It's not easy making Eagle, the highest honor in Boy Scouts. Although more than 1.8 million young men have earned the Eagle Scout rank since its introduction in 1911, only 2 percent of Boy Scouts get that far.

So it is all the more impressive that Eagle Scout James Calderwood has all 121 merit badges that are available, from American business to cinematography to engineering all the way through woodwork. He even has one they don't give out anymore, so make it 122.

"There wasn't a badge that I dreaded getting. I mean, every single badge intrigued me." Though bugling was probably one of the most difficult, says the high school senior: "I've never been very musically gifted."

(via The Washington Post)

Wearing Our Power on Our Sleeves
Researchers from the Nanomaterials Research Centre at Massey University in New Zealand have developed synthetic dyes that can be used to generate electricity at one tenth of the cost of current silicon-based solar panels. These photosynthesis-like compounds work in low-light conditions and can be cheaply incorporated into windowpanes and building materials and, eventually, into our clothes, thereby turning them into generators of electricity.

"Within two to three years we will have developed a prototype for real applications," says researcher Wayne Campbell. "The technology could be sold off already, but it would be a shame to get rid of it now."

This means that not only are power companies gonna be, um, annoyed; but we may also be wearing our batteries in three years.

Keep Digging, Big Three
Further proof — as if we needed it — that U.S. automakers have screwed up royally: Bus manufacturers are already rolling out the environmentally friendly vehicles — years before major automakers say they will.

In 2002, mechanical engineer Ewan Pritchard unveiled his plan to turn the soot-spewing school bus into a clean, green plug-in-hybrid machine; this means high mileage and no more exhaust clouds at each stop, notes The Christian Science Monitor. Such plug-in hybrid buses use both a diesel engine and an electric motor – plugging into a power socket at night to charge batteries.

Now the nation's biggest school-bus maker has orders for 19 buses from districts in 11 states.

(See this week's The Cautious Big 3 and the Asian Auto Market and Start Your Engines In the Race for Green post)

Bid Higher, Michael
Whoa, first we had a Ghostbusters Ecto-1 replica on the chopping block (second-to-last item), and now this!

KITT, the flame-throwing, river-jumping, talking muscle car from the staple 1980s TV show "Knight Rider," is up for sale. Unlike the Ecto-1, this is no replica; it's the real thing.

Restored to its debut-season glory, the modified black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am is offered at $149,995 at an auto dealership in Dublin, Calif., reports The Associated Press. Johnny "Vette" Verhoek of Kassabian Motors has had the car, officially called Knight Industries Two Thousand, on display for about a month. It is one of four documented "camera cars" used for close-up shots and scenes where David "The Hoff" Hasselhoff, who played was Michael Knight in the series, was behind the wheel.

And yes, the red scanner light on the nose glows and makes a humming noise. I'm hooked… on a feeling.

(pic via Hyper Link)

$1 Parking Ticket from 1980 Finally Paid
A parking ticket for $1 issued in 1980 showed up at the police department late last month, leaving police dumbfounded. The scofflaw tossed in a $3 late fee.

"It's kind of cool that someone took the time to take care of their obligation after 26 years," a police captain, who doesn't know who mailed in the payment, told the (Milwaukee) Journal Sentinel.

The return address on the ticket read, "Someone who keeps way too many old papers way too long."

I.e., Faith to Be Questioned More Frequently
Paleontologists predict we are entering a "golden era" of dinosaur discovery — one which may ultimately lead to nearly 2,000 different types of the ancient reptiles being known.

BBC News reports:

With previously unexplored areas of the world now opening up for paleontologists, new dinosaur finds are coming every week, perhaps offering further clues as to how they lived, and also how they died out.

Nearly 200 years of excavating dino remains notwithstanding, paleontologists now believe they have only scratched the surface (literally).

Try Telling This to the Chef
Today's students know there are higher standards for healthfulness, so leave it to them to figure out a way to call pizza "health food."

According to the American Chemical Society, "a team of students from the University of Maryland presented results of a study that showed that baking pizza at higher temperatures for longer periods can boost its antioxidant levels 60 percent." During testing, the antioxidant levels increased as much as 60 percent with longer baking times, and as much as 82 percent with higher baking temperatures.

Antioxidants, of course, protect cells from being damaged by oxidation, acting as stabilizers by preventing "breakdown" of essential fatty acids in oils and in the body

The chemistry students added that this change to the baking works well for deep-dish pizza, seeing as it needs longer baking times than other pizza types.

(Contributed by Fred White)

Battery-Powered Motorcycle Hits 60 Mph in 1.5 Sec.
What do you get when you mix motorcycle enthusiasts with battery developers?

The KillaCycle was the winner of the All Harley Drag Racing Association event late last month. It holds the top speed record for the 1/4 mile, at a blistering 156 mph, according to a A123Systems news release. "Weighing just over 165 pounds, the A123Systems battery pack delivers over 350 horse power to the motorcycle drive train and holds 7.5 kWh of energy."

Held at the Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., the official record for any electric vehicle worldwide in the 1/4 mile is set now at an elapsed time of 8.16 seconds.

Here is a video of one of the record-breaking runs at Firebird Raceway:

(Contributed by Fred White)

Gmail's April Fool:

Not everyone loves email, or the digital era. What ever happened to stamps, filing cabinets, and the mailman? Well, you asked for it, and it's here. We're bringing it back.

Learn more about Gmail Paper.

Would Your Boss Even Consider Pondering the Idea of Thinking about the Possibility of Maybe Doing Something Like This?
One might think this is an April fool's gag, but no.

Tim Bock is the owner and general manager of a roofing and siding supply business in Illinois, according to The Chicago Sun-Times. Two weeks ago, he walked into the Volo Auto Museum and said to the dealers, "There's a commercial salesman who's helped build this company, and I just wanted to blow his mind because he's been dreaming about a Mustang for years."

On Wednesday, Bill Baldauf's coworkers threw a belated birthday and 17th anniversary bash for him at the company's office. He looked out the window and saw the red 1965 Mustang in the parking lot below. When Baldauf took a seat inside the $12,000 sports car, he found a bouquet of 17 long-stemmed roses, one for each year he has spent at the company. Bock is springing for the first year of insurance, too. Baldauf originally thought Bock had just rented the Mustang for the special day.

His response: "You shouldn't have."

Total: 658,000
Breast enlargements were the most popular plastic surgery procedure in 2006 with 329,000 procedures performed, reports Reuters.

Now you know.

This Week's Battle of WTF Headlines

Keith Richards: 'I snorted my father'

VERSUS

Kim Jong Il ate my rabbits for his birthday

Runners-up

Ford CEO: $28M for 4 months work

Scientists find Earth's core is really, really hot.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Car Enthusiast/Devoted Husband
Nick Pointing's wife Carolyn loves Chitty Chitty Bang Bang — like, LOVES it. So Nick, 41, fulfilled his wife's love by building a real-life version of the fantasy car, reports the UK's Daily Mail.

He spent four years transforming his old Land Rover into his wife's dream car, using a 1968 Corgi toy car as a guide for his measurements, complete with foldout wings. Though he had no prior welding or building experience, Pointing devoted a majority of his time during those four years to building Chitty. A 1973 Series 3 Land Rover was stripped of all its components, leaving only the chassis and its 2.3-liter engine. The wooden part of the car came from a local boatyard, and the windscreen came from an old MG sports car.

With a top-speed of 80 mph, the couple has obtained an MOT certificate, making the car road legal. They now plan to travel 12,000 miles in their Chitty Chitty Bang Bang rendition on an overland journey to Australia.

Before

After

Cheers.