Man arrested for building nuclear reactor in his kitchen

[garbon]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/man-arrested-building-nuclear-reactor-kitchen-151239201.html

Ängelholm, a small town along the coast of Sweden, isn't the first place you'd think to look in the search for a nuclear reactor. But that's just what police in the seaside city were tasked with hunting down when one of its citizens took it upon himself to construct his own radioactive power plant right in his own kitchen.

The man, whose name has not been released, was reportedly very open about his fascination with nuclear power and with his plans to attempt the dangerous project at home, though it appears nobody took him seriously. After spending $1,000 on supplies shipped from unspecified foreign countries, the amateur reactor builder set to work, monitoring the radiation levels in his home with a Geiger counter.

At some point, it must have occurred to the man that what he was building might not have been entirely legal, because he placed a friendly call to the Swedish Radiation Authority to see if there were any lawson the books regarding homemade nuclear reactors. Local police arrived shortly thereafter and confiscated the man's materials before placing him under arrest. He was released a short while later after questioning and has reportedly vowed to refrain from any further experimentation.

Brain, did you really think this was a good idea?

[garbon]

In other Swedish news:

http://www.thelocal.se/35230/20110729/

Housing a hedgehog is a crime: Swedish police

"We carried out a raid this morning. And there was indeed a hedgehog in there," Hans-Olof Sundström of the Gävle police to the local Arbetarbladet newspaper.

The woman came across the hedgehog in the street in central Gävle back in June.

Feeling sorry for it, the woman took the animal back to her apartment and began caring for it.

For almost a month, the hedgehog lived a life of luxury in the woman's flat.

"It appears to have been given food of all kinds, cat food, bread and water. When we arrived there were little sausages on the floor for it to eat," Sundström told the newspaper.

However, as Swedish law prohibits the possession of wild animals, the woman's act of compassion could end up resulting in criminal charges.

After being tipped off about the illicit hedgehog hotel by officials from the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen), police eventually found the prickly animal on the woman's balcony after a search of her flat.

Two county administrative board veterinarians tagged along with local police to verify the variety of hedgehog, which didn't appear to have suffered any physical harm form the ordeal.

An African hedgehog is considered a domesticated species and was a trendy house pet a few years ago, explained Sundström.

As it turns out, the spiny creature being cared for by the woman was identified as the standard Swedish variety.

The woman is now suspected of crimes in violation of hunting laws and risks fines or imprisonment for up to one year.

"One shouldn't go and pick up wild animals anyway. This applies to all wildlife, including birds and eggs," said Sundström, who added that a landowner is entitled to briefly suspend a wild animal and then must decide to release it or kill it.

After approval from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), the hedgehog was eventually released back into the wild.

There are 17 species of hedgehog found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand. The spiny mammals share distant ancestry with shrews and have changed little over the last 15 million years.

Sweden

[Malthus]

There was a kid in the US who built a reactor in his parent's garage using discarded coleman kerosene lamp mantels and smoke detectors (which contain radioactive material), duct tape, and tin foil.

Why did he do it? To earn a Boy Scout merit badge, of course!

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

[The Brain]

I would never build my reactor in the kitchen. That's just crazy. The damn thing goes in the den.

Btw hedgehogs are so awesome.

[KRonn]

Great idea. Now to market it to the masses! Real energy saver idea - cut back on fossil fuels!!!!   

[Caliga]

Why is this illegal?

[Razgovory]

There was a kid in the US who built a reactor in his parent's garage using discarded coleman kerosene lamp mantels and smoke detectors (which contain radioactive material), duct tape, and tin foil.

Why did he do it? To earn a Boy Scout merit badge, of course!

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

Guy was arrested a few years back trying to steal smoke detectors.