“Despite the slightly absurd business model, these photos are very beautiful and moving… The funeral parlor has been in business since 1974 and is thought to be the only drive-through funeral home in southern California, according to office manager Denise Knowles-Bragg. Here are images from the funeral of Robert Sanders, held at California’s only drive-through funeral home.” w/ photos

“A 55-year-old man with type 1 diabetes shocked his doctors, after he revealed what looked like two bottom cheeks hanging below his navel. The patient from South Africa, had been told to inject his life-saving insulin jabs into two areas of his stomach to control his blood-sugar levels. However, he hadn’t realized that he needed to rotate the injection site around different parts of his body because the hormone insulin encourages the build up of soft fatty swellings within the layers of the skin. The man went on to develop ‘firm and pendulous’ masses on his stomach – a condition known as lipohypertrophy. Mild cases are surprisingly common, however this patient had a severe case as he hadn’t changed his injection sites for three decades.” w/ photos

“A hideaway perfect for a James Bond villain, surrounded by water with the only way to gain access via Britain’s lone privately-owned suspension bridge, Scaramanga would have found this exclusive abode quite to his liking. Perched atop a large rock, residents Lord and Lady Long are to move after a decade in the unique Cornwall property. Originally put on the market two years ago, the couple have dropped the asking price by more than a quarter of a million pounds. While navigating the 100ft long bridge, suspended some 90ft off the ground, might excite our fantasies of international espionage, the elderly couple said it is becoming increasingly difficult with age and they are selling up.” w/ photos

“The big freeze shows no sign of letting up in Europe as Venice’s famed waterways fell victim to sub zero temperatures this morning. Water buses were stranded in some of the Italian city’s canals after they froze solid in temperatures as low as -10C. More than 60,000 homes were left without power in Milan and officials declared a gas supply emergency as the cold temperatures saw pipes burst.” w/ photos

“The 57-year-old from Crescent Springs, Ky., has managed to make a heart-pumping workout out of ordinary chores such as vacuuming and washing windows. According to Markovich, the vacuum cleaner is the most versatile exercise machine ever. He’s found a way to combine squats, lunges and hip twists while he’s getting the floors clean. He says that he burns so many calories through house chores that he can afford to allow himself a few treats once in a while. A vanilla ice cream topped with peanut butter, for instance. He seems pretty fit for his age, although he does sport a tiny little paunch.” w/ photos + video

“A British expedition to one of the deepest parts of the ocean has discovered an enormous species of crustacean that looks like a prawn and is 11ins long. The so-called ‘supergiant’ – a type of amphipod – was discovered more than four miles below the surface in waters north of New Zealand. Most amphipods are usually 0.8in-1.2in long. But the new specimen, found by a team from the University of Aberdeen, was ten times the size.” w/ photos + video

“Constantly shuttling between New York and Silicon Valley for work, Hyde doesn’t live in a house or an apartment. When he’s not working, he’s traveling extensively, taking his worldly possessions of 15 things everywhere he goes. Andrew Hyde says that he has always been interested in the concept of minimalism, starting out by seeing if he could make do with just 100 items. But in August 2010 he took the concept even further, selling all of his belongings but for 15 things.” w/ photos

“An Asian elephant has been given back her sight – and become the first in Europe to be fitted with a contact lens. Win Thida, 44, was injured in a scuffle with a fellow elephant at Amsterdam’s Artis Zoo when she was poked in her left eye by a twig. Dutch vet Anne-Marie Verbruggen was called in after the tourist attraction’s star turn had difficulty keeping her eye open and it started to stream. An examination revealed the cornea had been damaged, sparking fears that without something to protect the eye it would never heal and she could soon end up blind.” w/ photos

“Cheerleaders are mostly known for their lithe and wiry builds that allow them to be tossed to dizzying heights during pep rallies. But University of Georgia cheerleader Anna Watson puts that stereotype to shame, proudly displaying incredibly sculpted arm muscles. She was even looking at a $75,000 fitness modelling contract, before realizing that the exhausting workout regimen and taking legal steroids just wasn’t worth it. She started weightlifting at her first college, Hawaii Pacific, after she found that cardio wasn’t helping her do stunts and routines and caused her to lose a dramatic 35 pounds. That’s when friends and friends suggested she started lifting weights.” w/ photos

“Over the past few years, the website Awkward Family Photos has been serving up the world’s most embarrassing snaps to an eager audience. So perhaps the public has become immune to the diet of matching sweaters, cringeworthy set-ups and over-the-top celebration which characterize most of the photos. But this extraordinary example may well set a new standard – it could be the most awkward family photo ever.” w/ photos

“Israeli horticulturists have developed a gothic crossbreed of tomato that is red on the inside, black on the out. To create the ‘Black Galaxy’ tomato, the breeders crossbred tomatoes with wild varieties. The dark color comes from a pigment similar to one found in blueberries. The pigment is photosensitive so the longer the tomato is left on the vine in the sun, the darker it gets… ‘Beside the color, these tomatoes have all the anti-oxidant advantages,’ one of the company’s farmers said.” w/ photos + video

“Volkswagen Brazil has designed a little car for little people. The Volkswagen Mini-Gol is styled just like the Gol (VW’s smallest production vehicle), although it has been decreased in every dimension by around 30 percent. The idea is that the Mini-Gol will suit drivers who are shorter than 5-feet tall, and who find driving regular-sized vehicles difficult. All of the exterior and interior proportions remain the same to ensure the Mini-Gol remains as comfortable and functional as its big brother.” w/ photos

“Bamboo Drift Racing is actually a sport in China’s Guizhou province. Competitors stand on a bamboo pole and paddle using a thin stick of bamboo. Considered an exotic minority sport in China, the rules have changed over the years. In fact, although the tradition is to use bamboo, competitors now use a similar-looking strip made from green fiberglass. This offers better buoyancy and makes the boat more durable. The fiberglass sticks also help increase speed, and can be taken apart with ease later on. Still wondering how in the world it’s possible to row while standing on a stick? The trick, apparently, lies in the waist. All the balancing is done by controlling the bamboo using your waistline.” w/ photos

“Reaching Dargavs, the City of the Dead, entails a three-hour journey through winding, narrow roads, and several hills. The foggy mountain weather certainly doesn’t help matters. Once there, you’ll find that the city is in fact another hill covered with small white buildings. It is these very buildings that cause the place to get it’s name. The white house-like structures, countless in number, are stone crypts where locals buried their loved ones. The city itself is an ancient Ossetian cemetery. Each family of the area has a crypt, and the higher the structure, the greater the number of people buried in it. The oldest of the crypts dates back to the 16th century.” w/ photos

“A British company is conducting landmark trials which could see medicines derived from or inspired by the cannabis plant itself making their way to American pharmacy shelves. GW Pharma is in advanced clinical trials for the world’s first pharmaceutical developed from raw marijuana instead of synthetic equivalents – a mouth spray it hopes to market in the US as a treatment for cancer pain. The firm hopes to receive US government approval by the end of next year. The trials come a quarter of a century after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first prescription drugs based on the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.” w/ photos

“A woman born with no arms has won a role as an official masseuse for the British Paralympics team – she will be using her feet to give the world-class athletes a rub-down. Sue Kent – who was born with short limbs after her mother took morning sickness drug, Thalidomide, when she was pregnant – has been a trained massage therapist for three years. But she has always dreamed of being part of the Paralympics. The mother-of-two said: ‘It was a personal goal I’d had as I’d wanted to see if I could be involved in sport in some way at a high level.” w/ photos

“The world’s first magnetic soap has been produced and it could dramatically improve pollution clean-ups. Scientists from the University of Bristol made the soap by dissolving iron in chloride and bromide ions, very similar to those found in everyday mouthwash or fabric conditioner. Amazingly, the soap responded to a magnetic field, which raises the possibility of producing pollution-fighting detergents that can be lifted back out of sensitive environments.” w/ photos

“With its dazzling color and intricate embroidery, this golden cape is a work of art. But look a little closer and, sewn into the cloth itself, you’ll see its rather spine-tingling secret – it is made from spider silk. In fact, the silk of more than a million spiders. The precious garment was painstakingly woven over four years with silk collected from female Golden Orb Weaver spiders, found in the mountains of Madagascar.” w/ photos

“At the beginning of last year, Neil made a promise to himself. He would watch every single movie released in Britain in 2011. From start to finish. No exceptions… Now, 12 months and more than 600 films later, he plans to do the very same thing in 2012. Yes you read that correctly. Every single movie. ‘If a film is on for three days at a cinema anywhere in the country, I’ll go and watch it,’ he smiles. Everything from The King’s Speech to Red Riding Hood to How to Stop Being a Loser. From The Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 to Yogi Bear 3D to 7 Khoon Maaf. (You mean you missed that Bollywood classic?) Though it may sound a bizarre undertaking, perhaps there is method in his madness: yesterday a study concluded that watching films can actually make us happier. In which case, Neil, 48, should be the happiest man in the world.” w/ photos

“Disapproving noises are often made in certain circles about church brides whose strapless dresses reveal too much. But modern day Mary Whitehouses concerned about the occasional flash of cleavage will likely have a coronary when they see the latest bridal get-ups on offer. The revealing wedding outfit – one can hardly call it a dress – was shown by fashion brand Kaviar Gauche at Berlin fashion week yesterday. And judging by its risqué nature, this is one wedding outfit bound for a beach ceremony – or more likely, confined to the privacy of the wedding night. The mind-boggling garment looks to be made up of a few diminutive sections of fabric joined together with a central strip. The ensemble slips over a barely-there thong bikini brief, and the whole outfit is shrouded in a diaphanous veil.” w/ photos

“The Philip Browne menswear shop, in Guildhall Hill, Norwich, features a wooden mannequin posed as a man urinating on a wall and spelling out the word ‘sale’. The scene is completed with empty champagne bottles, party poppers and discarded clothes to depict the aftermath of a night out. Mr Browne says the display has amused shoppers young and old, but now he has been advised by police to remove the mannequin after a complaint was made.” w/ photos

“Dressed in low-cut black tights and wearing a blue mask, her pictures leave us wondering if she attracted attention for more than just her generosity. Jokes aside, she did do a pretty good job of helping out – handing out food, warm clothing and gifts to beggars and homeless people. Why she didn’t put on some of the warm clothing herself on a cool December night, is something we don’t have an answer to. The appearance of this mysterious woman did cause a stir of sorts among the residents of Beijing. People started talking about her on the internet and in local media. Pictures of her acts of kindness at public places such as the Xidan subway station and in front of the Wangfujing bookstore have been doing the rounds ever since the night of Christmas Eve.” w/ photos

“Batman has the Batmobile, Oscar Meyer has the Weinermobile — it only makes sense that L.L. Bean is bringing us the Bootmobile. The Maine-based outdoor outfitter is marking their centennial this year, and they’re celebrating by driving a giant boot-shaped truck through Times Square and lacing — er, racing — it through the streets of Manhattan. From the trademark windows, green gas cap and tiny wheels, the Bootmobile appears to be cobbled together from a diesel Ford F-250 pickup. In true Yankee fashion, it’s wearing all-terrain tires, sports a Maine license plate and is missing a hubcap. It also has no trunk to speak of, which is sure to confuse the heck out of British tourists.” w/ photos

“Indonesia has gone to imaginative extremes to try and stop commuters from illegally riding on the roofs of train – from hosing them down with red paint to threatening them with dogs. But now authorities have developed an intimidating and possibly deadly new tactic – suspending rows of grapefruit-sized concrete balls to rake over the top of trains. They hope the balls – which would deliver serious blows to the head if they didn’t knock a person off the roof of a train – will be enough to deter train surfers.” w/ photos

“High above the dreary grey streets of the world’s cities, gorgeous gardens blossom in a wilderness of rooftops. These unexpectedly colorful spots provide an oasis of calm away from the bustle of urban streets across the U.S., Europe and as far away as Japan. The elevated scenery ranges from a wildflower meadow on top of a house in London to a neat lawn tended on top of a New York office block. Married couple Diane Cook and Len Jenshel traveled the world capturing their photographs of these stunning sights. It is their latest project after 25 years spent producing images that show how human’s influence their environment.” w/ photos

“Now even the clumsiest can take to the streets on a skateboard, after laboratory wizards created a longboard powered by voice control and hand movement. Taking a motorized longboard, the technology team at Chaotic Moon Labs fitted it with a Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect device, a Samsung Windows 8 tablet with voice control, a phidget interface module, and sturdy all terrain tires for their ‘Board of Awesomeness’. Branded ‘Project Sk8′ the team sent one of their crew out to road test the impressive electronic board which, using Kinect technology, is controlled by user’s movement.” w/ photos + video

“The world’s newest snake has menacing-looking yellow and black scales, dull green eyes and two spiky horns. And it’s named after a seven-year-old girl. Matilda’s Horned Viper was discovered in a small patch of southwest Tanzania about two years ago and was introduced last month as the world’s newest known snake species in an issue of the journal Zootaxa. Tim Davenport, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzania, was on the three-person team that discovered the viper. So it is thanks to his daughter that the snake will always carry the slightly-less-than-fearsome name.” w/ photos

“This pensioner has certainly made his mark – scrawling the world’s most famous paintings on his housing association flat wall. Ray Charman, 75, spent an incredible 150 hours creating the brilliant replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper using a pencil, some sticky tape and a ruler. He started work on his own version of the masterpiece last October before unveiling the stunning fresco over the New Year. The former actor did his version to amuse his friends at the Bankside Sheltered Housing Scheme in Bankkside, Wendover, Buckinghamshire. He has recreated the painting in his bedroom. Unlike the original 15th century painting, which is 29ft wide, Mr Charman’s work measures 14ft.” w/ photos

“Dressed in skimpy bikinis, these Chinese women could be going for a day out at the beach. But these trainees are in fact being put through a grueling regime in Sanya, Hainan province, on the road to become female bodyguards. Twenty women, most of them college graduates, were kicked, dunked, near-drowned and forced to carry a heavy log between them during a tough boot camp run by professional bodyguards on Sunday. The four-week programme is run by trainers from Tianjiao Special Guard Consultant Ltd – the first open group training for female bodyguards in China. Each trainee goes through 10 months of instruction to develop their skills in reconnaissance, anti-terrorism training, martial arts and business etiquette. The best individual from the class is also invited to study further at the International Security Academy in Israel.” w/ photos

“Hazel Jones always wondered why she suffered from terrible cramps and heavy periods during puberty. But it wasn’t until she turned 18 that she was given her astonishing diagnosis – she had two vaginas. The blonde 27-year-old from High Wycombe has the million-in-one condition uterus didelphys, which means she has two separate uteruses and cervixes as well. But she told ITV’s This Morning she was comfortable with having the condition, despite the fact she had to effectively lose her virginity twice. ‘Once I found out what it was I told everybody,’ she told TV hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. ‘I thought it was amazing and it’s definitely an ice-breaker at parties.” w/ photos