China consumes half of the world's instant noodles and uses 10% of its annual wheat crop for instant ramen. [Monocle]
The average German dreams of stripping the woodchip wallpaper and laying down cherry or walnut parquet. ??? [The Observer]
Ferrari is now offering carbon-ceramic brakes as standard equipment on their cars. They're more expensive but they stop the car faster, last longer, are lighter, and don't rust. [Intelligent Life]
Neurosurgeons don't hold mobile phones to their ears. [NY Times]
A black Japanese watermelon recently sold for $6,100. [AP]
Lost and found: 1) a Massachusetts lighthouse missing since 1925 turned up in California and 2) an Egyptian pyramid discovered in the 1840s and subsequently lost again was recently rediscovered.