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Niteshift: July 28, 2009

Boy drank gasoline to copy his TV heroes

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy drank gasoline for five years to obtain “energy” – just as his idols “Bumble Bee” or “Optimus Prime” do in “Transformers,” the Sichuan-based West China Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

After the boy, in Yibin City, southwest Sichuan Province, had watched the animated TV series, he began to drink gasoline to become a “valiant fighter” like “Optimus Prime,” his father told the newspaper.

“He began to drink gasoline five years ago, when we found he liked smelling lighter fuel,” he said.

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Man bursts into flames after Taser strike

Ronald Mitchell, 36, was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital for burns treatment following a confrontation with police who were called to a house in Warburton, 1,540km northeast of Perth on Monday.

Mitchell ran from the house at the officers carrying a container believed to contain fuel and a cigarette lighter, police said.

He was asked to stop but continued running toward the officers.

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This week: Blobs, Giant Squid, Webmasters and Secret Ambitions.  Mike and company are joined by filmmaker Mark Cabaroy.

Jumbo squid invade San Diego shores, spook divers

SAN DIEGO – Thousands of jumbo flying squid — aggressive 5-foot-long sea monsters with razor-sharp beaks and toothy tentacles — have invaded the shallow waters off San Diego, spooking scuba divers and washing up dead on tourist-packed beaches.

The carnivorous calamari, which can grow up to 100 pounds, came up from the depths last week and swarms of them roughed up unsuspecting divers.

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Tests show Alaska’s mysterious gooey blob is algae

The Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Well, test results are in – and the verdict on the gooey mystery glob seen floating in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska’s northern shore is: algae.

Ed Meggert of the Department of Environmental Conservation in Fairbanks said results returned on Thursday showed it’s marine algae – a stringy batch of algae.

Miles of the thick, dark gunk had been spotted floating between Barrow and Wainwright, prompting North Slope Borough officials and the U.S. Coast Guard to investigate. View full article »

Niteshift: July 14, 2009

High-tech cloth is first to shed scalding water

“Superhydrophobic” materials that never get wet have an Achilles’ heel, say chemists: they can fend off cold, but not hot water.

After studying this effect, the team has now designed a new material coating that can repel hot water.

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Brain wiring creates false memories

Brain connections that encourage the formation of false memories have been identified. Such memories appear to be more likely in people with high-quality links between neurons in a particular brain area.

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Niteshift: July 7, 2009