It can get really hot inside the train cab, but male employees are forbidden by management to wear shorts. Thankfully, they've figured out a way to, ahem, skirt around the ban:

"Of course people stare at you a little when you are on the platform, but you just have to put up with it," train driver Martin Åkersten told the local Mitti newspaper.

Åkersten is one of a group of 13 male employees who have been wearing skirts in order to keep cool while working the Roslagsbanan commuter train services.

"It can be over 35 degrees Celsius in the train cab on hot summer days," he said.

Åkersten's employers Arriva have meanwhile responded positively to the move and have given their approval to the men in skirts.

"To say anything else would be discrimination," communications head Thomas Hedenius told the newspaper.

Link (Photo: Wikimedia)

Today is National Donut Day (peace be upon you), a holy day of great importance. To mark the occasion, Dominique Zamora rounded up some of the strangest, most inventive donut recipies around.

This is Lori and Michelle's avocado donut. It's so healthy that I suspect that it's actually dangerous. Their recipe is gluten free, vegan, soyfree and low sugar. You might want to eat a glazed donut afterward just be on the safe side.

Link -via Foodbeast

Everybody's prancercising. Even the son of Odin. Here's how Thor stays in supreme physical shape: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] | Ryan Frye Thor's FB page - via Fashionably Geek

The king of the Koopas from Super Mario Bros. is simply too cute to attack now. Jennifer Olivarez describes the costume she crocheted:

For Make It! Challenge #5, Lisa Egolf challenged me to crochet a sweater for her turtle, Myrtle, so that he would be easy to spot when she lets him loose to play in the courtyard of the school where she teaches science. “I think bright yet manly colors would be best,” she said, because after all this Myrtle is male (don’t judge). So I set out to design the most masculine turtle sweater I could.

Link -via Greek Crafts

Manatea Tea Infuser

Life can be exhausting. For those days when you want to slow down the pace and gently glide through life there is the Manatea Tea Infuser from the NeatoShop. This fantastic tea infuser is shaped like your favorite marine mammal. 

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Manatee items and great Coffee & Tea stuff. 

Link

Yeah, I definitely should have gone with Dragonhunter and Hellbender for my daughters.

Compressed Flapwort? That's so terrible that I can see it becoming popular. Bird and Moon may have done more harm than good by publishing this comic.

Link -via It's Okay to Be Smart

The blogger behind Mallow & Co. acquired a supply of lime-flavored marshmallows and used much of it to make Rice Krispie treats flavored like key lime pie. She needed a use for her remaining supply and realized she could mix up mojitos. These aren't alcoholic, but with vanilla flavored almond bark and mint extract, they should nicely complement a cold mojito.

Link -via Tasteologie

The Mughal Empire and Mewar clashed in 1576 at the Battle of Haldighati. Maharana Pratap, the ruler of Mewar, rode into battle on his famous warhorse, Chetak. Pratrap equipped his horse with armor that made him resemble an elephant in the hope of confusing enemy war elephants.

Link -via The Oddment Emporium

(Photo: unknown)

There's nothing as delicious as Chewie chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. Susan of Diamonds for Dessert made these Wookiee cookies using white chocolate for the accents around Chewbacca's mouth and bandoleer.

Link -via That's Nerdalicious!

I can't think of a better concept for a retirement party cake than one that illustrates the final Calvin and Hobbes strip. Keira's Cakes of Glasgow, UK made this cake showing the two friends riding off to new adventures. You can see more photos of it at the link.

Link | Baker's Website

(Cartoon: Bill Watterson, Universal Press Syndicate.)

Su Ami, a family-run studio in Vietnam, crochets adorably tiny animals and cartoon characters with embroidery threads. How do the artists manage to be so precise at that scale?

Link -via 22 Words

Photo: National Parks and Wildlife Services

Photo: Michael Murphy

Got slugs in your garden? Betcha not like this giant pink slug in Australia! National Parks ranger Michael Murphy shares with us some photos of the giant, hot pink slug in Mount Kaputar, New South Wales:

''It's just one of those magical places, especially when you are up there on a cool, misty morning,'' said Michael Murphy, a national parks ranger for 20 years, whose beat covers the mountain top.

''It's a tiny island of alpine forest, hundreds of kilometres away from anything else like it. The slugs, for example, are buried in the leaf mould during the day, but sometimes at night they come out in their hundreds and feed off the mould and moss on the trees. They are amazing, unreal-looking creatures.''

Locals had long reported seeing bizarre pink slugs after rainfall in the area, but it was only very recently that taxonomists confirmed the slugs, Triboniophorus aff. graeffei, as well as several of the snail species - which prey on other vegetarian land snails - were unique to the mountaintop.

Ben Cubby of The Sydney Morning Herald has the story: Link

This sport is, like, real! Participants race downhill in Barbie-branded Power Wheels cars. The competitions are cutthroat and few drivers even reach the finish line. But the winners gain glory to last for generations.

At the link, you can watch four videos of these races.

Link

Inflatable Evil Unicorn Horn for Cats

Does your precious cat have a wee bit of an evil streak? Embrace his wickedness with the Inflatable Evil Unicorn Horn for Cats from the NeatoShop. This cat-tastic pet accessory features a black horn that is as dark as your cat's soul.  Evil cats love it (maybe)!

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

Link

If there's something that you can't cook inside a brownie, I don't know it. Becca of Becca Bakes baked Ferro Rocher chocolate and hazelnut candies inside super rich brownies. You can find her recipe at the link.

Link -via Foodbeast