Police say that 36-year-old Marcelino de Jesus Martinez sold his 14-year-old daughter for marriage to 18-year-old Margarito de Jesus Galindo for $16,000 plus 100 cases of beer, among other items. After the girl was handed over, Martinez called police to complain that he hadn't been paid! He requested that police help him bring his daughter home.

Martinez's daughter did return home, but he was arrested and booked on suspicion of bartering her –– "receiving money for causing person to cohabitate."

Galindo, the intended buyer/groom, was booked on suspicion of statutory rape, police said.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/weird/Dad-Sells-Girl-Calls-Cops-to-Complain-He-Wasnt-Paid.html -Thanks, Mrsfosoty!

"There's only three things I've ever been afraid of: electricity, heights, and women." - Thanks özi!

It's a fascinating excerpt from the IMAX movie Straight Up: Helicopters in Action

Make your own poster in the style of the iconic "Hope" artwork by Shepard Fairey (previously at Neatorama). Use a webcam or upload an existing photo, then add a word or two to make a custom poster. http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/ -via the Presurfer

The Remnants is a proposed series from screenwriter John August starring Justine Bateman, Michael Cassidy, Ben Falcone, Ze Frank, Ernie Hudson, and Amanda Walsh. The pilot episode was shot during the writer's strike a year ago, and is now in development with 60frames.

For the past few months, the pilot has been shopped around to advertisers and other possible sponsors, but given the economy and my schedule, it’s looking unlikely that a confluence of money and time will lead us to shoot more. So I wanted to let people see it, particularly because it features some actors who should be on more lists. Including Ze Frank, who is now an Angeleno.

See the 11-minute pilot at August's website. Link -Thanks, Ben!

Update: There is a drive to gather support for making The Remnants into a continuing series. http://drafttheremnants.com/ -Thanks, Periodical Boy!

In today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, see if you can match ten former US presidents to their official portrait. Don't expect to see the presidents you remember from the news or the ones on the money. This is hard! I scored 40%. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/21696

A snowplow operator in Colorado City didn't realize he'd been in a traffic accident. He also didn't realize that the car that hit him was still attached until other drivers flagged him down! 70-year-old John Archuleta rear-ended the snowplow Monday morning and his car became entangled in the snowplow's sanding mechanism. Snowplow operator Fredrick Parrent, Jr didn't feel the impact and continued driving for about half a mile. No one was injured in the incident, but Archuleta was cited for careless driving. Link -via Unique Daily

(image credit: Colorado Department of Transportation)

A cat named Sammy was usually seen lounging in the window of the post office in Notasulga, Alabama until someone complained.

"They said 'This is a federal building and he doesn't pay federal taxes so he can't come in'," said postal worker Rochelle Langford.

From the pose he strikes in this photo, Sammy doesn't seem too happy about the eviction. But Sammy's supporters think they have found a way around the banishment. They have rented a post office box in his name! Link -via Arbroath

Geeks Are Sexy has an exclusive video interview with the creator of The Sashimi Tabernacle Choir, a singing seafood delight!

Texan Richard Carter took a Volvo, 5 miles of wire, five 6-volt golf cart batteries, a screw drive mechanism using 12v DC reversible motor, a lifting frame he made from scratch, a Linux server and approximately two hundred synchronized singing fish, and created what can only be described as an awesomely effective assault on good taste.

The choir performs Hooked on a Feeling and The Hallelujah Chorus in the video. Link -Thanks, Yan!

Some plants don't act like plants at all. Some trap prey, mimic animals, or smell bad. This picture is an example of Nepenthes lowii, which is related to insect-trapping plants, but prefers to attract birds with a tasty laxative secretion. It then survives on bird droppings! Read about this and four other weird plants at Blogleech. Link -via the Presurfer

Anamigo is a social networking site for dogs and cats (and the people who love them). Your pet can have its own profile page, and you can join in the forums to discuss pet issues. They also have a photo contest with daily and weekly cash prizes! Members can upload a photo or vote for your favorite photographs, but you don't have to be a member to look at the sweet puppies and kittens. Link -Thanks, Dan!

The length of a man's ring finger appears to predict his success at financial trading. As an indicator, finger length has as much impact as his years of experience. The length ratio of the ring finger to the middle finger is set before birth, and has to do with a fetus' exposure to androgen, a male hormone.

In the new study, the researchers measured the right hands of 44 male stock traders who were engaged in a type of trade that involved rapid decision-making and quick physical reactions.

Over 20 months those with longer ring fingers compared to their index fingers made 11 times more money than those with the shortest ring fingers. Over the same time the most experienced traders made about 9 times more than the least experienced ones.

Looking only at experienced traders, the long-ring-finger folks earned 5 times more than those with short ring fingers.

While the finger ratio, showing fetal exposure to male hormones, appears to signal likely success in high-actively trading that calls for risk-taking and quick reactions, it may not indicate people who would do well at other sorts of financial activities, the researchers said.

So, guys, if a job interviewer looks at your fingers, they may be checking more than just how clean you keep them. Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!

(image credit: Flickr user dhammza)

Queensland, Australia is looking for someone to live on Hamilton Island of the Great Barrier Reef for six months and keep a blog telling the world why they should visit.

There’s so much to see and do, so you’ll have plenty to write about in your weekly blog. And with so much life above and below the water, you’re sure to capture some entertaining moments for your video diary and photo gallery. To keep you busy, Tourism Queensland will organise a schedule of travel and events on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Your schedule could include sampling a new luxury spa treatment at qualia on Hamilton Island, trying out new snorkelling gear on Heron Island, or bushwalking on Hinchinbrook Island.

The job includes use of a three-bedroom home near the beach with a pool, and pays $150,000 Australian. You must send a video to apply for the position. Watch videos of other applicants at the website. Link -via Metafilter

Paul and Caragh Brooks spent a total of about $200 on their wedding, in front of family and friends at a Taco Bell restaurant in Normal, Illinois.

With several dozen invited guests in the room, the couple sat in a decorated booth with Ryan Green of Normal, a friend of theirs who became an ordained minister online. As Green, dressed in a T-shirt, officiated, they said the same vows.

“I promise to honor your life’s choices, comfort you in sorrow, celebrate in your joy and support your endeavors…,” they said. “Whatever the world brings, I take you as my partner.”

Business went on as usual in the front area of Taco Bell, and some customers in the Friday night supper rush stopped to watch.

Shortly before the ceremony, Kathy Brooks, the groom’s mother, said, “This is the way to go — there’s no stress.”

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2009/01/10/news/doc49681e80735c5391961609.txt -via Gorilla Mask

(image credit: The Pantagraph/B MOSHER)

Was it a case of drug smuggling or not? First, closed circuit cameras picked up the image of a tiny helicopter flying into the compound at Elmley Prison in Sheerness, Kent, England. The next night, guards saw the flying object.

However, staff could not find any trace of either the helicopter or the package which it appeared to be carrying underneath it when they searched the Category C jail.

'Using a mini-helicopter to get contraband into jails is unprecedented. When officers spotted it they nearly fell off their chairs', a prison source told the Sun.

'It could have been drugs or a mobile phone in the package. It is possible it was a dummy run.'

Maybe the helicopter flew out as well. Link -via Unique Daily

Watch this guy's moustache dance! A short stop-motion film by Bo Henry, art director for the movie Coraline. Link