Popular Mechanics bought eight science kits for kids, reviewed them, and found instructions on the 'net for replicating the same experiments with materials many people have on hand.

...homemade experiments can be just as complex and educational (while costing up to $100 less), so we found alternatives to each of the boxed kits that teach similar lessons just as well. Bottom line: Whether preassembled or drawn from kitchen cupboards, science kits can be educational and fun.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4323417.html -via Geek Like Me

Developed by MITERS, a group at MIT who build things, this souped-up shopping cart can achieve speeds of up to 45 mph! I don't know, it doesn't look all that safe to me. Link

(YouTube link)
This sewer-cam video from Raleigh, North Carolina has been inspiring nausea all over the web. Deep Sea News contacted experts to find out what kind of creature this could be.

They are clumps of annelid worms, almost certainly tubificids (Naididae, probably genus Tubifex). Normally these occur in soil and sediment, especially at the bottom and edges of polluted streams. In the photo they have apparently entered a pipeline somehow, and in the absence of soil they are coiling around each other.

Read more about annelid worms and see more videos, if you have the stomach for it. http://deepseanews.com/2009/06/creatures-from-the-sewer/ -via a comment at Digg

A hippopotamus in Alkmaar, South Africa was desperate for a dip to escape the heat, and climbed over ten foot walls to bathe in a water tower! Once in, he couldn't get out on his own. A farm worker spotted him -or rather, spotted two big nostrils poking out of the water.

Equipped with a hydraulic crane and a cage, hippo hunter Chris Hobkirk and his team from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Association set to work. In a four-hour operation, they drained the tank and used poles to gently nudge the hippo into the 3m-long (10ft) steel cage before winching it to safety.

Mr Hobkirk – who has rescued more than 180 stranded hippos in the past six years – said it was a tricky procedure but he was glad with the outcome.

'Maybe we got lucky with this one. In the past, I have removed hippos from small dams. In those cases, the water levels have always been much lower so this was different.'

Link -via Arbroath

Gimme A Hug is a documentary from the Protect the Sharks Foundation.

Sharks are one of the most important top-predators in our oceans and there is still a lot we don’t understand, or even know, about this fascinating animal.

This short documentary shows one of the most mysterious phenomena in the animal world; amazing animals, showing a totally different behaviour then most people would expect.

The DVD is available for purchase with subtitles available in several languages. See the trailer at the Protect the Sharks Foundation website. http://www.protect-the-sharks.org/about-sharks/gimme-a-hug/ -via the Presurfer

(YouTube link)
If you are ever lucky enough to get the chance to drive a Ford Model T {wiki}, keep in mind that they were a bit different from modern cars. Who knew it had three pedals, none of which was an accelerator? Henry Ford Estate volunteer Ed Hebb takes you through the process. -via Metafilter

Sylvilagus palustris hefneri is a now-endangered species of rabbit named in honor of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. University of Central Florida graduate teaching assistant Rosanna Tursi is studying the genetic diversity of the species in the Florida Everglades, of which there may be only 300 rabbits remaining.

Hefneri is the most recently recognized subspecies of the marsh rabbit. It's small with short, dark brown fur and a grayish-white belly. Discovered in 1984, the subspecies was named in honor of Hefner after his organization donated money to support fieldwork on the rabbits. Good for Hef!

His namesake bunnies live in an island environment and are dependent on specific grasses and plants for feeding, nesting and shelter. Population growth and development in their area has led to the death of the bunnies at the hands of vehicles or domestic animals. Their natural habitat also is being destroyed.

http://blogs.discovery.com/news_animal/2009/06/playboy-bunnies-close-to-extinction.html -via Digg

(image credit: Rosanna Tursi)

Maps have always been good visual aids for political cartoons, since there's no question about who is referred to. BibliOdyssey takes a look at political cartoon maps of Britain and Europe through history. Twelve maps are featured, including this 1793 map by Robert Dighton (portrait artist, caricaturist, and thief). Portraying Britain as a person, often riding a fish, is a recurring theme in such maps. Link -Thanks, peacay!

Taking public transportation is good for the environment, but used-up Metrocards aren't -unless you find something useful to do with them. The Infrastructurist found nine wacky things people have made out of the cards, including this lovely suit. http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/06/26/how-arts-and-crafts-can-save-the-planet-10-creative-uses-for-your-dead-metrocards/ -via Everlasting Blort

Well, isn't this cute? And it keeps the water from going down the drain while you bathe. Link -via Swiss Miss

The Garbage Pail Kids were collectible trading cards created in response to the Cabbage Patch Kids. The gross-out cards are back in print now, with the seventh series available in stores. How well do you remember the classic Garbage Pail Kids? Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss presents a "Who's who" that will test your memory. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/27530

There, I Fixed It is a blog profiling the strange and imaginative ways people rig up what they need with what they have. You'll be forgiven if you thought this radiator repair job was supposed to be a still. Link -via Metafilter

Ciao Chow Linda served her family spaghetti and meatballs for dessert. It's a cake: A banana cake covered with frosting shaped like spaghetti noodles and topped with chocolate truffle "meatballs" in a strawberry sauce. Recipe and instructions are included with the post. Link -via mental_floss

Previously at Neatorama: spaghetti ice cream.

Author and illustrator Maira Kalman took a trip to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson and was moved to write a travelogue. But this is no ordinary travelogue. Kalman writes about Jefferson's life and philosophy as well as his home, with whimsical pictures that drawn you in to her experience. Link -via Everlasting Blort

You don't want to be around when a high-rise apartment building falls over! The unfinished 13-story building in Shanghai toppled Saturday morning and killed a 28-year-old worker.

"It was just like an earthquake," witness Zhang Supong told China Daily.

Construction of the building has been halted pending an investigation of the collapse, including reports that cracks had appeared Friday on a flood prevention bank near the apartment building, Xinhua reported.

Link to story. http://cache.daqi.com/view/2617990.html to pictures. -via J-Walk Blog