbroath

WonderCon 2008 runs through today the Moscone Center West in San Francisco.

Thousands of fanboys and girls head to WonderCon each year for an insider's look at superhero flicks, comic book characters and sci-fi shows, but only the most dedicated get decked out in cosplay gear and homemade armor.

Wired has pictures of a dozen attendees who came in costume. Having attended such conventions myself, I suspect that for each featured character, there were dozens who didn’t make the cut. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/multimedia/2008/02/gallery_wondercon?slide=1&slideView=8

(image credit: Jon Snyder/Wired)

Retro Sabotage is a collection of classic arcade games with a twist. I would tell you what the twist is, but it’s different for each game. The Pac Man games made me laugh! The Tetris game called Compromise is a challenge I may have to work on for a long time. http://www.retrosabotage.com/ -via Metafilter

Kevin McKinney built a treehouse for his two daughters on top of an 8 foot wide Giant Redwood stump. The house has a cantilevered porch, observation deck, sink, closet, and interior stalactites! McKinney is documenting the ongoing project in photographs. http://www.paralleldesign.com/mckinney/kevin-01.htm -via reddit

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Charles McCowan parked his truck in front of a convenience store, leaving his dog Max inside. When he came out, the truck was gone! McCowan called police to report the theft. Officers found the truck in a parking lot across the street with the 80-pound boxer still inside. Security video shows the car had rolled backwards across five lanes of traffic! Apparently, Max had knocked the truck out of gear. Link -via Arbroath

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Diagram Prize for the oddest book title of the year. The finalists for the annual award have been announced by The Bookseller. They are:

I Was Tortured By the Pygmy Love Queen
How to Write a How to Write Book
Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues
Cheese Problems Solved
If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs
People who Mattered in Southend and Beyond: From King Canute to Dr Feelgood

I’m still giggling over the description of the Pygmy Love Queen book. The titles that almost made the shortlist are also intriguing. Now the public can vote at The Bookseller site. The winner will be announced March 28th. http://www.thebookseller.com/news/53656-oddest-book-titles-prize-shortlist-announced.html -via Metafilter

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If you watch this karate chop shown slowly enough to really see what happens, you may decide not to take up martial arts. -via Cynical-C

The Oscars will be awarded this Sunday night, for the 80th time. Movie Poster Addict has compiled all 79 posters for movies that have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I’m sorry to say that I have only seen 39 of them. Cimarron (pictured) won in 1931. Link -Thanks, deadmen!

You’ve probably seen the Lamp/Lamp from designer Hironao Tsubui. It sells for ¥2,100, or about $20. But you can make your own version with a steady hand and the proper glue! http://www.vvank.com/?page_id=9%22 -via the Presurfer