Author: Miss Cellania

LOVER FOUND FOR LONELY SNAIL

Jeremy the garden snail is unique in that his shell curls to the left, while almost all snails of his species grow shells that curve to the right. Scientists want to study his genes by examining his descendants, but he would need another left-handed snail to mate with. Now, a potential mate has been found. Jade Melton is an amateur snail scientist, and has kept a left-handed snail named Lefty since she found him quite some time ago. When she heard Jeremy’s story, Melton contacted Dr. Angus Davidson of the University of Nottingham. The two snails, which each have both male and female reproductive organs, have been housed together to see if they will mate.

BLOTTING CRACKS WITH TOILET PAPER

Toilet paper strips have been seen on various roads in Littleton, Colorado, but this is not Halloween vandalism, but a road repair breakthrough. City repair crews fill cracks in the asphalt with tar, and then lay the toilet paper over top. The scheme will be used for 120 streets in Littleton slated to have their cracks filled.

The TP, applied with a paint roller, absorbs the oil from freshly laid tar as it dries, keeping it from sticking to people’s shoes or car and bike tires. With the paper’s protective abilities, asphalt isn’t tracked all over the city or splattered on wheel wells. And the biodegradable paper breaks down and disappears in a matter of days.

“Since my car is new, I didn’t want it to get damaged,” Worthington said.

Kelli Narde, a spokeswoman for Littleton, said the real benefit of using toilet paper is that it allows traffic to retake the road right after a crack is filled.

“It means traffic has better access because we don’t have to close down a street to do the sealing,” she said.

There are industrial products sold for exactly this purpose, but single-ply toilet paper does just as well for a fraction of the cost. Double-ply will not work, because the top layer blows away into yards. It’s an idea that may spread to a community near you.

DECEASED CANDIDATE WINS ELECTION

Voters in Oceanside, California, were to choose between incumbent Gary Ernst and challenger Nadine Scott for the office of city treasurer. Then Ernst died in September. It was too late to remove his name from the ballot. But then the city newsletter not only praised Ernst’s accomplishments, but urged citizens to vote for Ernst anyway, because if he won, the city council could “appoint a treasurer who is qualified.”  The newsletter did not mention Nadine Scott. On election day, Ernst received 53.06% of the votes. The city council must now decide whether to hold a special election to fill the slot, or to appoint a city treasurer.

CANADIAN DIVER MAY HAVE FOUND MISSING U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPON

Sean Smyrichinsky was diving for sea cucumbers off the coast of Pitt Island, British Columbia. He was excited to find a large object, at least 12 feet across, that reminded him of a UFO. When he told the tale to some fishermen, they suggested he might have found “that bomb.”

“That bomb” was a nuclear device that was dumped or exploded off the B.C. coast on Feb. 13, 1950, when an American B-36 bomber crashed while en route from Alaska to Texas. It was packed with lead – not plutonium – and TNT.

Five crew members died but 12 were rescued after they parachuted onto Princess Royal Island, about 200 km south of Prince Rupert. They were forced to abandon the plane after ice built up on its wings and three of its six engines caught fire.

None of the stories at the time of the crash detailed the payload the bomber had been carrying. But eventually it was discovered that the bomber’s mission was to simulate a nuclear attack on San Francisco, and the plane had been carrying a Mark IV nuclear weapon.

Smyrichinsky looked up a picture of the missing bomb, and believes it is the same object he saw. He reported the find to the Department of National Defence, who will investigate.

SNAKE ON A PLANE

Passengers on Aeromexico flight 231 from Torreon to Mexico City on Sunday were stunned to see a Hollywood movie come to life. A snake wriggled its way into the cabin area from a gap between the ceiling and the wall. The reptile was reported to the airport, and the plane was given priority in landing at Mexico City. Airport staff caught the snake, but not before several phone videos captured the incident. Authorities are investigating how the snake got onto the plane. 

Behind the Scenes With Janis Joplin and Big Brother, Rehearsing for the Summer of Love. Bob Seidemann caught the mood in candid photographs.
*
18 Pictures That Sum Up The Difference Between High School And College. You have to have attended both to get the jokes.
*
Arrival is the Shot of Hope We All Need. Aliens arrive, but this time they didn’t come to annihilate us.
*
Fantastic Beasts is A Brave Debut For J.K. Rowling. Imagine your first screenwriting job is for a movie with a $225 million budget.
*
Students Are Inspired by Science, Thanks to Class Zebra Fish. The BioEYES program has put the fish into classrooms with over 100,000 children in 14 years.
*
Climate Change, Migration And The Rights Of Children. Not all refugees are fleeing from war zones.
*
How the Rise of Mirrors Shaped Our Idea of the Individual. Previously, our place in the world was relative to other people.
*
8 Underground Rivers. The water still flows, if you can find it.

Starbucks is bringing back its red holiday cups, but there’s a twist. Thirteen different holiday designs will be served starting today.
*
Why Did Kamikaze Pilots Wear Helmets? It’s time to set the record straight.
*
This Psychopath Cult Leader Honed His Craft in Elementary School. Jim Jones learned his preaching skills at a very early age.  
*
Clinical Trials Can Learn From Particle Physics. Here’s some ideas for streamlining the experimental process.
*
The Tiny Kentucky Town That Eclipse Fans Are Obsessing Over. Just forget booking a room there.
*
The History of Butter. The delicious creamy dairy fat goes back a long way.
*
15 Continents that No Longer Exist. Unlike Atlantis, they did exist at one time.

The typical method for preparing a turkey is to put the bird in a hot oven and wait until it’s done—perfectly acceptable, if a little basic. Have a more adventurous Thanksgiving this year by trying one of these out-of-the-box recipes.

1. MOLE-ROASTED TURKEY

To create this delicious bird, Epicurious recommends marinating the turkey in mole overnight; at minimum, you’ll need to coat the inside and the outside of the turkey with the sauce and let it sit in the fridge for an hour before cooking. The chocolate sauce makes for one moist turkey; serve with Masa stuffing and spicy chili gravy on the side.

2. BEER CAN TURKEY

Beer can turkey is a variation on beer can chicken, in which a chicken is propped up over an open can of beer that bastes the bird from the inside. For a turkey, you’ll need to find two 24-ounce cans of beer—one for the interior basting, and one for the dripping pan and for basting the outside of the bird—and spices to season. Cooking can be done either in an oven or on the grill; either way, consider purchasing a special rack to help keep the bird upright while it’s roasting. Step-by-step instructions can be found at The Chew.

3. SPATCHCOCKED TURKEY

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats calls spatchcocking “a method for lazy folks with great taste,” but it’s also a great technique if you’re short on time. The method—which allows a turkey to cook faster and more evenly—requires removing the bird’s spine, turning it over, and pressing hard to splay it out flat before popping it in the oven. You can find step-by-step instructions here.

4. 100-PROOF TURKEY

If you’re serious about adding alcohol to your turkey, you can emulate New York tavern PD O’Hurley’s by injecting your turkey with vodka. The recipe calls for the turkey to be marinated overnight in four flavors of vodka, and a vodka injection is done after cooking to retain the alcohol content.

5. BACON-WRAPPED TURKEY

There’s an easy way to make every food better: Add bacon. A turkey is no exception; when placed on top of a turkey, the bacon grease melts and flavors the bird’s skin. This recipe combines the flavors of bacon and maple syrup to create one delicious dish. To take the turkey to the next level, check out this recipe, which requires weaving a bacon jacket for your bird.

6. BRAISED TURKEY

To braise a turkey, you first cook it in the oven, let it rest, then slice it and remove the legs and wings, and cook the meat in broth. It won’t look like a traditional Thanksgiving turkey for the presentation, but it will taste delicious. Bobby Flay has a recipe for herb-roasted and braised turkey.

7. SOUS-VIDE TURKEY

Sous-vide is a method for cooking meat that involves encasing meat in a plastic bag and placing it in hot water to cook over a long period of time. Serious Eats has step-by-step instructions for making sous-vide turkey (with crispy skin cooked separately). Before getting down to sous-videing, you’ll need to remove the wings and legs from the bird, then cut the breast meat from the bone; next, place one half of the breast meat cut side up, and place the other half on top of it, cut side down, and tie into a cylinder, which is what you’ll place into a plastic bag and immerse in a hot water bath for cooking.

8. PUMPKIN SPICE TURKEY

Pumpkin spice is the ultimate fall flavor—and by following this recipe, you can even have a pumpkin spice-flavored bird. Create one-quarter of a cup of rub with cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, then add brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Coat the thawed bird with canola oil, then rub in the spice; allow it to sit in the fridge overnight, then cook as usual.

9. TURDUNKIN’

Sure, you could make a Turducken—a turkey stuffed with a duck that is stuffed with a chicken—but it’s a complicated dish, since all the birds have to be deboned ahead of time. Those who love both Thanksgiving and Dunkin’ Donuts should try the Turdunkin’, which is “a turkey brined in Dunkin’ Donuts coolattas, stuffed with munchkins and served with coffee gravy and mashed hash browns.” Yes, it definitely sounds disgusting, but according to one of its creators, “The turDunkin’ was largely delicious” if “a bit too salty … The coolatta only penetrated the outer reaches of the white meat, but it was delicious and subtle in those places. … I was very happy with the turkey, the glaze and sprinkles, and the stuffing.” You can find step-by-step instructions at Unwholesome Foods.

10. WHITE CASTLE-STUFFED TURKEY

Cook the turkey as you normally would, but replace the stuffing with White Castle sliders (sans pickles). You can find the recipe on White Castle’s website, which notes that chefs should “allow 1 Slider for each pound of turkey, which will be equal to 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound.”

Behold the Human Towers of Catalonia. The traditional competition of castelling is not for anyone with a fear of heights, or a fear of being stepped on.
*
Everything you need to know about the new Beauty and the Beast live-action remake. Emma Watson has changed Belle considerably.   
*
The American Military Made Condoms Really Popular During World War II. Sexually transmitted diseases could weaken a unit’s fighting power.  
*
17 Acts Of Kindness By Total Strangers That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity. When you’re good to someone, the story may inspire people years later.
*
More Bad News for Honey as U.S. Seeks to Get Handle on Glyphosate Residues in Food. Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Roundup herbicide.  
*
Eddie Redmayne Elaborates On His Bad, Roundabout Audition for the Villain Kylo Ren. But Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them might make up for not being in Star Wars.
*
No, Really — Who Gets Control of the Armrest? Whoever decided planes should have a shared armrest was a cruel, cruel person.
*
12 Funny and Delicious Venn Diagrams. So you can mind the overlap.

Funny or Die Presents: People Try Voting For The First Time. It’s not that difficult!
*
This neighborhood crime-fighter says surveillance apps make his hobby super easy. Real-life superheroes are going hi-tech.
*
Two Monkeys Go into a Bar. So a scientist studied their drinking habits.
*
See the Weird and Fascinating Deep-Sea Creatures That Live in Constant Darkness. And learn about their weird adaptations.
*
5 Bizarre Dishes You Won’t Believe Were Eaten by Renaissance Italians. Curdled eggs, anyone?
*
A juvenile iguana must outrun dozens of snakes who want him for dinner. A scene from Planet Earth II made more epic with music from Game of Thrones.  
*
This Westworld and Back To The Future III mashup is pretty heavy, Doc. Two science fiction Westerns that go great together.
*
Nominative Determinism: Yes, That’s His Real Name. Did their names influence their choice of careers, or is it just coincidence?

Why We Vote on a Tuesday, and Why Weekend Elections Might Make More Sense. There are plenty of ways we could make it easier.
*
Men of Steel: 11 Actors Who Have Played Superman. And they all look just like him.
*
A Chameleonic History of Tilda Swinton Looking Like Other People. The woman of a million faces.
*
Is the Biological Clock a Real Thing? Not in the way it’s been depicted in pop culture.
*
22 Stories From Funeral Home Employees. These are the things you aren’t supposed to see.
*
Here’s What You Should Know About The Dakota Pipeline Protest. It could be a long winter at Standing Rock.  
*
Her best friend died. So she rebuilt him, using artificial intelligence. Guaranteed to be a movie plot someday.
*
7 Fugitives who Became Folk Heroes. Sometimes we can’t help but root for the bad guy.

KEVIN BACON APPREHENDED IN NOVA SCOTIA

Police in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, were called out Tuesday to round up a runaway pig. The potbellied pig, named Kevin Bacon, was found wandering on Russell Street. Officers Nick Webber and Cody Schultz said the pig was happy and friendly, and gave them no trouble at all.

Woodworth chuckled and said, “I think he was just excited to be out front. You could say he was footloose and fancy free.”

She said Bacon was not in any danger and was following the rules of the road by staying on the sidewalk, adding that he hadn’t ventured far from his home after likely escaping from his backyard.

Kevin Bacon was safety returned to his owner.  

FAMILY CAN’T KEEP BIRTHDAYS STRAIGHT

Sandra Blackman of Bristol, England, has celebrated her birthday on November 10 for more than 50 years. But she recently ordered a copy other birth certificate and found that she was born on November 11. As if that weren’t confusing enough, her old school records have her birthday listed as November 12. Birthday confusion appears to run in the family. Blackman’s mother celebrated her birthday a week later than the actual date for 16 years. She blames it on the fact that her grandmother had a lot of children. Nevertheless, Blackman is throwing herself a birthday party on the 10th at the Brunel Pub, and has invited everyone through the local newspaper.  

SPIDER CAUSES MAN TO DRIVE INTO LAKE

An unnamed driver in New South Wales, Australia, was taking some castoff material to the dump when he was surprised by a huntsman spider. Huntsman spiders are venomous but not deadly to humans. However, they can grow very large. When the driver saw the spider, he was approaching a bend in the road on Kenwood Drive, hit the accelerator instead of the brake, and the car plunged over an embankment into Lake Cathie. The car sank, but the driver was able to escape through the car’s open window. Emergency services took the driver to a hospital for minor injuries, and a project is underway to recover the four-year-old Toyota Prado. 

NINE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS SUSPENDED FOR POSSESSION OF KOOL-AID

Nine students at Eagles Nest Elementary School in Dorchester County, South Carolina, faced expulsion for having “happy crack” in their possession at the school. Their parents did not know what “happy crack” is, but found out it’s a combination of sugar and Kool-Aid powder. The ten-year-olds were buying what they considered Pixy Stix from each other. The students had an expulsion hearing on Tuesday for a level three infraction of school rules. 

Administrators at the district office say possession of any substance, whether illegal or not, that looks like an illegal substance is a violation of a school policy, stating the following:

“No student will market or distribute any substance which is represented to be or is substantial similar in color, shape, size or markings of a controlled substance in any of the circumstances listed above. Look-alike substance or substances that mimic the effect of drugs will be treated as illegal substances.”

Parents met with school officials on Tuesday, and the charges were reduced to level one infractions. The students returned to school on Thursday.    

SQUIRREL ATTACKS PEOPLE AT SENIOR CENTER

A squirrel jumped up and began attacking people Thursday at Sterling Court, a Deltona, Florida, retirement community. One person was bitten and scratched outside, and then threw the squirrel off -and into the building. There, it attacked other residents. An employee called 911 to report that people were bleeding. The residents managed to throw the squirrel back outside, but three people were taken to a hospital for their injuries. They were all released and are doing well.  

STEVEN SEAGAL GRANTED RUSSIAN CITIZENSHIP

Russian president Vladimir Putin issued an executive order to grant Russian citizenship to his longtime friend, actor Steven Seagal. Seagal has expressed a desire for citizenship in the Russian Federation for years. Seagal and Putin have a common interest in martial arts, and have appeared together at martial arts events. Achieving Russian citizenship does not mean that Seagal is giving up his American citizenship.

No Halloween party is complete without some kind of creepy cocktail. Whip up these drinks to impress your guests—or maybe just frighten them!

1. THE CHROMA COOL

Hi-C Ecto Cooler is chartreuse green in normal light, but the Chroma Cool cocktail is reported to turn a glowing purplish-blue under a black light. The key color-altering ingredient is the quinine in your tonic water, so don’t substitute your mixer.

2. VAMPIRE KISS MARTINI

To make a Vampire Kiss Martini according to Delish, layer raspberry liqueur, vodka, and champagne in a chilled martini glass and garnish with your choice of Halloween candy.

3. HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN PUNCH

HonestlyYUM brings us a rum punch with real pumpkin and spices. First, create a spiced syrup by following this recipe (but leave out the rum). Combine the syrup with spiced rum, orange and lemon juices, pumpkin puree, and sparkling water. Stir well, then strain through a fine mesh and chill until party time. Instructions for the spooky presentation in a mist-covered pumpkin are here.

4. CANDY CORN MARTINI WITH POP ROCKS

Toni Dash has a sweet Halloween treat for grownups. Rub the rim of your glass with a lemon slice and dip it into the Pop Rocks, then shake the other ingredients together with ice, and strain it into the glass. The tricky part is the candy corn-infused vodka, which takes about five days to make. You’ll find the process, with pictures, at Boulder Locavore.

5. THE WITCH’S HEART

Dini at The Flavor Bender concocted a beautiful cocktail with horror overtones. Pour apple vodka and Viniq in a cocktail glass, leaving some room at the top. (If you don’t have Viniq on hand, you can follow these instructions to make your own.) Add grenadine by spoon and allow it to settle at the bottom. Add dry ice just before serving for a spooky effect. Note: always tell your guests to wait until the dry ice is completely evaporated before drinking. Do not touch dry ice with bare fingers.

6. THE NEGAN COCKTAIL

Fans of The Walking Dead will appreciate the appearance of the tasty yet dread-inducing Negan Cocktail from The Boulder Locavore. Pour the bitters and water over the swizzle stick into a glass and stir with Lucille, er, the swizzle stick. Add rye and an ice cube. As the sugar on the stick begins to melt, it will look a little gross, just like in the show.

7. THE MORPHING MARTINI

This dirty martini is all about the presentation. The Color Changing martini by makendo at Instructables uses the cabbage as a pH indicator for the color change. Chop and cook the cabbage with some water until the juice is purple, and discard the cabbage leaves. Place a small amount of cabbage juice in a glass and add baking soda until the juice turns blue. Add gin (or vodka) and vermouth and serve. Then add the dry ice, which will turn the drink back to purple. (There’s also a non-alcoholic version.)

8. PUMPKIN SPICE COCKTAIL

2 oz. Casamigos Blanco
1 oz. Agave Nectar
0.25 oz. Almond Liqueur
2 Heaping Bar Spoons Organic Pumpkin from Can
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
1 oz. Whipped Cream
1 Pinch of Nutmeg
1 Pinch of Cinnamon

When you want something more than a pumpkin spice latte, check out this cocktail recipe posted by Instagram user thelittlemarket. Combine Casamigos Blanco, agave nectar, almond liqueur, organic canned pumpkin, and Angostura bitters in a shaker with ice, shake for 10 to 12 seconds, then strain into a glass and add whipped cream, nutmeg, and cinnamon. For an additional spooky effect, rim the glass with a little black sugar before pouring.

9. MR. HYDE POTION

One of the scariest horror stories of all involved a potion, so it only makes sense to serve it at your Halloween party. To make this cocktail, combine vodka, parfait amour liqueur, blackberry liqueur, tarragon simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, and lavender. Before pouring, rim your glasses in purple sugar, skewer blackberries on a sprig of lavender, or add dry ice. (Or do all three!) This drink can be served in clean chemistry beakers for maximum effect.

10. BLOODY BRAIN SHOOTER

The Bloody Brain Shot is the classic disgusting Halloween drink more famous for its appearance than its flavor. Mix strawberry vodka and lime juice in a shaker with ice and strain into a glass. Carefully add Bailey’s Irish cream with a spoon, straw, or pipette which will curdle and form a brain-like shape as it floats on top. Dribble some grenadine carefully over the top to add the look of blood. Drink it quickly, because it tastes almost as disgusting as it looks. You can also add blue Curacao to make it an Alien Brain Hemorrhage.

11. ORANGE PUMPKIN SMASH

This cocktail was created by Captain Morgan for its limited edition Jack-O’Blast pumpkin spiced rum. Combine 1.5 ounces of Jack-O’Blast with 2 ounces of orange juice in a glass of ice and stir. Finally, top with 2 ounces of club soda. Bottoms up!

TREE ARRESTED FOR BLOCKING TRAFFIC

Police in Portland, Maine, were called to remove a tree from the middle of the street on Monday. It turned out to be a man dressed as a tree.  

Police identified the man as 30-year-old Asher Woodworth of Portland. He’s been charged with obstructing a public way. Police say his motivation was to see how people would react to what he called his “performance” and how he might impact “people’s natural choreography.”

Woodworth had to be escorted from the intersection after he declined to move along as police requested. In other words, he refused to “leaf.” It was not Woodworth’s first run-in with the law over his performance art.

COW PATTIES STOLEN FROM POO MUSEUM

The National Poo Museum on the Isle of Wight in the UK, suffered a burglary when unknown persons broke into a drying van and made off with a load of cow patties. The specimens were being prepared for a book launch. THe museum’s Nicola Winsland wrote a book of poetry called Pooems: A Humorous Anthology of Animal Poo. Winsland thinks the perpetrators did not know what they were taking. The drying process was only half-finished, and there isn’t time to process more cow patties. Museum curators are on the lookout for anyone acting or smelling suspiciously.

TEEN WAKES FROM COMA SPEAKING SPANISH

Soccer goalie Reuben Nsemoh was kicked in the head during a game last month and suffered a  concussion that sent him into a three-day coma. When the 16-year-old woke up in the hospital, he could only speak Spanish! He knew a little Spanish, but temporarily lost his ability to communicate ins native English. In the time since then, his English has returned gradually, and his Spanish abilities have declined, although that may be because Nsemoh wasn’t comfortable in Spanish. He apparently knew more of it than he thought. Neurolinguistics professor Dr. Michel Paradis says Nsemoh’s experience isn’t all that rare.

“For a number of complex reasons, such individuals may recover either both languages to the same extent, one better than the other, or only one of the two,” Paradis explained. “These effects are either temporary or permanent ― again depending on a number of factors.”

Nsemoh is looking forward to playing soccer again when he is fully recovered, but his coach says he will have to wear a helmet.   

FURRY FELON RANSACKS OAK BAY HOME

Christine Kiss and her husband came home to Oak Bay, British Columbia, after a five-week vacation trip and found their home had been ransacked. There were things out of place all over, but the den was almost destroyed. Some chocolate had been eaten, but no items were missing. Kiss called the Oak Bay Police Department. Officers came and found the guilty party behind the washing machine. It was a squirrel. Police took the squirrel into custody. The Kisses said they had been feeding a couple of squirrels during the summer, but they won’t do that again.

BACHELOR PARTY ADOPTS MOTHER DOG AND SEVEN PUPPIES

Eight Michigan men traveled to a cabin in the woods in Tennessee for a weekend to celebrate Mitchel Craddock’s upcoming wedding. Craddock, his father, and six friends were cooking bacon at the cabin when a hungry dog came to the door. They fed her bacon and gave her water. When she started producing milk, they followed her and found her seven puppies hidden in a hole in the forest! The men washed the dogs and decided to buy dog food instead of beer for the party. They brought the mother and puppies back home to Michigan, where each man took in one dog as their own. The wedding went off without a hitch, and the newlyweds now have two dogs.