That's one expensive chunk of fungus! A 1.08 kilogram white truffle was sold at an auction Saturday for $200,000. A total of $284,000 was raised for charity at the auction held simultaneously in Abu Dhabi, Macau, London and Rome.

Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho was the highest bidder for the 1.08-kg white truffle. The tycoon was also the highest bidder for last year’s largest truffle, a 1.5-kg piece that fetched a record $330,000.

Truffle is a precious ingredient in Italian and French gourmet for its pungent aroma and taste. White truffle is considered the best truffle; a kilogram of normal size white truffle could cost over $5000.

Link (with video) -Thanks, Jee!

(image credit: Xinhuanet)

There are places more remote, but Tristan Da Cunha is inhabited, even though the 270 residents only see a mail ship once a year!

When Napoleon was sent to St. Helena by the British, they annexed the closest chain of islands to prevent the French from attempting to rescue him. After all, who wouldn't travel a mere 2430 km over rough and hostile seas in order to rescue the Emperor himself? Yes, that's right, the islands of Tristan Da Cunha closest neighboring land mass, the island of St. Helena, is 2430 km away.

Tristan Da Cunha has a radio station, a convenience store, beautiful wildlife, and an active volcano! Link

Think of Krampus as the "anti-Santa", the demon who comes to punish children who misbehave during the year. Krampus Night is celebrated on the eve of St. Nicholas Day in Europe, particularly in Austria.

The Krampus tradition, whilst once done with a modicum of sobriety is now used as an enormously great excuse to get completely inebriated. Think of it as an old Europe version of Spring Break but, alcohol aside, with slightly different preoccupations and - of course - at a different time of year. Very well, just think of it as an excuse for young people to behave badly.

Read about the origins of Krampus and see more depictions from history at Socyberty. Link -Thanks, RJ!

(image credit: riptheskull)

Here's a collection of rear-view images that are SFW. Some are quite fetching!

A photograph taken from an unusual angle can take an image from the dull to the wonderful in an instant. Instead of concentrating on the face, why not take a chance on that sometimes neglected (and other times overused) part of the anatomy - the butt. Call it what you like, caboose, bum or bottom - its inclusion on film can make a photograph. Have a look at this collection - no ifs or ands, but quite a few butts.

Link -Thanks, RJ Evans!

(image credit: mysza831)

Windell and Lenore at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories used a 45 watt carbon-dioxide laser to score an Apple logo on the top crust of an apple pie. They used a square springform pan to get the crust centered just right, and kept a crust lattice inside the logo to prevent it from distorting while it baked. I heard it was delicious, too. Link

History is full of medical horror stories you've never heard of. Some doctors popularized theories that turned out to be just plain wrong, others made catastrophic misdiagnoses. Still others valued their research over their patients, to the detriment of both. Shown is Dr. Walter Freeman, who promoted the ice pick lobotomy in the mid-20th century.

It became incredibly popular, over 50,000 were performed, with Freeman performing over 3,000 himself in his lobotomobile. Freeman believed in lobotomies even after being discredited. He spent his final years visiting his victims, trying to prove they had benefited from his work.

Read about Freeman and nine other dangerous doctors. Link -Thanks, Sami!

Oooh -a bat-shaped boomerang that's really a money clip! The Batarang Folding Money Clip is just one of the picks at The Geek Guide to Holiday Gift-Giving. There's also gadgets, movies, jewelry, and fashions that you won't find at your local department store, all with links to ordering information. Link -Thanks, Yan!

The magazine Science has announced the winners of the 2009 "Dance Your Ph.D." contest. Sue Lynn Lau did a ballet to illustrate the role of vitamin D in beta-cell function. Miriam Sach used modern dance to portray cerebral activation patterns induced by inflection of regular and irregular verbs. Vince LiCata danced with his graduate students to represent the interaction of pairs of hemoglobin molecules. And Markita Landry tangoed her way through "Single Molecule Measurements of Protelomerase TelK-DNA Complexes." The judges included the winners of last year's competition. All the entries were posted to YouTube. Link (with videos) -via Metafilter

Dragonflies are beautiful, and even more so close up! Take a look at pictures that illustrate the dragonfly's anatomy and life cycle. Link -Thanks, RJ Evans!

(image credit: Cessna 206)

Rickrolling was taken to the largest audience yet Thursday at the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City.

Instead of a performance by the characters of “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends,” onlookers were treated to a rendition of “Never Gonna Give You Up” by singer Rick Astley.

The switch happened on Thursday morning, during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The puppets on the float featuring the Cartoon Network show began to sing 1970s hit and TV theme song “Best Friend,” but stopped abruptly, revealing Astley, himself, dancing and singing to his signature tune.

http://www.hollywoodtoday.net/2008/11/28/rick-astley-rickrolls-macy%E2%80%99s-thanksgiving-day-parade/ to story. Link to video. -Thanks, Billy Ting!

No one really knows what dark energy is, but it fills the universe. We wouldn't even have the concept if it weren't for the men who hunted sperm whales in the 19th century. If that's not intriguing enough, the story also involves candles, Einstein, cannibalism, shrinking space men, ether, whale attacks, and exploding stars.

Whales live an exceedingly long time. Some, like the Bowhead Whale, can live for more than 200 years. A whale that could have been a baby swimming in the Artic Ocean in 1820 when the Essex was sunk and Owen Coffin drew the black dot, a teenager when Moby Dick was published, a young adult in 1887 when Michelson and Morley disproved ether and Einstein presented the theory of special relativity in 1905, and reaching old age when we humans discovered that the universe was flying to pieces in 1996— that whale, that aged and magnificent creature, may yet still live to see yet another revolution in physics.

I learned a lot about physics in this weird tale of science history. Link -Thanks, boaz sender!

(Live Leak link)
Kitties love their arcade games. I especially enjoyed the sound effects. -via Arbroath

Zoo keepers at the Kushiro Municipal Zoo in Hokkaido, Japan were puzzled as to why their two polar bears didn't show any interest in breeding. The two had been together since June, when the zoo brought in Tsuyoshi to mate with their resident female bear Kurumi.

Earlier this month, zookeepers put Tsuyoshi under anesthesia to get to the bottom of the matter. That's when they made their discovery: Tsuyoshi is a female.

Still, the Kushiro zoo plans to keep Tsuyoshi because he -- or rather, she -- has become immensely popular with visitors.

"I have rather mixed feelings, given the need for breeding, but Tsuyoshi is an idol for Kushiro," Yoshio Yamaguchi, head of the Kushiro zoo, told Japan's Kyodo news agency.

Since the discovery was made, Tsuyoshi's "brother" was also found to be female. Link

(image credit: Kushiro Zoo)

Photographers, you don't need to spend a lot of money on an image stabilizer -just use a chicken's head!

According to the video, motion processors use an inertial measurement unit, which senses motion (rate, type and direction) and compensates for it. Chickens have a pretty advanced version.

It's funny, too! Link (embedded YouTube video) -Thanks, bactac!

The most luxurious dog kennel ever is in the planning stages.

A dog lover has turned half of her £1.4 million home into a luxury "kennel" for her Great Danes - complete with their own plasma screen TV, lounge and spa, it was revealed today.

The surgeon, who wants to remain anonymous, told her architect the hi-tech bungalow on the Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire must include separate deluxe living quarters for her two pets.

The plush kennel, estimated to cost more than £250,000, will be the latest eccentric build on the Cotswold Water Park, already famous for its futuristic, sustainable designs and its population of beavers.

The doghouse features two bedrooms and a living room, a 52-inch plasma screen TV with surround sound stereo, sheepskin-lined beds, retina-controlled "dogflap" doors, a temperature-regulated dog spa, security cameras, and internet-controlled heat. Link -via Arbroath