Some animals use a bad smell for defense; others find it attractive in each other. Environmental Graffiti has seven of the most vile. Believe it or not, the skunk came in at only #3!

There are 11 species of skunk, two in Asia and nine in the Americas. All of them have the ability to spray a foul smelling chemical when threatened. The famous skunk spray is a mix of sulphuric chemicals, and skunks can spray accurately up to 15 feet. The stench is so powerful the skunk almost every animal leaves it alone, the sole exception being the Great Horned Owl which has almost no sense of smell.

Link -via J-Walk Blog

(image credit: Qmnonic)

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The Leningrad Cowboys (from Finland) and the Red Army Choir perform Sweet Home Alabama. It’s a small world after all. -via Cynical-C

Instructables has a photo essay on the process of shipping a tiger to Canada. According to the author, guppie, the hard part is getting the tiger into the box. He had a little trouble actually finding a tiger, due to their camouflaging stripes, but he got the job done. Link

It’s just what you might think from the name -pickle juice in a popsicle! John Howard, a roller rink owner in Seguin, Texas, found that his frozen pickle juice treats were very popular with kids, so he started his own company to sell them nationwide. Have you ever tried one? Link -via Slashfood

We’ve been thinking about a new project for Neatorama, a possibile way to bring you enhanced content. It’s still in the planning stage, so we want your input. What kind of things do you look for when you click on Neatorama? What posts would you like more information on? What would you like to see more of, or less of? What suggestions do you have for us, to make your surfing experience more pleasurable, or more informative? Do you have any questions we could work on answering? To get you thinking, Alex tells me that the best comment or suggestion could win you a Neatorama t-shirt (old style). Thanks!

The lunchtime quiz today at mental_floss is on veteran news correspondent Andy Rooney. His quotes are all over the internet, but many that have been attributed to him never actually came from his mouth. How well can you seperate the real quotes from the fakes? http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13051

Well back in 1876 an ol' boy named Bell
Invented a contraption that we know so well
By the 1950's they're in everybodys home
It's a crazy little thing they call a telephone
Now there's one in every corner, in the back of every bar
You can get one in your briefcase, on a plane, or in your car

-Why Haven’t I Heard from You (Reba McEntire)

It was on March 10, 1876 that Alexander Graham Bell called his assistant in the next room by speaking into his new invention. From Bell’s journal:

I then shouted into M [the mouthpiece] the following sentence: "Mr. Watson, come here -- I want to see you." To my delight he came and declared that he had heard and understood what I said.

I asked him to repeat the words. He answered, "You said 'Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you.'" We then changed places and I listened at S [the speaker] while Mr. Watson read a few passages from a book into the mouthpiece M. It was certainly the case that articulate sounds proceeded from S. The effect was loud but indistinct and muffled.

The new “telephone” wasn’t free of controversy. There has long been talk of Bell stealing the idea and the technology from Elisha Gray. Bell won the patent, and is therefore known as the inventor of the telephone. Link

Here’s a jigsaw puzzle with people and animals as puzzle pieces. You can turn them around and see how they fit together. When you find pieces that fit, they will stick so you can manipulate them together. I found it quite fun! There are many more pieces than are shown here; the two I put together are just a hint. Link -via Dump Trumpet

Ruth Butterworth of Brisbane fought a python to save her kitten’s life. She was calling Tuffy to come inside when the snake encircled the cat and started to crush it.

"I just started punching the thick part of the snake where it was about the size of my arm," Ms Butterworth said. "I wasn't looking, I just kept punching until it let go."

The snake bit Ms Butterworth twice before it released Tuffy, who ran indoors. It wasn't until Tuffy was safe and Ms Butterworth fell backwards to get away from the snake that she realised she had broken her wrist and been bitten.

The same python had killed her mother’s cat just days before. Link -via Digg

(image credit: Peter Wallis)

The eye you see here is a planetarium, L’Hemisfèric in Valencia, Spain. The bottom half is its reflection in the water. See more pictures of it and La Géode, a spherical IMAX theater in Paris in the post Extremely Impressive Shiny Balls. http://deputy-dog.com/2008/03/08/extremely-impressive-shiny-balls/

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Acrobats and contortionists from The Great Chinese State Circus perform Swan Lake on the TV show Wetten dass...? You’ve never seen ballet like this. -via Grow-A-Brain

Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead tonight! Daylight Saving Time begins tonight for most of the United States and Canada. The expansion of the period we use DST is due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005; although studies show the effect on energy consumption is negigible, if not counterproductive. DST will last until the first weekend in November, which is almost two-thirds of the year. European Summer Time begins the last Sunday in March and runs til the last Sunday in October. Nations in the southern hemisphere who observe the practice have been on DST for months, and will soon go back to standard time as their fall approaches. Wikipedia has more on Daylight Saving Time history and practices around the world. Link

Universe Today looks at the possibility of humans traveling to Mars. One of the major roadblocks to such a mission is arranging for a return flight. A one-way mission would eliminate a lot of research and expense, but is it ethical?

Even though explorers in the past traveled, for example, to the south or north pole, knowing they might never return, and thousands of immigrants moved to the US in the 18- and 1900's, knowing they would never see their homeland again, the human psyche has seemingly changed enough that a one-way ticket off the planet is not acceptable. According to psychologist Molly Dooley from Springfield, IL, it might take a major crisis on Earth for humans to seriously consider such a mission. “Usually it’s the disenfranchised that are willing to take those kinds of risks," she said. “When our present situation no longer works for us, we become more willing to take risks. The difference between the folks who are interested and those who aren’t is their attachment to their current situation."

The article raises some interesting questions, and the commenters add more insight. Link -via Metafilter

(image credit: Javad Moghimi/Fars News Agency)
Dark Roasted Blend has a collection of strange and funny photographs of police and military training, operations, and vehicles. This is one of several pictures of Iranian female police. Link

The Becohanger by Wannabeco is a new clothes hanger made from environmentally-friendly carboard. It is completely biodegradable, and may replace wire hangers in Britain.

"Each year 100 million wire coat hangers are put into UK landfill where they take centuries to degrade - it is this we are trying to prevent," said Alexander Beattie, Head of marketing at Wannabeco.

"We have worked out a way to alleviate this problem as well as provide an innovative and ecologically friendly media space for our advertising clients".

Yes, the hangers will be paid for by advertisers, and distributed to dry cleaners. The ads will be printed with environmentally-friendly ink. Link -via Fark