4

A Village Without Sunlight Builds a Giant Mirror

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The Problem:

The small village of Viganella is a quaint, quiet settlement of 127 people nestled into the mountains of Italy. We tend to immediately assume that population centers of less size than an American Idol audition are hives of unbridled strangeness, so it should come as no surprise that Viganella faces a uniquely bizarre problem -- for 84 consecutive days every winter, the sun doesn't shine on any part of the village.

Via Wikipedia
And everyone blames Chad.

3

The International Space Station Is Saved by a Toothbrush

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The Problem:

Let's say you live in space. Your space house is powered by a couple of gigantic solar-paneled generators that control all the technology that is keeping you alive. So, probably the worst thing that could happen is for any part of that system to shut down, which is the exact situation the crew aboard the International Space Station found themselves dealing with in the summer of 2012. One of the station's four power distributors broke down, and they needed to repair it before they all became stranded in an orbiting metal coffin.

Via Wikipedia
"If I can change a tire, I can reinforce a solar array."

Armed with the best and most expensive technology available, the astronauts headed outside to replace the busted distributor. However, some metal shavings had built up around the bolts of the old unit, making it impossible to remove using any of the tools NASA had sent with them on their rocket-bound voyage of discovery.

Without a proper tool to remove the shavings, the crew was stuck with a busted power unit and an impending shutdown of all their systems. "If only there was a tiny handheld brush somewhere on board!" one astronaut presumably shouted, while shaking his or her fist at the unfeeling moon in impotent rage.

"You mean like a toothbrush?" another astronaut likely responded.

Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com
Here we see NASA recreating the event.

2

Los Angeles Saves a Reservoir With Millions of Plastic Balls

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The Problem:

The Ivanhoe Reservoir in Los Angeles provides drinking water for over 600,000 people who would much rather be purchasing it in recycled bottles decorated with self-congratulatory jargon. The nearly 60 million gallons of water is treated with chlorine to keep it clean of any bacteria. Unfortunately, ground water also contains a chemical called bromide, and while the two are essentially harmless on their own, chlorine and bromide mixtures will react with sunlight to produce a boiling cauldron of cancer. This is a problem during the blazing summer months in California.

1

People Keep Tigers from Sneaking Up on Them by Wearing Backward Masks

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The Problem:

For years, the people of the Ganges Delta in India have been trying to coexist with the Bengal tigers that live near the area. This is not an easy task when you're living next door to the largest population of wild tigers in the world, who over the years have come to discover that human beings are ludicrously easy to kill and eat.

People routinely enter the Tiger Zone to fish, gather food, and collect wood. The tigers then ambush the almighty bejeebus out of them, even going so far as to swim out into the water to surprise fishermen on their freaking boats, a tactic typically reserved for sharks, alligators, and sea monsters.

Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
"Just stay still, Patrick. They'll think you're a log."

At one point in the mid-1980s, about 60 villagers in the Ganges were being killed by tigers every year. It was becoming far too dangerous to head into the jungle, but the people had no choice -- if they didn't, their livelihood would dry up. So what could they do?

Realistically, carrying weapons wouldn't help much, because 9 times out of 10 the tiger is going to burst out of a thicket or come blazing out of a treetop like a murderous hailstorm, giving you about half a second to fire a gun before it eats your head. Many of the victims had knives or woodcutting axes already, and those didn't do them any good. So the people tried making human dummies laced with live electrical wires to goad the tigers into attacking, the idea being that the electric shock would train the animals to leave people alone. That seemed to work somewhat, but wasn't making an appreciable dent in tiger-related fatalities.

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"Are we being mocked? Because I feel like we're being mocked."

Then, a student at the Science Club of Calcutta pointed out, "Hey, did anyone else notice that tigers only attack when they think you aren't looking? What if we painted eyes on the backs of our heads, has anybody tried that yet?"

No, nobody had.

The Absurd Solution:

People venturing into the jungle began wearing masks on the backs of their heads to trick the tigers, and the effect was pretty incredible -- nobody wearing a mask was attacked by a tiger for the next three years. In fact, the only people killed by tigers in that time period were those who either flat-out refused to wear a mask or had taken their masks off while still in Tigeropolis. It is unclear whether the tigers were more confused by the seemingly two-faced Bengali people or the sudden appearance of Caucasian elf princes in their homeland.

AP via Thestar.com
Or possibly both.

Tigers are pretty sharp, however, and as the years have passed the effectiveness of the masks has dropped a bit below 100 percent. Still, it is rare that anyone ventures into the jungle without one, because as the saying goes, "'Tis better to be safe than pinned beneath the crushing jaws of a howling slaybeast."

Via Molesoup.com
"Man, these dudes never turn around. And they all look the same. That's too creepy for me, I'm going back to eating fish."

Erik Germ is the owner of Hugefrigginarms.com and would absolutely love it if you followed him on Twitter.