It's part of a test program on the L line, where they installed boards telling people when the next train would arrive last year. This is just the next step. If it goes well, presumably, they'll expand it to other lines as well. Like the Q! Bring it to the Q, MTA! Please! [Gothamist; pic via Kate Heffernan]

The video - shot on the Rokko Liner in Kobe, Japan - shows how paperclips stand on end when the train accelerates and brakes. The magnetism, which is produced by the electric current that drives the motors located under the floor, apparently poses no harm to the human body, though it could damage credit cards, mobile phones, or other electronic devices if left on the floor. The Kobe New Transit Company, which operates the Rokko Liner (as well as the Port Liner, which uses similar trains), says extra shielding is being installed just in case.

The only thing that happens to paper clips when they're placed on American trains is that they get fed up and decide to just drive next time. Hiyo! [Kobe Shimbun via Pink Tentacle]

The NYC Metro Cuff is an " über urban matte metal cuff" capable of guiding you a la treasure map through NYC's intricate train system. No one will take you for a tourist as you compulsively check your "watch," studying the embossed map fervently while inching away from yet another passenger who dually loves garlic and despises deodorant. Order yours for $25 shipped. [design hype via Gearfuse]

The story: An unmanned, computerized train slowly rolled forward onto a repairman, who unfortunately did not survive. Authorities haven't come to a conclusion, saying it rolled for "unknown reasons," but we'll leave you, excitable readers, to draw your own conclusions. [via Geekologie]

The scary thing about the Puppy Monorail is that it has managed to evolve over the years. The project started out as a modest 3 car train, but now has expanded to a WHOPPING five cars (FIVE!!!). Still, until I see some real puppies moving 10 feet down that squiggly track, I'm not sold. Also, one of the train cars should really be a milk bowl. [Puppy Mover Monorail]

Obama's right-hand goon, Joe Biden, unveiled the administration's plans for high-speed rail all across the country today, showing off a seriously impressive map that adds lines connecting cities all over the country.

Of course, this is all going to take time and a whole lot of money. The first line that's likely to go in, thanks to its advanced state of planning, is the California section, which hopes to link up its major cities with a 200mph rail line sometime in the next decade.

What's unclear is how all of this will be paid for. After all, the current stimulus package has $8 billion marked for high-speed rail projects. Sounds like a lot until you learn that the CA section alone will cost somewhere around $40 billion.

But still, in the long run the benefits of a reliable, fast rail system connecting major cities is clear. I hope they're able to make this happen. [WhiteHouse.gov and The Economist]

It took 500,000 working hours to build, going from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden to North America, through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—complete with the Grand Canyon, 20-foot tall Swiss mountains, and:

• 800 trains.
• Over 10,000 train cars in total, running several hundred kilometers every day.
• One train is 47.5 feet long.
• Over 170 computer controlled cars.
• More than 200,000 people (there's all kinds of things here, even a crime scene).
• Controlled by 40 computers.
• 200 cameras control the premises.
• Day and night lighting simulator.
• 300,000 computer-controlled LEDs

They are opening an airport this year, which has taken 2.5 years to build. If you are not impressed after watching the video, seriously, I don't know what will. Oh, wait, I know: This thing even has a fully working model whorehouse, casinos, and a secret underground base.

I rest my case. [Miniatur Wunderland]

Once again, Japan, why? [Digg]

Minutes before crashing his train head-on into another train, he texted "I'm gonna do all the radio talkin' ... ur gonna run the locomotive & I'm gonna tell u how to do it" to a teenage rail enthusiast. He had multiple relationships with teenagers who were interested in railroads, and had let one of them into the locomotive cab within a week of the accident. He was so into talking to these kids that he had sent a whopping 43 texts and made four phone calls the day of the crash.

The moral of the story? If you're driving a train, pay attention, please. [SF Gate]

Sure, they may not look very homey to us, but they're an ingenious way to deal with the terrible problem of the thousands left homeless by the earthquake, while making sure older subway models don't end up in a landfill somewhere. Altogether, the trains will accommodate roughly 1,200 people. [China News]

The High Speed Rail is expected to transport 100 million people a year and generate 230,000 permanent jobs by 2030, and if these videos are any indication, the beautiful California landscape will remain remarkably untouched for, well, at least 22 years.

Timmy woke up to the sun shining in the alley where he slept. Oh no, he would be late to his new job at the bakery, a place with sweets and other good things to eat. He could not lose this position or he would go hungry again.

But to Timmy's surprise, the Baker was sitting beside him, touching his cheek gently. "You've worked hard for too long, little boy. You deserve a good home and a loving father," the Baker said. "I'd like to adopt you, if you'll have me as your dad."

Timmy's eyes welled up in tears. This Christmas he would get a new beginning. Life would change for the better. Maybe he could even go to school, pursue his day dreams of architecture or baking.

"But there's one thing I'll ask of you first," the Baker said.

"What...father?" the boy responded.

"Open that gift," replied the Baker.

And it was at that moment that Timmy noticed a huge wrapped gift leaning beside the brick. It was the biggest present he'd ever seen, even when he remembered back to the times he'd peek in shop windows. Timmy could not restrain himself. He ripped into the package ravenously until the shiny paper succumbed to the mud of the streets.

"It's a train!" Timmy exclaimed. The Baker smiled tenderly. It had cost him six months of pay, though he'd never admit that to anyone.

"Hop on," the Baker said.

So Timmy jumped in the Hammacher Schlemmer Locomotive, his face glowing from either the sun or glee, one could not tell. He shouted "all aboard" and the Baker laughed. Then Timmy stopped for a moment, glancing around at the controls.

"How do you start the train?" Timmy asked.

"Oh, you crank it to go," the Baker explained.

"A mechanical toy? You mean I have to work even more than I have my whole life?? Fuck that shit!"

And with that, Timmy and the Baker parted ways, never to see one another again. [Hammacher Schlemmer via DVICE]

The train had to make an emergency stop for two hours while rescue workers tried to get the man out. They ended up having to remove the entire toilet from the train with the man's arm still stuck in it.

Benoit Gigou, a witness to the man-eating toilet, said that "He came out on a stretcher, with his hand still jammed in the toilet bowl, which they had to saw clean off."

Let this be a lesson to us all. Don't mess with train toilets. [BBC]

It's hard to believe that this extravagant plan is actually more conservative than the original, but prohibitive steel costs nixed an even more bizarre structure with almost no support beams and way more skylights. It's always safe to be pessimistic about these kinds of things, but the target date for completion is 2012. [Yanko]

The machines are admittedly very cool, though I'd feel dishonest extending that praise to the throngs of attendees, who dress and act as though they were spawned from some horrible, dank pit found somewhere between Wild Wild West and BoingBoing's front page, circa 2005. Best part of the video: when one of the organizers says "Santa Rosa has needed something like this for a long, long time." Someone should pass on the news before this gets out of hand. [Press Democrat]

The main bit of green tech will sound somewhat familiar to car enthusiasts; regenerative braking, which converts braking resistance to electricity, has been a standard feature of hybrid cars for quite a few years now. The 217 mph cruising speed, not so much. For reference, Amtrak only serves about five destinations with its high-speed service, which tops out at 150mph on a good day. For terror, consider that the Metrolink crash that killed over 25 people occurred at no more than 50mph. [Wired]

It is logical to assume that the phone calls were the result of a technical malfunction and not supernatural forces. And, as far as I know, there has been no analysis of the condition of the cellphone itself. But consider this—all 35 calls were made to close family members only: his son, brother, sister, stepmother and fiancee. Plus, this is not the first time something like this has happened. OoOoOoOoh! [KTLA]