A 1939 Auto Union D-Type, a racing car commissioned by dictator Adolf Hitler is expected to become the most expensive car ever sold at an auction. Christie's Auction House is set to auction the D-Type, believed to be one of only two in existence, in February in Paris, France. It was created by Ferdinand Porsche after a personal request from Hitler who wanted the car to be one of his propaganda tools to show off the technological superiority of the Third Reich.

A Chinese advertisement for a freckle remover was banned after those who used it complained of rashes, blisters, skin irritation, and colored spots. The Shanghai company promoting "Magic Freckle Removing Gel" said it used American technology to make the product, which was later discovered to be false.

In the highly-competitive world of the California Institute of Technology, one of the most popular class is its cooking class where the final exam-meal is graded by a Nobel laureate. The whiz students say they enjoy the fun and relaxed atmosphere and amazing food. "We have amazingly gifted people in science and engineering and they are viewed by many people as nerdy," said Caltech's president, Jean-Lou Chameau.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth is planning on cutting down costs at Buckingham Palace. The monarch is said to be firing the Palace's night phone operator and diverting calls to Windsor Castle's fire surveillance room instead. The queen employs an operator to work between 10 pm and 8 am to take important phone calls regarding urgent matters of state business with a salary of $25,000 a year.

According to a top Canadian military general, Taliban forces in Afghanistan utilize forests of ten-foot tall marijuana plants to evade Canadian troops. The plants provide a nearly impenetrable barrier, and dense camouflage, for Taliban militias, and render thermal devices for detecting movement obsolete. Marijuana plants, according to General Rick Hillier, chief of the Canadian defense staff, absorb energy and heat, which allows Taliban forces to evade thermal detecting devices used by Canadian forces. "It's very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices . . . and as a result you really have to be careful that the Taliban don't dodge in and out of those marijuana forests," the general remarked at a press conference in Ottawa.