U.K. eatery under fire for baby fee

U.K. eatery under fire for baby fee - Moms fume over a restaurant chain's $5 charge for infants who didn't even eat. Restaurant Apologizes for Charging $5 Baby Tax. Moms Still Fuming. Natasha Young's six-week-old son wasn't ordering off the menu at Cosmo's Restaurant in Croyden. But his mom still had to pay about $5 just to keep him on her lap at the table at England's largest eatery. Another new mom, Ana Sheridan, was told the same thing when she brought her 6-month-old daughter to the same restaurant.

"I was astonished as we explained she was exclusively breastfed and would be sitting on our laps, therefore not consuming any food or occupying an extra seat. They said it was their new policy. That was all," Sheridan told London's Evening Standard.

After an uproar over Cosmo's baby tax policy erupted in parenting forums around the Web, the restaurant posted a public apology to both women on their website for the "mistreatment by our staff."

In the same message, management also clarified their baby fee was only supposed to apply to toddlers who are actually eating the restaurant's food, not those who are swaddled in blankets, clamoring for breast-milk. "COSMO would like to assure customers that this is an isolated incident," writes Cosmo's management. "We will be retraining all employees at Croydon as a matter of urgency."

Maybe it was all a misunderstanding, but through this incident, a larger message was broadcast: Parents with young kids aren't going to take being penalized any longer. The recent trend in kid-free zones and bans on toddlers in restaurants has sparked a backlash. Many parents feel marginalized, even bullied when they take their toddlers out to a restaurant. While they may have gotten used to fellow patrons complaining about their crying babies, being charged extra for the privilege is the last straw.

Earlier this year, at a restaurant in the town of Bath, a group of moms were charged about $3 each for bringing in baby food as opposed to ordering off the children's menu. One message-board mom called the idea of a baby corkage fee "disgusting." Another wrote: "They don't charge for breastfeeding but it's probably only a matter of time!" Two weeks after the story erupted, the Bath restaurant withdrew of its baby fee and donated the profits made off of the surcharge to charity.

It was a victory for long-scorned parents and a battle cry to other establishments considering similar policies. So when word got out of Cosmo's baby charge a few months later, tempers really flared. "Shocking and shame on the management," writes one commenter on the Evening Standard's article. "You might as well charge a pregnant women for taking up extra space."

But not every parent sees it the same way. The Guardian's Hilary Osbourne defends Cosmo's staff for charging customers a baby fee. "As a parent, I know that once babies start weaning they can make a mess, and I can see why restaurants might want to charge for having to clean up after someone who is probably eating something their parents brought from home," she writes.

Guess it all boils down to what kind of 'mess' restaurants are will to clean up: a table full of baby food or a chorus of hungry parents, fed-up with being penalized every time they bring their child out to eat. Suddenly, that table isn't looking so messy.

via: yahoo

Facebook IPO seen coming in spring

Facebook IPO seen coming in spring - Wondering when the great Facebook initial public offering is coming? Try the second quarter of 2012 market conditions permitting, The Wall Street Journal said late Monday. The social-networking company is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission about the timing of the IPO. There is a chance the first filings will come this year, the Journal said.

The Journal said Facebook is thinking about an IPO that would raise $10 billion and theoretically value the company at more than $100 billion.

That would make the company among the 40 most valuable companies in the world -- on par with Toyota Motor (TM 0.00%), Verizon Communications (VZ 0.00%) and Merck (MRK 0.00%).

The Journal based its report on conversations with several sources, adding the caveat that final decisions have not yet been made.

The final value of the company -- the value used to price shares - and how much money it seeks in an IPO will largely be determined by the market and the European economy, the Journal said.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has in the past publicly expressed reluctance to do an IPO. And he has opted to keep Facebook private longer than many suspected he would. But he is warming to the idea, the Journal said.

The social network, which was started by Zuckerberg in 2004 out of his Harvard dorm room, has helped reshape how people share information and interact with others on the Web. It now counts 800 million users, with 500 million users logging into the site daily.

Facebook's IPO would come amid a spate of other hot Web IPOs this year, like daily-deal site Groupon (GRPN 0.00%), LinkedIn (LNKD 0.00%) and an expected IPO from social-game maker Zynga. But none of those will compare in size, scale and investor demand with Facebook, which is one of the most highly anticipated IPOs ever.

The disappointing showing of Groupon's stock, which has fallen below its $20 IPO price in recent trading, may make some investors cautious about a Facebook IPO.

Groupon has fallen nearly 42% in the past five trading days after initially surging in the first two weeks after the IPO earlier this month. It is now 23.8% below its $20 IPO price.

via: msn

Smartphone Apps Send Holiday Greetings

Smartphone Apps Send Holiday Greetings - Does the idea of buying holiday cards, gathering the mailing addresses for friends and family, writing personal notes by hand, buying stamps, addressing envelopes and carting them to the post office just make you hate the holidays? You're not alone. More people are skipping paper holiday cards -- or at least the part where you mail them yourself -- in favor of cellphone apps that create cards and send them by text message, e-mail or snail mail.

Black Friday guide

Black Friday guide: Where to go and shop - One retail expert calls out three stores you should make your "go-to" stops. Black Friday 101 Where to Go, What to Buy. As Thanksgiving approaches, many consumers aren't talking turkey. They're talking deals, and already have visions of doorbusters dancing in their heads. Despite the weak economy, this year's Black Friday is expected to be bigger than ever, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

NASA rover to seek signs of life on Mars

NASA rover to seek signs of life on Mars - The nuclear-powered vehicle is set to begin a nine-month journey to explore the distant planet.New NASA rover to scout for life's habitats on Mars. A nuclear-powered rover as big as a compact car is set to begin a nine-month journey to Mars this weekend to learn if the planet is or ever was suitable for life.

The launch of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory aboard an unmanned United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is set for 10:02 a.m. EST (1502 GMT) on Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located just south of the Kennedy Space Center.

The mission is the first since NASA's 1970s-era Viking program to directly tackle the age-old question of whether there is life in the universe beyond Earth.

"This is the most complicated mission we have attempted on the surface of Mars," Peter Theisinger, Mars Science Lab project manager with NASA prime contractor Lockheed Martin, told reporters at a pre-launch press conference on Wednesday.

The consensus of scientists after experiments by the twin Viking landers was that life did not exist on Mars. Two decades later, NASA embarked on a new strategy to find signs of past water on Mars, realizing the question of life could not be examined without a better understanding of the planet's environment.

"Everything we know about life and what makes a livable environment is peculiar to Earth," said astrobiologist Pamela Conrad of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and a deputy lead scientist for the mission.

"What things look like on Mars are a function of not only the initial set of ingredients that Mars had when it was made, but the processes that have affected Mars," she said.

Without a large enough moon to stabilize its tilt, Mars has undergone dramatic climate changes over the eons as its spin axis wobbled closer or farther from the sun.

The history of what happened on Mars during those times is chemically locked in its rocks, including whether liquid water and other ingredients believed necessary for life existed on the planet's surface, and if so, for how long.

In 2004, the golf cart-sized rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on opposite sides of Mars' equator to tackle the question of water.

Their three-month missions grew to seven years, with Spirit succumbing to the harsh winter in the past year and Opportunity beginning a search in a new area filled with water-formed clays. Both rovers found signs that water mingled with rocks during Mars' past.

The new rover, nicknamed Curiosity, shifts the hunt to other elements key to life, particularly organics.

"One of the ingredients of life is water," said Mary Voytek, director of NASA's astrobiology program. "We're now looking to see if we can find other conditions that are necessary for life by defining habitability or what does it take in the environment to support life."

The spacecraft, which is designed to last two years, is outfitted with 10 tools to analyze one particularly alluring site on Mars called Gale Crater. The site is a 96-mile (154-kilometer) wide basin that has a layered mountain of deposits stretching 3 miles above its floor, twice as tall as the layers of rock in the Grand Canyon.

Scientists do not know how the mound formed but suspect it is the eroded remains of sediment that once completely filled the crater.

Curiosity's toolkit includes a robotic arm with a drill, onboard chemistry labs to analyze powdered samples and a laser that can pulverize rock and soil samples from a distance of 20 feet away.

If all goes as planned, Curiosity will be lowered to the floor of Gale Crater in August 2012 by a new landing system called a sky crane. Previously, NASA used airbags or thruster jets to cushion a probe's touchdown on Mars but the 1,980-pound (900-kilogram) Curiosity needed a beefier system.

"There are a lot of people who look at that and say, 'What are you thinking?'" Theisinger said. "We put together a test program that successfully validated that from a design standpoint it will work. If something decides to break at that point in time, we're in trouble but we've done everything we can think of to do."

The rover, which is twice as long and about three times heavier than the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, also needed more power for driving at night and operating its science instruments.

Instead of solar power, Curiosity is equipped with a plutonium battery that generates electricity from the heat of radioactive decay.

Similar systems have been used since the earliest days of the space program, including the Apollo moon missions, the Voyager and Viking probes and more recently in the Cassini spacecraft now circling Saturn and NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons mission.

Radiation monitors have been installed through the area around the Cape Canaveral launch site in case of an accident, though the device has been designed to withstand impacts and explosions, said Randall Scott, director of NASA's radiological control center at the Kennedy Space Center.

Meteorologists were predicting good weather for Saturday's launch. Earth and Mars will be favorably aligned for launch until December 18.

via: yahoo

How to Make Perfect Gravy

How to Make Perfect Gravy - Step-by-step guide to great gravy. The secret is in the delicious brown caramelized bits you get at the bottom of the turkey roasting pan. For the past couple of years, we've grilled our turkey outside on our charcoal grill. I love the subtle smokiness of the meat and I love the way it frees up space in the oven. But there is one downfall. The gravy suffers. Why? The secret to the perfect gravy (flavor-wise) is those delicious brown caramelized bits you get at the bottom of the roasting pan. And you can really only achieve those if you roast your bird in the oven.

Great ways to beat Thanksgiving boredom - When spending time with your family gets old, these games and apps may save you.Games and apps to beat Thanksgiving boredom. Turkey, stuffing, football, the Macy's parade: there's a lot to love about Thanksgiving. But spending the better part of a week cooped up with just your family for company can get pretty old -- and pretty dull.

Alien Skull Discovered in Peru

Alien Skull Discovered in Peru - 'Alien' Skull Discovery Tops South American Bone Finds. It wasn't discovered by Indiana Jones and it isn't crystal, but an elongated skull that is as long as the 20-inch body it belongs to is raising interest after it was discovered in Peru. According to a report from The Sideshow, the remains of the unidentified "creature" was described as having a "triangle-shaped" skull and was at first believed to have been a child with a misshapen head, but according to a news report, anonymous Russian and Spanish scientists claim the remains belong to an extraterrestrial being.

While the discovery of the skull seems to be a somewhat real-life version of the popular movie "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" in which archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones sets off to solve the mystery of similar triangular-shaped skulls in South America, the end result in the movie is that the crystal skulls are indeed not of this world.

As far as the most recent bone skull in Peru? No word yet on its origins.

The strange skull in Peru isn't the only recent odd bone discovery. South America appears to be full of mystery of the skeletal kind.

In Chile's Atacama Desert -- the driest spot on Earth -- scientists have discovered the fossilized bones of over 75 prehistoric whales. In another report from The Sideshow, scientists believe that the whales beached themselves on the Pacific coast of South America over 2 million years ago.

What scientists are unsure of is exactly how the whale remains got where they are now -- in the middle of the desert. Theories abound -- including the idea that surface shifting pushed the bones into the desert over time or that the whales were stranded in a lagoon by a storm or a landslide. Researchers who are looking into the discovery are pretty sure about one thing though -- all of the whales most likely died at the same time.

The skeletons are each about 25 feet in length -- about the size of a school bus -- and 20 of the skeletons are intact. In addition to the whales, the excavation at the site uncovered a sperm whale, an extinct dolphin that had two tusks, an extinct aquatic sloth and a seabird that had a massive 17-foot wingspan.

The South American continent continues to offer up more wonders from the ancient past. An article on Physorg.com in early November reported the discovery of two mammal skulls discovered in Argentina. What makes these skulls unique? They are the first known mammals discovered from the Late Cretaceous period known as the "Age of Dinosaurs."

The skulls are of a small mammal that has been dubbed "Cronopio dentiacutus." Cronopio was a sabre-toothed squirrel much like the well-known "Ice Age" movie critter known as Scrat.

via: yahoo

Thanksgiving prayers and blessings

We come to join in the banquet of love.

Let it open our hearts and break down the fears

that keep us from loving each other.

~sung by the Dominican nuns

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lord most giving and resourceful,

I implore you;

make it your will

that this people enjoy

the goods and riches you naturally give,

that naturally issue from you,

that are pleasing and savory,

that delight and comfort,

though lasting but briefly,

passing away as if in a dream.

~Aztec Prayer from the 1500's

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us.

We return thanks to the rivers and streams,which supply us with water.

We return thanks to all herbs,

which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.

WE return thanks to the corn,

and to her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life.

We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit.

We return thanks to the wind,

which, moving the air, has banished diseases.

We return thanks to the moon and the stars,

which have given us their light when the sun was gone.

We return thanks to our grandfather He-no,

that he has protected his grandchildren from witches and reptiles,

and has given to us his rain.

We return thanks to the sun,

that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.

Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,

in whom is embodied all goodness,

and who directs all things for the good of his children.

~Iroquois Prayer from the 1800's

Though our mouths were full of song as the sea,

and our tongues of exultation as the multitude of its waves,

and our lips of praise as the wide-extended firmament;

though our eyes shone with light like the sun and the moon,

and our hands were spread forth like the eagles of heaven,

and our feet were swift as hinds,

we should still be unable to thank thee and bless thy name,

O Lord our God and God of our fathers,

for one thousandth or one ten thousandth part of the bounties

which thou has bestowed upon our fathers and upon us.

~from the Hebrew Prayer Book

Call out to the Almighty

Everyone on earth!

Serve God with gladness.

Come before Him with joyous song!

Know that the Almighty, He is God.

It is He who made us and we are His,

His nation and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving.

Enter His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

The Almighty is good.

His loving-kindness endures forever.

And His faithfulness continues

From generation to generation.

~Psalm 100

Come, Lord Jesus, our guest to be

And bless these gifts

Bestowed by Thee.

And bless our loved ones everywhere,

And keep them in Your loving care.

~Moravian Blessing

To our Gods of old, we bless the ground

that you tred in search of our freedom!

We bless your presence in our lives and in our hearts!

Take of this offering to your delight,

and be filled with our prayers of thanksgiving!

May our lives remain as full as our hearts on this day!

~Yoruban Prayer

O, heavenly Father: We thank thee for food and remember the hungry.

We thank thee for health and remember the sick.

We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless.

We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.

May these remembrances stir us to service,

that thy gifts to us may be used for others. Amen.

~Abigail van Buren “Dear Abby”

Thanks to Thee, O God, that I have risen today,

to the rising of this life itself;

may it be to Thine own glory,

O God of every gift, and to the glory, aid Thou my soul.

With the aiding of Thine own mercy,

even as I clothe my body with wool,

cover Thou my soul with the shadow of Thy wing.

Help me to avoid every sin,

And the source of every sin to forsake,

and as the mist scatters on the crest of the hills,

may each ill haze clear from my soul, O God.

~Thanksgiving Prayer - Irish

May the Lord accept this, our offering,

and bless our food that it may bring us strength in our body,

vigor in our mind and selfless devotion in our hearts for His service.

~Thanksgiving Prayer - India: Swami Paramananda

This ritual is one.

The food is one.

We who offer the food are one.

The fire of hunger is also one.

All action is one.

We who understand this are one.

~Thanksgiving Prayer - Hindu Prayer For Meals

Celeb chef's unique Thanksgiving tips

Celeb chef's unique Thanksgiving tips - Chef Fabio shows you how to serve your holiday bird, pumpkin, and cranberries with a modern twist. Exclusive Interview With Celebrity Chef Fabio Viviani. On this special Thanksgiving episode of "omg! NOW," we catch up with chef Fabio Viviani on the set of his Yahoo! show "Chow Ciao." Fabio dishes on everything from the five ingredients that everyone should have in their kitchens, to a new twist on Thanksgiving. Hint: It involves chicken. Plus, find out who his favorite TV chefs are!

Parents address 'flour video' rumors

Parents address 'flour video' rumors - Matt Lauer grills the parents of the kids who trashed their living room with flour in a wildly popular video. Kids trash house with flour in minutes - Mary Napoli’s toddler sons cover her living room while she uses the bathroom. Boys dump flour all over house in an unusually uniformly messy way. That two little boys could easily make an epic mess with a five-pound bag of flour is a no-brainer, but did they?

via: yahoo

Octopus caught walking on dry land

Octopus caught walking on dry land - A family is shocked when an animal they are watching literally crawls out of the water for a stroll. Video: Octopus crawls out of water and walks on dry land. Check out this video of an octopus literally crawling out of the water and dragging itself across dry land in pursuit of a meal. A family with a camera was lucky enough to be on the scene and captured the whole thing on video:

Heartbroken dog won't leave owner's grave

Heartbroken dog won't leave owner's grave - The loyal companion of a 68-year-old Chinese man touches the hearts of villagers. Heartbroken Dog Refuses to Leave Owner’s Grave, and Facebook Rewrites Six Degrees of Separation. A video of a dog in a small village in China has the web buzzing about his devotion. When 68-year-old Lao Pan died earlier this month, the only surviving member of his family was a small yellow dog that he left behind.

Wife tries to unload hubby on Craigslist

Wife tries to unload hubby on Craigslist - Alyse Baddly took a surprising approach to her frustration with husband, Kyle's, video gaming. Frustrated wife puts gamer husband up for sale on Craigslist. Guys, be careful how involved you get with this season's awesome crop of video games. Your wife may try to sell you off. Kyle Baddley learned this the hard way earlier this month, when his wife Alyse got frustrated by his constant Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 playing and offered him up to the highest bidder on Craigslist.

"I am selling my 22 year old husband," the ad read. "He enjoys eating and playing video games all day. Easy to maintain, just feed and water every 3-5 hours. You must have Internet and space for gaming. Got tired of waiting so free to good home. If acceptable replacement is offered will trade."

The ad, of course, was a joke. But that didn't stop people from replying.

One woman offered to retrain him. Another guy said he was willing to trade spots with Kyle, noting that he was both house-trained and preferred books to games.

"We didn't think we would get any responses at all, but we've gotten so many," Alyse said. "Someone even offered a blue bag of Skittles."

Some people, though, took it a bit too seriously. One person suggested she use the free time to go out on her own, while others wrote that they were concerned about Alyse's relationship with her husband.

Among the unconcerned was Kyle's mother. She not only encouraged Alyse to run the ad, she helped her write it.

Kyle, it seems, has learned his lesson and has pulled back a bit from his Modern Warfare 3 playtime. His father notes that the couple is headed to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with Kyle's sister.

Kyle's taking it in good humor -- but he points out for the record that his wife was in line with him when the game went on sale.

"I love my wife," he says. "She supported me when I got the game. We stayed until midnight to get the game when it first came out. It's just funny."

via: yahoo

New find shakes up beliefs about holy site

New find shakes up beliefs about holy site - Coins dug up beneath one of the world's most sacred landmarks may help rewrite history. New find sheds light on ancient site in Jerusalem. Newly found coins underneath Jerusalem's Western Wall could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday.

The man usually credited with building the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary is Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C. Herod's monumental compound replaced and expanded a much older Jewish temple complex on the same site.

But archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority now say diggers have found coins underneath the massive foundation stones of the compound's Western Wall that were stamped by a Roman proconsul 20 years after Herod's death. That indicates that Herod did not build the wall — part of which is venerated as Judaism's holiest prayer site — and that construction was not close to being complete when he died.

"The find changes the way we see the construction, and shows it lasted for longer than we originally thought," said the dig's co-director, Eli Shukron.

The four bronze coins were stamped around 17 A.D. by the Roman official Valerius Gratus. He preceded Pontius Pilate of the New Testament story as Rome's representative in Jerusalem, according to Ronny Reich of Haifa University, one of the two archaeologists in charge of the dig.

The coins were found inside a ritual bath that predated construction of the renovated Temple Mount complex and which was filled in to support the new walls, Reich said.

They show that construction of the Western Wall had not even begun at the time of Herod's death. Instead, it was likely completed only generations later by one of his descendants.

The coins confirm a contemporary account by Josephus Flavius, a Jewish general who became a Roman historian. Writing after a Jewish revolt against Rome and the destruction of the Temple by legionnaires in 70 A.D., he recounted that work on the Temple Mount had been completed only by King Agrippa II, Herod's great-grandson, two decades before the entire compound was destroyed.

Scholars have long been familiar with Josephus' account, but the find is nonetheless important because it offers the "first clear-cut archaeological evidence that part of the enclosure wall was not built by Herod," said archaeologist Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, who was not involved in the dig.

Josephus also wrote that the end of construction left 18,000 workmen unemployed in Jerusalem. Some historians have linked this to discontent that eventually erupted in the Jewish revolt.

The compound, controlled since 1967 by Israel, now houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden-capped Muslim shrine known as the Dome of the Rock. The fact that the compound is holy both to Jews and Muslims makes it one of the world's most sensitive religious sites.

The dig in which the coins were discovered cleared a Roman-era drainage tunnel that begins at the biblical Pool of Siloam, one of the city's original water sources, and terminates with a climb up a ladder out onto a 2,000-year-old street inside Jerusalem's Old City. The tunnel runs by the foundation stones of the compound's western wall, where the coins were found.

The drainage tunnel was excavated as part of the dig at the City of David, which is perhaps Israel's richest archaeological excavation and its most contentious.

The dig is being carried out inside the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, and is funded by a group associated with the Israeli settlement movement that opposes any division of the city as part of a future peace deal.

The excavation of the tunnel has also yielded a Roman sword, oil lamps, pots and coins that scholars believe are likely debris from an attempt by Jewish rebels to hide in the underground passage as they fled from the Roman soldiers.

via: yahoo

Safety group's worst toys for 2011

Safety group's worst toys for 2011 - Godzilla, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Shrinky Dinks all make a watchdog's list. Worst Toys for Kids? Consumer Group Picks 10 Hazardous Toys to Avoid in 2011. Godzilla and Captain Jack Sparrow action figures, mini trampolines, and Shrinky Dinks are among the toys that have been flagged because of the risk of puncture wounds, electrocution, choking, other injuries "or even death," a Boston-based consumer group warns. World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) has issued their annual "10 Worst Toys" list, and several kids classics and new favorites are among their picks for the toys parents should avoid this holiday season.

"We've been looking at these issues for decades," WATCH director James Swartz told Yahoo! Shine. "The 10 toys aren't meant to be a list of the only hazardous toys on the market, but representative of particular hazards. It's a reminder that all toys on the shelves are not safe." On the list, which can be found at toysafety.org, are:

A wooden Twist n' Sort toy for toddlers

Power Rangers Samurai Mega Blade sword

Fold & Go miniature portable trampoline

Pulling Animal Duck

Schylling toy school bus

Z-Curve Bow

Stepper "Low Rise" Stilts

Sword Fighting Jack Sparrow action figure

The Incredible Shrinky Dinks Maker oven

"Gigan" Godzilla Creature 12-inch action figure

The groups started publishing their "10 Worst Toys" list in 1973. (You can see the entire 2011 list here.) "We walk up and down toy aisles, and we shop online these days, much as consumers would do, because consumers don't have access to testing labs." Swartz says. "The current regulations and testing standards aren't adequate. The fact is that we're seeing a lot of the same types of hazards year after year."

The Incredible Shrinky Dinks Maker, for example, seems like a fun, updated version of that old stick-them-in-the-oven plastic craft that many parents grew up with. But though the 60-watt bulb is in an enclosed "heating chamber" and a caution label warns that the toy should be used with adult supervision and unplugged when not in use, there's still plenty of potential for electrical shocks and burns. "A product with so many inherent hazards does not lend itself to use in a home environment with children," WATCH writes on their website. A similar toy--the Easy Bake Oven--was flagged by WATCH in 1971, 1977, and 1986; nearly 1 million toy ovens like it were recalled in 2007.

One can see how the Z-Curve Bow (a "high-performance" bow-and-arrow set that says "Do not aim at eyes or face" and "arrows should not be pulled back at more than half strength" right on the box) could be dangerous. But a classic wooden ducky-on-wheels pull toy? A miniature yellow school bus? How are those things hazardous?

Swartz says that dangers aren't always obvious. "Sometimes you need to dig into the packages a little bit," Swartz says. Though the bus is intended for kids age 3 and older, the rubber wheels can be pried off and swallowed by a younger sibling. The problem with the wooden duck is that it has a 33-inch long string attached. You couldn't pull the toy without it, of course, but the long length makes it a strangulation hazard for the 1-year-olds who are supposed to play with it. Toy industry standards limit the length of such cords to 12 inches or less for crib and playpen toys, he explains; just because the pull-toy isn't intended for use in a playpen or crib doesn't mean that it won't end up in one.

"This is a matter of categorization," Swartz says. "That potential for strangulation, in our estimation, doesn't disappear because of what the toy is called or how the manufacturer says the toy is to be used."

The Toy Industry Association, a trade group, maintains that holiday hazard reports like the one WATCH publishes are overblown.

"These groups frequently focus attacks on toys they deem to be 'unsafe,' 'unhealthy,' or 'dangerous'," they sad in a statement. "Their claims are frequently found to be unsubstantiated and often ignore or misinterpret the facts--and needlessly frighten parents."

"Protecting the safety of children is a shared responsibility," Joan Lawrence, vice president of safety and government affairs for the Toy Industry Association trade group, said in another statement. He pointed out that toy recalls have declined year after year, which indicates that safety has improved. "The toy industry works year round to ensure the highest level of product safety. Unfortunately, most injuries are the result of misusing a toy in a way that was not intended."

But WATCH points out that appearances on their "Worst Toy" lists have led to the recall or redesign of several popular toys. Remember when Fisher Price's Little People were actually little? "It was just small enough to fit into a child's airway, but too large to pass through," Swartz says. "What happened after attention was brought to that issue was that the toys were quietly redesigned. There was never a formal recall issued, but what you see now on the toy shelves are Little People that are large enough that they don't violate the industry standard." According to the WATCH report card, toys like the Batman Batmobile (1990, for being a puncture and laceration hard), Embo Elephant and Hummbugg Bee mobiles (1979, strangulation risk), and the Go Diego Go Animal Rescue Boat (2007, lead paint) were recalled after being flagged by WATCH.

The ideal toy for a very young child is "one that doesn't have any removable parts, especially small parts, that could create a choking hazard," suggests Swartz, whose kids are now 19 and 16 years old. But in general, parents need to make informed choices and be vigilant about what they're buying. "Don't assume that toys are necessarily safe because they've reached the toy store shelves," he says. "Don't assume that they've been tested properly and that there are no hazards just because they've reached the shelves."

via: yahoo

Heartbroken dog won't leave owner's grave

Heartbroken dog won't leave owner's grave - The loyal companion of a 68-year-old Chinese man touches the hearts of villagers. Heartbroken Dog Refuses to Leave Owner’s Grave, and Facebook Rewrites Six Degrees of Separation. A video of a dog in a small village in China has the web buzzing about his devotion. When 68-year-old Lao Pan died earlier this month, the only surviving member of his family was a small yellow dog that he left behind.

Octopus caught walking on dry land

Octopus caught walking on dry land - A family is shocked when an animal they are watching literally crawls out of the water for a stroll. Video: Octopus crawls out of water and walks on dry land. Check out this video of an octopus literally crawling out of the water and dragging itself across dry land in pursuit of a meal. A family with a camera was lucky enough to be on the scene and captured the whole thing on video:

Christmas billboard torn down after outcry

Christmas billboard torn down after outcry - An ad company says its holiday sign was meant to be "quirky" but instead it sparked a backlash. Controversial “anti-Semitic” vodka billboard taken down in NYC. A billboard for Wodka vodka in NYC has been taken down and destroyed after complaints that the advertisement's message is anti-Semitic. The New York Times reported that the billboard featured a long-haired dog wearing a yarmulke and another dog wearing a Santa hat with the words, "Christmas quality, Hanukkah pricing," alongside the photo.

The backlash against the billboard was nearly instantaneous. Ron Meier, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, called it "crude and offensive."

"To use the Jewish holiday in dealing with issues of money is clearly insensitive and inappropriate," Meier told the paper.

Brian Gordon, head of MMG, the advertising company behind the billboard, said the billboard's message was not intended to be offensive. "We thought people would perceive it as 'ha ha quirky.' But people perceived it as offensive, and because of that, we pulled it." Mr. Gordon, according to the Times, was "quick to point out" that he also is Jewish.

Wodka was quick to formally apologize as well, offering this explanation via its Twitter account:

"Although rarely serious, we apologize to anyone we may have offended through our holiday campaign and are removing our billboard immediately."

However, Gawker dug deeper into Wodka's Twitter account, quickly finding more questionable images:

[O]n the company Twitter you can find a picture of the "Jewish" dog posing with Jonathan Cheban in a different ad. There's also this sheep wearing a sombrero standing near a Wodka bottle, and a "black Russian"—a black man wearing one of those fuzzy Russian hats.

via: yahoo

Gina Robins cooked kitten to death in microwave

Gina Robins cooked kitten to death in microwave - A woman who microwaved a 10-week-old kitten to death has been found guilty of causing it unnecessary suffering. The kitten's owner Sarah Knutton told Torquay Magistrates' Court she heard a sound then a "horrendous screech". Gina Robins, 31, of Salisbury Avenue, Torquay, had denied the charge, claiming the kitten had been shut in the microwave oven by other cats.