Two Nepali men, Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa and Sano Babu Sunuwar, went on an adventure they dreamed up called The Ultimate Descent:

They would climb to the world’s highest point, launch a paraglider and fly for as long as possible, bicycle to a point where streams gathered into rivers, kayak across the Nepali border into India, and paddle the Ganges River all the way to the Indian Ocean. It would be an unprecedented first, but it was the overall combination of sports, audacity, and friendship that drew the duo to the idea. Babu, 28, had no climbing experience. Lakpa, 39, had never kayaked and didn’t even know how to swim.

In April of 2011, the duo had borrowed gear, slapped a basic plan together, and began their ascent of Everest. On May 21, they became the third party to launch a paraglider from the summit and set a new world record of 8,865 meters for free flight in the process. On the Kosi River’s Class V rapids, Babu got caught recirculating in a massive whirlpool in their two-man kayak, while Lakpa floated down river. Once they reached the Ganges, they paddled flatwater through unfamiliar country. They were robbed at knifepoint and had to live off fruit trees. After 850 kilometers, Lakpa and Babu reached the Bay of Bengal. On June 27, they became the first people to complete the descent from Everest’s summit to the Indian Ocean.

What did they get for their accomplishment? Besides being hailed as national heroes in Nepal, they are now the winners of the People's Choice Award in the National Geographic Adventurers of the Year competition. They garnered more of the 72,000 votes cast than any other of the Adventurers of the Year. You can see a photo gallery, read their story and interview, and see a video at NatGeo. Link -Thanks, Marilyn!

(Image credit: Sano Babu Sunuwar)

Angelina Jolie's leg keeps growing virally. In addition to all the links we posted yesterday, a new Tumblr blog called Angelina Jolie'ing is gathering and curating the Photoshop art generated by the actress' Oscar night images AND pictures of everyone at home striking the same pose. You can submit yours, too! Link -via mental_floss, where David Israel posted his nine favorite images.

Would you like to produce a retro-style movie like The Artist (which won five Oscars)? The Artistifier is a generator that takes any YouTube video and makes it into a black-and-white silent film with period music. You can add your own titles and captions, too! I made one using my own video, but I think the film generated by the Presurfer is a much better example. If you make your own, leave a link to it in the comments. Link -via the Presurfer

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You may have noticed that tomorrow is February 29th, sometimes labeled as Leap Day. Even if you haven't, you probably noticed that the Summer Olympics and the U.S. presidential election is happening this year, which means this is a Leap Year. C.G.P. Grey explains why we have a February 29th, but only once every four years. -via Laughing Squid

Correlated, the site that brings you silly statistics, is about to celebrate a year online. That means there are plenty of statistics that don't mean a thing to browse through, and you can help create more of them by participating in the poll of the day. Some examples:

* In general, 33 percent of people prefer emoticons with noses. But among those who prefer their ice cream in a cone rather than a bowl, 44 percent prefer emoticons with noses.

* In general, 52 percent of people prefer full-size umbrellas over compact ones. But among those who have solved a Rubik's Cube, 67 percent prefer full-size umbrellas.

* In general, 40 percent of people support capital punishment. But among those who like V8 or other vegetable juice drinks, 51 percent support capital punishment.

See? The results of each poll are correlated to other polls, which may or may not have anything to do with each other. Remember, correlation does not mean causation, but sometimes it means something you can laugh at. Link

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This optical illusion shows how dots on a chessboard make it appear warped because our minds feel compelled to "connect the dots." It's titled Reverse Windwarp because the video is backward. The producer placed 200 pips on the board and then blew them off gradually. In the video, the blowing appears to add the pips. -via The Daily What

Roberto Salvador created a series of illustrations featuring super heroes screaming. Lots of them, in individual prints or in this patchwork print. And each are for sale! Get a good look at all of them at Buzzfeed. Link

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That's it. We won't need to ever see another movie again after this. It's got everything! And everyone! -via Jimmy Kimmel Live

Imagine an artificial leg that can feel hot and cold, wet and dry, and even a caress! Scientists have tried all kinds of ways to make prosthetic limbs that can work with human nerves to make the limb not only more agile, but also to provide feedback sensations to the user. And all kinds of ways have failed to produce the desired results. Sandia National Laboratories, the University of New Mexico and the MD Anderson Cancer Center are working on a synthetic polymer to be used as a scaffold that severed nerve tissue can grow onto. Dr. Shawn Dirk explains how this substance is different from anything tried before.

Of course, researchers have already made plenty of efforts to directly integrate nerves and prosthetics. But, according to Dirk, they typically “didn’t use technology that was compatible with nerve fibers,” which are tightly bundled and flexible. “Nerves need to grow and move around; they’re not going to integrate well with a stiff interface.”

Yes, the material comprising the scaffold had to be flexible and fluid, but it also needed to be extremely conductive. Nerve signals are highly localized, and also very, very subtle. An effective neural-prosthetic interface would need to transmit thousands of different signals per second to mimic the behavior of a real limb and its relationship to the brain and body.

To create that ideal interface, Dirk and his colleagues developed their own biocompatible polymers, meant to mimic the properties of nerve tissue. The material is also porous, so that nerves can extend through it, and lined with electrodes, to vastly enhance conductivity.

The new polymer has tested well in rats, but its use in humans is still years away. Link

(Image credit: Flickr user Chris Corwin)

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I knew cats could swim, but I've never seen one do it so... voluntarily. -via Arbroath

A wise man once said, "Living well is the best revenge." The paraphrased quote that is the title of this article at Geeks Are Sexy is also true. Those kids who were made fun of in school because they used slide rules or built their own computers or memorized the periodic table of elements? They rule the world now.

Geeks are essential to the normal functioning of billions of lives daily. Without them, civilization as we know it would come to a screeching halt. Just imagine a world without something like the Internet — entire businesses would freeze, failed GPS systems would delay countless travelers, unemployment would shoot up even more, and people everywhere would commit mass suicide. Although we don’t like to think of it this way, geeks are king and pretty much rule our lives whether we like it or not. Here are 9 ways geeks have inherited the earth.

If you know a young geek, this would be a mighty encouraging article to share. Link

Hollywood's extensive hype over the Academy Awards presentation is all about publicity. Going into the weekend, many tried to guess what the big story would be. Sasha Baron Cohen's costume? The best and worst gowns? No, they were all upstaged. Angelina Jolie's right leg was the star of Oscar night. It so overwhelmed everything else that Jim Rash was inspired to strike the same pose when he accepted his Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for co-writing The Descendants.

So much coverage led to the inevitable "legbombing" challenge.

The winner of such Photoshoppery has to be this one posted at reddit.

Then before you know it, that leg had its own Twitter feed, Angelina Jolie's Leg. It already has over 13,000 followers!

See more of the leg at Buzzfeed. Link

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The Muppet that became Cookie Monster was created in 1966, when he was introduced as the Wheel Stealer in this un-aired demo ad. Not long afterward, he lost all his teeth -except for his sweet tooth! If the company had aired this spot, the products may have survived longer. -via Everlasting Blort

The cake is chocolate, covered with "sugarpaste" and royal icing. CakeCentral has complete instructions for making it, with illustrated steps. This technique can be adapted to any kind of spherical cake you may need. Link -via Boing Boing

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You may have seen a viral video of a helicopter falling part after it landed in Brazil. In this video, an explanation is offered from AVweb. Link -via the Presurfer