There are laws that say mattresses, pillows, and other bedding must have a tag stating its composition. This pillow had the tag, and the manufacturer was honest in saying they just don't know what's in there! This was submitted to Consumerist.

I had a pillow that says 'contains textiles of 100% unknown kind' on that tag that says 'Do not remove under penalty of law'. Kind of defeats the purpose of the tag, and I'm wondering what is in my pillow. Used underpants? Human hair? It does say 'all new materials' but that might just be 'new to me.'

Link

Sirius and Pitou had lived in a 20 foot cage in a Monaco zoo for the past ten years. But after a five year campaign, they were set free last week to live in a wildlife reserve in South Africa. The leopards were given to the late Prince Ranier by a circus owner. Prince Albert of Monaco freed them for release and said:

"The leopards are quite old now but if they can have a nice last few years, then hopefully they will appreciate that we can do that for them.

"It's time to rethink the mission of zoos, particularly when we can now see the wonder of animal life in documentaries."

76-year-old Virginia McKenna of the Born Free Foundation, star of the 1966 film Born Free, spearheaded the campaign. Link -via Fark

Venus, Carmen and Pablo were born without front legs due to a genetic defect. The North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, New York took custody of the three chihuahuas from a shelter in Virginia, and outfitted them with front wheels!

"The three have been practicing getting about and eating using their new, custom-built, aluminum carts," the shelter said. The carts are fastened to the dogs with "Velcro-held polar fleece padding for comfortable body support and lightweight foam wheels."

The contraptions were made by Eddie’s Wheels of Massachusetts, and are designed to be used for ten minutes at a time. The wheels alleviate stress on the puppies' lower backs. The three have been adopted by a veterinary technician at the League, and are also learning to balance themselves on their back legs. Link (with video) -via Arbroath

In the game Crazy Cat Scan, you have to keep your eyed peeled during the scan to see what crazy objects the patient has swallowed. Also, be aware that the patient probably swallowed two or more things! Link -via Ursi’s Blog

Score one for apathy. It's a clock for people who really don’t care what time it is. Link -via Gearfuse

Louis the octopus has a favorite toy -a Mr. Potato Head! Louis is an 18-month-old giant Pacific octopus at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium in Cornwall, England.

"We wanted an octopus-friendly toy which had a compartment to hide food in," said the aquarium's Matt Slater.

He says Louis gets very excited when sees the toy, which he plays with for an hour at a time.

"Its bright colours, strange shape and moveable parts make it fascinating for Louis," said Mr Slater.

The giant Pacific octopus is the largest octopus species, with a world record length of 33 feet. Young Louis is about six feet long, stretched out. Link -via Reddit

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VonSkippy thought that the Duck Herding video could be improved with a musical soundtrack. Since he’s such a sweet guy, I went right to work and talked my brother into remixing it.

The game Untangle challenges you to simply fix the lines so that they do not cross. Simply? Ha! Sure, it starts out simple, but rapidly becomes a mind boggler. Link -via YesButNoButYes

Tom O’Conner wrote the online children’s book Mommy, Why is There a Server in the House? to help children understand the stay-at-home server. Yes, it’s an ad for Windows, but it’s cute. http://www.stayathomeserver.com/book.aspx -via the Presurfer

Can your perception of your exercise habits change your weight? Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer performed an experiment with hotel maids. She found that the maids didn’t consider what they did as exercise, although their daily work activity exceeded recommendations. Half the maids were told their activity levels met the surgeon general's definition of an active lifestyle. One month later, the group that had the information was found to have lower weight, lower blood pressure, and smaller waists! However, there was no indication of changes in the group’s overall activity.

Essentially, what Langer is talking about is a placebo effect. She says that if you believe you are exercising, your body may respond as if it is. It's the same as if you believe you are getting medication when you are actually getting a sugar pill — your body can sometimes respond as if a placebo is actually working.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17792517 -via Reddit

15-year-old Boy Scout Mohamed Jaisham outdid himself for his good deed of the day -he saved the life of his president! At the opening of an environmental project, a man stepped out of the crowd with a knife wrapped in the country’s flag. As he reached toward Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Jaisham wrestled him to the ground and took the knife away!

“I have been saved thanks to Mohamed Jaisham and Allah,” President Gayoom said in a national radio address after the incident.

Jaisham, who wore his Boy Scout uniform for the event, suffered an injury to his hand. The president received a rip in his shirt. Link -via Arbroath

In this tongue-in-cheek posting, the 2008 presidential candidates are each linked with his/her Star Wars equivalent. Darth McCain, Hillando Clintrissian, Mitt Skywalker, and Grand Moff Giuliani included. Link -via the Presurfer

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How you get your ducks in a row in India. Or as close to a row as you can, with this many ducks! -via Arbroath

The Japanese appliance company Amandana has added whimsical warnings to their normal product warning illustrations. You cannot control your girlfriend with a remote control. You cannot fly your calculator as a kite. You cannot insert a parking ticket into your desktop music player. You cannot make yourself disappear with your humidifier. And you cannot trap monkeys with your DVD player! Gizmodo has a gallery of lots of these. Link -via Dump Trumpet

Most food items an be made more appealing with the addition of googly eyes, and now you can eat them, too! Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories made them and posted the instructions. And as a bonus, there’s the recipe for this edible Flying Spaghetti Monster. Link