Air Cannon

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A couple of fellows with too much time on their hands. The article has a lot of info on the cannon.
http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-01/air-cannon-sends-pumpkins-3700-feet

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 26, 2010 - Comments (5)
Category:

Coney Island

Please note the pinheads on display.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 26, 2010 - Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, Human Marvels, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Pop Culture, Public Humiliation, Recreation, 1940s

Evelyn Glennie

Evelyn Glennie is a deaf percussionist who has to perform barefoot so that she can "feel" the music.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 26, 2010 - Comments (6)
Category: Disabilities, Music

Elective Prosthetics

With advances in prosthetic functionality they are starting to give users above human capabilities. Now the director of MIT Media Lab's Biomechatronics Group, Hugh Herr is claiming they will soon make those wearing them sexier as well. Herr states that prosthetics will become like accessories, perhaps being requested as an elective procedure to enhance both abilities and looks. He points out how the newest gadgets, ipods. iphones, ect. become must haves for the masses and coolest new prosthetics could as well. I can't imagine requesting an amputation to get fast and cool looking prosthetic legs, but who knows?
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-01/high-performance-bionics-combine-prosthetics-and-aesthetics

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 25, 2010 - Comments (15)
Category:

Matango

Just watched this last night. Magic mushrooms indeed!

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 25, 2010 - Comments (7)
Category: Disasters, Dreams and Nightmares, Drugs, Food, Horror, Movies, 1960s, Asia

Follies of the Mad Men #84

[From Playboy for April 1983.]

Here's the thing about visual icons: you should know what their standard meaning is before you attempt to use them.

Rowboat plus lake plus two individuals equals romance. Or fishing buddies. That's it, your only two choices. With the presence of a gaily striped parasol and the lack of fishing equipment, however, you're pretty much limited to romance.

So what this ad is saying is: "Wear our shoes and all your dates will look like hippos." Or possibly: "Those who wear our shoes are closet furries." Or maybe: "Our customers work for a carnival and like to spend their leisure time in costume."

Take your pick.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 25, 2010 - Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Products, 1980s

News of the Weird / Pro Edition (January 25)

News of the Weird/Pro Edition
January 25, 2010
Exceptionally Inexplicable Dispatches from Last Week
(datelines January 16-January 23) (links correct as of January 25)

Laying Back in Sunny Haiti, Plus No-Jump Basketball, Praying with Boxes, and Sex Ed for E.T.

Hear, Hear! A Toast . . . to the Rescue Efforts!: Only days after the earthquake, two Royal Caribbean cruise ships docked at a private beach enclave (guarded, with 12-foot-high fences) about 60 miles up Haiti's coastline, freeing up several thousand frolickers for "jet ski rides, parasailing, and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks." About a third of the guests stayed on the ship, too grossed-out to have fun, but Royal Caribbean had contracts to honor (though it made a big donation to the rescuers and promised that "proceeds" from the enclave's thriving craft stores would be sent along, as well). The Guardian (London)

The All-American Basketball Alliance is hoping to kick off a 12-team season in June, using only the new American minority: white players (natural-born Americans, both parents Caucasian). But it's not actually a skin-color thing, argued Atlanta-based Commissioner "Moose" Lewis. AABA is merely rejecting the in-your-face street-ball culture (like taunting your opponent, as notoriously practiced by, say, Larry Bird) and bringing back the purity of basketball fundamentals (such as exemplified by, say, Tim Duncan). Augusta Chronicle

Oh, Dear God, Think of the Children! Mirko Fischer is suing British Airways for making him change seats on a flight. His pregnant wife was by the window; Mirko in the middle; and a 12-year-old boy on the aisle. BA prohibits men (but not women) from sitting next to unrelated children. Either the man or the precious little buttercup must relocate. Guess which. Daily Mail

Just because it's a technology-oriented magnet school doesn't mean that the grownups know technology. At San Diego's Millennial Tech, an 11-year-old boy working on a "motion detector" brought in an empty Gatorade bottle with wires running to some electrical gizmos. Could be a bomb! The ordnance squad was called; the school was locked down. [Note to file: The terrorists have won.] Tests found everything harmless, no dots to connect. The grownups had to salvage something, though, so they said the kid violated "policies" and that he and his parents should get "counseling." (The San Diego Union-Tribune must have fired all its copy editors because there's no clue in the story as to which "policies" and what "counseling.") San Diego Union-Tribune [dateline January 15th, but Associated Press versions ran January 16th]

A Week of Silly Names: Laurel and Hardy were arrested for cocaine trafficking in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Carlos Laurel and Andre "Shug" Hardy). Mr. Knowledge Clark was arrested for carnal knowledge of a 16-year-old girl in Memphis. A teen baristress at the American coffee and pastry shop (Starbucks) complained of sexual harassment by a supervisor named Tim Horton. Two guys were arrested for stealing a check in Hellertown, Pa.—Richard Fluck and Bryan Flok. Citizens Voice (Wilkes-Barre) /// Commercial Appeal (Memphis) /// ABC News /// Morning Call (Allentown)



More in extended >>

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Jan 25, 2010 - Comments (5)
Category:

Yellow Teeth

This series of commercials seem to have lasted from the late 40's all the way into the mid-60's. But it wasn't until today that the jingle hit home for me. You'll wonder where the yellow went..... Did we all have yellow teeth back then?

Posted By: Expat47 - Mon Jan 25, 2010 - Comments (1)
Category:

Do It Yourself Insemination

Ladies! Is your biological clock ticking away but there's no man in your life? Have no fear, the do it yourself insemination kit is here! But what is it and where does it come from? Well, back in 2005, Britian changed a law that affects the anonymity of sperm donors and has since seen a huge drop in the amount of sperm being donated. This has lead to women seeking fertility treatments abroad, and in a growing number of cases, buying do it yourself insemination kits from the internet. Yes, that means you can buy an unknown man's sperm online and use it to inseminate yourself in the comfort of your own home. The kit (shown) contains a sterile semen container, lubricant, a plastic speculum, disposable gloves and sterile pasteur pipettes. You can read more about the process here and order the kit. (Bonus! You can also order a vibrator for men.) Frankly, I would think you'd have to be extremely flexible to do this by yourself.

Posted By: Nethie - Sun Jan 24, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Family, Science, Sexuality, Body Fluids

Double Banana

A man in the UK found two bananas in the same peeling in a bunch he bought recently. He'd never seen one like it, nor have I for that matter. Anybody else?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7053221/Pensioner-astonished-by-double-banana.html

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 24, 2010 - Comments (5)
Category: Bananas