Thursday, June 11, 2009
And in England: Repelling a Witch’s Curse…
The first fully intact 17 th -century “witch bottle” has been unearthed in the UK. The bottles were used to ward off illnesses thought to result from a curse. Two hundred broken bottles have been found – this is the first chance scientists have had to see what they contained. Pins, along with the...
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
And in Switzerland: Hunky Farmers to Silence Critics…
Switzerland has taken a lot of flak recently for its refusal to give up the names of tax evasion suspects hiding in the country. To draw attention away from banking policies, the Swiss farmers’ union is releasing a “lingerie farming” calendar, featuring photos of greased-up, half naked men playing...
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Monday, June 8, 2009
And in Twitter Land - Orphaned Tweets...
When people sign up for Twitter, post once, then never return. By John Swansburg and Jeremy Singer-Vine Posted Monday, June 8, 2009, at 11:41 AM ET After examining some 300,000 Twitter accounts, a Harvard Business School professor reported last week that 10 percent of the service's users account for...
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Sunday, June 7, 2009
And in Japan: A Waste of a Good Book…
Koji Suzuki, one of Japan ’s most celebrated horror writers, has teamed up with Hayashi Paper Corp., a Japanese toilet-paper manufacturer, to publish his latest terrifying novella on rolls of loo tissue. Drop is a nine-chapter story about an evil spirit who lives in a toilet bowl. “I’ve read the...
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Friday, June 5, 2009
And in Georgia: The Redneck Games…
Every summer over 10,000 people converge on East Dublin, GA, for the annual Redneck Games. It started as an alternative to the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996, but was almost cancelled after a child lost his arm in a rope-swing accident last year. A main sponsor pulled its support, but the mud-pit...
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
And at Yellowstone: Famous Geyser Gets Unwanted Watering…
Old Faithful is usually the center of attention because of what spouts out of it. However, last month, two seasonal employees at America ’s Yellowstone National Park were fired after they were caught on a webcam urinating into the famous geyser. Authorities do not appear to be taking the stunt...
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Sunday, May 31, 2009
And in Bangladesh: Cops in Drag Nab Muggers…
In an admittedly unusual move, police in the capital city of Dhaka are donning dresses and wigs to nab would-be pick-pockets and bag-snatchers targeting women. Nick-named “burka squads” (some officers wear full burkas), the teams are having an effect: “ In the past four days we have arrested some 60...
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Thursday, May 28, 2009
And in Thailand: New Washrooms Just for ‘Ladyboys’…
A stick figure, one half the familiar blue boy, the other a long-haired girl, is the new Rupaul-esque symbol for third-sex washrooms in Thailand ’s Kampang Secondary School. The washrooms were created for ‘ladyboys’, about 10 per cent of students, who identify as transgendered. The facilities are...
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
And in Spain: A New Ball and Chain…
Convincing your teenager to prepare for exams can be a difficult feat. Unless, of course, your teenager is chained up at the feet. Hence the new “Study Ball” – a 21-lb prison-style ball and chain to keep students at their desks and in their books for up to four hours. The device comes with its own...
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Monday, May 25, 2009
And in Poland: Polish Priest Writes with Imagination…
Poland ’s book publishing scene has a surprising new star: a Polish Catholic priest who has written a hit book dubbed the “Catholic Kama Sutra.” Father Ksawery Knotz’s book, Sex As You Don’t Know It For Married Couples Who Love God, has sold all 5000 copies printed within its first weeks. Father...
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