Student Paula Ross has finally beaten her debilitating phobia... of bananas.

Paula was gripped by terror for 20 years after being forced to eat them as a toddler.

The 23-year-old’s phobia became so bad that she could not be in the same room as one.

Paula, of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, suffered torment during her school days because playground bullies would chase her brandishing the fruit.

She admitted: ‘It is a ridiculous fear but it is something I have had since I can remember.

'People used to chase me round the playground at school with banana peels and everyone used to laugh at me. They thought it was hilarious.

'I couldn't even stand to be in the same room as a banana but this therapy has changed my life. It is absolutely fantastic.'

She was cured by neuro-linguistic programming, where she learnt to disassociate bad memories from objects and now regularly eats bananas.

For the original article, go here.

'Cat that barks like a dog until it is caught and meows again' is the catchy title of a slice of YouTube gold featuring yet another amazing moggy to add to our growing list, not least because of this feline's wily, wily stare at the camera.

Go here to see the video.

In the 20-second video, the black feline can be seen from behind, sticking its head out of a window and making said barking noises (some have suggested the mimic is to scare off an actual canine, but we're not sure).

When it realises its owner is behind it, camera in hand, however, the cat immediately switches to making more, err, cat-like noises.

'Hahahahahahahaha that cat turned around and was like "ohh, I mean meow meow meow",' quipped YouTube viewer morganlicious24.

'Godlike,' posted fellow viewer lep930050, echoed by Eveyx1's similar invocation of the pussy's mystical presence: 'Loooool that cat is a witch'.

Meanwhile, ennaidseixirt posited simply: 'It's a dog in disguise.'

Currently sitting on more than 1.3million views on the video-sharing site, 6,000 people have 'liked' the clip and it's been picked out and highlighted in YouTube's list of trending things, indicating that it is being passed around the interwebs lots and lots and lots.

Animal experts who have examined the video say it's not unusual for cats to bark, as the sound can be made as a sort of 'forced meow'.

The moggy in the clip could well have picked up the sound from a doggy pal, they point out.

What they've also noted (the killjoys) is that there's no way the cat switched back to meowing from barking because it was embarrassed. Instead, turning its head would have reduced the energy going through the creature's airway and transformed the barking sound back into more of a meow.

We, of course, will stick with the infinitely more chucklesome belief that the cat is indeed gutted at being caught in the act, thereby bolstering our theory that cats are smarter than humans and will one day take over the world.

Meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

For the original article, go here.

There are so many ways to pop popcorn at home.

Here are just a few common ones used in the last 70 years or so.

The motionless just sits there corn popper.

Shake the foil covered pan on the stove - aka Jiffy Pop.

Air popping - for grease-less popcorn - ptui!

Stir crazy poppers with a motor that stirred the popcorn and oil.

Microware popcorn.

Make it in a pot on the stove.

Could this be the world's worst sheepdog? Ci the Border Collie, who lives on Manor Farm in Langridge, near Bath, is scared of sheep.

The four-year-old mutt has been unable to do the job he was born for since he was a puppy, after developing ovinophobia.

His owner, Jane Lippington, says Ci suffers from a strange split personality where his instinct is to chase the sheep in order to round them up.

However, when he gets close to the flock - or they turn to face him - his fear kicks in and he backs off.

With the sheep given a rare feeling of superiority, Ci is more likely to be chased off by them than the other way around.

Crufts or One Man And His Dog, this is not.

'If they run away from him, he will go after them and act like a proper sheepdog, but the moment they turn and face him he runs away,' said Mrs Lippington, who runs the 200-acre farm with her husband Donald.

'Sheep can be quite aggressive if they think they have the upper hand - they stamp their feet and gang up in numbers and act like an army.'

Despite his shortcomings - and the fact it means she does more herding than Ci - Mrs Lippington says she wouldn't swap her pet for any other.

'The only way to make it work is for me to get behind them first and shoo them so they run away and then Ci joins in,' she explained.

'He might be the worst sheepdog in Britain but there's no way we would be without Ci, he's part of the family.'

For the original article, go here.

Meet the bird that took a wrong turn near its icy Antarctic home and washed up thousands of miles away on New Zealand’s North Island.

The young emperor penguin waddled ashore this week, much to the surprise of locals.

‘It was out of this world to see it, like someone just dropped it from the sky,’ said Christine Wilton, who found the animal while walking her dog on Peka Peka beach.

Referring to the 2006 cartoon about a dancing penguin, she added: ‘It looked like Happy Feet – it was totally in the wrong place.’

It is not known where in Antarctica the bird swam from but the shortest route from there to New Zealand spans about 3,200km (2,000 miles).

The penguin is about ten months old and 80cm (2ft 6in) tall.

It may have been searching for squid or krill to eat when it became lost, said Colin Miskelly, a curator at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. It appeared healthy, with plenty of body fat, he added, but it would need to find its way home soon.

The bird would be hot and thirsty and it had been eating sand in the belief it was snow, said Mr Miskelly.

It will be left alone by conservationists for the time being, however.

The last sighting of a wild emperor in New Zealand was in 1967.

They are the largest penguin species, growing up to 1.2m (4ft), and they can spend months at a time in the sea. The birds’ harsh Antarctic life featured in the 2005 film March Of The Penguins.

For the original article, go here.

English bulldog Menace has a collection of snazzy outfits that include a devil costume, Dennis the Menace jumper and a hoodie top sporting the flag of St George.

There's no telling what he would do on a catwalk but there’s no denying this bulldog is one snappy dresser.

But his owner, Melanie Morley, said the three-year-old’s pride and joy is his Count Dracula get-up.

The 39-year-old said: ‘Menace loves his outfits and will strut around the neighbourhood whenever he puts them on. He first wore one when a neighbour brought me a little outfit

around.

'She’d bought it for her dog but it was too small and I put it on Menace to see what he thought and he loved it.

‘He’s a bit of a prima donna and very ignorant to other dogs and just thinks he’s better than all the rest.’

He even has his own Facebook page where he shows off some of the  outfits. The pouting pooch, from Stockport, has won rosettes at dog shows – including ‘best in show’ as a

puppy and a place as ‘most handsome male’ in Manchester’s Pink Dog Show for ‘butch’ and ‘camp’ pets

For the original article, go here!

A skunk's stripes aren't just for style: They may direct predators' eyes straight to the source of the animal's smelly anal spray.

A new analysis of data on and pictures of nearly 200 carnivorous mammals—including skunks, badgers, and wolverines—shows that fierce fighters tend to be more boldly colored than more peaceable animals, which tend to use camouflage to stay safe.

And those colorations depend on the animals' methods of defense.

Creatures such as skunks, which have long stripes down their body, "tend to be really good at spraying their anal gland secretions—not just dribbling them out," said study leader Ted Stankowich, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Skunks are known to eject their offensive musk as far as about ten feet (three meters).

Other "species that are pretty good at [spraying]—they may not have pure stripes, but their blotches sort of form a stripe down the body."

(See "U.S. Military Is Seeking Ultimate 'Stink Bomb.'")

On the other end, badgers—which bite attackers—often have stripes by their mouths.

"We think these stripes may guide predators' attention to the source of danger," said Stankowich.

"If you're a badger and your mouth is the source of danger, that's what you want to advertise."

For the original article, go here!

What could be better than Tudesday?

A traffic cone has become the must-have des-res for a family of great tits, who moved into the red and white object in the main driveway of the grounds of Holt Hall, Norfolk.

It has a bird’s eye view of open fields and its cost won’t dent anyone’s nest egg – as long as you don’t mind a little road noise.

Chris Blake, head gardener at the field studies centre, lifted the cone to cut the grass and found nine eggs in a nest.

‘I’ve known tits to nest in walls and other places you wouldn’t expect before but this is certainly the most unusual nest I have found,' Mr Blake said.

'The parents have been going in and out and one of them was up in the tree making a noise when I moved the cone.

'We kept quiet about it because if we put up a sign everybody would have been nosing in.'

Two weeks later, after a bit of tender loving care from their doting mother, they all hatched into healthy chicks.

The birds have now flown the impromptu nest, leaving the cone free for its next residents to move in - but Mr Blake might just move it to a quieter area so he can mow the lawn.

For the original article, go here!

This tough as nails bird was hit by a car in Australia and managed to survive in the front grille for 24 hours.

Nicknamed 'Gorilla' after the ordeal, this plucky kookaburra is lucky to be alive after pensioner Bruce Wham hit him as he drove north from New South Wales and into Queensland.

Bruce, who lives in Wollongong, said he definitely heard something when two kookaburra's flew in front of his car, but thought nothing more of it and continued on his journey.

When he stopped at a forecourt to fill up a few kilometres on from the initial incident, he did a quick check and saw the bird.

Thinking it was dead he continued on his journey. But when he arrived at his destination almost 24 hours and 700km later, Gorilla had come out of his daze and was flapping about.

Bruised and battered, the kookaburra was taken to a Brisbane animal shelter and given some tender loving care for 17 days.

Because he's not a local Gorilla is being prepared for a flight back down to the Hunter Valley so he can be released back into the wild and rejoin his flock.

He might even find the love of his life who was apparently flying beside him at the time of the accident.

'Gorilla is a wild kookaburra and he hates being in the cage here, he really wants to get back to the wild, said RSPCA wildlife officer Leonie Rickard.

'They're a very territorial species so the most important thing is to get him back exactly where he came from, and the other reason is apparently there's a girlfriend waiting for him, so fingers crossed we can reunite the two.' she said.

For the original article, go here!

I have Tude's green couch again!

How did I get it?

Maybe I need to work out some more?

A thirsty elephant has been trumped in the mystery of the leaking Jacuzzi.

Female elephant with the nickname Troublesome was caught on camera draining the jacuzzi by a guest at Etali Safari Lodge in South Africa.

Staff and owners had been scratching their heads for weeks trying to work out what was the cause of the mystery leak.

Discovering 'Troublesome' was behind it, the rangers also then realised unexplained marks on the wooded fence were created by her tusks that would get lodged as she drank.

Elephants can drink up to 200 litres per day and prefer clean water.

For the original article, go here.

Most people may think smoking is bad for their health - but not for a family of blue tits.

The proud feathered parents have set up home in an outdoor ashtray located on a business park in Wallsend, North Tyneside.

Workers have been downing tools during feeding time to watch the fascinating sight of nature at the Oceana Business Park.

"I was delighted to hear about the arrival of our newest tenants, it reflects the care and attention we deliver in maintaining the business park's working environment," said Tony Mann, managing director of The Oceana Group.

"The surrounding greenery and wildlife plays an essential role in the harmonious running of the site.

"We have a groundsman who keeps Oceana in a pristine condition; and bird tables and friendly feeding areas have been installed for our feathered friends.

"I believe it all adds to the overall ambience of this beautiful heritage location.

"We have yet to negotiate a rent for Mr and Mrs Blue Tit but I think for this occasion we can come to some sort of special arrangement."

A note saying "Please don't use - birds inside!" has been put next to the ashtray as a temporary sign telling people not to put out their lit cigarettes inside.

For the original article, go here.