“How big is a zillion? It’s “an extremely large, indeterminate number,” according to Dictionary.com.   And how rare is an all-black penguin, rather than the black-and-white tuxedo-like colorings on most of the adorable, big, wabbly birds? It’s a one-in-a-zillion mutation, scientists say.”  >> Read full story

If you’ve been following the news recently, Conan O’Brien has a twitter account and has amassed over half a million followers in just a few weeks.  To date Conan hasn’t been following anyone until yesterday when he decided to follow a random person who “likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs”.  Sarah Killen’s life has now forever changed (she now has over 10,000 followers and counting)…hilarious.

Yitzhak Ganon survived Auschwitz SS doctor Josef Mengele's medical experiments

Sixty-five years ago, infamous Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele removed Yitzhak Ganon’s kidney without anesthesia. The Greek-born Jew swore never to see a doctor again — until a heart attack last month brought his horrific tale into the open.  >> Read the full article

Liked a blog post by Mike Row on Captain Phil Harris (crab boat TV reality fisherman) who recently passed away.

Two women have turned stylish handbags into a necessity in the struggle to feed the world’s hungry children. Buying 1 FEED bag will feed 1 child for 1 year and the price is a reasonable $30. The FEED bags have also brought about awareness and progress on the issue of world hunger.

I was talking with Scott at lunch yesterday about our normal random things and somehow we got on the subject of America’s infrastructure.  I was telling him I recently read a great article from Popular Science about renovating America’s infrastructure and wanted to share with everyone as well.  The following is an excerpt: “Chicago road crews are scrambling to fill 67,000 potholes a month. Communities in Pennsylvania rely on 100-year-old water pipes made of wood. Squirrels still cause widespread blackouts. The country’s 600,000 bridges, four million miles of roads, and 30,000 wastewater plants desperately need attention. The solution isn’t patches, it’s an overhaul. Soon roads and power lines will fix themselves, and we’ll mine energy from sewage. America’s 21st-century tune-up won’t happen overnight, but we could start reaping the benefits (faster broadband! cleaner water!) within the next few years.”  >> Read the full article

Source: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca

“On Saturday night, 11-year-old Austin Forman was gathering firewood outside his home when a cougar charged across the yard at him. His 18-month-old dog, Angel, jumped in and engaged the cougar.  Gravelle arrived at the home a short time later and found the cougar gnawing on Angel underneath the family’s porch.  Gravelle fired his gun, killing the cougar. Angel suffered numerous puncture wounds but survived.”

“A 35-year old Sicilian first showed up at a police station on Thursday asking to be arrested because he preferred spending the night in prison rather than with his family, but was rebuffed because he had not committed a crime, the Agi news agency said.  The man immediately went to a tobacco shop next door, where he threatened the owner with a box cutter as he grabbed a few sweets and a packet of gum. He then waited until police arrived to arrest him for robbery, the news agency said. ” Source: Reuters.com

Continuing a yearly “Assignment America” tradition, Steve Hartman visits and meets a group of ‘Secret Santas’ who randomly give to those in need this holiday season.

Five million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a war fueled primarily from gold mined in the country by warlords and smuggled out to be sold on the open market. Scott Pelley reports.