Land Of Odd

Stoned in Suburbia - land of odd

2008-06-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

land of odd

Stoned In Suburbia is a social history film, examining the change in people's opinions to cannabis over the past 50 years. Discussing the impact of the 60's sexual revolution, the Hippie movement, the emergence of the Punks right up until the modern day.

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Man Stuck In Machinery Uses Big Toe To Call 911

Driver gets in wreck, sees his home catch fire, gets ticket | land of odd

2008-06-13T05:40:00.000-07:00

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ROCK ISLAND, Tenn. — One moment, Justin Hill was turning into his driveway. Minutes later he was being flown to a hospital as his home went up in flames. Then he got a traffic ticket.

Hill, 42, got into a crash after turning into the path of an oncoming car Tuesday evening, said Tennessee Highway Patrol Officer Monte Terry. Hill's wife heard the crash and ran outside, leaving the kitchen stove, where she had been cooking, unattended.

Within minutes, their Rock Island trailer was on fire, and firefighters who had responded to the accident found themselves fighting the blaze.

The rural central Tennessee home had extensive damage. Hill was treated at the hospital and released, but he was cited in the accident for failure to yield.

Land of Odd: Man Stuck In Machinery Uses Big Toe To Call 911

2008-05-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

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(AP) Even with his arms stuck in a piece of machinery, one northwest Florida man was able to call 911 using his big toe. Police said the unidentified man was at the DRS Technologies building early Thursday morning when he became trapped in a press-like machine that resembles an elevator. The employee was alone.

He shook his cell phone off his belt, kicked off one shoe and used his toe to dial 911. Rescuers used a thick metal bar to pry the machinery off his arms.

He was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital where his condition was not immediately known.

Man mowing his lawn discovers 7-10 foot hole

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Man mowing his lawn discovers 7-10 foot hole | Land of Odd

2008-04-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - A Cedar Rapids man mowing his lawn has stumbled into a big hole - but the origin is a mystery. Rick Thompson discovered the hole on Wednesday. He says the grass seemed a little soft in that spot, and he blamed it on the rain. Then his leg sank up to his calf. He grabbed the lawn mower to stop himself from sinking any more.

Thompson started digging around the hole, which turned out to be 7-10 feet deep, with water and rusty pipes in the bottom.

Thompson's wife, Sharon, called the city, but even with expert help, no one could solve the mystery. She says some think it could be a well or an old septic tank.

The Thompsons have blocked off the area until they can hire someone to remove the pipes and fill up the hole.

The cost of feeding Playboy’s Girls Next Door | Land of odd

Sam Kinison First Appearance on Letterman | Land of Odd

Man threatens wife with Voodoo death

A 77-Year-Old Illinois Lawmaker Robbed Of $7 At Gunpoint In Her Home

2008-03-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

(AP) A 77-year-old Illinois state representative is happy to be alive after a man with a gun pushed his way into her home and robbed her of $7.

Wyvetter H. Younge was not injured in the robbery that occurred around noon Friday.

Younge said she thought her son had knocked on her door and opened it, but instead found an armed man. He told her to get on her hands and knees, then grabbed her purse and ran.

Younge, a Democrat, said she didn't recognize the man, who wore a red hat and red jacket and dark pants. She said she's going to pray for him.

"This robbery and what's happening to this community is the result of a lack of a supportive system for our youth. We need jobs," she said. "This happened in broad daylight at noon. We need a mental health support system. This is further evidence of that."

Illinois State Police are investigating.

Sam Kinison First Appearance on Letterman

Man threatens wife with Voodoo death

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The cost of feeding Playboy’s Girls Next Door | Land of odd

2008-03-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

land of odd
How much is Playboy (PLA) spending to provide food, housing and other “personal benefits” for Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, Hugh Hefner’s live-in girlfriends and the stars of The Girls Next Door on the E! Network? About $400K according to the 10-K that Playboy filed on Friday.Although according to Wikipedia, The Girls Next Door has been around since 2005, this is the first time that Playboy is disclosing these costs in a filing, so it’s hard to say whether the $400K is more or less than in previous years. If you’re as familiar with this show as I was before I began working on this post, you can find more information about its three stars here.

There were a few other interesting disclosures in the Playboy filing: average monthly circulation in 2007 in the U.S. fell by about 200,000 copies to 2.8 million a month. Like most other forms of print media in the U.S., Playboy is definitely losing readers, dropping its guaranteed rate base to 2.6 million copies a month starting in January, down from 3 million.

In other countries, where Playboy licenses 24 different editions, circulation fell by 100,000 copies for a month, despite the fact that in 2007, the company added international editions in Columbia, Estonia and Georgia. Judging by the filing, the company ended its licensing agreement to publish in Indonesia, where despite not publishing any nude photos, the magazine was still pretty controversial.

One final note about Playboy: according to this Reuters story, Norway’s $378 billion sovereign wealth fund is being criticized by several groups in Norway for owning about $125,000 worth of Playboy stock.

[Via - Footnoted.org]

Man threatens wife with Voodoo death

Man Punches Woman On His Way To Anger Management Class

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Sam Kinison First Appearance on Letterman | Land of Odd

2008-03-12T04:07:00.000-07:00

land of odd
Samuel "Sam" Burl Kinison (December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was famous for his extremely raunchy humor and amazingly wild, colorful outfits. A former revival-style preacher, his standup routines were most often characterized by intense, angry ranting and punctuated by his trademark scream. Kinison was voted #20 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest
Stand-ups of All Time.

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Land of Odd: Man threatens wife with Voodoo death

2008-03-06T05:56:00.000-08:00

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PORT ST. LUCIE - Investigators arrested a local man after his wife said he hit her and threatened to kill her, her children and family with Voodoo and a gun, according to a police report released Wednesday.

The 31-year-old victim, who recently moved here from Haiti, is a "strong believer of the Voodoo religion" and told police her husband, Nerlet Bellot, 34, is "more than capable of casting a Voodoo curse on her and her family and is terrified of that notion and its consequences."

Arrested Monday, Bellot, of the 2400 block of Southeast Wald Street, faces charges including battery, hindering communication with 911 and assault in connection with the incidents.

The victim told police that early Monday she and her husband argued. She said her husband hit her in the head and abdomen, knocking her to the ground. When she said she was calling 911 on her cell phone, he threw the phone down, which broke it.

Their 8-year-old son tried to stop Bellot, and Bellot then said he'd kill his wife and her children and family "with a gun as well as with Voodoo."

"She stated that if he went to jail that his family in Haiti would do his bidding," the report states. "She fears for her safety primarily from the Voodoo."

Because the victim was so scared of the Voodoo curse, police charged Bellot with assault, said Officer Robert Vega, police spokesman.

Bellot denied striking his wife, breaking the phone, or threatening to kill her with Voodoo or a firearm.

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Land of Odd: Man Punches Woman On His Way To Anger Management Class

2008-03-04T05:34:00.000-08:00

ST. PAUL, Minn. (land of odd) ― Justin John Boudin may have done his anger management homework, but he apparently didn’t learn his lesson.

The 27-year-old Minnesota man pleaded guilty to fifth-degree assault charges for losing his temper on the way to class.

According to the criminal complaint, Boudin was waiting at a bus stop in August when he harassed a 59-year-old woman. Witnesses say he yelled “Why don’t you show me some respect?” at the woman. The complaint says when she took out her cell to call police, he punched her in the face. When a 63-year-old man tried to stop him, Boudin hit him with a blue folder. Then he ran, dropping the folder.

Police were able to track him down using the papers inside, which included his name and his anger management homework.

Prosecutors expect at a hearing in May he’ll be sentenced to time served, which will be at least 120 days, and probation.

[Via - CBS5]

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Blind Irishman sees with the aid of son's tooth in his eye

2008-02-29T04:05:00.000-08:00

DUBLIN land of odd (AFP) - An Irishman blinded by an explosion two years ago has had his sight restored after doctors inserted his son's tooth in his eye, he said on Wednesday.

Bob McNichol, 57, from County Mayo in the west of the country, lost his sight in a freak accident when red-hot liquid aluminium exploded at a re-cycling business in November 2005.

"I thought that I was going to be blind for the rest of my life," McNichol told RTE state radio.

After doctors in Ireland said there was nothing more they could do, McNichol heard about a miracle operation called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP) being performed by Dr Christopher Liu at the Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton in England.

The technique, pioneered in Italy in the 1960s, involves creating a support for an artificial cornea from the patient's own tooth and the surrounding bone.

The procedure used on McNichol involved his son Robert, 23, donating a tooth, its root and part of the jaw.

McNichol's right eye socket was rebuilt, part of the tooth inserted and a lens inserted in a hole drilled in the tooth.

The first operation lasted ten hours and the second five hours.

"It is pretty heavy going," McNichol said. "There was a 65 percent chance of me getting any sight.

"Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. I have come out from complete darkness to be able to do simple things," McNichol said.

Police called to 'pillow fight'

Man Sets Station On Fire Over Playlist

Couple finds a way to get their message to the FAA

Land of Odd: Spurned lover makes 10,000 calls to ex

2008-02-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

A dumped girlfriend plagued her ex with more than 10,000 calls and text messages in 65 days, a British court has heard.

Timothy Mortimore, 37, received the equivalent of one call or message every eight minutes, Britain’s Daily Mail reports.

His 23-year-old ex, Lee Amor, reportedly ignored police warnings about her behaviour after the end of a six-month relationship.

Pregnant, and wrongly convinced the baby was Mr Mortimore’s, she contacted him an “astronomical” number of times, the paper says.

The Daily Mail report says Amor appeared before South Devon Magistrates’ Court and admitted harassment “in texting, sending mobile video messages, telephone calls, and in person”.

She was given a two-year conditional discharge, told to pay £200 costs and made the subject of a restraining order barring contact with Mr Mortimore.

Mr Mortimore, of Torquay, told the court the experience had caused him “physical and emotional fatigue”.

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Land of Odd: Police called to 'pillow fight'

2008-02-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

Police were called to a domestic in Franklin, south of Auckland, last night - a husband and wife's pillow fight.

Senior sergeant Shawn Rutene, of Manukau police, said a distressed woman called police at 9pm saying her husband was hitting her with a pillow.

When their daughter, 14, tried to intervene she was pushed aside, the caller said.

No physical injuries were sustained in the attack and investigations were continuing, Mr Rutene told an Auckland newspaper.

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Land of Odd: Woman In New York City Says Cabbie Hit Her For Not Having Cash

2008-02-04T04:01:00.000-08:00

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There have been a number of reports of cab drivers balking at customers who try to pay with credit cards in New York City, but a woman is accusing a cabbie of actually punching her after she tried to charge a ride.

Tamara Perez tells CBS station WCBS-TV she still can't believe it happened.

The incident happened Tuesday after Perez ran to her East Village home to pick up some papers. Once in the cab, the 35-year-old realized she had no cash the pay the $10 fare. Instead, she pulled out a credit card, but the cabbie wasn't having it.
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"He wouldn't let me use the card, he wouldn't press the button," she tells WCBS. "I said, 'You have to press the button,' and he's like, 'No, no I don't know, I don't know how to use it.'"

Perez says the driver got out of the cab and told her to go get cash. She refused, said she wanted to use the machine and would tip well.

"I tried to walk past him and he pushed me back into the cab. I got up and told him I was calling my husband who is a professional boxer," she says. "I started dialing the phone and he said, 'I give you a punch in the mouth' and he turned around and he socked me in the mouth."

Perez tried to copy down the driver's license number, but mixed up the numbers as he took off. She's hoping police can track down the crooked cabbie.

"I want new york to find him and prosecute him," she says.

Perez called 311 and 911 after the incident and filed complaints.

"We haven't yet identified the driver, but when we do he will be suspended. It is an aberration," says Matthew Daus, commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission in New York City.

On Thursday, the TLC announced it had launched an undercover operation in place to try and catch cabbies if they refuse to use the credit card machine. Now the NYPD will be getting involved, too.

"When she got out of the car there was some kind of pushing event that she described that we heard initially. Now the story is that she was punched which is an assault, and obviously we will investigate that as an assault," says Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

[Via CBS]

Land of Odd: Man Sets Station On Fire Over Playlist

2008-01-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

land of odd
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ― A volunteer at a community radio station set fire to the station because he was upset that his song selections for an overnight Internet broadcast were changed, police said.

Paul Webster Feinstein, 24, has been charged with second-degree felony arson for the Jan. 5 fire that caused $300,000 damage to the studios of 91.7 FM KOOP. He faces from two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Feinstein told investigators that he was "very unhappy" about the changes to his playlist, said Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye. The songs were intended for an Internet broadcast that occurs when the station is off the air.

"He had a dream of a career in radio and was very disappointed about where it had led him," Nye said.

An attorney for Feinstein could not be reached for comment.

Station president Andrew Dickens said Feinstein had been in a dispute with another volunteer about what kind of music should be put into a digital library for the Internet program.

Feinstein was a jazz fan and his Internet program was called "Mellow Down Easy," Dickens said.

"We knew there was a disagreement, but I would characterize it as a little clash of personalities over types of music to be played and not a big blowout," Dickens said.

Feinstein, who had volunteered at the station for about a year, quit a week before the fire, saying he was going to do other things, Dickens said.

"He seemed like somebody who was young, enthusiastic, had a life, was a professional and was educated," Dickens said.

Nye said Feinstein acknowledged making a copy of the station key and then waiting for the station to clear out on the night of Jan. 5. Feinstein poured gasoline on the control panels in two studios to start the fire, Nye said.

The fire department's trained dog smelled gasoline at the scene, tipping investigators to the arson, Nye said.

Nye said Feinstein had no previous criminal record.

The fire was the third the station has dealt with in the past two years. The first was ruled accidental. The second was caused by a malfunction in a heating and air-conditioning unit of a nearby business and forced the station to move.

This month's fire knocked the station off the air for 19 days. It resumed broadcasting last week in donated space.

"We are kind of worried that people will look at us like a bunch of idiots," Dickens said. "This is really just one of those out-of-the-blue situations. Who the hell would have thought somebody would have snapped?"

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Land of Odd: Couple finds a way to get their message to the FAA

2008-01-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

FOLSOM, Pa. — The skies won't seem especially friendly to anyone taking off from Philadelphia International Airport if they notice what a suburban couple wrote on the roof of their home.

"(Expletive) U FAA," the message reads, though one letter of the profane word is substituted with an underline. Below that it is a picture of a plane with a slash through it and the words "no fly zone."

Homeowner Michael Hall and his girlfriend, Michaelene Buddy, are angry that jets have been flying over their house since last month, when the Federal Aviation Administration altered departure headings out of Philadelphia. Hall says he has to sleep with earplugs.

He said he and Buddy also were frustrated after being unable to leave a message with the FAA's noise-complaint hot line because the voice mailbox was always full. So they issued their complaint in roof sealant and 7-foot-tall letters about two weeks ago.

"Just doing it made me feel better, but I'd still like to say what I wrote directly to the idiot head of the FAA," Hall told the Philadelphia Daily News for today's editions.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters had no comment.

The flight changes are part of a massive restructuring of the airspace over the congested corridor between New York and Philadelphia.

The couple's Ridley Township home is in Delaware County, southwest of Philadelphia. The county argues in a lawsuit that the FAA's environmental-impact study violated federal regulations and that the new flight paths will only marginally reduce airport delays.

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Land of Odd: Secrets Of The Dollar Bill

2008-01-26T05:27:00.000-08:00

land of odd
What do the symbols and numbers on the dollar bill actually mean? We’ll take a look at the shadier and more intriguing threads of meaning and symbolism at play in the bill’s design. Extraordinary strands of numerology are interwoven into the bill’s structure, which, on analysis, suggest surprising hidden alignments. Why does it look the way it does and how has it changed through the ages?

We’ll analyze the significance of changes in the bill’s appearance over time and examine alternative designs. We’ll also look at the historical context of the bill’s conception–what the dollar bill set out to represent–the patriotism and idealism of a young republic; and go inside the Treasury’s Department of Printing and Engraving for exclusive access to the presses and the people who process the millions upon millions of dollars in circulation.

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Land of Odd: Boomerang Comes Back After 25 Years

2008-01-20T05:01:00.000-08:00

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BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - Boomerangs really do come back - even after 25 years. Officials in an Australian Outback town were surprised when a boomerang arrived in the post. Along with it was a note from a guilt-ridden American who said he stole it years earlier from a museum in the mining town of Mount Isa, and now felt rotten about it.

"I removed this back in 1983 when I was younger and dumber," said the note, according to Mount Isa Mayor Ron McCullough. "It was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry, and I'm going to send it back," said the note.

Type rest of the post here

McCullough on Thursday gave the contrite thief's first name as Peter but said it would be unfair to release his full identity.

McCullough said the parcel was sent to the location of the old museum, now a paper manufacturing plant and community center, and was then handed to the Mount Isa council. He declined to reveal the value of the donation.

McCullough said the boomerang would be returned to its rightful owner, if he could be found.

Boomerangs were traditionally used by Aborigines as a hunting weapon. A typical returning boomerang can travel up to 150 feet in the air before returning to the thrower.

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Land of Odd: Riders Take Off Pants For 'No Pants Day'

2008-01-15T04:32:00.000-08:00

SALT LAKE CITY - Dozens of people riding on TRAX on Saturday were caught with their pants down -- despite the January chill -- as part of a national stunt.

Riders were encouraged to ride light rail without pants in conjunction with a comedy organization based in New York City. 'Improv Everywhere' organized Saturday's event, which was part of a 10-city stunt designed to create unusual scenes and fun for riders of public transportation.

Improv Everywhere says nearly 1,000 people took part in Saturday's events around the world. Besides Salt Lake City, the "No Pants 2k8" train rides also took place in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Portland, OR, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Adelaide, Australia and Baltimore, MD.

In New York City, pants-less riders navigated the city's vast subway system while amused commuters looked on. In Salt Lake City, riders boarded near the EnergySolutions Arena and traveled around the so-called "Free fare zone."

Utah Transit Authority did not sponsor or sanction the event in any way, but says the riders taking part in the public stunt were breaking no laws.

Pants-less riders were required to follow guidelines of dress to stay within the laws of public standards. Riders were asked to ride in their underwear, however no revealing attire -- like thongs or lingerie -- was allowed.

Formed in 2001, Improv Everywhere says its purpose is to cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places. This is the 7th straight year of the organization's "No Pants" train stunt.

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Land of Odd: Why US Economy Is A Lot Like Pizza Domino

2008-01-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

land of odd
High commodity prices. Weak consumer spending. And heavy borrowing.

If the recent problems of Domino’s Pizza sound a lot like the issues hanging over the broader American economy, it’s no coincidence. With its dependence on consumers, its sensitivity to the run-up in dairy and wheat prices and a risky decision last year to double its debt in order to pay a huge one-time dividend, the pizza chain’s recent troubles speak volumes about the challenges facing both companies and consumers in the year ahead.

But Domino’s trajectory isn’t just another tale of economic gloom and doom. It’s also a story of how large investors — including none other than Michael S. Dell — have kept the faith in the sliding shares of Domino’s, much as they have stuck with the overall stock market despite earnings worries and other fears.

The battle over Domino’s encapsulates the uncertainty facing Wall Street in 2008, with money managers remaining bullish even as veteran strategists like Byron Wien of Pequot Capital Management forecast a recession and a 10 percent drop for the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index.

So far, at least in the case of Domino’s, the pessimists have the upper hand. Domino’s shares closed Friday at $11.72, down from $20 last summer. And on the first trading day of 2008, Joe Buckley, a Bear Stearns analyst, cut his rating on the entire restaurant group, warning that the combination of higher food and labor costs and slow growth equals a “perfect storm” for the sector.

Mr. Buckley was prescient in getting the Domino’s story right, warning in April that sales could be weaker than Wall Street expected. Since then, he adds, its archrival Pizza Hut has outmaneuvered Domino’s, in part by doing a better job of hedging against soaring prices for cheese, which jumped 42 percent last year.

But there are signs Domino’s is learning how to handle those high commodity prices, Mr. Buckley says. A new contract with cheese suppliers and the ability to more quickly pass on high wheat costs to franchisees might help earnings improve later this year, he says.

With oil hitting $100 a barrel for the first time last week, the ability to manage high commodity prices is a skill other companies will have to master this year.

The parallels with the broader United States economy do not end there. Like more traditional giants, including General Electric and Boeing, one of the few bright spots for Domino’s lately has been international growth. The chain sells distinctly local offerings like the Peppy Paneer in India and the Savoyarde in France, which features potatoes, bacon and crème fraîche.

And, like the broader market — which trades at 14 times 2008 earnings — Domino’s stock is reasonably priced, selling for about 11 times earnings. That is a crucial reason institutional investors do not seem dissuaded by negative news.

In November, the firm that manages the fortune of Mr. Dell and his family, MSD Capital, disclosed that it had acquired a 5.1 percent stake in Domino’s. Mr. Dell’s firm has been an investor for some time, said Lynn M. Liddle, a spokeswoman for Domino’s, but this was the first time its stake rose above 5 percent.

Mr. Dell’s role is hands-off, Ms. Liddle says. “Does Michael Dell come and make pizza? No. I don’t think he speaks to us. His folks do.”

MSD CAPITAL declined to comment on its stake in Domino’s, as did Mr. Dell. But another major holder, Andy Brown of Cedar Rock Capital, remains bullish on Domino’s despite obvious problems like higher commodity prices.

“We cherish a business like this as long-term investors,” says Mr. Brown, whose firm manages about $5 billion and holds a roughly 8 percent stake in Domino’s. He says he still supports Domino’s decision to borrow nearly $1 billion to pay out a special dividend of $13.50 a share last spring, despite the decline that followed.

“I’m not happy about commodity prices, but we’re happy with how Domino’s returned capital to their shareholders,” he said.

Via NYTimes.Com

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Land of Odd: Chicago Cop Plans to Swim Lake Michigan Shoreline

2007-12-29T03:45:00.000-08:00

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A Chicago police officer hopes to swim the perimeter of Lake Michigan this summer, traveling a total distance of more than 1,000 miles.

Nial Funchion says he expects to swim about ten miles a day -- departing from Chicago's North Avenue Beach in early June. At that pace, it'll take him more than three months to complete the trip.

Funchion says he wants the swim to inspire others to follow their own dreams.

The 41-year-old endurance athlete previously swam the English Channel and crossed Lake Michigan.

Funchion will be accompanied by a support team and hopes to finish in September.

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Land of Odd: Single Mom Duped by Fake Lottery Ticket

2007-12-25T09:26:00.000-08:00

land of odd
NAPLES, Fla. — When single mother Mary Ann Shaffer scratched a lottery ticket last week, she thought Christmas had come early.

The ticket indicated she was a $25,000 winner.

"I said, 'Oh my God, it's a miracle," Shaffer told the Naples Daily News.

She looked on the back to find a telephone number to claim her winnings.

Elation quickly turned to sadness as she realized the ticket, given to her by a customer at her concession stand, was fake.

"Claim forms supplied by Santa Claus. All winning tickets must be validated by the tooth fairy and conform to her game rules ... All winners are losers and must have an excellent sense of humor," the ticket read.

"How can anyone be so mean around Christmas time?" said Bear Terstegge, a Naples Beach Patrol officer who examined the ticket.

Word about the fake ticket spread quickly around the Naples pier where Shaffer sells hot dogs and water.

"It touched everybody's heart," Terstegge said.

In the past few days, Shaffer, who has two young children, has received cards, gift certificates and hefty tips. One regular brought presents for her kids.

And she's even received a few lottery tickets - real ones.

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Land of Odd: Viking Behind Bars

2007-12-23T07:04:00.000-08:00

land of odd
SALT LAKE CITY — An inmate is suing the Utah Department of Corrections for denying him his right to practice an ancient Nordic religion while behind bars.

Michael Polk is serving time for aggravated assault and robbery. He filed a lawsuit against corrections officials in federal court, accusing them of denying him religious items that he says are necessary to practice the Asatru religion.

The religion worships ancient Nordic gods like Odin, Thor, Tyr and Heimdal.

In the lawsuit, Polk says he has been a member of the Asatru faith since 2005, and in order to properly practice it he needs items including: a Thor's Hammer, a prayer cloth, a Mead Horn used for drinking Wassail, a drum made of wood and boar skin, a rune staff and a sword.

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Land of Odd: Strangest Business Stories of 2007

2007-12-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

land of odd

1. Leona Helmsley and her dog

Don't laugh - if she were your master, you'd need a lifetime supply of Prozac too
Upon her death, Leona Helmsley leaves $12 million to her white Maltese, Trouble. And the poor pooch now receives death threats.

2. High-tech toilet disaster

Japanese manufacturer Toto apologizes to customers and offers free repairs for 180,000 high-tech toilets - thrones that feature heated seats, air purifiers, blow dryers, and water sprayers - after at least three catch fire. "Fortunately nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out," says a company spokesman. "The fire would have been just under your buttocks."

3. Help the fat - give them food

Disneyland announces plans to close the "It's a Small World" attraction to deepen its water channel after the ride's boats start getting stuck under loads of heavy passengers. Employees ask larger passengers to disembark - and compensate them with guess what - coupons for free food.e

4. Microsoft's PR Firm Fiasco

While working on an article about Microsoft, Wired contributing editor (and former Fortune writer) Fred Vogelstein receives a 13-page dossier about himself, describing him as "tricky" and his stories as "sensational." The document, prepared by the company's public relations firm, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, as background for Microsoft executives, was sent inadvertently to the writer.

5. Drink With The Dumb Name

After receiving a warning from the FDA, Redux Beverages agrees to stop calling its energy drink Cocaine. It changes the name first to Censored, then to NoName.

6. Cartoon Network Buzz-Marketing Flop

To build buzz for its animated show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network places electronic lightboards throughout Boston, triggering a bomb scare that shuts down two bridges, an expressway, a subway station, and a stretch of the Charles River. The devices depict a character from the show saluting passersby with an upraised middle finger.

7. Analize This

In March, shortly after No. 2 U.S. subprime lender New Century Financial announces a major earnings restatement as a result of failing loans, Bear Stearns analysts Scott Coren and Michael Nannizzi write a research note on New Century. They argue that despite New Century's stock having plunged 50%, to $15 per share, its downside risk is no worse than $10 in a "rescue-sale scenario." Within a month, New Century drops below $1 a share, is suspended by the NYSE, and files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

8. Oral B Vibrator

Lawyers representing Procter & Gamble send a 66-page cease-and-desist letter to British sex-toy company Love Honey, demanding that it stop using images of its Oral B electric toothbrushes to promote a product called the Brush Bunny - a rabbit-shaped piece of plastic that slips over the top of an Oral B to turn it into a vibrator.

9. Best Buy Kiosk Scam

The state of Connecticut sues Best Buy for setting up in-store kiosks set to a website that looks identical to bestbuy.com but lists higher prices than those they would actually find online.

10. The $54 Million Dollar Judge

District of Columbia judge Roy Pearson loses a $54 million lawsuit against the owners of a dry-cleaning establishment that he claims misplaced a pair of his pants. Pearson argued that the cleaner committed fraud by failing to live up to the SATISFACTION GUARANTEED sign displayed in the shop. Four months later a judicial review committee votes against reappointing him to his post, finding that he failed to demonstrate "appropriate judgment and judicial temperament."

Monkeys beat students in memory game

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Land Of Odd: School District To Pay $95,000 In Legal Fees To Families That Pooh-Poohed Dress Code

2007-12-17T03:48:00.000-08:00

land of odd
Officials in a Northern California school district might not think Tiggers are such wonderful things after agreeing to pay $95,000 in lawyers' fees to five families who sued the school over its dress code.

The parents went to court after a student was disciplined for wearing socks with the "Winnie the Pooh" cartoon character Tigger on the first day of school last year.

The district's superintendent said Thursday that the settlement money is for the plaintiffs' lawyers; the district is also on the hook to pay the lawyers it hired.

The settlement also says Redwood Middle School may no longer require students to wear only solid-color clothing.

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Land Of Odd: Man Shoots Himself In The Ass

2007-12-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

land of odd
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A Scottsdale man inadvertently shot himself in the buttocks Thursday morning. Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said Daniel Leatherman, 26, heard a disturbance outside his apartment and saw a man he knew fighting with a cab driver.

Leatherman told police that the man, Cody Nunn, 25, had assaulted him in the past, so he grabbed his gun and went outside.

Leatherman told police that he accidentally dropped the gun while hiding it behind his back and shot himself in the derriere.

Nunn and Leatherman’s friends took him to a local hospital. When police arrived, Clark said Nunn was drunk and disruptive. He was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct.

Leatherman was released from the hospital later Thursday. There were no phone listings for Leatherman or Nunn.

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Land Of Odd: Walmart pulls 'Superbad' DVD in Hawaii for featuring fake Hawaii license

2007-12-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

land of odd
Bonus packages of "Superbad" DVD movies carrying copies of a phony Hawaii driver's license featured in the hit comedy have been pulled from all Wal-Mart stores in the islands, a recall that could spread nationally, officials said yesterday.

The move came after Mayor Mufi Hannemann on Wednesday called the promotional plastic card "inappropriate" advertising, fearing minors could use it to pass as adults or buy alcohol. The city notified local authorities and even the Department of Homeland Security about the cards.

In the movie, produced by Sony Pictures, actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who plays high school teenager Fogell, tries to buy more than $100 worth of liquor for a senior party using a fake Hawaii I.D.

"We're very pleased that Wal-Mart has taken prompt, corrective measures to comply with the city's request to protect the integrity of our driver's license," Hannemann said yesterday in a news release. "It was foolish of the movie studio to include this prop in the DVD, particularly because it could be used by unscrupulous people to deceive others who are unfamiliar with our driver's license."

It's unclear if Wal-Mart's sales ban, for now limited to its seven Hawaii stores, would affect mainland shops also offering the "Superbad" DVD package. Wal-Mart is the only retailer marketing the movies with the card, according to Sony Pictures, though countless copies of the special package are up for sale on eBay and other Internet Web sites.

Brian Halsey, market manager over operations for Wal-Mart in Hawaii, said company officials "were considering" expanding the recall to all stores, but he wasn't aware of a decision yesterday.

Sony Pictures, declining to comment on how many special "Superbad" packages had been made, said yesterday there are no plans for additional production. In an e-mail, it said the card "has a shifting, dual photograph and other features to make clear it's not a real I.D."

"We regret that it has caused concerns in Hawaii or elsewhere," the company said. "This was a one-time promotion and no further shipments are planned."

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Land Of Odd: Spiked Meatballs

2007-12-06T07:54:00.000-08:00

land of odd
A US counter-terrorism police officer who says he failed a drugs test because his wife spiked his meatballs with marijuana is suing to get his job back.

Anthony Chiofalo, of New York Police Department (NYPD), has asked Manhattan Supreme Court to challenge his firing.

He was suspended in 2005 after 22 years of service, for failing a random test.

His wife told investigators she had secretly drugged his meatballs hoping a failed test would force him to retire. NYPD said the story was "not credible".

Both Mr Chiofalo and his wife Catherine have passed lie detector tests about how the marijuana entered the police officer's system.

Back pain

Mrs Chiofalo told investigators she had put enough marijuana for six cigarettes in her meatball recipe in July 2005, according to court papers.

She testified at a hearing that she just wanted her husband "not to die of a heart attack or get killed" while still in service, the Associated Press news agency quotes the court papers as saying.

"I wanted him to be around to help raise my son," she said. She had reportedly expected him to retire in 2004 after 20 years in the force.

Mr Chiofalo said his wife had marijuana in the house because she used it to alleviate suffering caused by chronic back pain.

An administrative judge recommended that Mr Chiofalo be reinstated to the Joint Terrorism Task Force but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly rejected that opinion and fired him.

Mr Chiofalo hopes the court will rule his dismissal unconstitutional and force the NYPD to re-hire him.

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Land Of Odd: Monkeys beat students in memory game

2007-12-04T02:53:00.000-08:00

land of odd
Chimpanzees have an extraordinary photographic memory that is far superior to ours, research suggests.

Young chimps outperformed university students in memory tests devised by Japanese scientists.

The tasks involved remembering the location of numbers on a screen, and correctly recalling the sequence.

The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest we may have under-estimated the intelligence of our closest living relatives.

Until now, it had always been assumed that chimps could not match humans in memory and other mental skills.

"There are still many people, including many biologists, who believe that humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions," said lead researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University.

"No one can imagine that chimpanzees - young chimpanzees at the age of five - have a better performance in a memory task than humans.

"Here we show for the first time that young chimpanzees have an extraordinary working memory capability for numerical recollection - better than that of human adults tested in the same apparatus, following the same procedure."

Memory tests

Dr Matsuzawa and colleagues tested three pairs of mother and baby chimpanzees against university students in a memory task involving numbers.

The mothers and their five-year-old offspring had already been taught to "count" from one to nine.

During the experiment, each subject was presented with various numerals from one to nine on a touch screen monitor.

The numbers were then replaced with blank squares and the test subject had to remember which number appeared in which location, then touch the appropriate square.

They found that, in general, the young chimps performed better than their mothers and the adult humans.

The university students were slower than all of the three young chimpanzees in their response.

The researchers then varied the amount of time that the numbers appeared on-screen to compare the working memory of humans and chimps.land of odd

Chimps performed much better than university students in speed and accuracy when the numbers appeared only briefly on screen.

The shortest time duration, 210 milliseconds, did not leave enough time for the subjects to explore the screen by eye movement - something we do all the time when we read.

This is evidence, the researchers believe, that young chimps have a photographic memory which allows them to memorise a complex scene or pattern at a glance. This is sometimes present in human children but declines with age, they say.

"Young chimpanzees have a better memory than human adults," Dr Matsuzawa told BBC News.

"We are still underestimating the intellectual capability of chimpanzees, our evolutionary neighbours."

'Ground-breaking'

Dr Lisa Parr, who works with chimps at the Yerkes Primate Center at Emory University in Atlanta, US, described the research as "ground-breaking".

She said the importance of these primates for understanding the skills necessary for the evolution of modern humans was unparalleled.

"They are our closest living relatives and thus are in a unique position to inform us about our evolutionary heritage," said Dr Parr.

"These studies tell us that elaborate short-term memory skills may have had a much more salient function in early humans than is present in modern humans, perhaps due to our increasing reliance on language-based memory skills."

The research is published in Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press.
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Land of Odd: Voters Bribed With Viagra

2007-11-30T08:03:00.000-08:00

BANGKOK, Thailand - Vote-buying is an old practice in Thai politics.

But one candidate for December's Thai election has reportedly come up with a new tactic - handing out Viagra instead of cash.

The allegation, made today by a campaign worker against a rival party, comes as rules about handing out favours to voters have become stricter than ever.

Sayan Nopcha, a campaigner for the People's Power party in Pathum Thai province just north of Bangkok, said the drug used to treat sexual dysfunction in men was being distributed to elderly male voters.

Viagra is supposed to be used only on a doctor's advice, but is generally available over the counter in Thailand.

He would not identify the candidate who allegedly handed out the pills.

Under a tough new law, both the supplier and recipient of vote-buying can face criminal charges. Candidates can be disqualified and their party disbanded, as was the case with the old law, while voters who accept money or gifts can now face from one to 10 years in prison.

More than 4,200 candidates from 41 parties are competing for 480 seats in the lower house of parliament in the Dec. 23 polls - the first to be held after a bloodless military coup ousted elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September last year.

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Land of Odd: Beauty queen wins despite pepper spray sabotage

2007-11-27T06:46:00.000-08:00

land of odd
Organisers of a beauty pageant in Puerto Rico are investigating a case of sabotage after a contestant's dress and make-up were covered with pepper spray.

Ingrid Marie Rivera beat 29 pageant rivals to become the 2008 Miss Universe contestant, despite breaking out twice in hives - a red swollen rash.

Ms Rivera remained composed onstage before the judges, but backstage she applied ice packs to her face and body.

Her clothing and make-up later tested positive for pepper spray.

"We thought at first it was an allergic reaction, or maybe nerves," said pageant spokesman Harold Rosario.

"But the second time, we knew it couldn't have been a coincidence."

Bomb threat

The pageant organisers said they hoped to catch whoever was responsible for the prank but have not involved the police.

The pageant also saw the theft of Ms Rivera's bag - which contained her dresses, make-up and credit cards - and the last day of the competition was postponed after a bomb threat.

Ms Rivera admitted that she had considered dropping out of the contest. "At one point I said, 'Am I a masochist?'"

"But I said: 'I am with God and this is my goal, regardless of the results.'"

Ms Rivera won Miss World Caribbean in 2005, and local media had predicted she would win the Puerto Rican pageant.

Her rivals complained she was too experienced and should be disqualified.

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Land of Odd - People Have More ‘Money Fantasies’ Than ‘Sex Fantasies’ And 40 Other Mind Blowing Money Facts

2007-11-27T06:39:00.000-08:00

Do you think you know a lot about money? Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. But let’s see if any of the following facts are in any way surprising to you:

More of our fantasies are about money… than sex.
If we could have any luxury in the world (and money didn’t matter) more of us would choose to spend money on a butler and a maid than anything else.
90% of Americans who own pets buy them Christmas gifts.
Money is the leading cause of disagreements in marriages.
65% of Americans would live on a deserted island all by themselves for an entire year for $1,000,000.
For $10,000,000 most of us would do almost ANYTHING! Including abandoning our family and friends and our church. A very high percentage of us would, for that same amount of money, change our race or sex. And, 1 in every 14, would even murder someone for ten million bucks.
What’s really strange about this is, the statistics remain the same whether it’s ten million dollars all the way down to three million. For three million bucks, most of us would do the same horrible things we would do for ten million. But, guess what? Few of us would do these things for a “measly” two million.
92% of us would rather be rich than find the love of our lives.
Here’s a weighty one: Money (or the lack thereof) is the biggest stress inducer in the lives of Americans. We worry more about money than our marriages, our health, or even who’s going to win the Superbowl Game or come out on top in the latest Survivor TV show.
If you get your money out of a Hitachi ATM machine in Japan, it will be laundered. The way they do it is, they briefly press the bills between rollers at high enough temperatures to kill most bacteria.
Women have very fixed ideas on how much they are willing to spend on a bra. 38.3% of women won’t spend $30 for a bra. 28.4% won’t spend $50. 10% would pay as much as $75. And, only 3.5% would shell out $100. But, you know what? Almost 20% of women say they would pay almost anything for a bra. This is because they consider (and I guess so do a few men) that the contents of what those bras are encasing is of extremely high-value.

Nearly half of the people who sell their houses with furniture included will take all the light bulbs out of all the lamps when they vacate the premises.
Most people won’t bend over to pick up money lying on the sidewalk unless it’s at least a dollar.
Most Americans think pennies are a pain in the ass and the U.S. Mint should stop making them.
There is about 405 billion dollars in circulation. Only 32 million of that amount is counterfeit. That means, the percentage of counterfeit money in America is .0079%. And, $20 bills are more often counterfeited than $100 bills.
Do people care if their bills are crisp? Indeed, they do. Fresh, crisp, clean bills are considered much more valuable than those which are old, wrinkled and dirty.
I once sent a ‘dollar bill thank you’ letter to a guy who sent a sincere letter back to me bitching the free $1 bill I sent him was wrinkled instead of crisp as I had described in the letter.
Let’s flip a coin and try to guess whether it will come up heads or tails. Three times as many people guess ‘heads’ than ‘tails’.
Here’s one I personally think really sucks: One out of every four Americans believe their best chance of getting rich is by playing the lottery.
How about this one for a shocking fact: 5% of lottery ticket buyers buy 51% of all tickets sold. (Trust me, none of these people belong to the “Einsteins of America Society”.)
A staggering 74% of us are influenced by how much we can win in a lottery as opposed to the odds of us winning.
That’s a good thing for the Government because the odds of winning a lottery jackpot are about 10 million to 1.
A person who drives 10 miles to buy a lottery ticket is 3 times more likely to be killed in a car accident while driving to buy the ticket… than… he is to win the jackpot.
Sunday newspaper coupon inserts are the second-most read section of the paper, after the front page.
Few people know it but, you can buy single-disease insurance.
Only 6% of people in America regularly buy clothes tailor made just for them.
Here’s one that’s really important: 63% of us decide NOT to buy a product advertised on the Internet… because… we think the shipping and handling charges add too much to the order.
Eight times as many Americans would rather use an ATM than deal with a real live teller.
This one’s going to blow your mind: 83% of Americans still pay with checks instead of credit cards!
Almost 30% of us say we would need 3 million smackaroos to feel rich. This ties in with the fact most of us would do anything for as little as $3 million… but… not nearly as many of us would do those identical things for a measly $2 million. (Hey, here’s your chance to take advantage of that situation. If you only want to pay $2 million to have something done, ask me if I’ll do it. The chances are, believe it or not, I WILL DO IT.)
Here’s another fact which is really, really important: 80% of Americans say giving personal information (especially their credit card information) over the Internet scares the living shit out of them.
Two-thirds of Americans say they wouldn’t let their spouse spend the night and have sex with another person for a million dollars. Many of these people are liars. There’s a big difference being asked if they would do it for a million dollars… as opposed to… handing them a paper sack containing the million fungolas and simply saying, “Here, you can have this if you’ll let me sleep with your sweetie tonight.”
The average wedding in America costs a staggering $20,000.00.
More than one-third of American women consider money more important than good sex to the success of a marriage.
According to Employee Benefits Research Institute 96% of all people who have jobs right now won’t be eligible for their full Social Security benefits when they reach age 65.
When it comes to houses, more than anything else, people want a state-of-the-art kitchen.
When people shop for a car, what they want more than anything else is reliability for the best possible price.
One of the best ways to raise money for a charity is to have a free dinner for a lot of people and have an empty envelope tucked under their plate… for the express purpose… of making whatever size donation they want.
People tip more on sunny days than they do on dreary days.
More than 80,000,000 people call the I.R.S. Information Hotline phone number every year. One-third of those calls go unanswered. And, according to the Treasury Department itself, 47% of the answers the ‘get-through’ callers receive are incorrect.
Almost two out of three people have modified their financial behavior because of their fears.
Almost three times as many people who live in the South worry about losing their jobs as compared to people who live in the Midwest.
Which would you rather do: Shop till you drop… or… have great sex?
For men, this is a no-brainer.

However, more women would actually rather have an unlimited shopping spree than spend a weekend with a fabulous lover. In fact, the #1 favorite fantasy of women is to have a blank check to shop at their favorite store.

The favorite fantasy of men (at least in my opinion) is what we would like to DO to the sales girl… rather than… what we would like to buy from her.

[Via Weird Facts]

We would like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost certainly talking too loudly.

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Land of Odd: Success Magazine Has Been A Total Failure For Over 100 Years

2007-11-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

land of odd
Surely no publication has struggled to follow its own advice more than Success, the small-business magazine that has failed repeatedly since it was founded in 1891.

In 2006, after ceasing publication for five years, it was purchased by a group whose publisher, Joseph Guerriero, told the magazine Publishing Executive, “We feel very, very bullish about the long-term success of Success.”

But after printing only five issues, Mr. Guerriero’s bosses cried uncle, and sold the magazine to VideoPlus, a direct-marketing company based in Dallas that is equally confident it will succeed where others, for more than 100 years, have failed.

Darren Hardy, the business magazine’s new publisher, said it would have personal-development focus, echoing its founder, Orison Swett Marden, a progenitor of the self-help movement. (Mr. Marden died in 1924; the magazine closed during the Depression and was resurrected by new owners in 1954.)

In contrast to a Forbes profile on Richard Branson of the Virgin Group that would examine his newest acquisitions, a Success article would “take a look at how Richard Branson sets goals and motivates employees, what’s his morning ritual and what he does to keep himself healthy, fit and vital,” Mr. Hardy said.

VideoPlus produces training materials for the direct-sales industry and publishes several magazines, including Success From Home and Empowering Women. All consist of sponsored content, the print equivalent of infomercials, but editorial content of Success, which has yet to name an editor, will be independent, Mr. Hardy said.

About the prospect of Success’s latest owners faring better than others, Samir Husni, the head of the University of Mississippi’s journalism department, said, “The Chinese have a saying that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result every time is the definition of insanity.”

[Via -If at First You Don’t ... You Know the Rest]

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Land of Odd: Law firm converts old jail to office space

2007-11-19T01:40:00.000-08:00

land of odd
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Visitors to Mike Woods' law practice are greeted with a sight not often found in legal offices: a jail cell.

The office for Woods and Woods is located in the old Vanderburgh County Jail - an 1890 downtown building honoured Tuesday with a historical marker from the Indiana Historical Bureau.

The old jail was modelled after a German castle and in 1903 was the site of a race riot in which 12 people were killed and many more injured.

The jail sat empty from 1967 until 1994, Woods said, and was full of weeds and trash before being renovated. Woods and Woods moved its offices into the building in 2004 and continues to lease the second-floor space from the county.

"Through the years, the old jail has received minor repairs and updates, a few new coats of paint, and thousands of visitors, but it hasn't lost its intrigue," Woods said.

"Preserving this history is important because it allows community members to reflect on the past, to learn from and appreciate those who came before us."

The building still has bars over the windows, which provides an interesting atmosphere for the firm's 30 employees.

"They are always joking they can't get away, or saying we're slave drivers," Woods said.

Visitors can see one of the original cramped jail cells, complete with four metal bunk beds, a sink and a toilet.

The office's employee break room is adjacent to a door leading to a tunnel that connects the old jail with the old county courthouse. Woods said the tunnel was used to transport prisoners between the two facilities.

"Both these buildings were once on the verge of being destroyed," he said. "Now, they are saved." by land of odd

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Land Of Odd: Stupid Mistakes

2007-11-18T03:40:00.000-08:00

land of odd
Discovering what others have done makes it easier to accept the mistakes we've made. We're all human!

When Adolf Hitler saw a pile of bricks near the church of St. Matthew in Munich, Germany, he said, "that pile of stones will have to be removed." Someone misunderstood him, thinking he was referring to the whole church. The church was demolished...

When Thomas Edison was twelve years old, he had a job selling newspapers on a commuter train. He had set up a printing press to make his own newspapers, and thereby increase his profits. He also set up a chemistry lab, to indulge his already well-developed scientific curiosity. One day, as the train went around a particularly tight turn, some of Edison's phosphorus fell on the floor and started a small fire. As the train came into the station, and the conductor discovered the problem, Tom tried to run away. The conductor pulled him back up into the train by his ears. "I felt something snap inside my head," Edison said. From that time until his death, he was hard of hearing.

Firdinand Raimund was bitten on the finger by a dog. He was so worried about what might happen that he shot himself to death.

The 7,000-ton cargo ship, Fort Stikine, sailed into crowded Bombay Harbor, India. It was loaded with a mixed freight ranging from fish to cotton to explosives. A sailor noticed smoke coming out of a ventilator that serviced one of the ship's cargo holds, but since it was close to lunch time, he did not mention the problem. The fire in the hold was discovered after lunch, but by then it was raging out of control. Authorities suggested sinking the ship, but because the harbor was crowded and shallow, it would have to sail out to sea to be scuttled. No problem, but first the captain wanted to phone the ship's insurance company to see if they thought it a good idea. While he was on the phone, the ship blew up into a million pieces, sinking 27 nearby ships, raining junk all over downtown Bombay and killing well over 1,000 people.

I’m from Amsterdam though and English is not my native language so if you spot any stupid mistakes, forgive me.

A few years ago, when I was walking down the street, I passed a police control. They were stopping seemingly random cars to check them out for defects, outstanding tickets, etc. Since I was on foot, I had of course nothing to worry about so I passed them casually and continued my way around the corner of the street. There, after a couple hundred meters, I came across a car that was standing beside of the road. The hood was open and a man was half visible beneath it.

Being the nice guy I am, I walked up to him and said “hey man, if there’s something wrong with your car, don’t go that way. There’s a police control.” For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the man raises his head from beneath the hood and stares right at me and while I notice the police radio in his hand he says “Yes, I know .”

A Japanese priest set a kimono on fire in Tokyo because it carried bad luck. The flames spread until over 10,000 buildings were destroyed and 100,000 people died. (Year: 1657)

A medical curiosity was David Kennison, who was born in 1736 and participated in the Boston Tea Party. At the age of seventy-six, serving in the War of 1812, he lost a hand to a gunshot wound. Later, a tree fell on him, and fractured his skull. Some years later, while training soldiers in the use of a cannon, something went wrong and an explosion shattered his legs. He recovered. Yet later, a horse damaged his face. He died peacefully in 1851 at the age of 115.

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2007-11-13T02:18:00.000-08:00

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Land of Odd: So That's What $100m Looks Like

2007-11-02T02:13:00.000-07:00

land of odd
You might like to look at this photograph before filling in your lottery numbers.

It's what £100 million looks like in cold, hard cash.

The money pile is even bigger because it is in US dollars, currently worth about two to the pound. But it serves the same purpose when you're daydreaming about winning the jackpot.

However, nobody is going to be spending this $207 million in $100 bills very soon. The US government yesterday called the windfall "the largest single drug cash seizure the world has ever seen."

Here is a link to the article...

Land of Odd: Show House Cubed

2007-11-01T02:31:00.000-07:00

land of odd
In Gurgaon, India, a fast-growing suburb of Delhi, an unusual house has just been erected. Designed by architect Ganesh Ganapathy, the building is a glass cube seemingly balanced on one vertex. Its uniqueness is admired by neighbors and passers-by, but working out the details of fitting a functional, stable house into such a form proved a formidable challenge.

The owners, the Mahatta family, participated in, and indeed insisted on, the challenges of such an attention-grabbing form. They own the locally prominent construction firm, Mahatta Towers Pvt. Ltd., and they wanted the structure to boost the visibility of their company's capabilities.

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Land of Odd: WTF Is Zorbing ?

2007-10-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

Land of odd
From the folks who brought you bungee jumping (sort of) and glow worm cave tubing, not to mention Kiwi fruit and the knock your socks of scenery of the Lord of the Rings, now comes Zorbing.

Huh? What's that you say? Zorbing? WTF is that? Well, imagine yourself taking momentary leave of both your senses and the little cubicle you call your office, and harnessing yourself into a VW-sized, transparent ball of plastic. Then imagine someone rolling you down a steep hill at 25 mph. You are the boy in the plastic bubble, on steroids.

Well, the whole Zorbing thing started in New Zealand, but it has now rolled its way to the United States, and like any good fad, has attracted a legion of Zorbing fans…call them Zorbians, like some race of mega-cranium aliens from Star Trek. The fun begins this December in Boulder City, NV where the first official Zorbing park will be set up. Knowing my fellow Americans, I can only imagine where the Zorbing trend will head. Zorbing meets, Zorbing marathons, crash Zorbing where teams of Zorbians roll into each other on the field of battle, perhaps with knives affixed to their Zorbs. Perhaps even a Zorbing Olympic event someday.

Hail hail human ingenuity and, well, human weirdness.
Here is a link to the article...

Land of Odd: The 10 All Time Best

2007-10-31T12:30:00.001-07:00

Land of odd
Americans use enough toilet paper in one day to wrap around the world nine times. If it were on one giant roll, we would be unrolling it at the rate of 7,600 miles per hour - roughly mach. 10, ten times the speed of sound.

Try to say the alphabet without moving your lips or your tongue. Every letter will sound exactly the same.

The world's largest flower is also one of the worst smelling flowers. Rafflesia Arnoldii is often over 3 feet wide and its petals are almost an inch thick. You wouldn't want it in your garden, however, because it smells like a rotting animal. The flower is attempting to attract flies for pollination.

Approximately one out of every ten people who ever lived are alive today.

Nine out of every 10 scientists who ever lived are alive today.

There is a bird in Antarctica that repels threatening animals in unique ways. The bird throws up in the enemy's face. If that doesn't work, it blows snot at them with enough force to bowl a human over.

The FDA considers chocolate acceptable for public consumption as long as there are less than 60 microscopic insect fragments per 100 grams (four ounces, or approximately one candy bar).

A Japanese priest set a kimono on fire in Tokyo because it carried bad luck. The flames spread until over 10,000 buildings were destroyed and 100,000 people died. (Year: 1657)

Some dinosaurs had two brains! Since nerve signals move from one part of the body to another relatively slowly - it takes 1/50 of second to notice a pain in your foot - and since these beasts were so large, a second brain was at the base of the tail to maintain control of the creature's backs. Interestingly, the rear brain was bigger than the one in their heads.

The Largest dinosaur, Brachiosaurus, weighed as much as 800 people, was taller than a four-story hotel, and was as long as two of the longest school buses.

Land of Odd: Some More Fun

2007-10-30T01:23:00.000-07:00

Land of odd

Land of Odd: Odd Facts

2007-10-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

land of odd
Just Think of it...

There is a chemical waste dump in the Soviet Union that is twice as big as the whole state of Vermont.
More than half-a-million trees are used every Sunday to produce America's Sunday newspapers.
Two to four million tons of oil leak into the Soviet water table every year from the Siberian pipeline.
Americans use eight times more fuel than people anywhere else in the world.

Over seven percent of adult Americans are alcoholics.
The screaming of an upset baby can damage your hearing. Kids can scream at levels up to 90 decibels, and permanent damage can be caused at 85 dB. One dB is the minimum amount of sound detectable by the human ear.
Last year 81 million Americans got sick from food poisoning and 9,000 of them died.
Sixty-six people per day are killed by drunk drivers. This is down from 70 per day as it was a couple of years ago.
Every day in America, the average office worker goes through 2.5 pounds of paper. This is more than before computers were common. Computers were originally expected to bring about a condition known as the "paperless office."
Americans throw 694 plastic bottles into the trash every second.
The rain in New York carries so much acid from pollution that it has killed all the fish in 200 lakes in the Adirondack State Park.
The world's smog is so thick that astronomers are complaining.
We grow more tobacco than wheat in America.
11,000 cigarettes are lighted every second, just in America.
There are three million new cigarette smokers in America each year.
You can accidentally kill yourself by drinking over 40 cups of coffee in one day. The amount of caffeine is sufficient to cause respiratory failure.

Land of Odd: Strange Cars

2007-10-29T03:44:00.000-07:00

Sort of like a convertible ?

A very unique concept car from Volvo

High Heel Shoe
It looks just about as comfortable as a pair of high heels, too. Is it a car, a shoe, or a motorcycle? Yes

Land of Odd: Who Could Possibly Live In This House ?

2007-10-29T03:31:00.000-07:00

Land of Odd
"You are looking at pictures of our family home in Wales. It was built by myself and my father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and £3000 put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m excluding labour).

The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings."

Some key points of the design and construction:

Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring...)
Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
Water by gravity from nearby spring
Compost toilet
Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.

Here is a link to the article...

More on Land of Odd:
Land of Odd: Drunk Builders, Or What ?

Land of Odd: Drunk Builders, Or What ?

2007-10-29T02:41:00.000-07:00