What to do with all the snow that piles up in a city? Some folks in Toronto made snow bricks and covered a TTC shelter (a streetcar stop) to make it into an igloo! See more pictures at BlogTo. Link -Thanks, Jerrold!

This watch reminds me of something -I just can't put my finger exactly on what it is... Available from the Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA). Link -Thanks, Cary Groneveldt!

Face detection technology is a popular feature in digital cameras. Nikon's latest ad campaign focuses on the feature, bragging that the Nikon S60 can detect up to 12 faces. The ad are both funny and creepy! The other two at LA Weekly are even creepier than this one. Link -Thanks, Erin Broadley!

Can you name all nine of Santa's reindeer? Can you do it (and spell them correctly) in two minutes or less? That's the challenge today in the mental_floss Lunchtime Quiz! Yes, I know one of them has a controversial spelling, but you can find the one that works. I got them in 30 seconds, and I would've done better if I could type. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/21168

PS: Of course, we know Santa really has a whole herd of reindeer.

A car stolen from Lapua, Finland was examined for evidence that might lead to the identity of the thief. A mosquito found inside was send to the lab and the human blood inside the insect had DNA that matched a man whose DNA was on file!

Finnish police said it was rare for them to use insects to solve crimes, although they are interested in everything found at a crime scene.

"It is not usual to use mosquitoes. In training we were not told to keep an eye on mosquitoes at crime scenes," Palomaeki said, laughing.

"It is not easy to find a small mosquito in a car, this just shows how thorough the crime scene investigation was," he added.

The suspect has been questioned and insists that he rode in the car when he was picked up hitchhiking, but did not steal the car. Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!

(Live Leak link)

December 15, 2008, South Waterfront neighborhood, Portland, Oregon. Looking from our condo we can see cars attempting, and most failing, to climb up a hill to get out of the neighborhood. I decided to put together a montage of sliding cars. Portland had a recent snowfall and we are expecting more tomorrow.

Might I add kudos for the excellent choice of theme music. -via Bits and Pieces

Julian Kreusser has his own TV show on Portland Community Media called "The Big Kitchen with Food." Justin wanted to cook on TV since he was four years old -which was only last year!

Viewers love him, says Portland Community Media executive director Sylvia McDaniel. The station wants to include more young people in its shows and Julian was a particularly good find, she says.

"It even has potential to be a national program," she says. "It's a wonderful show. We're just thrilled. He actually understands what he's doing. He's not just following orders."

Link to story (with video). http://blip.tv/file/1116986/ to another episode. -Thanks, Rosalyn!

Many times we've linked to The Big Picture features from the Boston Globe here at Neatorama. Now they've collected the best photographs of the year in a three-part series featuring the most amazing images from all over. Shown is Finnish ski jumper Harri Olli competing in the Czech Republic.
Link to part one.
Link to part two.
Link to part three. -Thanks, Justin!

(image credit: Reuters/David W Cerny)

It's easy to tell Pete the squirrel from all the other squirrels. He's the purple one!

Teachers and pupils at Meoncross School in Stubbington, Hants, were amazed when they saw the creature through the window during a lesson.

Since the squirrel, now nicknamed Pete, was first seen, it has become a regular fixture at the school but no one has been able to say whether the animal has fallen into purple paint, had a run-in with some purple dye, or whether there is another explanation.

Link -via Arbroath

(image credit: Solent News and Photo Agency)

Update: Loooks like it might be printer ink. -Thanks, Kyyria!

A man who was shot in the head Tuesday is back at work already -with the bullet still in his skull! 74-year-old E.T. Strickland was hit during an armed robbery at a convenience store.

Strickland was told by his doctors not to have the bullet removed unless it was pressing on any arteries or causing health problems. He does plan to see a neurosurgeon though because he wants it taken out if possible.

Strickland says it hurts, but not enough to keep him from going to work. Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!

Customs agents in Milan, Italy seized 88 pounds of Beluga caviar as it was smuggled from Poland. The stash is valued at over half a million dollars!

Newspaper Corriere Della Sera says the caviar had an estimated value of $550,000 (£370,000).

Tests showed the caviar to be edible, so it is to be given to canteens, hospices and shelters for the poor.

Beluga caviar is the most expensive variety of the delicacy.

Link -Thanks, Justin!

A kitten was found injured in Akita, Japan and his back legs and tail were amputated. Employees at a book store nursed him back to health and found a home for him. The kitten has learned to balance and walk on his two front legs! http://misterstarfish.typepad.com/misterstarfish/2008/12/kitten-walks-with-only-2-legs-%EF%BC%92%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E5%89%8D%E8%84%9A%E3%81%A0%E3%81%91%E3%81%A7%E5%85%83%E6%B0%97%E3%81%AB%E6%AD%A9%E3%81%8D%E5%9B%9E%E3%82%8B%E5%AD%90%E7%8C%AB.html (embedded YouTube clip) -Thanks, Haj!

A modified cell phone could allow doctors to analyze blood samples for HIV, malaria, and other diseases in remote villages where costly lab equipment and the power to run them are unavailable! The device is called a LUCAS imager (Lensfree Ultrawide-field Cell-monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging).

UCLA researcher Dr. Aydogan Ozcan images thousands of blood cells instantly by placing them on an off-the-shelf camera sensor and lighting them with a filtered-light source (coherent light, for you science buffs). The filtered light exposes distinctive qualities of the cells, which are then interpreted by Ozcan's custom software. By analyzing the cell types present in a much larger sample, a more accurate diagnosis can be made in a matter of minutes. No more sending blood away to a lab and waiting days or weeks for the results.

Ozcan is seeking a manufacture so these devices can be mass-produced. Link -Thanks, Dave Bullock!

The recent incident involving president Bush (previously at Neatorama) inspired RJ Evans to investigate the meaning of the thrown shoe outside the Middle East. He found many examples of the flung shoe (or is it flinged?) as a cultural meme or even as art. The "shoe tree" shown is outside of Fallon, Nevada. Link -Thanks, RJ!

(image credit: Flickr user NessieNoodle)

Here's a pleasant diversion for baseball fans! You know the poem Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer. Now see the entire poem rendered in an appropriate medium -baseball cards! Link -Thanks, Ben Henry!