Free Republic

For those that like their coffee black, The San Francisco Dungeon is launching The Black Rat Café, an immersive pop-up experience. It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to dine with animals, but San Francisco is giving people the unique chance to eat with one of the most unlikely dinner guests. Rats. The San Francisco Dungeon restaurant is giving customers a chance to enjoy the Black Rat Cafe. For $49.99, you can sip coffee at a bistro-style table while being surrounded by rats People who dine with the rats can also enjoy all-you-can-drink coffee, water, tea and pastries. However, all...

A veteran pizza delivery man in Delaware got an order from an unusual address: an Amtrak train that got stalled on the tracks for hours on its way from New York to Washington, D.C. Passenger Mitchell Katz posted a video of delivery man Jim Leary walking up to the train Sunday evening as it sat on the tracks. People on board were getting restless after being left without access to food or water during the long delay and eventually some passengers came up with the idea of ordering a pizza, Katz said. -snip Leary, a driver for Dom's Pizza in...

Just above a tabletop at the Arby’s at 120th Street and West Center Road is a little golden plaque, perfectly buffed. It’s affixed firmly to the wall of the favorite booth of a loyal customer: This booth is dedicated to Arbys’ Best Customer JOHN D. POSEDEL Oct. 7, 1930 - March 26, 2016 “We miss you buddy!” The heartwarming tribute has been there — placed by the Arby’s staff — since shortly after John’s death. John came here for lunch every day except Sundays. He sat on the east side of the same booth, facing the register. His order, always:...

A morbidly obese wild monkey who gorged himself on junk food and soda left behind by tourists has been rescued and placed on a strict diet of lean protein, fruits and vegetables. Wildlife officials caught the chunky monkey — nicknamed “Uncle Fat” by locals — after photos of the animal started circulating on social media last month. Wild monkeys roam free in many parts of Thailand, attracting tourists who feed and play with the animals. Most of the monkeys are macaques like Uncle Fat, and they typically weigh around 9 kilograms (20 pounds).

Location closes Sunday after crashA delivery driver crashed her gray Toyota Camry into a Domino's on Sunday in Hialeah. When a car smashed into the entrance of the pizza place, employee Christopher Penas said he ran for cover. "Glass hit me, but I didn't get cut," he told Local 10 News. The car barreled through the front window of the store at West 60th Street and West 20th Avenue, coming to a stop in the lobby. The driver was visibly shaken after the crash. She could be seen wearing a bandage on her hand and had cuts on her arm....

Catching catfish when living in Texas was always a passion of mine as you can see from my profile page. We retired in Alabama 2 years ago but last year I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and I never got to fish during recovery. Cancer is all in the past so this year we are back chasing cats. Brought this 40 pounder in this morning but still looking for old grandad, he's out there somewhere. https://www.facebook.com/lauramoorechambers/posts/10203211185755847?comment_id=10203211312039004

The US and China have reached a 10-point trade deal that opens the Chinese market to US credit rating agencies and credit card companies. Under the deal, China will also lift its ban on US beef imports and accept US shipments of liquefied natural gas. In return, Chinese cooked chicken will be allowed into the US market and Chinese banks can enter the US market.

OREOS! To some, a delightful treat (especially with peanut butter spread on top), to others an entirely overrated cardboard biscuit. The standard Oreo is good, the Double Stuff ones are better, and the fancy flavoured ones are a bit hit and miss. When it comes to this particular new flavour, we’re not entirely sure whether it will be glorious or a crime against snacks. The new Oreo flavour is… Fireworks. Sadly, that does not mean the Oreos explode or light up the sky. Instead, it means the cream bit is filled with popping candy. We’re going to pause here so...

Sometimes we use Peapod, a grocery delivery service, so that we have a weekend now and then where we don’t have to do anything but stay home, read books, putter around the house. It’s very convenient, and when you factor-in the value of time - and in my area, the frustration of traffic - it isn’t very expensive. I wouldn’t do it every week – I like going into the store and looking around; but it’s very useful and efficient for our occasional use. We discovered recently that Peapod is offering ‘meal kits’; and since some of you have had...

Worried about osteoporosis? Take turmeric! Indian spice improves bone density by up to 7%, study revealsTurmeric helps to build and repair bone mass in the elderly, a new study reveals. Taking a supplement of the popular Indian spice improves bone density by up to seven per cent over six months, researchers found. A compound in turmeric, known as curcumin, is thought to balance out cells that remove ageing parts of bone before it is replaced, according to previous findings. Almost three quarters of elderly people suffer declining bone density, which can cause osteoporosis and is responsible for around 65,000 potentially...

Forensic scientists studying human decomposition spotted an unexpected animal chewing on the remains. Its attention caught, a deer found eating a human corpse looks up, a rib dangling from its mouth. Photograph courtesy Lauren A. Meckel/Academia ================================================================================================================================ In an unprecedented finding, researchers spotted a deer chewing on a human rib during a study aimed at examining how human remains decompose in the wild. Scavengers take advantage of opportunities to eat, and carcasses left in the wild often decay quickly because animals can make quick work of the remains–even human remains. Known as “body farms,” some research facilities study how human...

A local police department is offering to test your meth for gluten. The Tecumseh Police Department is taking advantage of America’s gluten-free fad in a very interesting way. Monday morning, the department posted to Facebook, asking people to bring their meth to the Tecumseh Police Department to be tested for gluten. “Public Services Announcement – The Tecumseh Police Department is offering FREE testing for gluten laced meth. Please bring your meth to the Tecumseh Police Department for your FREE test.” Many who saw the post found it quite humorous. Within three hours, the post was shared more than 160 times....

The leg of lamb is a mild and tender cut of meat that, when roasted, is a unique and tasty dish to many. A typical preparation involves covering the leg of lamb with butter, rosemary sprigs pushed inside incisions cut in the leg, and rosemary leaves sprinkled on top. The lamb is then roasted for two hours at 360 degrees and usually served with carrots, roasted potatoes, green vegetables and gravy.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Got a few aches and pains? Before you head to the medicine cabinet and reach for those over-the-counter painkillers, consider drinking a few beers. A new study, led by Dr. Trevor Thompson from the University of Greenwich, and published in The Journal of Pain, suggests that throwing back a few cold ones actually relieves your pain better than Tylenol. The study, reported by Lifehacker, found that raising your blood alcohol content to the legal limit of .08%, or about three or four beers deep, elevates your pain threshold significantly. The research involved 18 studies and more than...

Thea and Jonathan Avis, who own Meat Street Pies, will be dressing in Victorian costumes and taking dubious inspiration from Mrs. Lovett and the Demon Barber of Fleet Street as a run of Sweeney Todd kicks off May 4. The pair, who hand-make a delicious selection of meat pies and can be seen at local farmers markets and other locations citywide, will be outside the Westbury Theatre, setting the culinary stage for this infamous tale. The musical tells the story of Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber who seeks vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his...

Pizza is healthy. And it isn't healthy. Depending on the type of crust, the amount of cheese and the toppings used, pizza can rank anywhere from nutritionally decent to a diet disaster. Even healthy pizzas deliver a good amount of sodium from tomato sauce and cheese, so if you are watching your salt intake, you should eat with caution. Of course, the size of the slice and the number of slices you eat count, too. Pizza pros include the fact that it offers calcium from cheese and disease-fighting lycopene from tomatoes. And pizza crust made with whole-wheat flour (including whole...

Street Meat Sold in San Francisco Ends up in Restaurants, Frustrated Police Caught on Camera Confronting Black Market RegularsThe City by the Bay has a reputation for shopping and dining, but what the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit found for sale at the corner of Seventh Street and Market in San Francisco gives new meaning to “steal of a deal.” Store owners and retail crime investigators say shoplifters are growing more aggressive and brazen, putting public health and safety at risk. Despite a daily police presence, our hidden cameras captured buyers and sellers doing brisk business. Within moments of arriving...

Vicky's House is more than an eatery. It's a time machine that transports visitors to sweeter times, complete with '80s-themed desserts. Vicky’s House is the latest undertaking by the Kush Hospitality Group. Founder Matt Kuscher enlisted the help of his director of operations, Laurie Grasty, who birthed the idea of serving milkshakes. The result is a 12-seat waiting area for his Lokal restaurant in Coconut Grove in honor of Kuscher's mother’s house, kitchen towel and all. “I wanted to pay tribute to my mom and really go back to my roots of where I came from. I had an unbelievable...

Well my neighbor next door owned this piece of property that he had to basically repossess. Left on it was a box, a large rectangular box, with a pitched roof and a light inside. So he offered it to me because I had helped him in getting the property set up and I said Sure! and we hauled it to my place and put it set up on concrete blocks about 18 inches high. It has two doors on the front of it that lock at the top and fold open for access. There is little doubt it was a...

Researchers have theorized that the scavenging behavior, which is not often captured on camera, has significant ecological impacts. Great white sharks are one of nature's fiercest predators. They're often seen in photos and videos breaching the water to grasp prey in their toothy jaws. Some great whites, however, prefer when their prey comes to them. In video taken off the coast of southern California, researchers observed a great white shark feeding off the carcass of a dead humpback whale. Keith Poe, an independent researcher and conservationist, found the carcass after he was alerted by authorities patrolling the beach. The dead...