“Hangover Heaven is a pretty simple service to use. The bus runs between 8 AM and 3 PM every day. Once on it, you can choose between two packages. Redemption – including intravenous hydration, or Salvation – including intravenous hydration, anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory medications that have been proven to cure hangover effects, and vitamin supplementation. Well, you can’t really escape the IV, so you got to go in there prepared for needles. An appointment can be booked through their website or on the phone, and they will come get you. Once the treatment is complete, you will be dropped off at the same place you were picked up at. Other services include coffee and refreshments on request, and iPads with headphones for entertainment. Alternatively, you can even book an appointment for in-room service, if you’re not really feeling up to boarding a bus.” w/ photos

“When it slammed into the surface of Earth, there was little sign of the beauty that lay inside. But cutting the Fukang meteorite open yielded a breathtaking sight. Within the rock, translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine gleamed among a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron. The rare meteorite weighed about the same as a hatchback when it was discovered in 2000, in the Gobi Desert in China’s Xinjiang Province. It has since been divided into slices which give the effect of stained glass when the sun shines through them. An anonymous collector holds the largest portion, which weighs 925lb.” w/ photos

“42-year-old Falquerho had always felt that the hotel industry did not pay any attention to the animal transformation niche. So he decided to open his own hotel designed with a hamster theme. Villa Hamster opened in 2009 and has been very popular ever since then. Located in Nantes, western France, the hotel opened with a room tariff of $150 per night, but this was soon increased in accordance with the demand. ‘We have a lot of success with this little house. It is because of the concept to transform into an animal,’ Falquerho told the press just a couple of weeks after the hotel was inaugurated.” w/ photos + video

“Sheela Na Gigs are figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva. They are found on churches, castles and other buildings, particularly in Ireland and Britain, sometimes together with male figures… Ireland has the greatest number of known sheela na gig carvings, McMahon and Roberts cite 101 examples in Ireland and a further 45 examples in Britain. Such carvings are said to ward off death and evil. Other grotesques such as gargoyles and hunky punks are frequently found on churches all over Europe and it is commonly said that they are there to keep evil spirits away. They are often positioned over doors or windows, presumably to protect these openings.” w/ photos

“Sometime in the late 20th century a naked man bent over, spread his ass and took a picture. Eventually that picture, known as Goatse, became one of the most venerable memes in internet history. Who is this man, and how did his ass take over the internet?… Well, it’s time to find out.” w/ photos

“Scotland’s efforts to breed panda cubs may have fallen distinctly flat. But one farmer has come up with a solution – sheep that look like pandas. Six panda lambs have been born on Windy Gowl Farm in Carlops, Peeblesshire, already this season. They each have distinctive black rings around their eyes, white faces and a pair of black ears – making them the spitting image of Edinburgh Zoo’s giant pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian… ‘That’s when we came up with the idea of creating panda lambs. We knew it would be hard to do because the parent sheep looked nothing like pandas. ‘When they were born and we saw their black eyes we were amazed – it had actually worked! They are completely sweet and very adorable looking.” w/ photos

“Once you’re checked in at Hotel Alcatraz, you can forget about being treated like a premium guest. At best, you’ll only be served the good food that prisoners in the 1950s were served, as prison officials believed that the best quality food would prevent violence amongst inmates. Everything else about the hotel is designed to give you a good understanding of the real deal. They’ve even roped in George Devincenzi, former USP Alcatraz Correction Officer, to oversee and authenticate the experience. So after check-in at exactly 18:30 hours, the prisoner-guests are handed uniforms and have their mugshots taken. They are then showed to their 5×9 foot cells, where they will be spending the night. The cells are sparsely furnished, with a sleeping cot and mattress (no sheets), prison-style toilet, sink and two shelves… Sounds like the experience of a lifetime. If you don’t plan on committing any real crimes, that is.” w/ photos

“Octavia the robot can trundle through flames, taking instructions in sign language from a human handler – and put out fires with a compressed air/water hose. There is just one problem – who would want to be saved by a robot that looks like an evil doll come to life? Octavia was unveiled by the U.S. Navy’s research wing, and is built to work alongside human firefighters – using infrared cameras to interpret ‘see’. She can also receive voice commands. ‘Even in peacetime, fires represent one of the greatest risks to the U.S. Naval Fleet,’ says the U.S. Navy’s Naval Research Laboratory. Octavia is built to work with a human team-mate – and is built to recognize trusted individuals, and take command from those.” w/ photos + video

“When an individual has a vision then often the only way to get any peace of mind is to go for it – no matter what anyone else might think. So it was with Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga. Her dream was to create a house like no other in the world. Against all the odds, she succeeded. The Crazy House as it was soon known is in fact called the Hang Nga guesthouse. Situated in the city of Da Lat in the Lam Dong Province of Vietnam, the house began life as a personal project, something which simply had to be done. It was not intended for life as a hotel or a tourist destination in its own right.” w/ photos

“This is the 19-year-old girl who has eaten nothing but Margherita pizza for the past eight years. Sophie Ray, from Wrexham, Wales, has not had a proper meal since she was two, and from the age of 11 she has subsisted solely on cheese and tomato pizza. The teenager says she now gags if she touches anything but the takeaway meal, and even a slice of pepperoni is enough to turn her stomach. Miss Ray suffers from a rare condition called Selective Eating Disorder (SED), which means she has a phobia of almost all foods, leaving her petrified to try new dishes.” w/ photos