Time again for Friday 5! If this is your first time here these are usually five (probably) random, (rarely) newsworthy and on (nearly every) occasion strange or unique stories. Hopefully you’ll find something to talk about while antiquing with your mom this weekend.

1. Are you a social media ninja? Here is your chance to tweet a plant! That’s right, now you can tweet a plant, for science no less. No word if it follows you back.

Boogie and his medal for completing a half marathon.

2. Have you heard about Boogie, the dog who ran away and got a medal for completing a half marathon all on his own? I’ve linked to just one of the stories, and I saw an update on TV that Boogie has been microchipped and scheduled to be fixed in hopes he’ll stay closer to home, but didn’t find a link to that particular story. Boogie set a record time for an independent animal and hopes are high he’ll come back next year, with his owners.

3. Bet you can’t guess how biologist lure jaguars to camera traps…by using a certain fancy pants designer’s big name perfume. You could say it’s kind of an Obsession for the cats because one of the ingredients is chemical compound derived from the scent glands of civets. But will you still want to wear it?

3.  A deaf composer recently got the chance to enjoy music again. He’s been able to write music but not hear it, until a recent trip to the theater and some special technology. 

4. A professor in Texas is spending a year living in a dumpster. Dr. Jeff Wilson is conducting a year-long experiment in sustainability. I had some interesting professors in college, but none that lived in a dumpster…well maybe one that looked like he dressed in one….

One of the rare occasions when Jon Stewart was speechless.

5. Even though she didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai has touch a lot of lives. Jon Stewart has made a lot of people speechless on The Daily Show. When Malala was a guest on the show it was Stewart who was speechless. This is a great account of their interaction and the video.

That’s this week’s Friday 5. I hope you found something to make you smile. Have a great weekend!

If you have an idea for next week’s Friday 5, or if you would like to Guest Write the Friday 5, I would love to hear from you! Send me a note here and we’ll get you on the blog!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Related Articles

• 8-year-old Chocolate Lab, Boogie Butts, Receives Medal After Crashing, Completing Half-Marathon (nesn.com)
• The Daily Beast – Dog that crashed half marathon wins medal – October 09, 2013 (thestar.blogs.com)
• Indiana dog that crashed half-marathon gets medal (kfwbam.com)
• Boogie the chocolate Labrador gets medal after gatecrashing half marathon (metro.co.uk)
• You’ll Never Guess How Biologists Lure Jaguars To Camera Traps (blogs.scientificamerican.com)
• Malala Yousafzai wows ‘The Daily Show’ – USA TODAY (usatoday.com)