“Once every 48 years, bamboo forests in Northeast India go into flower, and black rats descend upon them, like a plague. For the first time, National Geographic and NOVA and have captured this phenomenon film.” — NatGeo

“A dazzling tiara featuring emeralds believed to have belonged to Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, sold for a record 11.28 million Swiss francs to an anonymous buyer at Sotheby’s… The diamond and emerald tiara, which German prince Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck’s commissioned for his second wife Katharina, was estimated to fetch $4.3 million – $7.3 million. It was top lot at a sale that netted 78.9 million Swiss francs, third highest for a jewellery sale, the auction house said.” w/ photos

“When Jesse Taylor went down to his garage to snare a rustling raccoon that he thought had set up camp, he had rather a beastly surprise. For as he inched towards the shadows ready to catch it in his arms, the eyes that flashed before him were not those of a woodland scavenger – but of a fully-grown mountain lion. ‘I think it was in there since night,’ Mr Taylor’s wife Michelle told the Victorville Daily Press, shuddering at the thought it had been holed up in her home for three days. When the family realized they were hosting a wild lion, they immediately called emergency services.” w/ photos

“My goodness, that was close.” — KaczorowskiArtur

“A giant water bug has been photographed eating a juvenile turtle in an unusual predatory role reversal. Large bugs in the Lethocerinae family have been known to prey upon small vertebrates including fish and frogs. But unlike insects that often fall prey to reptiles, scientists have observed one particular species of bug eating snakes and a turtle. Dr Shin-ya Ohba recorded the unusual behavior during night sampling in western Hyogo, central Japan. Writing in the journal Entomological Science, Dr Ohba describes observing a Kirkaldyia deyrolli eating a Reeve’s pond turtle in a ditch next to a rice field. Using its front legs the giant water bug gripped the turtle, inserting its syringe-like rostrum into the prey’s neck in order to feed. The giant water bugs are known to only attack moving prey, so it is likely that the 58mm insect captured and killed the young turtle before feeding on it. Dr Ohba has also photographed giant water bugs eating snakes in the past.” w/ photos

“That was the squirrels life savings you asshole!” — PURPLEHIPPO

“It would seem like the perfect hiding place in a youngster’s game of hide and seek. However, an innocent game could have taken a turn for the worse when a little boy from Daye in central China’s Hubei Province ended up trapped in the gap between two walls for three hours. The gap was a tiny 6-inch wide and between two five-storey buildings. The boy, who has not been named, squeezed into the gap to hide but then found that he couldn’t get free again... He was eventually freed after three hours and was found to be uninjured.” w/ photos

“Austin Miller was home watching ‘PBS Kids’ when the panicked phone call came from his mother. Get in the laundry room, now, she said. There are tornadoes coming. The 11-year-old rode out the storm inside the clothes dryer as the twister demolished the second floor above him, the roof collapsed and debris swirled about. “If he wouldn’t have been in that laundry room, it would have come right down on him,” said the boy’s mother, Jessica Miller, less than 24 hours after a tornado wrecked their home. “I’m proud of him for doing that.” The town of Lenox and its 1,400 or so residents were pummeled by two tornadoes. No deaths or injuries were reported. There was plenty of damage and a few close calls. While countless trees were knocked down, windows broken and shingles strewn about, Fire Chief Kirk O’Riley estimated that only a few homes would have to be condemned. “We’re just thankful it was not any worse than it turned out to be,” O’Riley said. “It’s devastation, yes, but bricks and mortar can be rebuilt. Lives cannot.” w/ photos + video

“I’ve been dying for a double double animal style all week. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to happen.” — defactosound

“How’s this for a night out: here’s a receipt from the Las Vegas nightclub Tryst that comes to a grand total of $189,375.98, including tax and an amazing $29,581.20 tip. Some people are suggesting that the image — posted by Ben Reiter, a staff writer at Sports Illustrated — is possibly photoshopped. But we want to believe.” w/ photo