Author Archive

And Then There Was The Time They Sold Golf Balls With a Radioactive Core

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

This one is going straight on my “Do Not Want” list. Apparently, back in the good old days of 1910, the Worthington Golf Ball Company produced golf balls with a radium-laced core. Known as the “Ball of Mystery that never loses life or shape due to its inherent radioactive properties”, this bad boy was supposed to travel farther than the competition. Check out the original advertisement.

“I have not found any company literature that specifically states that the ball contained radium but an advertisement (see below) in the May 17, 1918 issue of the New York Tribune quotes “one of the greatest of American Golfers” as saying that the ball had “what is known as a radium center.”

An analysis by gamma spectroscopy clearly shows that it does indeed contain radium: approximately 150 Bq (4 nCi).”

[Oak Ridge Associated Universities via Improbable Research]

 

 

Dutch TV-Show Hosts Eat Each Other’s Flesh

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

Two Dutch television-show hosts said they had their flesh cooked by a top chef and then dined on each other before a studio audience.

“Nothing is really that special when you’re talking about the taste of the meat,”  host Dennis Storm told ABCNews.com. “But it is weird to look into the eyes of a friend when you are chewing on his belly.”

Yeah, so. Dutch cannibalism on TV. Nothing I can add to this.

[ABC News]

Satan, Santa, and Zombies: Search Patterns Revealed

Monday, December 19th, 2011

The University of Oxford’s Internet Institute has analyzed Google search patterns and discovered that there are places in the United States where there are more people searching for zombies and satan than for Santa Claus.

“a few pockets including just outside the San Francisco Bay and Seattle and the cities Houston, Dallas and Austin in Texas have a lot of zombie angst. Hmmm…it might be the only things these places are in agreement on. But one of the more interesting clusters runs from Tampa to Orlando Florida….home of Disney World. Sort of makes sense in a way. Also of interest is a thin band of zombies stretched out along the Eastern seaboard, west of most of the major metropolitan areas.”

Check out the Satan cluster around Tampa Bay; I am going to have to start watching my neighbors a little more closely. You can download the data here and find your own patterns.

[Floating Sheep via Gizmodo]

One Mile Offshore – Deer Board Boat, Avoid Drowning

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

This awesome wildlife rescue happened back in October, 2010 in Taku Inlet near Juneau, Alaska. Alaska Quest Charters was crossing the inlet when four deer approached the boat about a mile offshore.  The struggling animals were brought aboard where they recuperated. When they reached the opposite shore, three of the deer took off into the forest. The fourth had to be rolled off with a wheelbarrow, but after a couple hours was able to take off as well.

“About a mile offshore, Sharon, a birder, spotted something odd in the water coming towards the boat through her binoculars.  What she first thought were sea lions or shorebirds turned out to be four young Sitka black-tailed deer (a subspecies of mule deer).

Even though Sitka deer are known for their swimming ability and often cross large bodies of water between islands, these four where in obvious distress in the frigid water and whipping winds that had stirred up two to three foot swells in the inlet.  The biggest sign of that distress was the fact that the deer actually swam towards the boat and tried to board it, their fear of drowning overpowering their fear of people.

Unable to propel themselves out of the water in their exhaustion, they had to be hauled out onto the deck, where they collapsed.  There, the hypothermic deer slowly but calmly recovered.”

[Animal Planet]

Lizard Plays Video Game, Crushes It

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

[helloandroid]

Squirrel Pulls Fire Alarm, Avoids Fine

Friday, December 9th, 2011

A squirrel has been busted for sneakily setting off a fire alarm after footage was reviewed by school officials.  The squirrel had been living in the cafeteria, but after this little stunt it was captured and kicked out.

“The squirrel was eventually trapped and let go.

“It’s really hard to fine a squirrel, so he got a stern lecture and was released outside,” Henson joked.”

[My Fox Tampa Bay]

And Now: Salmon Swimming Across The Road

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

[Animal Planet]

Current Market Price for Bigfoot Meat: $50,000/lb

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

The market price for a 1 lb Bigfoot steak skyrocketed yesterday when a $50,000 offer was made on a $10,000 item. You may remember the man worried about Sasquatch murder charges from earlier this year. Well, apparently, he has a souvenir from the occasion.

“On Wednesday evening, Richard Stubstad and Robert Lindsay were guests on the Tom Biscardi radio show talking about the Sierra Kills. As reported by Lindsay earlier, Justin Smeja was selling his Bigfoot steak for $10,000. Biscardi thinks Smeja deserves a lot more than what he’s currently selling it for and he is offering $50,000 for the steak.

We got Justin on the phone and told him about Biscardi’s offer. He said that it is a really good offer and he’s considering accepting Biscardi’s dough in exchange for the 1lb Bigfoot steak he found in the Sierra Buttes location after shooting an adult Bigfoot and it’s child.”

With this kind of market volatility, Sasquatch better watch his back even more than usual.

[Bigfoot Evidence]

Watch A Cloud Dance With Electric Fields

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Apparently there is a valid meteorological explanation for this, but it is still pretty freaky.

[TDG]

Hartebeest Takes Out Biker

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Red Hartebeest: 1 – Biker: 0.

That looked pretty deliberate on the Hartebeest’s part. Also looks very painful.

[Deadspin]

Even Golf Courses In Australia Are Dangerous

Monday, October 10th, 2011

This is a water hazard I can get behind.

[io9 via Sky News and YouTube]

Glow In The Dark Kitties

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Glowing cats – I want one.

[Mirror]

Man Retaliates Against Beehive

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

What would you do if a bee stung one of your friends while he was visiting your house? Would you shrug it off and continue enjoying the day? Would you grab a can of Raid or a water hose and extract some minor vengeance? Or would you pump the hive full of gasoline and blow it to bits causing the local fire station to be scrambled?  If you chose gasoline – congratulations, you have a kindred spirit in Lynden, Washington.

A Lynden man dumped gasoline on a beehive that was in a tree and then ignited it Sunday night, Aug. 28, causing an explosion in the suburban neighborhood that could be seen from a few hundred feet away.

The man lit the hive on fire about 8:30 p.m. in retaliation for a bee sting one of his friends got earlier that day at the house on Twin Sister Loop, said Lynden Fire Chief Gary Baar.

The fire caused a large “whoosh” and singed the tree pretty badly, Baar said, but nobody was hurt. There were no flames when firefighters arrived about 10 minutes later. “No damage, except for a bunch of dead bees,” Baar said. “The correct way to do that is to call a beekeeper.”

[Bellingham Herald via Deadspin]

Chatbot VS Chatbot

Monday, August 29th, 2011
What happens when two chatbots talk to each other? Spoiler alert: it involves unicorns.

[Engadget]

“Fairy” Captured Outside Guadalajara

Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Speaking of fairies, one was captured by a guava picker outside Guadalajara. Hundreds of residents have now lined up for hours to pay 20 pesos to see the fairy. And when I say a fairy was captured, I mean a plastic toy was placed in a jar.

“Mexican news agencies were quick to show a “real fairy” that was supposedly found the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. The supposed fairy was found by a 22 year old man who claimed to have captured the creature while picking Guavas. His mother gave an emotional testimony to the cameras, claiming to have had experienced some sort of spiritual awakening.”

[Ghost Theory]

And Now: A Fire-Breathing Robot Pony

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Enough said.

[Geekologie]