Photo: Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano

You'd expect to find gold bullions inside the vast vault of The Credito Emiliano bank in Italy, but instead, you'd find something else just as valuable: Parmesan cheese.

Oddity Central explains:

Cash-for-cheese sounds more like a joke that a serious financial agreement, but in some regions of Italy it’s a reality. The famous Parmesan is so precious that some banks are willing to keep the cheese as collateral against loans to local producers.

The Credito Emiliano bank has hundreds of branches and thousands of employees around central and northern Italy. Its central offices look like those of any other banking institution, with cameras watching every angle, security doors to lock down the place and even a big vault in the back. Only you’re not going to find too many diamonds or hard cash stored in there. Instead, there are hundreds of thousands of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese wheels, neatly placed on giant shelves. The bank takes the Parmesan from local producers in exchange for a cheap loan, and charges a 3% interest as well as a fee for looking after the cheese and making sure it matures properly in the air-conditioned, humidified vault. It might seem strange, but Credito Emiliano treats Parmigiano-Reggiano like other banks do gold. And for good reason, as the mountains of cheese locked away in its secured vault are worth around $200 million.

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A Brazilian Lothario decided to take advantage of his lover's quarrel with her husband to make a hasty getaway. The man, who wore only his boxer shorts, climbed down the third story window of a house in São Paulo using knotted bed sheets, then jumped onto fireman's emergency mattress ... straight onto YouTube infamy!

It's unclear whether the event was real or staged for for a reality TV show: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Telegraph

There's a limit to a mother's love. Like, for instance, when 37-year old Latasha Renee Love called the cops on her son for stealing her Pop-Tarts.

The child was busted on a larceny charge, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, whose officers were summoned Monday night to a Charlotte home by Latasha Renee Love, the accused juvenile’s 37-year-old mother.

A police report notes that “the known suspect stole Pop-tarts belonging to his mother at their home at 530 Goldstaff Ln. The suspect was juvenile arrested at the time of the offence.”

Cops described the stolen goods as “Foodstuffs” valued at $5.

The Smoking Gun was there: Link

Retro Pockets Fire Truck 

Are you looking for a fun place to store your most prized trinkets? Embrace your inner child and get the Retro Pockets Fire Truck from the NeatoShop. This versatile pocket purse is shaped like a toy metal firetruck. It is perfect for holding money or other small items. 

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Wallets, Purses, & Coin Bags. 

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M41A3 Walker Bulldog tank in Cantigny Park, Wheaton, Illinois. Photo: Paul Shambroom

Something old,
Something new,
Something armored,
something blue ...

What wedding wouldn't be improved with a battle tank? After all, all is fair in love and war.

Photographer Paul Shambroom was fascinated with weapons of war brought back from distant battlefields as memorials and public art, and decided to feature them in his latest photograph series titled Shrines.

Shambroom wrote in this fascinating article over at Visura Magazine:

What happens to weapons of war when they are no longer useful for their original purposes? Those that are not scrapped often are given second lives in the public sphere, mounted in places of honor in communities across the United States. Town squares, city parks, armories, VFW and American Legion posts display retired weapons from past American conflicts. Built for combat or other military functions, these objects now serve in a range of entirely different roles in their new settings: memorial, tourist attraction, retail signage, playground equipment, historic artifact. [...]

View more over at Visura Magazine and Paul's website

If you love butter, Southern cooking, more butter, and Paula Deen you are going to be super excited to learn that Paula Deen's childhood home is being turned into a museum. A group of investors recently purchased the Albany, Georgia home and have plans to turn it into a lucractive tourist destination.

Paula Deen said she was deeply touched by the desire to turn her home into a museum. She may even help furnish the space with real Paula Deen artifcats.   

"That house holds so many memories for me," Paula Deen said of the Whitney Avenue residence. "All the cheerleader cookouts, the spend-the-night parties. ... And it just so happens I can pretty much furnish it like it was. I still have mama's living room set and daddy's -- they had separate rooms later on because daddy had to sleep with a night light on and mama couldn't.

Will there or won't there be a bronze statue of Paula holding a stick of butter placed in the garden? We don't know, but this is one rumor we hope is true. 

Carlton Fletcher of the Albany Herald has more: Link

Photo: Zombie Back Scratcher from the NeatoShop

Itchy? Blame the neurotransmitter Nppb!

Santosh Mishra and Mark Hoon of the National Institute of Health have answered the question you've been itching to ask:

To test whether Nppd played a role in the itching, they genetically engineered some mice so that they failed to produce the chemical. Initially, they checked to see if these engineered mice were impervious to other types of sensations also conveyed by these neurons (pain, movement and heat), but they seemed to behave just the same as the normal mice, indicating Nppb wasn’t involved in the transmission of those stimuli.

Then, they exposed them once again to the itch-inducing chemicals. The normal mice scratched away, but the genetically engineered mice were another story. “It was amazing to watch,” Mishra said in a press statement. “Nothing happened. The mice wouldn’t scratch.”

Dawn of Gaming by Naolito

It's On like Donkey Kong! T-shirt designer extraordinaire Naolito mashed up a bit of classic video game with Space Odyssey in this brilliant T-shirt. The Monolith has never looked so fun!

Check out Naolito's website, FB page, Tumblr and deviantArt for more geeky designs, then visit his NeatoShop page to get some! Link

Dragon Egg	Beakerful of Science	Evolution of Hypnotoad	To Infinity and Beyond

View more T-shirts by Naolito | More Funny T-shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's talk! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop, earn generous royalties, and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Here's proof that all you need in life are laughter, funny Internet videos, and take-outs. All in large quantities! Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Miss Cellania

Like it says on the tin, Animated Albums is a Tumblr blog dedicated to applying the high art of animated GIF to music albums. The result is simply fantastic! See if your favorite album has been animated: Link

If you think that your cat has a hairball problem, just be thankful that it's not as big as Ty's. The 400-lb tiger had to have surgery to remove a 4-lb hairball!

Veterinary surgeons in Tampa Bay were called in after Ty the tiger failed to cough up the monster obstruction all by himself. [...]

The vets initially performed an ultrasound and took X-rays before using a endoscope with a camera to gauge the size of the hairball. But it was so big, they determined there was no chance of retrieving it that way and an operation would be needed.

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Who has time to change the car tires? Time is short in Saudi Arabia. There's oil to pump out of the ground, palaces to build and a kingdom to run. That's why Saudi men decided to multitask a bit on this exciting driving stunt dubbed "sidewalk skiing," which strangely involved no sidewalk and no skiing.

Tim Allman of BBC News has the story: Link [self-starting video]

The Lorax speaks for the trees and now writes for them, too. DeviantART member Inciatus made this bookcase inspired by Dr. Seuss's classic children's book The Lorax. He gave it to his cousin, an elementary school teacher.

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This odd but cute-looking home is in Salzburg, Austria. Markus Voglreiter designed it to house two generations of the same family. You can view more photos of it at the link. Before you leave it, put the parking brake on.

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Transformer Xi 12-in-1

Father's Day is almost here. Don't get Dad another useless gift. This year get Dad your gadget loving Dad the Transformer Xi 12-in-1 multi-tool from the NeatoShop. 

The Transformer Xi 12-in-1 is a lightweight and compact multi-tool that includes: 

• 6 Swing-out Screwdrivers
• 2-LED Flashlight
• Ruler Marks
• Straight Edge
• Key Ring
• and Work Light

This fantastic tool comes housed in a handsome gift box. 

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Tools. 

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But first, you have to buy the mint at this Ling & Louie's. And they cost a dollar each.

-via Pleated Jeans

(photo: unknown)

Do Nathan Shields's human parasite pancakes contain actual parasites? Well, Mr. Shields doesn't write much about his creations. He just posts pictures and lets you guess.

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Don't worry English majors. Graduate, get about a decade of experience and you might get to write for a blog someday. 

Link -via 22 Words

Anne Wheaton, the wife of celebrity geek and Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wil Wheaton, writes: 

Wil was asked to sign the yearbook of a boy who just graduated from high school. He added a little extra something.

All of this is good advice to high school graduates. I would also suggest not attempting to perform a Kolvoord Starburst unless you're a master pilot.

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The remains of the abandoned Beelitz Sanatorium is a combination of grand architecture and eerie medical artifacts. Built in 1898 in Berlin, it served victims of tuberculosis until it was converted to aid the wounded of World War II, including Adolf Hitler. After World War II, the hospital was used by Soviets occupying East Germany. Most of the Beelitz-Heilstätten complex has been empty since 1994. See a collection of awesome photographs of the sanatorium at Kuriositas. Link -via the Presurfer

(Image credit: Flickr user Judith74)

As the centennial of World War I approaches, Erik Sass is giving us a series on the events that led to the conflict, each story posted 100 years after it occurred. In the latest installment, we learn of the Colonel Alfred Redl, head of Vienna's military intelligence, who was uncovered as a spy for Russia.

Redl was unusual all around: the son of a poor railway clerk in the eastern Austrian province of Galicia (now Ukraine), his brilliant intellect propelled him into the top ranks of the army, usually an aristocratic preserve, where he served as chief of counter-intelligence from 1903-1907, then head of all intelligence operations from 1907-1912. In a conservative institution he embraced modern, innovative techniques like telephone and wireless eavesdropping, hidden cameras and recording devices, and dusting for fingerprints.

But Redl had more secrets than anyone could have guessed: in an era when homosexuality was a deviant crime punishable with prison time or worse, Redl’s double life was a huge liability that left him vulnerable to blackmail. During a visit to Russia to polish his Russian in 1889, Russian intelligence discovered his secret via a woman Redl employed as his “beard,” then supplied Redl with a series of young lovers to further incriminate him. Beginning in 1902 the Russians threatened to uncover Redl while also offering him huge sums of money for top secret information. The combination of carrot and stick was enough to convince Redl to turn traitor.

When Redl was caught, his shocked fellow officers attempted to avoid scandal by giving Redl the opportunity to commit suicide, averting a full investigation. But it didn't matter, as a strange series of circumstances brought the investigation to the Viennese press. Read the while story at mental_floss. Link

(YouTube link)

When this zinger came up during a video shoot, Mom and Dad decided this short clip was the perfect way to announce the big news to family and friends. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Richard Arvine Overton of Austin, Texas, plans to spend this Memorial Day at home, with his usual cigars and whiskey-spiked coffee. At the age of 107, the World War II veteran deserves to do what he pleases. 

Overton, who is believed to be the nation's oldest veteran, told FoxNews.com he’ll likely spend the day on the porch of his East Austin home with a cigar nestled in his right hand, perhaps with a cup of whiskey-stiffened coffee nearby.

“I don’t know, some people might do something for me, but I’ll be glad just to sit down and rest,” the Army veteran said during a phone interview. “I’m no young man no more.”

Overton, who was born on May, 11, 1906, in Texas’ Bastrop County, has gotten used to being the center of attention of late. In addition to being formally recognized by Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell on May 9, Overton traveled to Washington, D.C., on May 17 as part of Honor Flight, a nonprofit group that transports veterans free of charge to memorials dedicated to their service. Despite serving in the South Pacific from 1942 through 1945, including stops in Hawaii, Guam, Palau and Iwo Jima to name a few, it was Overton’s first time in the nation’s capital.

Read more about Overton and his secrets for a long life. Link -via reddit

(Video Link)

Well, it was a wrenching scene. And this pug/chihuahua is only 3 years old--young for that kind of drama.

-via Ace of Spades HQ

Backbiting and political intrigue? That's just a regular day at the office, as Jimmy Fallon's new clip Game of Desks shows. Watch, but beware. You know what they say. Paperwork is coming.

Hit play or go to Link [Hulu]

Bacon Tie

Father's Day is coming. Don't get Dad another ordinary tie. Get Dad the Bacon Tie from the NeatoShop. This deliciously fun necktie looks like strips of raw bacon. Your smokin' hot Dad will appreciate your meaty gift. 

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Bacon items. 

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You can probably parallel park easily with the super short bus that we featured yesterday, but can you climb over obstacles? Could you jump over other school buses? Jalopnik tells us about this beauty that could:

Unsurprisingly, the owners of this fine machine do a metric ton of custom work, mostly of the off-road variety. As you read this, they're busy stuffing a 602 cubic inch V8 into a 30 year old Silverado, getting it ready for some major mud bogging here in Nova Scotia on June 15th.

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