The checkered flag is currently tied up in red tape: If ISC gets through the hoops of impact hearings on traffic and the environment, it could break ground in late 2008 and open by 2011.

FORBES: Magazine Article

"Together, we proved that a human in freefall can break the speed of sound returning from near space, going through a transonic phase and landing safely on the ground, " said Dr Jonathan Clark, a former space shuttle flight surgeon and the Red Bull Stratos medical director.

BBC: Skydiver Felix Baumgartner fell faster than first thought

Lovingly nicknamed Anna Konda (no explanation necessary), the Norwegian bot was assembled using 20 hydraulic motors powered by a regular fire hose, whose 100 bars of pressure give it enough strength to break through walls and even lift a car right up off the ground.

ENGADGET: Anna Konda: the firefighting snakebot

When the Na'vi tread through it, the ground lights up beneath their feet (I kept waiting for someone to break into a chorus of "Billie Jean").

CNN: Review: 'Avatar' delivers on the hype