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In Switzerland, the mountain village of Bondo doesn't receive any sunlight between December and February. The town's 198 residents are cast into darkness because their town is so deep in an Alpine valley that all sunlight is blocked by nearby mountains. So, local officials are considering constructing a giant mirror to reflect sunlight into the town.

In addition to having sunlight during the winter for the first time ever, there's added benefits to having a giant mirror over their town. For instance, residents will always know how their hair looks. However, they may want to proceed with caution when reflecting these beams of light. After all, have you ever seen what a magnifying glass does to a colony of ants?

Nothing is more comfortable than an old pair of broken-in sneakers. The only problem: the smell. But that doesn't bother 13-year-old Katharine Tuck. She's worn her Nikes—now held together with duct tape—for soccer, basketball, hiking and even wading in the Great Salt Lake, where they became infested with brine shrimp.

And now, she's got reason to be proud of her old stinky shoes. They won her $2,500 in the 32nd Annual National Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest. Judges chose Katharine's as the most rotten sneakers in the nation. After one whiff, a judge asked her mom, "You actually let her wear these in public?"

Katharine could use her prize money to buy new shoes. But why mess with a winner? She might be able to win for the next couple of years with those stinky sneakers!

Every Christmas season, church nativity scenes across the world feature live depictions of Jesus' birthday with real farm animals, wisemen and shepherds—oh, and sometimes flower girls and groomsmen, too.

OK, that might not all be true for every church's live nativity, but it was last year for Davis Creek Church of the Nazarene in West Virginia. Greg Barnett and Carlye Belcher were married right next to the manger. They both wore biblical costumes. The bride rode a donkey down the aisle.

The couple met at a live nativity and Barnett proposed three years later in the church's manger scene. So, the nontraditional wedding was very fitting. It went really well too—until some wise guys gave the couple frankincense and myrrh as wedding gifts.

During an English class presentation about water, Kyleray Katherman showed his class five petri dishes of H20. Four were swimming with bacteria. One was completely clean. Kyleray asked his classmates, "Which one would you like to drink?"

Of course, everyone chose the clean dish. Well, that is, until Kyleray revealed that it came from the school toilet. The bacteria-drenched samples came from four hallway water fountains!

Kyleray then gave his presentation to the school board. Now, all the water fountains have been replaced and are thoroughly cleaned every day.

We think they should've installed plastic cup dispensers in the bathrooms. Maybe dogs have the right idea after all.

Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today/Ignite Your Faith magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Ignite Your Faith.

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