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digitalfever writes 'One of the most celebrated functions of the Internet is an unprecedented ability for people to connect. This has led to social networks, online dating, and, it turns out, a lot of people connecting over really strange things. Here are some of the more interesting clubs that the internet has helped give life to.'

What's made of black and brown leather and a top seller in northeastern Bangladesh? The "Zaidi shoe." The footwear named after the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoe at George W. Bush has become very popular in some circles. "It's the latest fad in Sylhet. Every one wants to be wearing the Zaidi. It looks like your average men's dress shoe but it's been sold for up to 2,200 taka (30 dollars) which is at the very top end of the market in Bangladesh, " shop owner Abdul Awal says.

An unamed man learned how important it is to keep your hands to yourself inside an South African Air Force training plane when he mistakenly pulled his ejection lever. He crashed through the plane's perspex canopy and was propelled 320' by the rockets under his seat. A helicopter was sent to pick up the accidental ejector and he had no reported injuries. Let's hope he got to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the way down.

Callum Cooper won a $3,000 grant from the Parapsychology Foundation to finish his studies in telepathy and clairvoyance at The University of Northampton. Cooper says, ''My interest in the paranormal began growing up in Nottinghamshire where there is a vast amount of history of hauntings. I am constantly involved in the investigation of purportedly haunted locations with my own research team... and more recently I have been researching 'Phone Calls and Text Messages from the Dead'." Callum hopes to begin a PhD Research Degree on apparitions and hallucinations in 2010.

49-year-old Mary Strey feels strongly about keeping drunk drivers off the road, so strongly in fact that she recently called 911 to report herself as one. The dispatcher told Mary to pull over, turn on her flashers and wait for the police. When officers arrived they gave her a field sobriety test which she failed. Mrs. Strey was arrested and was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.17.

sciencehabit writes "Researchers at Guangdong Entomological Institute in Guangzhou, China, have observed oral sex for the first time in a non-primate. During intercourse, female short-nosed fruit bats lick the genitals of their partner, a possible ploy to increase copulation time. The discovery suggests there may be a biological advantage to fellatio."

nightcats writes "Describing it as a 'limited beta test,' Wal-Mart announced its plans to offer coffins to its shoppers. In the Wal-Mart world, of course, beta comes with a price: $900 for a Mom or Dad coffin, all the way up to $2900 for a bronze sarcophagus. "

9gezegen writes "Pepsi learned that if it wants to continue to 'Refresh Everything,' it needs an extra $1.26 billion. It looks like one of the secretaries forget to inform company lawyers about a trade secrets case in a Wisconsin state court. When nobody arrived to court, the judge gave $1.26 billion default judgement. According to Pepsi lawyers, they were not properly served because the secretary was 'so busy preparing for a board meeting.' One might imagine she was working on the refreshments. Perhaps Pepsi should learn more about the Spamhaus case."

Two9A writes "With the recent introduction of memorial accounts on Facebook, the potential arises for hilarity and abuse. Simon Thulbourn's Facebook page has been marked as 'in memorial' on the word of a report submitted by one of his friends; unfortunately, the closest the report gets to Simon is that the funeral service in question was officiated by 'Revd. Simon Thorburn,' which seems to be enough for Facebook to mark an unrelated user's profile as dead. Questions have previously been raised about the standard of proof required by Facebook for this service; it seems that those questions were pertinent, if the lax attention paid to these reports by Facebook staff continues."

Serenissima writes "Bad drivers may in part have their genes to blame, suggests a new study by UC Irvine neuroscientists. People with a particular gene variant performed more than 20 percent worse on a driving test than people without it — and a follow-up test a few days later yielded similar results. About 30 percent of Americans have the variant. 'These people make more errors from the get-go, and they forget more of what they learned after time away,' said Dr. Steven Cramer, neurology associate professor and senior author of the study published recently in the journal Cerebral Cortex."