Those who only knew “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin from TV may forget that he was always involved in serious wildlife research. Just yesterday, a research paper was published listing Irwin as one of the authors. It involves the homing instincts of crocodiles. The short version is: you can take a crocodile as far as hundreds of miles away from its home, and he will find his way back. As Coturnix observes:

Can you imagine anyone doing this work without Steve Irwin? Who else would be able to grab a big croc, attach a satellite tracker, load it and unload it some hundreds of miles away, then follow their movements on the computer screen? Would you dare ask your grad students to do that?

Link to story. Link to research paper.

15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford was the first black student to attend a white school in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. Journalist Will Counts took this picture of Eckford’s entrance, with student Hazel Bryan shouting at her. 50 years later, Vanity Fair looks at what happened then, and what became of Eckford and Bryan and their relationship. Link to story. More pictures here. -via Metafilter

Keep your feet toasty warm this winter in slippers that resemble Darth Vader or Yoda! A sweet geeky gift from Think Geek. Link -via Dump Trumpet

Does he get points for effort? No? Maybe he should take another semester! Push play or go to YouTube. -via Cynical-C

One of the very few copies of the Magna Carta is going to auction. The only copy in America has been on display in the National Archives, but is owned by Ross Perot, who bought it in 1984 for 1.5 million dollars.

The Perot Magna Carta dates to 1297 and was endorsed by King Edward I. The National Archives said that of the 17 original versions that still exist, 4 are from the reign of John; 8 are from Henry III; and 5 are from Edward I. Mr. Neilson said that some jurists consider the Perot Magna Carta to be the most important one because it was the one that was entered into the statute books in England.

Sotheby’s is expected to auction off the document in December. It may bring as much as 20-30 million dollars! Link -via Metafilter

In honor of the release of Halo 3, pranksters from MIT dressed up the statue of John P. Harvard in Harvard Yard with an assault rifle and a Spartan Helmet! Link -via Reddit

Recently, the D.I.Y. Qee Project: BART Tour took place at the Showroom NYC, featuring Bart Simpson's three-dimensional shape reimagined by over 100 international artists, designers, and illustrators.

Each artist was given a blank 10-inch D.I.Y. Bart Simpson Qee Figure to start with. The Village Voice has a gallery of images from the show. There are a LOT of zombie Barts! The show travels to London and Beijing next. http://www.villagevoice.com/gallery/0739,38bart,77858,30.html -via YesButNoButYes

Did you ever wonder what kind of tire would make the longest leap off a ski jump? Me neither. But this Japanese TV show not only answers the question, it makes the competition quite entertaining. Push play or go to YouTube. -via the Presurfer

Someone once told me the half-life of a blog is about two years, meaning only half of them last longer than that. Gerard Vlemmings has been blogging at The Presurfer for seven years as of today! His site is the first one I check every day, after I take a look at the sites I work for. Happy Blogiversary, Gerard! Link

Bill MacEwen was the victim of a robbery last week. The burglars took two iMacs and four laptops. Today, this unknown person uploaded a picture of himself to MacEwen’s Flickr account. Someone on the internet should be able to identify him. http://billmacewen.com/blog/2007/09/24/name-that-theif/ -via Metafilter

Slip a rubber band onto the toilet paper dispenser when adding a new roll. Between uses, slip the band around the roll -it will keep your toddler or your cat from unrolling the whole thing! Find more suggestions for using rubber bands at Wise Bread. Link -via Geek Like Me

Fall is the season of Aurora Borealis. Porjus, Sweden is the perfect place to watch the Northern Lights, or follow them via internet.

Porjus is a village in Swedish Lapland, the northern part of Sweden. This is the place where Northern Lights are most frequently seen and are at their best. With just a little more than 400 inhabitants, Porjus is a small village. Being small like that, there is little artificial light. So it gets dark, very dark. The ideal place for experiencing one of the most impressive, natural light spectacles on earth: Northern Lights! Just outside your apartment door, in the heart of Lapland.....

Link -via Ursi’s Blog, where you’ll find more links on the Northern Lights.

Cool or creepy? This collection of furniture innovations include a toilet that measures your health, a bench that plays with you, a footstool that follows you around, and a tablecloth that glows around objects set upon it! Some of these items you’ve seen here before. I think most of it is creepy. http://www.twodeco.com/smart-furniture/ -via Reddit

Photo: Hayley Deeks of Hydro Photographics

Mick is a very rare koala with white fur and dark eyes and nose. Albino koalas have pink eyes and noses.

The creature, nicknamed Mick, was found blind and suffering from a variety of illnesses by a forest ranger and taken to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, north of Sydney.

He was immediately given round-the-clock security protection in case anyone tried to steal him and sell him to a collector for his novelty value.

After an operation on his eyes, he was put on antibiotics and gradually returned to full health.

Hospital staff kept Mick a secret while treating him. He has been released back into the wild at an undisclosed location, for his own safety. Rangers will try to monitor his whereabouts and his health. Link -via Fark

Lilly is almost two years old. When she grows up, she wants to be Miss Teen South Carolina. She’s certainly cute enough! Push play or go to YouTube. -via Videosift