misc

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Just Plain Bananas

How is it that I've never stumbled across The Tattooed Banana site before? Billed as the only website "dedicated to the emerging appreciation for banana art," the site is chock-full of potassium, vitamin C, and hilarious art involving my favorite of the yellow fruits (sorry lemons!). My favorites from the page include an ultrasound of a pregnant banana (carrying a baby banana in tow), and the fake i-Pod baNano pictured here. Of course, what I did notice was lacking from the site was a... READ ON

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That's why you've got a fork and knife

Yahoo News is reporting that a 12-foot Burmese Python named Houdini screwed up a magic trick when he tried to make his electric blanket disappear. The python, who decided to gulp down the blanket as a main course, needed emergency surgery to have it removed (apparently, the Heimlich doesn't have much of an effect on snakes). What was amazing to me in reading the article was: a) it took Houdini 6 hours to get the queen-sized blanket into his belly b) the surgery to remove the blanket needed an 18-inch... READ ON

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Oodles of Googles

CNN is outing one of the Internet's best-known artists today. While the name Dennis Hwang probably doesn't mean anything to you (no offense if you happen to be Dennis Hwang's mother), you've almost certainly seen the 28-year old's artwork: Hwang's the guy that draws all those fancy Google logos celebrating everything from Michelangelo's birthday to National Library Day. And what a guy! According to the CNN piece, Hwang was actually an art major in college,... READ ON

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Foreign Accents, Brain Damage and Madonna

I was thumbing through edits this weekend of mental_floss' upcoming Med School in a Box (kudos to Mary and her husband Tim for churning out such a wonderful project!), when I came across a fact that completely intrigued me. I mean, *ahem* there were plenty of facts in there that intrigued me, but I found the one on Foreign Accent Syndrome particularly fascinating. Apparently, the condition is the result of a rare, highly localized stroke that "strips the patient of her native accent and instead leaves her... READ ON

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When Killer Kangaroos Roamed the Earth

Reuters is reporting that a team of Australian paleontologists has discovered over 20 previously unknown species in a fossil dig in Northwest Queensland. Among the exciting critters revealed are a meat-eating kangaroo with enormous fangs and powerful forelimbs, and a giant carnivorous birds which the team describes as "demon ducks of doom." Poor alliteration aside, the ferociousness of the creatures doesn't seem to be an exaggeration. The well-muscled teeth on the kangaroo, for example,... READ ON

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The Greatest Chicken Parade in the Land!

In all the hubbub over Roger Federer's 4-in-a-row win streak at Wimbledon, a far more newsworthy story was overshadowed. CNN is reporting that this is the 9th year in a row that Arkansas native Del Hampton has won the Wayne, Nebraska Chicken Show Cluck-off. Del has perfected the art of scratching, pecking, clucking and then producing a spring-loaded fake egg the size of a watermelon. And while nothing should distract the spotlight from his special moment, I did become curious as to why Wayne,... READ ON

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Czech Please!

Two of my favorite historical events have occurred in Prague. I love reading about the Velvet Revolution, just because I think it's amazing that Vaclav Havel and his playwright cronies managed to sweep away communism in a completely bloodless coup. I also love the Defenestration of Prague, not only because defenestration is a GREAT word (to defenestrate means specifically to throw out of a window), but also because according to Britannica, when Czech Protestants threw three officials out of a... READ ON

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Great Feets

Continuing on today's trend of posting on all things Pimp, I found these amazing sneakers on the Dada site, via PopGadget. Quite frankly, I'm not a "shoes guy" so I don't have the best eye for fashion, but for just $199 you can get your hands (or feet) into these multitasking silver trainers which double as MP3 players! Sounds like a steal to me. The shoes, which were designed to be used while exercising (they come with hands-free wireless headphones), also have speakers on the side in case you want to... READ ON

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You know it's hard out there for a pimp

According to CNN (your daily source for pimp and ho news), Iowa Senator Charles Grassley is trying to put the squeeze on the sex trade by getting the IRS involved. His so-called "pimp tax" will require workers in the sex trade to pay taxes, and will designate $2 million dollars to help prosecute any tax violators. More specifically, the article states, "under Grassley's proposal, a pimp could get up to 10 years in prison for each prostitute for whom the pimp hasn't filed a W-2, which... READ ON

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Out to Launch

According to this month's Wired magazine, speed enthusiast and self-described "inventrapreneur" Brian Walker is planning on shooting himself into space (or at least 20 miles into the atmosphere) via an enormous home-made crossbow. The plan is simply to "stretch a carbon-fiber bowstring 24 feet along a rail, fire up a jet turbine with 1,350 pounds of thrust, hit a trigger and pull 10 G's." Easier said than done, of course. Aside from catapulting himself, Walker is also... READ ON