Self-surgery is not new. Most famously, a Soviet doctor performed his own appendectomy in 1962 because there was no one else available in Antarctica to do it.

Dr. Chen Wei-nong, though, performed a less time-sensitive operation: a vasectomy. Oddity Central tells us that this plastic surgeon in Taiwan performed his own vasectomy, recorded it, and then posted the video online. I can confirm that this video is indeed available, should you wish to watch it.

Although a vasectomy normally takes 15 minutes, Dr. Chen is not a urologist, so figuring out the procedure and completing it took him a full hour. He suggests that men seeking to follow his example instead have it performed by a urologist.

For many years it was a tradition for local students sitting exams to make sure to ride this bus or a bus driven by this driver, who famously did not fall (in Japanese fall/fail can be the same word). Everyone remembers seeing this bus on a collapsed highway after the big… https://t.co/ETceFMbATL

— Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) January 17, 2025

Wrath of Gnon, a culture critic who lives in Japan, shares this story about the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which struck southern Japan 30 yeras ago today on January 17, 1995. Bus driver Yusui Yoshimasa survived, as did his Mitsubishi Fuso Aerobus. In fact, the bus was put back in service and was popular among students preparing for exams.

NHK World-Japan interviewed Yoshimasa about his experience during and after this terrifying event. He's still driving, but a different bus.

Popular Science reports that scientists from Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam have just classified a species of giant isopod in Vietnam. They've named it Bathynomus vaderi after Darth Vader, as they see a resemblance between its head and Vader's famous helmet.

Giant isopods are a popular source of meat in East Asia, so it was easy for the researchers to acquire large quantities of them from fishermen for examination. The researchers' article in the journal ZooKeys makes no mention of mysterious powers from Bathynomus vaderi, such as the ability to choke people without touching them.

-via Dave Barry

Joe Velaidum of Prince Edward Island has a doorbell camera mounted at the front door of his home. CBC News reports that in July, that camera recorded a meteorite strike right in front of his home. Velaidum says that he had stood in that spot just a couple minutes before the bug meteor attack, so he's very lucky to have been elsewhere at the time.

Scientists think this is the first time that a meteorite strike has been recorded with both audio and video. They recovered about 95 grams (3.3 ounces) of extraterrestrial material from the site, which they are now testing.

-via David Thompson

USS Seadragon (SSN-484) was a Skate-class nuclear submarine that surfaced through the icecap at the North Pole on September 15, 1960. For recreation, the sailors laid out a softball diamond that used the marker for the North Pole as the pitcher's mound. When a sailor successfully cleared the bases, he circumnavigated the world.

-via US Naval Institute | Photo: Norman Polmar

Yes, Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippopotamus, is cute as she tries to eat the zookeepers. Full-size hippopotami (Hippopotamus amphibius), though, are dangerous wild animals that kill between 500 and 3,000 humans per year.

It's entirely possible that a hippopotamus is stalking you right now.

What happens when a hippopotamus decides he doesn't like the bumper sticker on the back of your truck? Katherine Gilson, Steve Teichmann, and Richard Teichmann found out when a hippo charged them during an expedition through the Manyoni Private Game Reserve in South Africa. The humans escaped, but their truck took some damage.

Content warning: foul language.

-via David Thompson

Before we get into the sheer technical sophistication and precise direction of this video, I'd like to point out that the song itself is beautiful. "A Stone Only Rolls Downhill" calls upon us to stoically accept the hardships of life:

I wish I could say it would be all right

I wish I could tell you it would all be fine

But a stone only rolls downhill

And these things

They'll be what they will

All of which is true for the human adventure.

Now let's get into the video. OK Go is famous for its innovative and physically complex music videos. The band recorded 64 videos and displayed them on 64 phones side by side. The final product is not a digital rendering, but, Rolling Stone reports, a recording of those videos playing on the actual phones.

-via Nag on the Lake

Core77 directs our attention to this unusual door manufactured by the New Jersey-based firm Construction Specialties. The door has a door inside. Why? The answer is below the fold.

Kevin Parry is a master of stop-motion animation. We've shared his work extensively and all is worth watching.

His latest project used 444 shots recorded over a 10 day period. The end result of his precise labor is 36 seconds of adrenalin-pumping chasing. Parry depicts a man on the run from the law and being pursued by police cruisers. He never leaves his chair, but with clever yet often simple visual effects, he tells a story of a cunning criminal who has complete mastery of his car.

Enjoy this episode of Grand Theft Auto: Living Room. But don't drive like this at home.

-via The Awesomer

Bruno Lobo was a champion swimmer and triathelte before switching to kite surfing, a sport in which he represented his homeland of Brazil in the 2024 Olympics. Sky News reports that on January 10 he was recording a training session off the coast of São Luís when he saw a 15-year old girl struggling to swim and losing her strength.

Lobo immediately abandoned his surfing and brought the girl to his board, then paddled the two of them ashore as she clung to his back. Lifeguards met them in the surf. The girl appeared to be okay and, at the end of the video, is in good enough condition to thank and hug Lobo.

-via Colin Rugg

Bobo is a genius--a tortured genius. That's because no one understands the meaning and depth that lie within Bobo's art. He is an ape of vision. As he sucks on a heater back in his studio, Bobo knows this is true. But he remembers the fate of Vincent Van Gogh--he might not be honored in his own lifetime. Or, worse, even after that.

Bobo is less fortunate than Beetle Moses, the artist who composed this cartoon.

Some people enjoy pineapple on pizza. I am one of them and am a noted gourmand, so let that fact speak on behalf of this pizza preference.

The "chefs" at Lupa Pizza in Norfolk, UK* disagree. The Norfolk Evening News reports that they will make you a Hawaiian pizza if you insist upon it. But it's going to cost you £100.

The owner, Francis Woolf, is allowing customers to vote to make this pizza a special. But he's also threatening to raise the price to £200 if they do so. Cross his taste buds at your peril.

-via Dave Barry

*The British should not criticize anyone's culinary choices.

Colossal introduces us to the fabric arts of Emily O'Leary, an artist in New York who has gained fame for her original applications for embroidery and rug hooking. The latter category includes rugs that looks almost exactly like dogs sleeping on floors, enjoying the carefree lives that we humans give to them.

The dogs are functional rugs, so they look flattened. But, from a distance and without depth perception, you'd swear that you're about to meet a real dog.

O'Leary crafts her rugs from photos of real dogs. You can read a comprehensive description of her creation process with photos of each step here.

The parachutist had planned to land in a soccer field as part of a public celebration in Rhenen, the Netherlands, on Saturday. But he was unable to steer his descent precisely and instead came down inside the Ouwehands Zoo. Specifically, he arrived inside the enclosure dedicated to and ruled by bonobo chimpanzees.

The NL Times reports that the gentleman was fortunate in that he landed in that particular open-air habitat. The bonobos were indoors at the time. And, furthermore, had he drifted a bit further, he could have landed in the nearby lion or elephant habitats.

-via Super Punch | Photo: Aart Maren

Japan is famous for its sophisticated vending machines where people can buy an incredible variety of items far beyond mere cold drinks. These include vending machines that sell chicken nuggets, diapers, and even other vending machines.

Sonsern Lin, known on the internet as Hungry OC, discovered another remarkable vending machine in that fabled land of vending machine wonders. This food blogger known for eating the most extreme foods dared a vending machine that sells edible crickets.

We've known that crickets can be a food source for a while. But it appears that this vending machine also offers hornets as an option.

-via Massimo