Don Deane

In the U.K., a 40-year-old man recently had a plastic fork surgically removed from his stomach after swallowing it. That’s bad enough, but when you consider that he ingested the item a decade ago, the story reaches all new levels of weird. We’ll never look at cutlery the same way again.

Early Monday morning, NASA’s $2.5 billion Curiosity rover safely landed on Mars after eight months of interplanetary travel. The car-sized, one-ton rover now begins a two-year mission of exploration and discovery as it roams the surface of the red planet.

A 22-year-old Virginia woman performed a remarkable feat last Saturday when she reportedly lifted a car off her father who was pinned beneath, then saved his life with CPR.

Most kids, especially boys, love temporary tattoos. (They’re second only to, say, stickers.) But the toddler in this video seems to have some serious regret over his ink and cries out in despair. It’s okay, buddy. It’ll come off with rubbing alcohol. We promise.

In a move that will probably delight and disgust convenience store shoppers at the same time, 7-11 has begun offering mashed potatoes and gravy via a vending machine. Alas, the machines aren’t available here in the US yet. As strange as it sounds, we’d probably be first on line if they were.

The very first photo uploaded to the internet is making the rounds once again nearly 20 years after earning the distinction. And, no, it’s not a photo of cat, a corgi or even Nicolas Cage. It’s way, way worse than that.

While the rest of us were enjoying a lengthy 4th of July fireworks show last night, San Diego residents got completely robbed when their display went off all at once in a spectacular explosion that lasted a mere 15 seconds.

For more than a decade, Michael Phelps has been the undisputed star of male competitive swimming. But that may change when 27-year-old Ryan Lochte competes at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London and vies for the title of the fastest swimmer alive. To get to know this athlete better, here are 10 things you may not know about the Olympic hopeful.

It might seem at first like the image below has been altered in Photoshop, but this lizard really does look like everyone’s favorite Web-Slinger. Er, is this your friendly neighborhood Spider-Lizard?

As if high cholesterol, heart disease and the potential for Mad Cow aren’t bad enough, now red meat lovers have another threat to contend with — an allergic reaction to beef potentially triggered by a bite from the common lone star tick.

Climbing aboard a scary amusement park ride when you’re afraid of heights — like this dad did — takes guts. But appearing on ‘Today’ and explaining your sobbing, terrified reaction? That takes more courage than we can even imagine.

It’s no secret that our children are more adept at using technology than we are, but a new survey by computer security company McAfee suggests their using their skills to be sneaky.