"The laughter felt loud," said Sarah Churman.

It's impossible for anyone who isn't deaf to even imagine how it might feel to hear laughter for the first time. Or, indeed, your own voice.

Yet Churman's husband decided to film the moment. He then posted it to YouTube.

In the notes to the video, Churman explained that hearing aids only help so much. Eight weeks ago, however, she was given an Esteem implant, made by Envoy Medical.

The device itself is placed behind the ear and no part of it is visible. It doesn't have … Read more

Who among us hasn't once pushed a wrong button, leading to embarrassment, pain or a very damp shirt at 7-Eleven?

However, who among us has been an airline pilot?

This question shivers through what remain of my timbers after discovering, thanks to the flighty crew at Gizmodo, that a Japanese pilot made such a vast error that he managed to nearly flip his Boeing 737-700.

Yes, the plane was flying 117 passengers at the time.

The Japanese Economic Newswire, which first reported this startling affair, explained that Flight 140 from Naha to Haneda rolled a little to the right … Read more

Can people explode?

No, I'm not talking love, politics, or terrorism here. I'm talking about a 76-year-old man in Galway, Ireland, who, at least according to the local coroner, spontaneously combusted.

I am aware that those who remember "Spinal Tap" will remember the notion expressed within it that dozens of people spontaneously combust every year. There are even times when one feels one has witnessed it.

However, this BBC report presented the notion of a human body apparently being burned without anything from outside actually setting it on fire.

The victim in this case, Michael Faherty, … Read more

I don't know what kinds of things you see inside your head, but I do worry about it.

As for the things I see inside my head, well, if only I could show you. Actually, there are scientists at UC Berkeley who believe that they can show you.

I haven't let them into the house yet. But I can show you video of their work. I am grateful to the inner brains at Gizmodo, who first revealed this footage to me.

You will, naturally, be wondering whether the scientists created this footage, well, naturally.

In a way. They … Read more

There are those who believe you should be fully prepared for anything.

You know, the sort of folks who put chocolate, torches, and other items into a bag you normally use for workout clothing and leave it near the back door. For luck.

But how can you prepare for the entirely infinitesimal possibility that you will be hit by a piece of space junk in a couple of days?

Wait, perhaps you have been away fishing with an NBA player. So let me catch you up. NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will be falling to earth probably on Friday. … Read more

I had hoped that, after Ricky Gervais said whatever he felt like at the 2010 Golden Globes, award show hosts could joke about anything.

It appears not.

After a revelation by Deadline, "30 Rock" actor Alec Baldwin tweeted today that Fox (aka News Corp) had, indeed, removed a little joke that he had created with the writers specially for the occasion.

No, it wasn't a joke about Tom Cruise's height, James Franco's presentational skills, or Brad Pitt's exciting personal life.

It was a joke about the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. You might … Read more

It's becoming a genre. Adorable senior couples get their charming faces into a Webcam as they seek to overcome software interfaces designed by little boys who have seen neither abacus nor, indeed, a razor.

Rita and Frank, meet Bruce and Esther.

Here, we even have subgenres, as we veer toward PG-13. Yes, Grandpa Bruce lets rip with an impressive belch--and later gropes his wife.

But even that might not be the most memorable part of this endearing and disarming video, which, of course, is reminiscent of an earlier turn by the now Net-famous Rita and Frank.… Read more

You might have heard that UBS Bank recently lost $2 billion under what may well have been slightly fraudulent circumstances.

A 31-year-old man in a very fetching blue sweater, Kweku Adoboli, was arrested and charged with allegedly perpetrating this fraud through his trading activities as a bank employee.

He is now, therefore, referred to as a "rogue" trader. Although some might feel a more accurate description, should the accusations be proved, would be "trader whose nefarious activities got him into trouble where other traders get away with it."

Still, those for whom social networking is first … Read more

Surrealist movies offer the strangest happenings just to make us feel better about ourselves.

Streets become beaches. Nun's clothing appears on the sidewalk. And yet I don't remember a surrealist movie where a 9-inch Canon camera lens crashes through the roof of a house.

Perhaps the notion seemed too far-fetched. But not for one woman in Petaluma, Calif., who recently experienced precisely this occurrence.

It all started so innocently. Speaking to CBS 5 San Francisco, 55-year-old Debbie Payne told of a hearing a crash.

Might it have been an earthquake? Might it have been a storm-trooping blackbird with … Read more