01 February 2009

Sunday smörgåsbord


So much stuff to blog, so little time. Here's just a taste of the stuff I didn't have time to blog this week, and there's more in the freezer.

Hospitals in the U.K. are being encouraged to eliminate meat from the menus of food served to patients. The primary reason is not to save money. Noooo. It's to cut carbon emissions and decrease global climate change.

Based on the nutrients available and the pH, it appears that the soil of Mars is best suited for growing asparagus and turnips. Which means if I'm stranded there, I will die.

A raccoon has bitten off a certain appendage from a human male pervert. TYWKIWDBI strives to be family-friendly, so I'll omit the details here.

At the Obama inauguration, the violin and cello music was pre-recorded. Not because anyone expected Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma to make mistakes, but because the cold weather would have affected the performance and could even damage the instruments (the Stradivarius instruments were left home and cheaper ones substituted). A Slate article explains why.

Some people believe the Disney movie The Lion King was a remake of a 1965 movie called Kimba the White Lion. Side-by-side comparisons of screenshots and character descriptions, plus various historical tidbits do suggest an amazing resemblance. Plagiarism or coincidence?

Seven people in Japan were hospitalized with neurologic problems and respiratory distress after eating testicles. Blowfish testicles.

H1B visas are "speciality occupation visas." In fiscal 2007, 349 of these visas were given to fashion models. A lobbyist for the fashion industry says that number needs to be increased to protect American jobs.

Do you like taking tests? Here is the one for entry into the Swedish Armed Forces. Try it. I guarantee, it is NOT EASY.

An impressive photoessay of famous pictures of President G.W. Bush. Not just the usual funny pix, but a broad spectrum of some key moments in the presidency.

Highway workers in Indiana found $100,000 in an old tire on the side of the interstate highway.

Everyone knows that the economy of Iceland has collapsed and the government has been ousted. Foreign Policy magazine online has an article listing the five countries on the verge of following Iceland into economic ruin and political meltdown: Latvia, Greece, Ukraine, Nicaragua, and ... Great Britain!!!

Michael Phelps has been photographed with a bong. Yes, the same Michael Phelps who won 8 gold medals at the last summer Olympics. He has uttered the expected mea culpas and has said "it will not happen again" (presumably referring to the getting caught).

The unmarried woman who gave birth to octuplets already had six children. She had these additional eight because some frozen embryos were left over from previous fertilizations, and she didn't want them destroyed.

Any ice fishermen reading this blog? Here's some photos from Russia.

How running a cozy little coffeeshop can ruin your finances and your marriage.

Chemists explain why garlic is good for you.

I grew up in Minnesota when the world's first indoor shopping mall was opened, and also when the first Target store opened. You may have seen the animation of the growth of WalMart. The person who did that has now animated the growth of Target.

Divers have found the wreck of the HMS London - blown up accidentally in the Thames in 1665.

Rubbing a sore spot actually does diminish pain. You knew this, but now there's proof, and the neuroscientists have suggested how to rub something to maximize pleasure.

A 13-year-old boy lost his hair and eyelashes after a severe illness. He wears a baseball cap because he's embarassed and gets teased, but his school has said the baseball cap violates the dress code.

Here's the link if you like Calvin and Hobbes. (and if you don't like Calvin and Hobbes, the cartoons are still stored there).

(smorgasbord photo credit here)

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