Unusual Stuff

You never know what the Japanese will turn into a hobby or a fad.

Everything from key chains that sound like bubble wrap popping when you press on them to canoes made from chop sticks can capture the attention of the Japanese.
The latest fads there are items made by prisoners in prison.
In kitchens and bars and […]

People do a lot of odd surveys.  A recent Ipsos Reid poll conducted in Canada at the behest of Microsoft asked a lot of questions about, what else, video games.  I suppose they’re trying to find out just where people play games so they can respond and push the Xbox 360 into the proper areas […]

Some call it being sarcastic.

Some call it being a smartass.
Either way, it’s apparently proof that we as human beings are evolving.
It seems studies in Israel and California have shown that people with damage to the right side of the brain can not distinguish sarcasm during conversation.
The scientists are saying that those who aren’t able to […]

Everybody and their brother are talking about the rising price of a gallon of gasoline.
I know I’m feeling the pinch in my bank account every time I fill my tank and see the numbers on the pumps whirling around and around faster than Britney Spears can pop in and out of rehab.
But at least the […]

I’ve got a sweet tooth, but there’s one candy that rarely touches my sensitive palate.

I can’t abide Gummy Bears. I’m guessing even those stupid candy criminals didn’t even grab any of these during their stealing spree.
I know I must be in the minority as the sugary, sticky products keep turning up in all kinds […]

 Who doesn’t love a relaxing day on the golf course?  The sun’s shining, the grass is green and lush, there’s a nice cool breeze blowing through the trees.  Oh yeah, and there’s also discarded military explosives right off the tee box.  Wait, what?
Right off the 5th hole, Freddie McGee was operating a bulldozer with another […]

There’s just something about bubbles that regress every adult back into a kid again.
When I see some tots blowing soap bubbles on their front lawn, I either want to take the wand away from them and create my own round wonders or chase the floaters and pop each and every one.
An ingenious little design called […]

We’ve all been hedgehog-throwing mad.  I know I sure have.  It’s important, when you’re at your angriest, to step back, take some deep breaths, and slowly put down the Erinaceinae, because if you’re anything like the New Zealander who threw the last hedgehog, you’ll end up paying a hefty fine.
While $545 is a pretty steep […]

Sometimes I wonder how scientists in lab think of new things to study.
I envision it something like this.

There’s a chemically-enhanced man in a white lab coat standing next to a counter top covered with a bunsen burner with a blue flame shooting out of the top of it and a computer nearby. He mulls. He […]

Chuck Taylor All-Star tennis shoes are everywhere.
I know they are in my closet. I’ve got two pairs tucked in there. That makes me part of 60 percent of all Americans, according to a survey that says more than half of all US citizens own or have owned a pair of the low tech athletic shoes.
The […]

Strolling up to the beverage coolers in the local quick mart now presents too many options.
It’s no longer just a question of with which soda will I quench my raging thirst.
Now, thirsty consumers have to wade through shelf upon shelf of chilled energy drinks, sodas, bottled waters, flavored waters, teas, flavored teas and electrolyte-replenishing beverages.
All […]

Nuclear waste and art are rarely combined in the same sentence.
However, a storage facility for nuclear waste in the Netherlands is bringing a new approach to the problem.
The Habog Facility has been painted a bright orange and is covered with giant equations to capture the attention of passersby. Inside the building, in addition to the […]

Once again, it’s Mother Nature to the rescue.
You can’t turn on the news on television or click online to a news site without hearing about the housing foreclosure crisis. All across America, houses are empty and abandoned due to money woes.
Many of those homes in warmer states like California, Florida and Arizona have swimming pools […]

I’ve finally found a way to travel into outer space without having to die and have my ashes hurled out into oblivion.

NASA is affording me (and anyone else inclined) an opportunity to send my name into space as part of the Kepler Mission.
The Kepler mission is a search for Earth-size and smaller planets in the […]

PopFi proves once again that it loves a primate tale. From spear-tossing orangutans to chimps pimping out grooming for a little monkey-bumping sex, PopFi has the scoop.
From a scoop of one kind to maybe two or three or four scoops of another kind.
Some Chunky Monkeys in Japan may have been the inspiration for one of […]