This is interesting its a project to help raise awareness about breast cancer. It called Artful Bras and the idea is that members of the Quilters of South Caroliner have created a one of a kind bra. The results will be part of a touring exhibit and when the exhibit ends in October will be auctioned off with the proceeds being donated to the Best Chance Network. Here are just a few of the designs but you can see the rest at the website here.

If you are planning a big romantic proposal this Valentines Day you might want to check out this article for some examples where a public proposal has gone horribly wrong. It includes one where a lady was left standing in a restaurant in her underwear after jumping out of a giant cake, her intended was not impressed and simply left. Shame.

We had roast pork at the weekend and my favourite part was the crackling which was perfect. Looking around on the internet it appears people have lots of different methods for making the perfect crackling. Personally I put deep cuts in the fat on top of the pork joint spaced about 1cm apart. Then I rub some salt into the cuts I have made and drizzle some olive oil over the top and put it into the oven covered for about 2 hours. Halfway through the cooking time I sprinkle a little more olive over the top and leave the meat covered with foil. Once the pork joint is cooked I slice the layer of fat from the top and place it into a roasting tray on its own for about 10 minutes with the newly exposed fat side facing to the top. This allows it time to crisp up to produce perfect pork crackling. I'm sure other people have tried and tested methods that they will want to share but this works for me. How do you cook your pork crackling?

A South Korean grandmother has taken the written driving test a total of 771 times and has failed on each occasion. She has been taking the test since April 2005 and consistently scores between 30 and 50 marks, however, she needs 60 out of 100 in order to pass. She has so far spent more than four million wong (about £2,000) but is not to put off and will be back for another attempt. I admire her persistence, I think I would have given up by now.

If you use Twitter you might want to check out an article from the Time Online which lists the 50 most popular celebrities on Twitter. Stephen Fry, Russell Brand, Britney Spears and John Cleese are just a few that you might be interested to follow.

According to this article the number of UFO sightings in Britain has doubled in the past year. A total of 285 unidentified flying objects were reported in 2008 compared to just 135 in 2007.  One was even reported hovering over Parliament on the 12th of February last year. I'm not entirely sure why the amount of sightings should double, perhaps it is down to people wanting to add a bit of excitement to their lives during the difficult economic conditions. Either way, one thing is for sure, if the aliens are looking for signs of intelligent life, then Parliament is the wrong place to look.

This article is interesting, it suggests that whales used to live on the land. Fossilised remains of an ancient whale from 47 million years ago seem to prove that the creatures were dependant on the land for resting and breeding and may have once lived completely on the land. The fossil found was a female whale that was pregnant with a calf when she died. The calf's position in the womb appears to back up the theory that at this point whales were not totally aquatic. Looking at the position of the calf in the womb it would have been born head first like land mammals rather than tail first as the norm in aquatic mammals. It is this that in the words of Phillip Gingerich of the University of Michigan shows “They clearly were tied to the shore".

I made this roasted rack of lamb with a herb crust and rosemary jus yesterday and it was really good. If you want to make it, here is the recipe which is from BBC food. I would recommend using less breadcrumbs than suggested in the recipe as I has too much of the bread crumb and herb mixture left over. As I tend to try and use everything to prevent waste I have saved the remaining left over herb crust mixture and intend to use it to make a herb crusted chicken breast during the week.

Ingredients
For the herb crust
200g/7oz fresh, rich white bread
2 tbsps freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp fresh soft thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
4 tbsp vegetable oil
100g/4oz unsalted butter
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 lean racks of lamb, french trimmed
For the rosemary jus
500ml/17fl oz hot, good lamb stock
1 large sprig fresh rosemary

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 240C/450F/Gas 9.
2. To prepare the herb crust, break the bread into large pieces and place in a food processor or blender and turn into fine crumbs.
3. Add the herbs and garlic and blitz for a further 30 seconds.
4. Heat the oil in a large pan with the butter until foaming, but not coloured. Season the racks and add to the pan, skin-side down, and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side (for medium rare). Remove from the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Place the racks of lamb, fat side up, on a chopping board, and brush the mustard over the racks, to apply a good coating.
6. Press a generous handful of the herb crust over the racks and transfer to a medium-sized roasting tin and roast for 5-15 minutes, depending on how your lamb is preferred. Cover the bones with foil if browning too quickly.
7. To make the jus, heat the stock and rosemary in a pan over a medium to high heat and reduce by half, stirring occasionally. Check seasoning, strain and keep warm.
8. Slice the racks in half and serve immediately.

Fossil hunters have discovered the fossil of a snake which they believe would have measured 45ft long. The snake would have been longer than a bus and would have been able to swallow an animal the size of a cow. The creature named Titanoboa would have lived on a diet of crocodiles and giant turtles which it would have squeezed to death before eating them whole. It would have lived in South America and would have weighed around 1.25 tons. This is an artists impression of what it might have looked like. It makes me think of the film Anaconda. I wonder whether there might still be some huge snakes living in remote locations today.

This is rather strange its a cardboard PC. It is made from 12 cardboard panels which are stuck together using non toxic adhesive. When the PC reaches the end of its life the cardboard body can be taken apart and recycled and the internal components are designed to be easily dismantled. I wonder how hot this thing gets, it does have a dedicated internal venting chamber but I'm not entirely sure putting a flammable material around a PC is such a good idea.

It appears that Woolworth's is not completely dead. This article suggests that the name will live again but as an online only brand. The brand has been purchased by Sir David and Frederick Barclay who specialise in buying up home delivery retail groups. They already own Littlewoods and some home delivery divisions of Argos including Kays, Marshall Wards and Great Universal and expect woolworths.co.uk to be running by the summer. It's good to see the Woolworths name will not disappear completely, and will be interesting to see what the online version is like.

This article from the National Geographic is quite interesting, it suggests that early humans were able to crack nuts with their teeth. Unlike us the Australopithecus africanus had strong chewing apparatus which was able to handle hard foods such as nuts and seeds when other food was not available. They also had well muscled heads that could withstand high forces such as the teeth of canines. I wish I could crack nuts with my teeth.

Allergy advice- contains milk. That's the very helpful advice found on the side of a pint of milk according to this article. Whilst I appreciate that allergy advice is needed on certain products that might have hidden milk content, I do think that anyone who buys a pink of milk is aware that there is milk in the product. This reminds of a bag of nuts that I purchased at Christmas which had the helpful advice "warning may contain nuts". Whoever puts these warning labels on the products must think we are really stupid.

I came across this picture of a cool hedge whale today. It was created by Nicki Leggatt who decided she wanted to do something a little different with the hedge in her front garden. I have a large hedge in my garden I wonder if my husband will let me turn it into a whale.