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Obama Changes Middle Name to Convince Jews He is Not Muslim

After publicly stating that he feared his middle name was causing many jews to be suspicious of him as being a muslim, the president has changed it from Hussein to Schmulik.

"I believe that by taking this ancient and honored Jewish name I can once and for all convince my very few lunatic Jewish detractors who logically feared that I might be a Muslim because of my other hate-speech name which I will no longer use and will hereafter be referred to as the "H" name, that I am truly devoted to Jews and Israel, as I have always been since long before this necessary name change."

Smiley

Satire: God Hinting At Retirement

God
© The OnionGod's eternal presence will gradually become less apparent as he eases out of day-to-day omnipotency.
The Heavens - At a press conference Tuesday, God Almighty, our Lord and Heavenly Father, gave his strongest indication yet that he might soon step down from his post as the supreme ruler of all things.

Following a routine address during which God confirmed the recent extinction of several thousand species, the Divine Creator fielded questions regarding rumors of his possible retirement.

"I've been at this a long time," said God, ∞, the all-knowing, all-powerful being who has presided over the cosmos since forming it from sheer nothingness nearly 14 billion years ago. "And the truth is, this was never something I planned on doing forever. Lately, in fact, I've begun to wonder if I should move on sooner rather than later."

Over the past few centuries, God has on numerous occasions deflected speculation that his reign might be winding down, but his remarks Tuesday appeared to signal a shift in celestial policy.

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India: Elephant Takes Lizard for a Ride

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© Jagdeep Rajput/Solent
An Indian elephant has stunned wildlife experts by catching a live lizard and carrying it around for days like a toy.

A photographer spotted Madhuri the elephant's bizarre behaviour during a trip to India's Corbett National Park.

Jagdeep Rajput, 49, has been taking photographs for 20 years but admitted he had never before seen such a spectacle.

He said: "I had heard about this elephant before and looked out for her. She's known to be quite aggressive so when I did eventually find her I approached her carefully. The park has a good population of lizards and Madhuri is known as an expert in catching them - she has a particular fancy for monitor lizards.

"She caught the lizard alive and carried it all the time for few days - tossing it up and even dropping it. Her behaviour was extraordinary and I've never seen or heard about anything so bizarre before."

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New Zealand: Man Shot by Dog

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© The Telegraph
A New Zealand man is recovering from surgery after being shot in the buttock by his dog.

Police believe the animal stood on the trigger of a .22 bolt-action rifle in a freak accident.

The dog's 40-year-old owner was getting into the rear seat of a four-wheel drive vehicle with the rifle next to him when the animal jumped in.

He was among a group of four people who had slaughtered a pig at Te Kopuru, 90 miles northwest of Auckland on New Zealand's North Island.

The group told police they had thought the gun, which in fact contained five shells, was unloaded.

Smiley

The Scariest Runway Show in Fashion History

Weird Models
© Times Newsfeed
Fashion designers are notorious for upping the shock-factor with their collections. But this takes the cake.

Citing artistic license to dress Bjork in a swan outfit? That's one thing. But this just plain creepy.

Models with bald heads and faux beards were all the rage on Patrick Mohr's Berlin Fashion Week runway, last week. These UFO lookalike models had bald caps fitted on their heads, and long whiskers sprouting from their faces. Even the female models. The most bizarre thing? The clothes were surprisingly normal. But who was looking at the clothes, while trying to make sense of all the excess hair?

This just had us scratching our (hairy) heads and (hair-free) chins.

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Australian Towns At War Over Legacy of Mary Poppins Author

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© DisneyThe six books in the Mary Poppins series went on to be translated into more than 20 languages and made into the famous 1964 Disney film.
Two Australian towns have become engaged in a fierce war of words over which can lay the bigger claim to the legacy of Mary Poppins creator Pamela Travers.

Maryborough, on the south east coast of Queensland, Australia, has been hosting a Mary Poppins festival for several years in honour of Travers, who was born in the town in 1899.

The five-day event draws tourists to the region during the quiet winter months to enjoy Poppins-themed activities such as nanny races, umbrella-decorating and kite-making.

But this year festival organisers have been angered by plans for a New South Wales town to hold a rival event.

Binoculars

China: Artist Creates BMW From Stone

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© Bournemouth NewsThe stone BMW Z4
An artist has created an astonishing lifesize model of a BMW sports car - made from seven tons of solid stone and mortar.

The BMW Z4 has chiselled stone wheels, bonnet and doors.

The seats, steering wheel and dash interior are made of formed cement and even the BMW logo has been etched into the chassis and wheels.

The grey car measures 13ft long, 6ft wide and 4ft high.

It's road-going version has a top speed of 155mph and usually sells for around 35,000 pounds.

Smiley

New Dinosaur Dubbed "Mojoceratops" - "Over a Few Beers"

Prehistoric head-frill mojo
© The RegisterPrehistoric head-frill mojo
'S'posed to use Greek, but this seemed more fun. Hic'

A newly-discovered dinosaur has been officially named the Mojoceratops. Apparently, beer was involved.

The discoverer of the new species is post-doctoral researcher Nicholas Longrich of Yale uni in the States, who found skulls and other evidence of the previously unrecognised species among museum collections.

USA

Best of the Web: George Carlin: Who Really Controls America?


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Mouse Sleeps With Scientist, Scientist Thrilled

country cute mouse
© Shirley Buxton/flickr
Here's a story about a chance encounter with a mouse. It takes place in the Michigan woods. Barb Smuts is a scientist. It's best to hear the story straight from her. Listen by pushing the button above, or you can just read along...