Inventor: I've Cracked Cold Fusion

This is either bombshell, world-changing news or "one of the most elaborate hoaxes in scientific history," reports Mark Gibbs at Forbes . An Italian engineer who claims to have achieved cold fusion—the holy grail of clean energy—says his E-Cat device has been deemed credible by an independent team of...

Nepal Furious About Phone Call Atop Everest

One more sign that climbing Everest just ain't what it used to be: When a British mountaineer got to the summit over the weekend, he pulled out his smartphone and gave the BBC a video billed as "the world's first live video call ... from the rooftop of the world." Now...

Freedom Goat Runs for Her Life, Snarls Traffic

It's hard not to root for the goat in this one: One believed to have escaped en route to a slaughterhouse snarled the morning commute along one of the busiest roadways in northern New Jersey today, leading police on a nearly two-hour chase. The small female eluded five Jersey City...

For $1.2K, Club Will Let You Peep Into Ladies' Bathroom

Be careful if you're a woman at Glasgow's Shimmy Club and find yourself having to use the restroom: It's installed with a two-way mirror, and clubgoers who want a look are charged as much as $1,200 to peep in. After complaints, Scotland's police force launched an investigation into the...

Fans Shell Out Thousands for Daft Punk Helmets

Want to make a few bucks? Figure out how to duplicate the odd, face-covering, sometimes rainbow-lighted helmets worn by the two members of Daft Punk, suggests the Wall Street Journal . There's apparently quite a demand for replicas of the iconic headgear worn by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, particularly...

Double Amputee Conquers Everest— Without Prosthetics

Sudarshan Gautam is missing both his arms, but that didn't stop him from achieving his dream: to reach Mount Everest's summit, which he did yesterday, according to his website . The Calgary man, 31, is the first double amputee to climb the mountain with no prosthetic limbs, Sun News reports. Gautam,...

Culprit in Irish Potato Famine Finally Discovered

Nearly two centuries later, researchers believe they have identified the pathogen that led to Ireland's deadly potato famine. To make their discovery, British, German, and American scientists sequenced DNA from samples of dried potato leaves collected between 120 and 170 years ago, reports PhysOrg. They identified the particular strain of...

Teen Faked Own Kidnapping Over Bad Grade: Cops

A 19-year-old college student was flunking English again, so he did what any struggling student fearful of mom and dad's wrath would do: faked his own kidnapping, police say. Aftab Aslam's parents got a text saying the Georgia Gwinnett College student had been kidnapped; if they called police, he'd be...

Rapist May Be Sentenced— Even Though He's Dead

A former police detective was convicted of kidnapping and rape last year—but before he could be sentenced, he committed suicide. But he's not off the hook: A California judge could still sentence Anthony Orban despite his death. "The only reason he is not here is because he volunteered to...

Inside Russians' 6mph Road Trip to Canada

Talk about a road trip: Russian explorers spent the past two-and-a-half months driving from Russia to Canada via the North Pole. But instead of car bingo and the alphabet game, they passed their time clearing the route with a pickaxe, gazing upon the aurora borealis, and spotting the occasional polar...

What It Was Like to Care for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Nine trauma nurses at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center were asked to care for suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev—and though many were uncomfortable with the idea, all of them agreed. The Boston Globe walks us through the six days they spent with Tsarnaev, from the four checkpoints they...

Scientist's Quest: Unlock Secret of Ancient Coins

Ancient coins, a map with an "X," a secret cave: It sounds like something out of a kid's book. Instead, it's an Australian professor's archaeological quest. During World War II, a soldier stationed on the Wessel Islands off northern Australia found several mysterious coins in the sand. Years later, a...

New in Factory Farming: Exploding Poop Foam

The latest thing out of industrial agriculture isn't too appetizing: Burbling up from the manure pits beneath factory hog farms is an oozing substance that's charmingly being dubbed "poop foam"—and it's un-charmingly explosive, reports Mother Jones . The ooze is wreaking havoc on large hog farms, trapping the toxic gases...

The Next Insect Invader: Crazy Ants

Rat-sized snails , red-eyed cicadas , and now ... crazy ants. That is the latest insect invasion to hit the US, with billions marching in from South America and setting up colonies in the South, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "The entire Gulf Coast is going to be inundated in a very short...

Everest Has Become a Huge Mess

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first American to scale Mount Everest. Back in 1963, it was a feat only a handful of skilled adventurers accomplished. Today, hundreds of often inexperienced, ill-prepared thrill-seekers attempt the ascent every year. Most now survive, but as a result, the mountain has...

Guy Mad at Neighbor's Tall Grass Torches House: Cops

There's probably all kinds of good ways to resolve an argument with a neighbor about mowing the lawn, but none involve two cans of gas and a match. That's what 58-year-old Phillip Roger Bennett used to set his neighbor's house ablaze, say police in Cartersville, Ga. Luckily, the neighbor and...

Want Health? Feed the Bacteria Living Inside You

Don't look now, but roughly 100 trillion bacteria live in and on your body. According to scientists, these microbes—especially the ones in your gut—may be fending off chronic diseases, moderating your weight, and strengthening your immune system. But our society's processed foods and war on bacteria are posing...

Navy Dolphins Make Amazing Torpedo Find

The discovery itself is notable enough: Navy specialists found a rare torpedo off the San Diego coast, an 11-foot brass gem called the Howell that dates back 130 years or so and was one of the first torpedoes to propel itself, reports dvids . Only 50 were made, and only one...

Some of Earth's Oldest Water Found

"Old" might not top the list of the adjectives you'd use to describe water, but that could very well change after reading this story: Scientists say they've found water whose age clocks in at no less than 1.5 billion years, making it the oldest cache to have ever been...

Rare Dialect Dying in US: Texas-German?

Another unique American dialect is fading into obscurity, and it's a safe bet that most never knew it existed in the first place: "Texas German." It's so unusual that University of Texas linguist professor Hans Boas tells the BBC he has "found no two speakers that speak roughly alike." And...

Alaska Town to Vanish by 2017

When it comes to the fate of the 350 residents of Newtok, Alaska, the Guardian pulls no punches: "Exile is inevitable," it writes. That's because their coastal village, located some 480 miles west of Anchorage, is in the process of being washed into the Bering Sea. As the Guardian explains...

Americans Are Cheating on Their Partners ... on Netflix

Are you guilty of "Netflix adultery"? That's secretly watching a video on Netflix you were supposed to be waiting to watch together with your significant other. According to a survey by the site itself, 51% of adults in committed relationships said they had or would cheat. Only 12% of those...

Mayan Pyramid Crushed—for Gravel

Archeologists have been horrified to discover that one of the largest Mayan pyramids in Belize has been almost completely annihilated by road crews looking for an easy source of gravel. The 2,300-year-old temple at the heart of the Nohmul complex—at 60 feet, one of the country's tallest structures—...

Neighbors Give Cold Shoulder to 'Hugging Saint'

It sounds like a plan that should be met with warm fuzzies and hugs—literally. Devotees of India's Amma, or the " Hugging Saint, " want to build a facility outside Sante Fe to house thousands of admirers for one week each summer, but neighbors are turning a cold shoulder. Though proponents...

Moon Smash Could Be Seen From Earth

If you happened to be glancing skyward the night of March 17 and noticed a bright flash on the moon, NASA has your explanation: A meteor slammed into it, reports National Geographic . A 90-pound rock hit the moon at 56,000mph, creating an explosion 10 times brighter than any previously...

Ben Franklin Tried to Change Our Alphabet

If Benjamin Franklin were alive today, he'd probably be a dynamite texter. As Smithsonian explains, Franklin once designed a phonetic alphabet for the nation because he thought the one in place was too unwieldy. Alas, it never caught on. Some highlights of his "A Reformed Mode of Spelling," first developed...

Americans Don't Like Hipsters

Some groundbreaking research in the study of American society this week: New polling by Public Policy Polling has found just 16% of Americans have a favorable opinion of hipsters, while 42% view them unfavorably. The study does not define what, exactly, it considers a hipster to be. Other revelations: Only...

Brazil's Ambitious Plan: Erect 10K-Mile Virtual Fence

Brazil's border is pretty mammoth (here's a visual reminder ), and a growing economy has made illegal activities (chief among them illegal immigration) an equally growing concern. But the country has a plan: a 10,000-mile fence ... except that this one is virtual. For reference, America's southern border is only...

Coming Soon: Caffeine-Infused ...Toothbrush?

Who needs a morning coffee when your toothbrush releases a dose of caffeine? Colgate has applied for a patent on a brush that could do just that. The application describes "a toothbrush that releases a chemical into the mouth during use," but it won't stop at caffeine, reports Yahoo . The...

Bacon Restaurant Shut Down for Smelling Too Bacon-y

Perhaps not everything is better with bacon, after all. A San Francisco bacon restaurant—called "Bacon Bacon"—is being forced to shutter after neighbors complained that the "porcine aroma" emanating from the establishment was too overpowering, and it was illegally disposing of its bacon grease in the sewers. The complaints...