Donald Deane

Have you ever wondered how Rudolph got his red nose? Well, Dutch scientists have finally explained the mystery. Turns out, the reindeer's shiny nose is the direct result of "hyperemia of the nasal mucosa." Way to take all the magic out of Christmas, science.

Tributes have been pouring in from friends, colleagues and fans ever since the news of James Gandolfini's death broke yesterday. But one of the most fitting tributes took place last night at Hosten's Brookdale Confectionary in Bloomfield, NJ, where the finale of 'The Sopranos' was filmed.

Everyone gets sleepy during work sometimes, but as a clerk in Germany recently learned, a bank transaction probably isn't the best time for a power nap. In fact, he fell asleep on his keyboard and accidentally transferred more than $295 million dollars to a customer. How come our bank never did that for us?

Even Wookiees, it seems, aren't immune to a shakedown by the Transportation Security Administration. On June 3, Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Han Solo's furry sidekick Chewbacca in the 'Star Wars' movies, was stopped by TSA agents after attempting to board a plane in Denver with a large cane shaped light a lightsaber.

If you need proof that everyone loves Doritos, look no further than this: a deputy in the Florida Keys recently rescued an endangered species of deer that had a bag of the snack food stuck on its head. Unfortunately, we'll have to speculate whether the deer prefers classic flavor or Cool Ranch.

Bullying has reached epidemic proportions and officials all across the country are putting measures in place to protect students. But a Wisconsin city has gone a step further by passing an ordinance which allows the parents of bullies to be fined. Does that seem fair?

We've seen parents use unique methods to punish kids in the past -- through Facebook and by making them carry signs on busy streets, for example. But a Utah woman punished her stepdaughter in the most creative way yet by forcing her to wear ill-fitting thrift store clothing for being a bully.

Dozens of people including children were killed after a massive tornado tore a swath of destruction through an area outside Oklahoma City yesterday. In fact, it was such a terrible scene that local KFOR reporter Lance West broke down while reporting the news.

Nobody likes sharing bad report cards with parents, but one college student in Atlanta gets high marks for creativity by faking his own kidnapping to hide a failing grade.

We love movies as much as the next guy, but let's face it -- there are far too many out there to keep straight. We're fortunate, then, that the fine folks at Cool Material have created an A-Z list of the best flicks ever. Now if somebody could just update our Netflix queue for us, we'd be golden.

Andre Cassagnes, the man responsible for inventing the venerable Etch A Sketch, a toy that inspired countless children ever since it was introduced in 1960, has died at age 86 in France.

Let's face it -- as much as we identify with celebrities, we don't really know them. That's why public meltdowns, where they show their peevish, arrogant and sometimes crazy sides, are so darned fascinating. When this happens, our perception of celebs can change forever. Think about it -- will you ever be able to watch 'Braveheart' again without recalling Mel Gibson's racist rants? We think not. R