It's been years since my high school biology class, but I still remember the smell of the rotting pig corpses that we mutilated over the course of a nightmarish three-day lab. Piled in the corner of the room in a black garbage bag, the carcasses emanated a rancid smell that only got worse each day, and after each lab period, we all ate lunch in the same room—the lab doubled as our cafeteria.

Today, though, it's the sweet smell of victory that I'm waking up to. Nine months ago, a compassionate student at Oakton Community College contacted PETA about a professor who was having students in an anatomy and physiology class cut open live rats and mudpuppies to observe how their organs worked. We immediately contacted school officials to share information on the intelligent, complex animals who were being tormented and killed for these experiments and presented officials with cruelty-free and effective educational alternatives. This week, Oakton Community College let us know that it has stopped using live animals in ALL of its classes!

shiachat / CC

We're urging all schools (hear that, ASU?) to follow Oakton's enlightened path and replace their cruel classroom animal experiments with modern, more effective non-animal learning methods. Biology is the study of life—it just doesn't make any sense to kill animals to teach it. Urge schools in your area to get smart and go cruelty-free.

Written by Logan Scherer

We were flooded with phone calls and e-mails from ticked-off folks after Land and Sea, a TV show on Canada's CBC network, aired an episode about the annual Canadian seal massacre. But it wasn't for the reasons that you might think. People were outraged because the episode featured the manager of a Newfoundland gift shop recalling that Kevin Spacey bought a pair of slippers made of sealskin while filming a movie in the area.

fameball / CC

Kevin Spacey in sealskin?! We've always known Spacey to be a kind person, so we asked him to set the record straight about this rumor. Spacey's rep assured us that the Oscar-winning American Beauty star did not purchase sealskin slippers (or anything else) from that gift shop. So file this one under "false rumor" (or "rumour," for our Canuck compatriots).

If you're fed up with the cruelty of the Canadian seal slaughter—and the lies of its apologists—then please take a minute to add your voice to those calling for an end to the massacre. Then spread the word to persuade other folks to do the same.

Written by Jeff Mackey

The folks at totalbeauty.com have released their roundup of "Eight Cities With the Ugliest Guys." Hagerstown, Maryland, "scored" second place on the list, which cited lackluster libidos, flabulousness, and puny IQs, among other factors.

Axe, schmaxe. PETA's got the cure for homely Hagerstown residents:

Men who go vegan gain instant sex appeal. How so?

1. Veggie Viagra ring any bells?
2. Their extra cushioning melts away—vegans weigh 10 to 20 pounds less, on average, than their meat- and cheese-munching counterparts.
3. They're smart to avoid heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other ailments that have been linked to meat consumption.
4. They radiate compassion because they no longer eat the flesh of abused animals.

To the men of Hagerstown: Take the "Pledge to Be Veg." You'll be saying, "Bye bye, Haggardtown" and "Hello, Handsomeland!" before you know it.

Written by Karin Bennett