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Computer To Help Orangutans Learn

Researchers Give Video Games To Primates

ATLANTA -- Zoo Atlanta is using 21st century techniques to study the way orangutans think and learn.

Magic Wand

Suds fill streets in Idaho, Alaska - earth tired of Bush starts wash cycle?

BOISE, Idaho -- City streets got an unscheduled cleaning as a sudsy citrus-scented foam erupted from manhole covers like geysers.

The bubbles spewed from a three-block stretch on the city's east side Thursday after American Linen accidentally released detergent into the municipal sewer lines. The combination of gravity and churning water whipped the soap into a sudsy foam.

Life Preserver

Robber Lets Ailing Fla. Clerk Call 911

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - A gunman robbing a convenience store allowed the clerk to call 911 and apologized after the woman said she might be having a heart attack. But he still took $30 and cigarettes, authorities said.

Black Cat

Cat adopts mouse

A mother cat in China has adopted a mouse, letting it join her family of newborns.

The cat was brought into a children's clothing store to catch mice, reports Yanzhao City News.

Ten days ago, the cat gave birth to five kittens.

"She stays in the box all day long, taking care of her babies, but three days ago, my colleague found a small mouse playing with the kittens," said a spokesperson for the store in Shijiazhuang city.

"The cat was protecting the mouse, and would become alert if anyone came too close."


Health

India may no longer require female civil servants to detail menstrual cycle

The Indian government says it will review new appraisal forms requiring female civil servants to reveal details of their menstrual cycles.

Star

Sheriff Gives Himself a Ticket

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Brown County Sheriff Dennis Kocken didn't have to write himself a ticket. But he says it was the right thing to do.

Star

Squirrel rapper releases hip-hop Wordsworth

A meditation on the enduring beauty of daffodils, it is not an obvious subject for the macho, posturing world of rap music.

But now William Wordsworth's most famous poem has been reworked and rewritten in a hip-hop style - complete with drum beat and quick-fire rhymes - in an effort to draw a younger generation of visitors to the Lake District.

Black Cat

Mystery cat takes regular bus to the shops

Bus drivers have nicknamed a white cat Macavity after it has started using the No 331 several mornings a week.

©Daily Mail
The cat, nicknamed Macavity, has one blue eye and one green eye

Bulb

Mouse Delays Vietnamese Flight 4 Hours

HANOI, Vietnam - A fugitive mouse delayed the departure of a Japan-bound airliner for more than four hours Sunday as technicians hunted down the potential threat, airline officials said.

Coffee

The Perfect Bacon Buttie

Scientists believe they have come up with a formula to create the perfect bacon buttie.

The two most important aspects are crispiness and crunchiness, according to a new study.

It revealed the crunching sound while eating rashers should ideally measure 0.5 decibels.

They should also break when 0.4 Newtons of force is applied through chewing, the researchers said.

Butties were tested using a high-tech computer that measures food texture, while panels of 50 volunteers judged the butties for taste, texture and flavour.