By Sarah Masker
Copy Editor
1.) It looks like the Easter Bunny is ready for retirement, at least in Australia, as conservationists Down Under are trying to replace it with the Easter Bilby. The bilby is a rare marsupial with long ears, a long muzzle, silky fur, and a pouch like a kangaroo. Only about 600 are estimated to remain in the wild, and their habitat is steadily being eaten away by—get this—rabbits. Mike Drinkwater, who looks after bilbies at a Sydney wildlife park, explained why the Easter Bunny should be a thing of the past, saying, “Rabbits are a pest in Australia.” Besides, does it really matter which animal hides candy-filled eggs for children to hunt down? Not really. Huffingtonpost.com
2.) Everyone knows hiking has its dangers; falling off a cliff, twisting an ankle, and becoming a starving animal’s afternoon snack are all possible outcomes. Being rescued by park rangers is the norm, but 69-year-old Robert Biggs says that he was saved by a bear when a mountain lion attacked him in Northern California. Biggs was watching a bear and her cub from a cliff when the mountain lion pounced. He struggled to escape until the mother bear jumped in and scared the lion away. He said the bears are “pretty territorial” and the lion had likely been stalking the cub before Biggs appeared. Bet that lion regrets making mommy mad. Usatoday.com
3.) For everyone who’s ever wanted to find out if life really is better under the sea, make friends with 37-year-old Zhang Wuyi and he might share his submarines. The unemployed Chinese textile worker has used the setback to build three submarines that are capable of diving nearly 100 feet below the ocean’s surface and traveling 6.5 miles per hour for up to 10 hours. The main customers are fisherman who are trying to farm sea cucumber, a Chinese delicacy. Huffingtonpost.com
4.) Pretending to have a terminal illness doesn’t go over well when the world finds out it was all a lie. Twenty-five-year-old Jessica Vega faked having terminal leukemia in order to collect thousands of dollars for a dream wedding and honeymoon. She has been indicted on six felony charges including grand larceny and fraud. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said, “Vega inexcusably took advantage of the community’s hearts and minds, and profited off of their generosity.” Let’s hope this girl doesn’t believe in karma. Usatoday.com
5.) There’s nothing like a cold beer, and now thanks to the geniuses at the Japanese brewing company Kirin, it just got easier to keep a beer chilled. The company has created frozen foam that can be dispensed on top of a beer, much like a person would fill a cone with soft-serve ice cream. As the foam melts, it won’t dilute the beer since the foam is made of beer and air. The company said, “Once the topping is placed onto regular, unfrozen beer, it acts as an insulating lid and keeps the drink cold for 30 minutes.” Drink up! Msnbc.com
6.) Just in case it wasn’t already easy enough to have a heart attack, Pizza Hut U.K.’s delivery menu proudly boasts pizza crust with hot dog seasoning, or with diced hot dogs mixed in. The display copy boasts, “Succulent hot dog sausage bursting from our famous stuffed crust, with a FREE mustard drizzle.” America better get cracking if it wants to stay the junk food nation. Msnbc.com
7.) Maybe updating Facebook while on the run from police isn’t the best idea, but 26-year-old Travis Nicolaysen remains a dedicated member of the social network. Nicolaysen has been avoiding police since January and is wanted for assaulting his girlfriend. Teri Newell, Nicolaysen’s aunt, wrote on his Facebook wall, “They wanted to know if I thought you talking on Facebook while on the run was funny. Hell yes I said.” Looks like this guy is just one more person addicted to Facebook. Msnbc.com
8.) It’s always easy to tell when Pinocchio’s lying, but most people don’t have noses that grow when they fib. A new study published in the journal “Evolution and Human Behavior” suggests that a trained eye can use four different facial muscles to distinguish between genuine expressions of emotion from deceptive ones. Researchers watched videos of 52 people who made televised pleas for the safe return of a missing relative; half of the pleas were from deceptive individuals who were later convicted of murdering their loved one. Msnbc.com
9.) The idea for television shows about pets that kill their owners had to come from somewhere. Cops recently confiscated an alligator in a Des Moines, Iowa home after it was found in the same household as an infant and a dog. Josh Colvin with the state Animal Rescue League said, “It’s a people’s safety issue as well as the animal’s.” Hey, who says fangs aren’t fun? Huffingtonpost.com
10.) Twitter is pretty useless, but marine scientists have turned two robot submarines into machines that tweet their discoveries for the world to see. The University of South Florida’s Tavros subs, @Tavros01 and @Tavros02, are solar-powered explorers of the Gulf of Mexico. The robot subs swim underwater and tweet their location and water-quality sample results. USF system engineer David Fries said, “We were interested in getting machines taking in data and—like humans have processed that data in the past—Tweeting it back to us intelligently.” That’s some quality science right there. Usatoday.com