Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

Oscar has lived almost all of his two years in the third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island. Most of the people he visits are unconscious, so his visits don’t frighten them. Experts don’t know what clues Oscar senses, but an animal behaviorist says the only way to really track his record of predictions is to carefully document how Oscar behaves with everyone. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/25/AR2007072501753.html -via Arbroath

The M200G Volantor is a two-passenger flying saucer produced by Moller International. It can take off and land vertically, fly ten feet above ground at up to 50 mph, and carry 250 pounds. The company is taking deposits from the first customers. Link -via J-Walk Blog

The history of the cosmos condensed into a single Earth Year. Narrated by Carl Sagan. Push play or go to YouTube. -via Educated Earth

Maybe San Francisco isn’t the best place for a stretch limosine. This isn’t the first time it’s happened; there are more pictures. http://www.ftlauderdalelimo.com/beach-limo.php -via Reddit

If I saw this in real life, or even in a video, I’d shut my eyes (and hold my breath). I think it may be an insurance ad. -via Bits and Pieces

Dark Roasted Blend has a fascinating roundup of all kinds of automated musical instruments, homemade and historic, robotic and artistic. Link

A one-year-old Jordanian cat named Nimra has a litter of four kittens and seven chicks! The cat took over the chicks after the mother hen died. Link -via Fark

A digital clock and calendar powered by food! This fruit powered digital clock and calendar combines micro-electronic technology with the natural electrical potential of a fresh fruit or vegetable. The Fruit Clock uses the original scientific principles on which all modern electrical storage batteries are based. Just add a fresh orange, apple, lemon, lime, pear, banana, or any another convenient fruit or vegetable to the supplied components in this kit and you have the perfect synthesis of nature’s own electrical power resource and the accuracy of a digital clock.

Link -via Everlasting Blort

This is a pretty neat illusion. It couldn’t have been easy to produce on video! Push play or go to Live Leak. -via the Presurfer

Oddee profiles ten people who have made a name fighting crime or otherwise helping others while wearing superhero masks and/or capes. Pictured is Superbarrio, protector of low-income neighborhoods in Mexico City. Link -via Gorilla Mask

Japanese illusionist Princess Tenko was seriously injured in a sword trick gone wrong on stage. She was supposed to escape a box pierced by ten swords, but instead was pinned inside. The swords broke her cheek and several ribs. However, she continued the show for 30 minutes before seeking medical help! Link -via Arbroath

This is a compilation of many online videos of children trying their first lemon. Babies don’t hide their feelings! Push play or go to College Humor -via Gorilla Mask

CNN has a flash map showing how the percentages of overweight and obese people have changed over the past couple of decades. Link -via Fark

Baseball parks are always looking for a way to sell more tickets, but sometimes a great idea turns out to be a disaster, often because of overwhelming response, sometimes because of unforeseen consequences. Read about five of the worst at Mental Floss. Link

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Ryan Walker and two companions are driving to Mongolia in an ice cream truck as part of the Mongol Rally. They are also delivering ice cream along the way.

The Mongol Rally is a charity event limited to 200 teams and this year all the places were snapped up in under one minute. Participants travel a third of the way around the world from London to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, in about four weeks, in a vehicle with a one-litre engine or less.

10,000 miles, 20 countries, in 30 days. When they reach the end of the race, the vehicle will be sold for charity, so the team is not quite sure how they will return to England. Link -via Fark