The spelling challenges in today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will not be found in your local school bee! However, if you are really familiar with American TV and movies, you should do well. Luckily, it's a multiple-choice quiz. I scored 75% -try to beat that! Link

The unnamed artist, a friend of a reddit member, buys thrift shop art and adds silly details. I have just the place in my home for a painting like this! You'll find links to other paintings in the comments at reddit. Link

(YouTube link)

Neil Fraser wondered if a lava lamp would still work in the higher gravity environment of Jupiter. How such a question ever occurs to anyone is a matter of wonder in itself, but Fraser went ahead and built a ten-foot wide centrifuge in his living room to conduct the experiment to answer his question.

The centrifuge is a genuinely terrifying device. The lights dim when it is switched on. A strong wind is produced as the centrifuge induces a cyclone in the room. The smell of boiling insulation emanates from the overloaded 25 amp cables. If not perfectly adjusted and lubricated, it will shred the teeth off solid brass gears in under a second. Runs were conducted from the relative safety of the next room while peeking through a crack in the door.

Highlight this text for a spoiler: Yes, the lava lamp worked in 3G. Link -via Digg

Sam Loman created a map of the human body's systems using the style of a subway map. The different systems are color-coded as both anatomy books and trains maps are. http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Underskin/433072 -via Laughing Squid

The Iditarod dogsled race begins this Saturday in Anchorage, Alaska and spans 1,100 miles. 27-year-old Newton Marshall is among the 70 entrants and will represent his home country, Jamaica. Marshall used to train in Jamaica on a wheeled sled pulled by stray dogs from the local shelter. He now trains in Alaska with world-class sled dogs.

Singer Jimmy Buffett is among Marshall's strongest supporters. "He's absolutely a hero to kids in Jamaica," Buffett said.

Buffett's Margaritaville restaurants are key sponsors for Marshall's dog-sled team, and the famed songwriter says he did not hesitate to back Marshall after learning of his story. Buffett first heard of the Jamaican after meeting Danny Melville, who runs a family-owned tour business in Jamaica where Marshall was employed as a guide.

"I thought from the beginning it was just very cool what he was doing," Buffett said. "I thought it was so far out there, but it made people smile when they heard about it."

Marshall competed in the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest in 2009, becoming the first Jamaican to finish that race. Link -via Fark

(image credit: Eppo Eerkes)

(vimeo link)

There's a lot going on in a small garden pond! Mirko Faienza blends beautiful macrophotography and music in My Father's Garden. -via Metafilter

Artist Shauna Richardson produces trophy animals by crochet! She has been commissioned to produce three giant crocheted lions to be displayed at the 2012 Olympic games in London. http://www.dazeddigital.com/view/default.aspx?Category=22&ArticleID=6452&PageNum=1 to interview. http://www.shaunarichardson.com/studio/studio-1.php to artist's site. -via Everlasting Blort

Lawrence and Kerryn Munro were walking with their dogs along the White Umfolzi River in South Africa. When they stopped to dip their feet in the water, a ten foot long crocodile grabbed Lawrence by the ankles!

Mr Munro, 33, said: "It was a matter of seconds. I grabbed hold of the rocks and started kicking the croc with my right foot. He let go and grabbed again, getting hold of both feet. I tried to get to my rifle, but I had been dragged closer to the water and couldn't reach it. Kerryn grabbed under my arm and around my neck and started pulling. Eventually the croc let go.

"My two-way radio had come loose and fallen into the river during the struggle so we couldn't call for help," he told the Mercury newspaper.

After pulling her husband free, Mrs Munro ran to the Makhamisa Base Camp for help. Mr Munro was airlifted to hospital in nearby Richards Bay, where he underwent operations to repair tendons in his right foot.

Kerryn Munro, who is five months pregnant, is resting up after the incident. Link -via Digg

(image credit: Flickr user Pandiyan)

You never know when you will be called upon to act the hero. For Andy Ingham of Canterbury, England, that time came as he was dressed as a gorilla! Ingham was promoting his gym business by handing out free passes and bananas to passers-by on February 18th. Meanwhile, police were chasing a suspect over a bridge. A female officer tried to arrest the man, but he pushed her down on the bridge and fled.

Mr Ingham said: “When you are in a gorilla suit it is quite hard to see out of it to begin with. You actually have to hold someone’s hand as you walk along otherwise you fall over.

“If I had been able to see I would have rugby-tackled him, but I also had my hands full of bags. So as he ran towards me I jumped in front of him and gave him a really good kick in the legs to try and trip him up so someone else could jump on him.

“He stumbled and nearly fell over and tried to run off down the road, at which point he was apprehended by the rest of the police and taken away.”

The 24-year-old suspect was charged with assault and resisting arrest. http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Gorillaman-swings-to-the-rescue-of-woman-cop-newsinkent33403.aspx -via Arbroath

(image credit: Jenny Armstrong)

(YouTube link)

Om nom nom! This wild bunny lives only temporarily at a Animal Advocates wildlife rehabilitation center in Los Angeles. It will be released back to nature when it's old enough. Don't miss the washing up at the end! -via Cynical-C

Some of the prisoners liberated from Auschwitz in 1945 recreated the scenes of their lives there in art. An online exhibit places those artworks side-by-side with photographs of Auchwitz taken many years later.

In 1979, The Auschwitz Museum Archive reproduced selected pieces of art and sent them to writer/photographer Alan Jacobs.
After years of related work and many more trips, Jacobs, and his son Jesse, returned to the camps in 1996 to find and photograph the identical scenes depicted in the art. Krysia Jacobs then devised a way to present them as you see here. They are the result of work over a 24 year period.

An explanatory text, which may be disturbing, accompanies each image. Link -via Metafilter

(image credit: Mieczyslaw Koscielniak/Auschwitz Museum Archive)

The US has its share of strange town names. If you've made a few road trips, you've no doubt encountered some of them. Test your knowledge of these strangely-named cities in this Lunchtime Quiz from mental_floss. I scored 67%. Note: be sure to read the questions carefully! Link

A British military pilot managed to get twenty passengers to the ground despite a bullet between his eyes. Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune was ferrying the wounded from a battle between American troops and the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. As he was taking off with a full load of casualties, a bullet ricocheted through the helicopter and struck Fortune in the face.

Further rounds then struck the helicopter's automatic stabilisation system, shutting it down and making it extremely difficult to fly.

Despite blood streaming into his eyes, Flight Lt Fortune battled with the controls for eight minutes and managed to get the casualties back to Camp Bastion.

TV Presenter Mike Brewer was on the helicopter when the incident happened. He told Sky News:

"It was terrifying. We came under fire just as the ramp was closing. Then just after we'd taken off the Chinook suddenly lurched from side to side and we heard the pilot had been shot.

"The only reason we didn't plunge straight back into the desert was because of the sheer bravery and skill of Ian and the rest of the crew. They're all heroes."

Lt. Fortune is expected to recover from his injuries. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Chinoook-Pilot-Shot-Between-The-Eyes-Manages-To-Fly-Casualties-To-Safety-Ian-Fortune-Afghanistan/Article/201003115567655?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Region_8&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15567655_Chinoook_Pilot_Shot_Between_The_Eyes_Manages_To_Fly_Casualties_To_Safety%3A_Ian_Fortune_Afghanistan -via Fark

(YouTube link)

Barman made a cool helicopter from the movie Avatar out of Lego pieces for the February competition at Brickshelf. http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=420825 to pictures. -via Wacky Owl

Noah Dziobecki adapted the children's book Goodnight Moon and set it in the Star Wars universe for his son's birthday. Now his illustrations are available to download and print for yourself -free! Instructions for assembling the book are included. Link -via Boing Boing