Sometimes talent is sparked, or maybe just revealed, in the strangest ways.

Imagine having a stroke, a severe brain injury or a tumor and suddenly waking up one day to find you’ve developed artistic talents to rival Picasso. It sounds impossible, but the brain is a mysterious organ, and sometimes, damage causes it to rewire itself in ways that reveal new talents even in people who could barely doodle a stick figure. From the engineer on disability who became a sought-after digital artist after a stroke to a woman whose dementia spurred remarkable creative output, these 10 artists were all transformed by neurological trauma or disorders.

Pictured is Alison Silva, who chose not to have a brain tumor removed because it improved her painting talent. Link -via Buzzfeed

(YouTube link)
Simon the bunny rabbit can walk on his hind legs! Hollywood will surely be calling soon. -Thanks, zacheh!

Watch the birth of a giraffe at Safari West Wildlife Preserve in California. It was a surprise, as zookeepers did not know the mother was pregnant. Unfortunately, this video report does not show the six foot drop a baby giraffe undergoes, but he is a cute little thing ...if you can call a six-foot, 130 pound baby "little"! Link

Don't you just love fresh strawberries in season? They also pack a nutritional punch! Health Assist has a list of twelve ways strawberries help you live longer by fighting cancer, heart disease and general body decline.

New research from Harvard Medical School[9] found that strawberries may offer cardiovascular disease protection. The study found that those who reported eating the most strawberries experienced lower blood levels of C-reactive protein.

C-reactive protein or CRP is a blood biomarker that signals the presence of inflammation in the body. Elevated levels of CRP have been shown in multiple studies to be a potentially good predictor of risk for both heart disease and stroke, as it is generally a signal of atherosclerosis.

Link -Thanks, Karen!

The three men in this picture are Fu Lu Shou, which means good fortune, prosperity, and longevity. But in this version they are a ten story building! Tianzi Hotel is in Hebei Province, China, and holds the world record for being the "biggest image building". See more pictures at Killer Directory. Link -Thanks, David!

How will you commemorate the 40th anniversary of man's first step on the moon? There's plenty to explore on the site We Choose The Moon now, but you'll also want to bookmark it so you can follow the events of 40 years ago recreated in real time, beginning with the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16th. Meanwhile, browse the site for information and pictures from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Link -via Metafilter

This blog collects instances of books on the shelves of libraries that should be culled (or should have been culled years ago). The page shown is from a book called Moving Through Pregnancy from 1975.

The items featured here are so old, obsolete, awful or just plain stupid that we are horrified that people might be actually checking these items out and depending on the information.

This blog contains actual library holdings. No specific libraries or librarians are named to protect the guilty. Check your shelves, it could be you.

Link -via J-Walk Blog

Today's Luchtime Quiz at mental_floss is about another character from The Simpsons. Moe Szyslak is Homer's favorite bartender. How much do you know about him? Certainly more than I do! http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/28693

Members of the LiveJournal community called WTF Taxidermy scour the web for stuffed animals we can laugh at. Many of the specimens are for sale on eBay or Craigslist, so there's a chance you could have one for your very own. The thing in the picture is still available, if you are so inclined. Link -via Everlasting Blort

Style Your Garage is a German company that makes photorealistic tarps to cover your plain boring garage door. Instead of a closed door, passers-by will see something special, like an expensive sports car, an airplane, a wine cellar, a fancy room interior, or even a giant alligator that appears to be in your garage! Link -Thanks, Holistic CPA!

They've been in development for fifteen years, and were supposed to launch sales to the public two years ago. Now finally, you can buy Zubbles, soap bubbles in bright colors that don't stain fabric. Inventor Tim Kehoe spent $3 million to develop Zubbles and bring them to market.

Once a bubble pops, the dye fades in 15 minutes on virtually every material imaginable: concrete, leather, nylon, cotton and paint. Even easily stained material like silk remain unstained 15 minutes after a Zubble touches them.

Right now, consumers can only buy blue and pink bubbles, although Kehoe says that he can create bubbles of any color.

Link to story. Link to website. -via reddit

Look close: there are no bent lines in this tile collection. In fact, when I saw this, I thought how cool it would be to floor a room with this tile pattern! Link

A chihuahua named Smokey wandered around with a fork stuck deep in his head for three days!

A handle broke off a grilling fork and flew right into his head at a family party in Kentucky.

Smokey then ran off into the woods and was lost for three days before being rescued. He was immediately taken to the hospital.

Vets took just thirty seconds to remove the lodged barbecue fork in Smokey's brain.

The dog is expected to make a full recovery. Link -via Arbroath

Rice farmers in Japan create wonderful works of art by planting different varieties of rice in patterns. The 2009 crop has been photographed and can be seen by everyone -not just airplanes! This rendering of Napoleon is near the town hall in the village of Inakadate in Aomori prefecture. See more at Pink Tentacle. Link

Previously: The 2007 crop.

At 650 pounds, David Smith contemplated suicide. But then he decided to lose the weight, and dropped 410 pounds in a little over two years.

“I decided that the best way to get over my fear was to destroy it … and the best way to be seen is on television,” he wrote. So he contacted KTVK, a local television station that had a feature hosted by fitness and nutrition guru Chris Powell. After some initial hesitation, Powell took Smith on.

Now 240 pounds, Smith is a certified trainer. The documentary is called “The 650-pound Virgin” and will air Sunday night on TLC. Link (with video) -via Digg