LOS ANGELES (AP) — We all know he can leap tall buildings in a single bound and bend steel in his bare hands. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that during a time of crisis even the porn industry turns to Superman.

The same week in June that Warner Bros. released the Superman blockbuster "Man of Steel," Vivid Entertainment Group put out its own superhero flick, "Man of Steel XXX: A Porn Parody."

Although it's safe to assume that "Steel XXX" didn't quite match the $116.6 million opening weekend of the Warner Bros. hit, if it performs anything like 2010's "Batman XXX: A Porn Parody," it will become the most-rented and highest-selling porn video of the year. At a cost of more than $100,000, it will also be one of the most expensive porn movies made.

Parodies, once a cheaply filmed niche segment of the adult movie market, are big business these days — filled with expensive special effects, real story lines, actors who can (sometimes) actually act and costumes that even comic-book geeks find authentic.

The movies may also help save an industry looking to rebound from years of Internet piracy, illegal downloads and amateur videos that have caused a serious financial hit, said Mark Kernes, senior editor at Adult Video News. The business has gone from annual revenues of as much as $12 billion a few years ago to about $7 billion today.

"We certainly do have a problem with piracy ... and sadly no one seems to be able to do anything about it," said Kernes.

But now Superman is coming to the rescue, along with Batman, Iron Man and Spider-Man.

All four have taken star turns in full-length, slickly produced films that include hard-core crime fighting and, well, other hard-core scenes — although milder versions were made of some of the same films.

Neither the makers of the mainstream movies nor comic book writer and Iron Man creator Stan Lee wanted to comment. A person who answered the phone at Lee's office said he doubted Lee had heard of the parodies, and then hung up. Lee, himself, didn't respond to an email.

Marvel Comics also did not respond to requests for comment. Warner Bros.' DC Entertainment Division, which makes the Superman and Batman films, had no comment, said spokeswoman Courtney Simmons.

Since the trend toward superhero parodies began three years ago, no porn company making them has been sued. For years the courts have ruled that parodies, like other forms of speech, are protected by the First Amendment.

"Mainstream porn, from a copyright protection, from a First Amendment protection, is essentially the same as any other form of written expression," said entertainment lawyer David Ginsburg, who is executive director of the UCLA School of Law's entertainment, media and intellectual property law program.

"The rules of parody apply as equally to porn as they do to any other form of parody, like 'Saturday Night Live' or Mad Magazine," he said.

The porn parody superhero revolution seems to have begun in earnest around 2010, when veteran adult film director Axel Braun, who boasts of having a collection of DC and Marvel comics dating to his childhood, brought his "Batman XXX" film to Vivid Entertainment Group.

The company's chief executive, Steven Hirsch, initially wasn't that impressed. But when the film became the biggest-selling and renting video of the year, Hirsch said, he quickly realized there was a core demographic his business was overlooking: comic-book geeks.

Soon Vivid was cranking out four to six of the films a year, timing their release to whenever the mainstream films hit theaters.

Other companies soon followed with their own releases, including: "The Justice League Of Porn Star Heroes" and a parody of the vampire television series "True Blood."

Production costs can be more than 10 times as high as making a traditional pornographic movie, but the parodies sell for three times as much, Braun said.

They are, said Hirsch, the best-selling movies on Vivid TV, "after our celebrity sex tapes."

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Live! From New York! It's a casting crisis for Lorne Michaels!

When Jason Sudeikis announced his departure this week, "Saturday Night Live" was suddenly bereft of any established crossover talent -- its longest-tenured surviving castmember is now Kenan Thompson -- and in terms of name-recognition, it drops off steeply from there.

But "SNL" has been here before. The upcoming 2013-2014 season will not be the first time the long-running sketch comedy series has been forced to prop up its B-team and go headhunting on the fly.

Sudeikis follows fellow cast members Fred Armisen and Bill Hader out the door -- unlike those they left behind, all have established film and TV careers. A year earlier, fan favorites Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg left for the draw of bigscreen comedy. And head writer and "Weekend Update" anchor Seth Meyers departs in November for Jimmy Fallon's desk.

Jon Lovitz, an "SNL" cast member from 1985 to 1992 -- who weathered Lorne Michaels' infamous reboot of '86 -- knows the toll a long run on the show can take. He also understands the draw of the Los Angeles movie scene over the sketch comedy one in New York.

"Jason Sudeikis has been on the show for 10 years -- at some point you gotta go," Lovitz told TheWrap during an online chat on Huffington Post Live. "That's a tough show to do for 10 years."

To give an idea of how key the recent losses are: Only Darrell Hammond has appeared on more episodes of "SNL" than Meyers and Armisen. Sudeikis is 7th on that same list, Hader 9th, Samberg 20th and Wiig 22nd.

Even longtime fans of the show have to ask: Who's even left?

"Saturday Night Live" new senior members are Thompson, Bobby Moynihan, Jay Pharoah, Nasim Pedrad, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer and, for now, Meyers. On the JV team (called Featured Players) are Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong.

Other than Thompson's attempt at a "Fat Albert" movie in 2004, there's hardly a notable screen credit among them.

But to give up on the show now would be foolish: Even Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell and Tina Fey were "SNL" scrubs at one point -- and in Killam, Strong, Pedrad and Bayer, "SNL" has a number of young players with high upside.

Michaels has constantly retooled the cast since its initial "Not Ready for Primetime Players" took the stage in Studio 8H. Historically, the unknowns have worked out far better than the household names -- remember Robert Downey, Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, and Billy Crystal in the cast? Not many people do.

Lovitz, who joined with fellow newcomers Downey Jr. and Hall, said some people will welcome new cast members with open arms. Others might not.

"It's competitive," Lovitz said. "It's a very strange show."

So clearly, "SNL" is in a rebuilding year. But with whom will it rebuild? The show historically has favored improv and sketch comedians over stand-up comics, though both are options.

But this year, it's not just about filling a headcount -- it's about stocking up with versatile talent that can stand out quickly. Actors from the Upright Citizen's Brigade, Second City and the Groundlings have had great success in the past, and it's likely that Michaels will go back to that well.

The Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater in New York declined comment, citing its relationship with NBC. Phone calls to Second City were not immediately returned. An NBC spokeswoman said that the network does not comment on casting changes.

The "SNL" casting team comes out to scout the Groundlings in Los Angeles a couple times a year, Groundlings Managing Director Heather de Michele told TheWrap. And they've been there recently.

Who they are looking at closely, she wouldn't say. But the Groundlings have recently produced both the aforementioned Killam and Wiig. De Michele, and the rest of the Groundlings, knew those auditions were just a matter of time. What she didn't know is how short that time would be.

Of those already with a seat at the table, Killam seems poised to be the breakout star of "SNL's" 38th season. A promising sign: His "Sloppy Swish" digital short was one of last year's breakout viral hits.

"He's exceptionally good," de Michelle said. "During his first main stage show he was nabbed by 'SNL.' He didn't even get to open his first show as a Groundling."

Wiig's casting happened with nearly the same speed -- but that's not always the case. When one goes through the Groundlings school, the top level make it into the Sunday cast. Only after graduating is an actor eligible to be a "Groundling" and perform on Friday and Saturday nights. And there are never more than 30 Groundlings at a time.

One Groundling to watch is Mikey Day, a star of MTV's "Wild'n Out." Jillian Bell of the Main Company wrote for "SNL" in 2010. Jim Cashman has written for the show as well. Tony Cavalero is a founding member of longform improv group "Robert Downey Jr. Jr." -- another "SNL" connection. Kind of.

But Lovitz believes the show will be fine. As will the new cast members. And they shouldn't worry about it anyway. "The audience picks the hit characters, the audience picks the stars," Lovitz said. "That you have no control over."

SEE ALSO: There's A Lot Of Big Talent To Replace On 'Saturday Night Live'

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The Royal Baby Watch begins in earnest today as Kate Middleton was reportedly helicoptered to London from her parents' home.

But it still remains to be seen: How will Kate and William decorate the nursery? 

A child who could one day be the future king or queen of England needs a bedroom to match, which is where PoshTots comes in. PoshTots, known for its luxury kids furniture, has the poshest in baby room décor.

We're talking cribs that cost upwards of $5,000, and playhouses that put your old pillow fort to shame.

The company's lavish furnishings have even adorned children's bedrooms of clients such as Julia Roberts, the Trumps, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Heidi Klum, according to Style Weekly.

We found 10 pieces of PoshTots' luxe furniture that would be sure to please the new prince or princess.

This carriage bed is perfect for a princess.

On a cedar and birch frame, the delicate-crafted carriage bed sits on wheels and comes with a rear box that makes a great changing table and storage unit.

Price: $19,995

The Fantasy Coach is great to play in, and cozy enough to sleep in.

One of PoshTots's most talked-about pieces is reminiscent of Cinderella's stage coach, handcrafted in England of wood and fiberglass. The large interior is more than six feet in diameter.

Price: $47,000

An old-fashioned pram is classic, stylish, and functional.

Kate is known for her elegant style, which will no doubt be adopted by the royal baby. The Silver Cross Balmoral pram has chrome detailing and handpainted pinstripes, which both mom and baby are sure to love.

Price: $4,498

The worlds of celebrities and athletes are closely intertwined.

Sometimes athletes make big screen appearances, celebs always get paparazzi shots taken while they are at stadiums, and of course there are plenty of celebrity/athlete couples.

But here are some celebrities and athletes who had to have been separated at birth.

Hope Solo looks just like...

Jennifer Carpenter from Dexter

Tennis player Rafael Nadal looks just like...

An armed man has stolen about $53 million worth of jewels from the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in the French Riviera resort of Cannes, BBC reports.

The hotel, located on the exclusive Promenade de la Croisette, was hosting a summer jewelry exhibit from the prestigious Leviev diamond house, which is owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev.

Local media reported that the robber carried the jewels away in a briefcase shortly before noon.

"A full and urgent operation is under way to catch the culprit and recover these jewels," a Cannes police spokesman said. "Thieves see Cannes as rich pickings."

In May, during the famous Cannes Film Festival, thieves stole about $1 million in jewels  from a hotel room and a necklace worth $2.6 million from a hotel party.

Coincidentally, a Bosnian from the "Pink Panther" gang of international jewel thieves escaped from a Swiss prison after a dramatic operation involving a van ramming through a gate, ladders used to get above barbed wire, and gunfire from automatic weapons.

Milan Poparic is the third "Pink Panther" to escape from a Swiss prison since May.

BBC notes that the Carlton Hotel is where Alfred Hitchcock filmed "To Catch A Thief"  — his 1955 film about a jewel thief operating in the French Riviera.

SEE ALSO: Inside The Secret World Of Prostitution At The Cannes Film Festival

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Going from big screen actor to director is no easy task — just ask George Clooney, Sofia Coppola, and Ben Affleck, who garnered critical acclaim, Academy Awards, and mainstream success with their films.

Soon, Ryan Gosling, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Natalie Portman will make their directorial debuts.

If anything, they have some tough acts to follow.

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore started her acting career inSteven Spielberg's "E.T." and later went on to charm audiences in "Never Been Kissed" and "50 First Dates" before directing 2009's "Whip It" starringEllen Page. Although it garnered lukewarm reviews from critics, it was a definite fan favorite. Who wouldn't want to see ladies on roller skates kick ass? 

Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola started her acting career in the "Godfather" trilogy, and later went behind-the-camera unleash her directorial debut "The Virgin Suicides" starring Kristen Dunst. The film was an indie hit, as were her subsequent films like "Lost In Translation," which earned her an Oscar in 2004 for Best Original Screenplay.

George Clooney

From hot doctor on ER to CIA operative in "Syriana," George Clooney has found equal success in front of and behind the camera. After making his directorial debut in 2002's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," he received critical acclaim for his Edward R. Murrow biopic "Good Night, and Good Luck" (2005) and political drama "The Ides of March" (2011).

ABC's Avengers spinoff show "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." made a killing when the pilot premiered at Comic Con last week.

The crowd responded with a standing ovation, going nuts at the surprise debut.

Critics who exist outside Marvel's nerd herd are about three-quarters as enthused.

"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," following an elite squad that investigates superhero sightings, delivers stunning special effects, strong character development, and "Whedonesque" dialogue.

Fans are saying the dead-on humor reminds them of director Joss Whedon's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" days.

The show promises many Easter eggs from the Marvel universe, which is awesome for people who get the inside jokes and sometimes off-putting for those new to the comics.

Some are saying the action is down-sized compared to the major motion pictures, demonstrating that the showrunners aren't trying to bite off more than they can chew.

"Trying to pull off a cinematic idea on a TV budget is one of the show’s big challenges," said Entertainment Weekly's James Hibberd. "If anything, 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' was less lavish and action-driven than I expected. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a mistake to make a costly pilot if it means that regular episodes look dinky by comparison."

Here's what else people are saying:

Brooks Barnes of The New York Times says some of the characters are difficult to understand.

"The first episode had a complicated storyline that, at moments, was hard for this (admittedly nongeek) reporter to follow. Two characters with extremely thick accents — an engineer, Leo Fitz, played by Iain De Caestecker, and a biochemist, Jemma Simmons, played by Elizabeth Henstridge — didn’t help matters.

"Still, the episode featured stunning special effects (a flying convertible, for instance) and looked expensive, something that panelists confirmed would continue beyond the pilot."

Marvel fans will like it. Just don't expect it to be like the movies.

IGN:

"Whedon’s cleverness and wit run strong through Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and while there are a couple of moments that don’t quite work, in terms of humor, for the most part, this is an incredibly crowd-pleasing pilot. Those looking for the scale of the Marvel movies will be disappointed – this is a high budget TV series, but it is a TV series – but S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly hits the right notes to firmly show how it exists on the ground level of the Marvel universe."

Entertainment Weekly:

"The dialogue was, to give a shout out to a certain fan site, Whedonesque. It was the best aspect of the pilot, and precisely what you expect from this team. Smart, witty, self referential, with lines playing off your expectations (such as a riff on Spider-Man’s “with great power comes great responsibility” line).

"My TV-business side wondered this a few times: Is this show accessible enough to be a hit? When you have a joke referencing “the sweaty cosplay girls crowding around Stark Tower,” okay, that’s funny if you’ve seen the Iron Man films and you know what cosplay is. I suspect that’s 80 percent of EW readers. Yet I bet it’s a much, much lower percentage of ABC viewers."

io9's Charlie Jane Anders says there's not a lot at stake in terms of drama.

"The whole tone of the pilot is amazingly laid-back — there's almost no real danger or suspense for most of it, and where most TV pilots hammer you with "here's why you should care," 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' assumes you already care. You saw 'The Avengers' five times, right? So you're already on board, and we can just hang out and crack jokes.

"What the pilot doesn't have is a lot of drama or suspense. There are almost no stakes in this first episode, and there's almost no effort to get you excited if you weren't already excited after 'The Avengers.'"

And some reactions on Twitter from those who watched the pilot's premiere at Comic-Con:

The SHIELD pilot is at times cooler than I expected, but with moments of silliness and over the top network tv-style action

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) July 19, 2013

I'll do a Take Me To The Pilots on "S.H.I.E.L.D." tonight. It's fine. It's not great, though. Endless potential.

— Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) July 19, 2013

HUGE, LOUD standing ovation for the @Marvel's #AgentsofSHIELD pilot. I, uh, think the #SDCC crowd liked it. :) #MarvelSDCC

— Ryan Penagos (@AgentM) July 19, 2013

@jaugustrichards was BRILLIANT in the @AgentsofSHIELD pilot. He made me tear up. Seriously great. #SDCC2013#AgentsofSHIELD#sdcc

— Lisa Gomez (@lisatwingomez) July 19, 2013

@clarkgregg real emotional after #AgentsOfSHIELD pilot gets huge approval from the #Ballroom20 crowd #sdcc#ComicCon

— Brian MacDonald (@Beanpole_Brian) July 19, 2013

Marvel's @AgentsOfSHIELD pilot was absolutely phenomenal. Full of so much nerd win. :D Can't wait! #SDCC#coulsonlives

— GamerHub.TV (@GamerHubTV) July 19, 2013

SEE ALSO: 7 Things We Learned About 'Avengers' Spinoff Show 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D'

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While everyone may be talking about the anticipated return of "Breaking Bad" next month, the first trailer for Bryan Cranston's next movie "Cold Comes The Night" has debuted, and his character looks even more despicable than that of his AMC meth lord.

Cranston plays a Russian gangster named Topo who is going blind. (We're not sure which one of those is the best part of his character.)

In it, he seeks down-on-her-luck Chloe (Alice Eve from "Star Trek Into Darkness"), a struggling single mom and motel owner to retrieve a large sum of money from a crooked cop.

From director Tze Chun, the unlikely pair are working together and if Eve doesn't cooperate, Heisenberg, er Topo, means business. 

"If you don't find out, I will put bullet in your little girl's ear." 

There's no release date yet for "Cold Comes the Night."

SEE ALSO: Awesome photos of Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston at the "Breaking Bad" premiere

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After 30 years as a devout Scientologist, actress Leah Remini abruptly left the church earlier this month after questioning its controversial leader, David Miscavige.

For the first time since her split from the church, Remini is speaking out, saying she left because "no one is going to tell me how I need to think."

"I believe that people should be able to question things," the 43-year-old "King of Queens" actress explained to People magazine. "I believe that people should value family, and value friendships, and hold those things sacrosanct. That for me, that's what I'm about. It wouldn't matter what it was, simply because no one is going to tell me how I need to think, no one is going to tell me who I can, and cannot, talk to." 

Remini's mother, husband and daughter have all been practicing Scientologists. The actress had been a member of the church for three decades after her mother became a Scientologist in the 1970s, rising through Scientology's ranks to achieve Operating Thetan Level Five, with three more rungs to climb until reaching the highest spiritual rank, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Despite her history with the church, "I'm not about to shut up," Remini told People, continuing "We stand united, my family and I, and I think that says a lot about who we are, and what we're about."

Earlier this month, Remini released a statement thanking fans for their support:

"I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and from fans around the world. I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support."

SEE ALSO: Leah Remini Leaves Scientology After 30 Years Amid Scandal

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"The Wolverine" had no competition this week at the box office.

Hugh Jackman's standalone film easily clawed it's way to the top past last week's horror success, "The Conjuring."

The film still didn't earn as much as analysts predicted, and didn't earn more than 2009's often disputed "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" film which earned $85 million opening weekend.

It's surprising in such a bloated summer schedule that no one else waited to debut another film this weekend.

Meanwhile, the limited release of Aubrey Plaza's "The To-Do List" debuted to $1.5 million.

Out of the top ten this week is Disney's "Monsters University" and Brad Pitt's zombie film "World War Z" after six weeks in theaters.

Here are this week's winners and losers at the box office:

10. The Weinstein Company's "Fruitvale Station" brought in $4.7 million after its wide release in more than 1,000 theaters this weekend. The film is based on the true story of Oscar Grant who was gunned down on New Year's 2009. The film has resonated with viewers since the Trayvon Martin verdict.

9. Ryan Reynold's bomb "R.I.P.D." brought in another $5.9 million this week to bring its total to $37 million. The cheesy "Men In Black" lookalike cost an estimated $130 million to make. This shouldn't hurt Universal too much since "Despicable Me 2" is well on its way to $700 million worldwide.

8. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy's "The Heat" stands its ground earning another $6.8 million. In five weeks, the funny women have scored $169.8 million in theaters.

7. "Pacific Rim" drops one spot earning $7.5 million. Guillermo del Toro's $190 million monster vs. robot movie is faring much better overseas as imagined. The film has earned $140 million vs. $84 million domestic to make its total haul more than $224 million.

6. Bruce Willis' "Red 2" drops one spot in its second week earning $9.4 million. The sequel has earned $52.6 million to date. In total, "Red" earned just under $200 million worldwide.

5. Adam Sandler's "Grown Ups 2" holds steady at $11.5 million for another week. The sequel to the 2010 flick has now earned $116 million worldwide, with little to none of its earnings from foreign sales.

4. DreamWorks Animation's "Turbo" and the adorable "Despicable Me" gang switch spots this week. DWA's racing snails added another $13.3 million this week. That's pretty sluggish for a film that cost an estimated $135 million. However, the film is doing okay overseas, bringing the film's total to $97 million.

3. Universal's "Despicable Me 2" continues to reign with $16 million. The little yellow minions have accrued more than $660 million at the box office worldwide.

2. With little else new to see this week, horror flick "The Conjuring" easily earned another $22.1 million. The film only cost an estimated $20 million to produce and is closing in on $100 million worldwide in week two.

1. "The Wolverine" managed to slice up $55 million opening weekend despite good reviews. That's far less than the last Wolverine film in 2009 which brought in $85 million opening weekend. While some suspect the turnoff of the last film sent potential viewers packing, it easily could have been that in a year crowded with so many other big blockbusters in May, June, and early July, that viewers have finally tuned out.

SEE ALSO: Critics are calling "The Wolverine" the superhero film of the summer

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Michael J. Fox will be back on airwaves this fall with his upcoming NBC comedy, “The Michael J. Fox Show."

Fox plays a local newscaster with Parkinson’s disease who decides to return to work after years of staying home with his family.

At the Television Critics’ Association summer press tour on Saturday, Fox explained how he is making the disease "funny."

"The reality of Parkinson's is that sometimes it's frustrating and sometimes it's funny. I need to look at it that way," Fox stated during the NBC panel. "I think we all get our own bag of hammers. We all get our own Parkinson's. We all get our own thing."

“The humor was based on the kind of stuff I deal with on a daily basis," added the 52-year-old actor. "I feel that this is the reflection of my experience and certainly in the pilot it was more prevalent than it is in subsequent scripts."

With the show, Fox wants people to know “There’s nothing horrifying [about Parkinson's] to me ... It’s not horrible. I don’t think it’s gothic nastiness. There’s nothing on the surface horrible about someone with shaking hands.”

Clearly the disease isn't scaring away network execs, as "Fox’s return to toplining a sitcom created such a bidding frenzy among the nets that NBC gave the Sony Pictures TV project a 22-episode on-air commitment last fall," notes Variety.

“The Michael J. Fox Show" premieres on NBC in September. Watch the trailer below:

SEE ALSO: Leah Remini On Scientology Split: 'No One Is Going to Tell Me How I Need to Think'

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Fresh off his video-diary-like promotional campaign for "Magna Carta Holy Grail," Jay Z gets even more vulnerable in a music video for "Picasso Baby."

In an empty white room at the Pace Gallery in Chelsea, Jay Z performed the track over and over for six hours, according to art critic Jerry Saltz, who was in attendance.

The rapper sang one-at-a-time to individuals and pairs he pulled from the small audience. Cameras rolled during the marathon serenading session, and voila, art.

"Concerts are pretty much performance art," Jay Z said in the teaser, released over the weekend. "The smaller venue is a bit more intimate so you feel the energy of the people."

Alan Cumming, Judd Apatow, and artist Marina Abramovic were in attendance.

The video premieres August 2 on HBO after his appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Wife Beyonce teamed up with the network earlier this year for her documentary, "Life Is But a Dream."

Watch the teaser for hubby Hova's video below:

SEE ALSO: Jay Z Officially Drops The Hyphen In His Name

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The London Fire Brigade has issued a statement saying that the number of times the service has been called due to people stuck in objects like handcuffs and toilet seats has risen over the past three years.

“Some of the incidents our firefighters are called out could be prevented with a little common sense. I don’t know whether it’s the Fifty Shades effect, but the number of incidents involving items like handcuffs seems to have gone up." third officer Dave Brown said in the statement, pointing out that people should only call the U.K.'s emergency number (999) when there was a genuine emergency.

"I’m sure most people will be Fifty Shades of Red by the time our crews arrive to free them," Brown added.

Amongst the calls the fire brigade had responded to in the past three years:

• 18 incidents involving children with their heads stuck in potties or toilet seats
• Five incidents involving people’s hands being stuck in shredders
• 79 incidents involving people being trapped in handcuffs
• Nine instances of men with rings stuck on their penises.
• Four incidents where people had their hands stuck in blenders
• 17 incidents involving children with their fingers stuck in toys, including one with lego stuck on his finger

While it's unclear whether a work of erotic fiction could have resulted in all of these incidents, the statement's intention is clear — please stop doing this. According to the statement, each time the fire brigade is called to one of these incidents it costs the taxpayer at least £290, meaning that the total cost of these incidents for the tax payer has been £377,000 or $580,000 in the past three years.

The service has been using a Twitter hashtag to note the weirder incidents (#FiftyShadesofRed), such as this one:

Top tip from us today: don’t put your penis in a toaster. Read our most unusual incidents here: http://t.co/cdMMaTjtco#FiftyShadesofRed

— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) July 29, 2013

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"Gangnam Style" sensation Psy showed a different side of himself during a recent interview with London's Sunday Times.

In an article titled "The Show Must Go On," the singer reveals he drinks all of the time. Literally.

“If I’m happy, I’m drinking, if I’m sad, I’m drinking. If it’s raining, I’m drinking, if it’s sunny I’m drinking. If it’s hot, I’m drinking, if it’s cold, I’m drinking,” the Korean pop star admitted.

Psy continues to call Korean vodka his “best friend” and “vice partner," but notes that he will drink  “whisky, vodka, tequila, whatever.”

The 35-year-old singer tells the Times the only time he isn’t drinking is “when I’m hungover,” which he says is “a lot.”

Psy — who is married with two daughters — also mentions his stint in jail for marijuana possession, growing up with an abusive father and his cigarette addiction.

The Sunday Times reporter who interviewed Psy even noted "In front of him there are three packets of cigarettes ... He smokes incessantly, and when he isn’t smoking, he is asking anxiously for translation."

Despite Psy breaking YouTube records and dominating the music charts, sounds like Psy still has some demons to conquer.

SEE ALSO: Here's What Psy Has Accomplished Since 'Gangnam Style' Debuted 1 Year Ago

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Girls should play more video games.

That’s one of the unexpected lessons I take away from a rash of recent studies on the importance of—and the malleability of—spatial skills.

First, why spatial skills matter: The ability to mentally manipulate shapes and otherwise understand how the three-dimensional world works turns out to be an important predictor of creative and scholarly achievements, according to research published this month in the journal Psychological Science. The long-term study found that 13-year-olds’ scores on traditional measures of mathematical and verbal reasoning predicted the number of scholarly papers and patents these individuals produced three decades later.

But high scores on tests of spatial ability taken at age 13 predicted something more surprising: the likelihood that the individual would develop new knowledge and produce innovation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the domains collectively known as STEM.

The good news is that spatial abilities can get better with practice. A meta-analysis of 217 research studies, published in the journal Psychological Science last year, concluded that “spatial skills are malleable, durable and transferable”: that is, spatial skills can be improved by training; these improvements persist over time; and they “transfer” to tasks that are different from the tasks used in the training.

This last point is supported by a study published just last month in the Journal of Cognition and Development, which reported that training children in spatial reasoning can improve their performance in math. A single twenty-minute training session in spatial skills enhanced participants’ ability to solve math problems, suggesting that the training “primes” the brain to tackle arithmetic, said study author and Michigan State University education professor Kelly Mix.

Findings like these have led some researchers to advocate for the addition of spatial-skills training to the school curriculum. That’s not a bad idea, but here’s another way to think about it: the informal education children receive can be just as important as what they learn in the classroom. We need to think more carefully about how kids’ formal and informal educational experiences fit together, and how one can fill gaps left by the other.

If traditional math and reading skills are emphasized at school, for example, parents can make sure that spatial skills are accentuated at home—starting early on, with activities as simple as talking about the spatial properties of the world around us. A 2011 study from researchers at the University of Chicago reported that the number of spatial terms (like “circle,” “curvy,” and “edge”) parents used while interacting with their toddlers predicted how many of these kinds of words children themselves produced, and how well they performed on spatial problem-solving tasks at a later age.

As kids grow older, much of the experience they get in manipulating three-dimensional objects comes from playing video games—which brings us back to the contention at the start of this article. Males have historically held the advantage over females in spatial ability, and this advantage has often been attributed to genetic differences. But males’ spatial edge may also reflect, in part, differences in the leisure-time activities of boys and girls, activities that add up to a kind of daily drill in spatial skills for boys.

If that’s the case, then offering girls more opportunities to practice their spatial skills may begin to close the spatial-skills gender gap—and produce more female scientists, engineers and mathematicians in the bargain. So suggests a study by University of Toronto researchers, published in the journal Psychological Science. They found that playing an action video game “can virtually eliminate” the gender difference in a basic capacity they call spatial attention, while at the same time reducing the gender difference in the ability to mentally rotate objects, a higher-level spatial skill.

Exposure to video games, the authors conclude, “could play a significant role as part of a larger strategy designed to interest women in science and engineering careers.” Participants with little prior video-game experience “realized large gains after only ten hours of training,” they note, adding that “we can only imagine the benefits that might be realized after weeks, months, or even years of action-video-gaming experience.”

Parents of daughters may blanch at the idea of actually encouraging “years” of action video game play. These moms and dads should tell themselves that their daughters aren’t wasting their time—they’re readying themselves for brilliant careers as scientists and engineers.

Note to Brilliant readers: I’m especially interested right now in thinking about how we all—adults and kids alike—can compensate for the gaps in our knowledge and skills by creating situations, inside or outside formal education, that balance the experiences we get elsewhere. (See this week’s Brilliant Quote from UCLA psychology professor Patricia Greenfield, below, for another take on this notion.) I’d love to get your input on how we can achieve, as Greenfield puts it, “a complete profile of cognitive skills.” Please leave a comment below, or email me directly at annie@anniemurphypaul.com with your thoughts.

Brilliant Quote

“The informal learning environments of television, video games, and the Internet are producing learners with a new profile of cognitive skills. This profile features widespread and sophisticated development of visual-spatial skills, such as iconic representation and spatial visualization . . . Formal education must adapt to these changes, taking advantage of new strengths in visual-spatial intelligence and compensating for new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes: abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination. These develop through the use of an older technology, reading, which, along with audio media such as radio, also stimulates imagination. Informal education therefore requires a balanced media diet using each technology’s specific strengths in order to develop a complete profile of cognitive skills.”—Patricia Greenfield, “Technology and Informal Education: What Is Taught, What Is Learned”

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"The Simpsons" co-creator, Sam Simon, is battling terminal colon cancer and has just three to six months to live — but the 58-year-old nine-time Emmy-winning writer-producer is making good use of what time he has left.  

Simon, who says he earns nearly "tens of millions" annually off his "Simpsons" royalties, is donating his entire fortune to charity before he dies.

"I get pleasure from it. I love it. I don't feel like it is an obligation," Simon told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview.

Various charities are the recipients of Simon's generosity — from a dog-rescue haven in Malibu and PETA to Save the Children and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

His Sam Simon Foundation in Malibu is worth $23 million and he feels strongly about shutting down roadside zoos and abusive animal shows.

"I want medical experiments on animals stopped. They don't do anything, and they don't work," Simon said of donating heavily to animal rights causes. "Veganism is an answer for almost every problem facing the world in terms of hunger and climate change."

Simon says that while "I was never that hands-on with any of it [the charities]" he has "been fortunate to find great people to run things."

Not that Simon has much free time. Between doing his own radio show, working on Charlie Sheen's FX show "Anger Management" and chemotherapy, Simon is still keeping busy after co-creating "The Simpsons" more than 20 years ago alongside cartoonist Matt Groening.

Simon has no children and is not currently married but his ex-wife, actress Jennifer Tilly, tells THR, "He really does have a passion to survive, and the longer he's on the earth, the more good work he can do." 

"The truth is, I have more money than I'm interested in spending," reveals Simon. "Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this."

SEE ALSO: Michael J. Fox: 'We All Have Our Own Parkinson's'

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Last week, we visited the RIAA's searchable database of music sales certifications to pull the most embarrassing best-selling albums of all time.

Today, we revisit the database to pull the most embarrassing best-selling standalone singles of all time.

Two quick notes:

You'll notice the list is front-loaded with one-hit wonder rap songs from the early '90s.

We have nothing against the genre per se.

It just so happened these particular songs sold incredibly well, and we think you'll agree you will ask what business they had doing thus.

Secondly, the top-three all earned their spots through digital sales. We're convinced that if they'd come out pre-Internet they would not have sold nearly as well. 

And now, prepare to be ashamed. 

11) "Baby Got Back" by Sir-Mix-A-Lot

2x platinum. Oh. My God. Becky. This is definitely embarrassing, but it will also crack you up no matter how many times you listen to it.

10) "I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd

2x platinum. Oh it's badd alright.

9) "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc (1988)

2x platinum. A patently awful song lacking a single original bone in its body. Can anyone who was sentient in 1988 explain why this was so popular?

8) "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx N Effect (1992)

2x platinum. No way!? YES WAY.

7) "O.P.P." by Naughty By Nature (1991)

2x platinum. A legitimately great hook wasted by some of the dumbest lyrics ever put in a rap song.

6) "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" by Bryan Adams (1991)

3x platinum. One hopes the border agents who first ever let Bryan Adams in from Canada were eventually fired.

5) "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team (1993)

4x platinum. 4x platinum?!?! YGTBKM. But for real the video is also completely insane. 

4) "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" by Los Del Rio (1995)

4x platinum. We've previously described this song as the most embarrassing photo on America's Facebook page. You might also call it the "Gangnam Style" of its day: an admittedly catchy hook with a ridiculous dance.

And now we enter the digital phase of the proceedings...

3) "Hey Soul Sister" by Train (2009)

6x platinum. Maudlin garbage. Train should have never left 1998. 

2) "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz (2008)

6x platinum. Did Train and Mraz cover each other? Someone's ripping someone off here.

1) "Baby" by Justin Bieber feat. Ludacris

12x platinum. Well, congratulations America, this is literally the best-selling single of all time (surpassing "Candle In The Wind" by Elton John, which has sold 11 million copies). And you wonder why the rest of the world thinks we've lost it...

If you're a true masochist, here is the full playlist:

SEE ALSO: The Most Dominant Summer Songs Of All Time

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Lea Michele has finally broken her silence on the death of her boyfriend and "Glee" co-star, Cory Monteith.

Michele's rep previously released a brief statement saying the actress was "grieving alongside" Monteith's family and thanking fans for their support.

Now two weeks after the tragic incident, the 26-year-old actress is finally speaking to fans personally, posting the below photo and note to both her Twitter and Instagram accounts:

Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support. Cory will forever be in my heart. pic.twitter.com/XVlZnh9vOc

— Lea Michele (@msleamichele) July 29, 2013

Michele is expected to start filming the new season of “Glee” next month. The story line will deal with the death of Monteith's character, Finn Hudson.

In an interview conducted just one month before the actor’s death, Michele said Monteith had made her life “so incredible.”

Re-live their love story here >

SEE ALSO: 'Glee' Cast And Crew Gather For 'Emotional' Cory Monteith Memorial Service

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Two stars of the Bravo television reality show "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" have been indicted on fraud and tax charges, the Department of Justice announced on Monday.

The DoJ said that Teresa Giudice, 41, and her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, 43, were indicted and charged with conspiracy to defraud lenders and illegally obtain mortgages and other loans by allegedly hiding assets and income during a bankruptcy case.

The couple was charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications and bankruptcy fraud. Those charges carry a combined maximum of 55 years in prison and $1.5 million fine.

The 39-count indictment, which was returned by a grand jury on Monday, also alleges that Joe Giudice did not file tax returns between 2004 and 2008. Each year of failing to file a tax return is punishable with up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman delivered a killer accompanying statement in announcing the indictment.

“The indictment returned today alleges the Guidices lied to the bankruptcy court, to the IRS and to a number of banks,” Fishman said. “Everyone has an obligation to tell the truth when dealing with the courts, paying their taxes and applying for loans or mortgages. That’s reality.”

Here's the full readout of the indictment from the DoJ:

From September 2001 through September 2008, Giuseppe and Teresa Giudice allegedly engaged in a mail and wire fraud conspiracy in which they submitted to lenders fraudulent mortgage and other loan applications and supporting documents in order to obtain mortgages and other loans. The Giudices falsely represented on loan applications and supporting documents that they were employed and/or receiving substantial salaries when, in fact, they were either not employed or not receiving such salaries.

For example, in September 2001, Teresa Giudice applied for a mortgage loan of $121,500 for which she submitted a loan application that falsely claimed that she was employed as an executive assistant. She also submitted fake W-2 Forms and fake paystubs purportedly issued by her employer. The indictment also charges specific instances where the Giudices committed bank fraud and loan application fraud in the course of obtaining loans from several banks.

On Oct. 29, 2009, the Giudices filed a petition for individual Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark. Over the next few months, they filed several amendments to the bankruptcy petition. As part of the bankruptcy filings, the Giudices were required to disclose to the United States Trustee, among other things, assets, liabilities, income, and any anticipated increase in income. The indictment alleges that the Giudices intentionally concealed businesses they owned, income they received from a rental property, and Teresa Giudice’s true income from the television show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” website sales, and personal and magazine appearances. The Giudices concealed their anticipated increase in income from the then-upcoming Season Two of the Bravo television show. The Giudices are charged with multiple counts of bankruptcy fraud for concealing and making false oaths and declarations about the assets and income during their bankruptcy case.

The indictment also alleges that during tax years 2004 through 2008, Giuseppe Giudice received income totaling $996,459, but did not file tax returns for those years.

The conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years of in prison and a $250,000 fine. The bank fraud and loan application fraud counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The bankruptcy fraud counts each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The failure to file a tax return counts each carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

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Often the best part of a "Saturday Night Live" sketch is when the cast members are unable to control themselves and break character in a fit of laughter.

It's happened to everyone — from Chris Farley and Will Ferrell to Bill Hader and tons of the show's celebrity hosts.

Watch a supercut video of SNL's greatest "breaking character" moments:

SEE ALSO: Can 'Saturday Night Live' Survive Its Cast Exodus?

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