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The secrets of the world's greatest jailbreak artist. Master criminal Rédoine Faïd loved the movies, and his greatest crimes were laced with tributes: to Point Break, Heat, and Reservoir Dogs. When he landed in a maximum-security prison, cinema provided inspiration once again.
posted by goatdog at 4:46 PM PST - 24 comments

A seedbank-testing experiment that started in 1879 has decades to run. It's a simple experiment, but the simple things are hard: neither losing the seeds nor digging them up too early. From the point of view of the *seeds* the simple thing -- don't germinate until you can grow -- is also getting pretty hard. [more inside]
posted by clew at 2:29 PM PST - 8 comments

When the Pentagon spokesman gets asked about Polish strippers and geopolitics: "Bravo Zulu to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, a retired admiral, who calmly and professionally responded to the most bizarre question posed to a defense official in recent memory." [more inside]
posted by gemmy at 2:29 PM PST - 21 comments

or maybe "not a real dog, but more like a vessel for a traumatized Victorian child that now haunts our home", needed a very specific type of adopter. His desperate foster mother took to the internet with an adoption post that went viral on Twitter and, soon, everywhere. But could anyone provide a home for such a demonic creature? [more inside]
posted by Hypatia at 11:25 AM PST - 21 comments

Voices From The Dawn I was looking at places to visit this summer and came across this fantastic collection of Ireland's prehistoric monuments.
posted by twistedonion at 9:00 AM PST - 7 comments

A few short fantasy stories about serving other people during times of death and peril. A daycare worker at the end of the world, and a restaurant server at a different end. A mountain guide who always finds what is lost. And the funniest one: a necromancer who doesn't realize they're a necromancer, and thinks they're just a really good paramedic.
posted by brainwane at 7:46 AM PST - 26 comments

Diamond Geezer helpfully summarises the London Fire Brigade's animal rescues.
posted by Stark at 6:46 AM PST - 10 comments

Vladislav Ivanov, a 27-year-old man from Vladivostok, was working as a Russian translator for the Chinese reality/talent show Produce Camp, in which a cast of young contestants are selected to form a boy band, when the directors invited him to sign up. He regretted doing so pretty much immediately, and attempted to sabotage his chances at winning by performing half-heartedly and pleading with the audience to vote him out, but to no avail, as he became a firm fan favourite, his miserable demeanour appealing to a generation of young people sympathetic to the ironic, defeatist Sang culture. [more inside]
posted by acb at 5:01 AM PST - 50 comments