A Curious Chick's World of "WTF?"

Death Trivia

2006-10-15T17:17:00.000-04:00

Anomolies Unlimited has an interesting death trivia page [here].

It's pretty spooky! But it fits in well with Halloween :)

Boeing tests combat laserKim Jong Il chokes on his kimchi

2006-10-15T17:02:00.000-04:00

The beam can slice through metal from a distance of nine miles, and is precise enough to hit the tire of a moving vehicle without igniting the fuel tank or passenger area.

Here are a few articles about it:

[UPI Article]
[The Engineer Online Article]
[Earth Times Article]
[PR Newswire Article]
[Aero-News Network Article]

Go Boeing :)

Time lapse video of aurora display

2006-10-15T16:35:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty cool time lapse video of the northern lights in British Columbia, September 24, 2006.

Click Play below, or [click here] to watch it at YouTube.

Twisted bean bag chairs

2006-10-15T16:09:00.000-04:00

Yup, these bean bag chairs are designed to look like body bags. There's got to be nothing more comfortable than gettin' cozy sitting on a dead body. Yeah ... err, right.

[See the site here]

Re-gifting no longer considered taboo?

2006-10-08T14:22:00.000-04:00

A survey of over 1500 American adults has shown that most Americans "re-gift". That is, they take items given to them and in turn give them away as gifts to others.

Of those who took the survey, 52% admitted to re-gifting items, and 78% of those surveyed said that re-gifting is acceptible some or most of the time.

[Full Story Here]

John Petrucci -- Awesome Music

2006-10-04T15:41:00.000-04:00

John Petrucci is one of the most amazing guitar players in the world. His painstaking attention to detail and the complexity of his music is simply amazing. Everybody should be able to hear this guy play.

Click Play below to listen to his song, "Tunnel Vision"

[Visit his website]

Overload of Cuteness!

2006-10-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

Is it possible to become overwhelmed with cuteness? At Cute Overload, they try to do just that. They search the web for the cutest of cute pictures, and post them in a collection for you to enjoy.

[Click Here] to visit!

Draw in 3-D

2006-10-01T08:33:00.000-04:00

"Doodle" by squidsoup is a fun tool that allows you to draw three dimensionally.

Instructions: Click and drag to make a mark. Drag faster to make a thin mark, slower to make a thick mark. To rotate the drawing, release your mouse button and move the curser toward the edge of the picture. To erase what you have drawn, right click.

Cool stuff -- [Click Here]

What on earth happened to the Trix Rabbit?

2006-09-30T18:09:00.000-04:00

Almost everyone should be familiar with the Trix rabbit. Well, almost everyone in the US anyway.

Here he is on one of his original boxes in the early 1960's:

And here he is today:

Let's compare:

The once calm and mellow character is now a wide-eyed explosion of hyperactivity. Notice the panicked expression, bared teeth, and manic demeanor. From his contorted posture, it's difficult to tell if he's chasing after something in over-excitement or running for dear life in terror. In fact, he's running so fast that his eyebrows are literally flying off of his head! Even the cereal is practically leaping out of the bowl at him.

The "new" Trix Rabbit somewhat resembles a crack addict in comparison to the original. He almost looks ... well ... scary.

Be on the lookout for this dangerous, rabid creature on the prowl for your children at a cereal aisle near you.

Taller women more likely to have twins

2006-09-24T17:19:00.000-04:00

A study has found that taller women are more likely to have twins. The article also mentions that an earlier study found that pregnant women who consume dairy are five times more likely to have twins.

[Full Article]

So for all the tall pregnant women out there who want to have twins, drink plenty of milk :)

Chinese? Japanese? Korean?

2006-09-24T17:03:00.000-04:00

If shown a picture, can you tell if someone is Chinese, Japanese, or Korean? How accurate are you?

They've made an interesting test [HERE].

I didn't do very well ... I only scored a 7. How did you do?

Historical Children's Product Labels

2006-09-24T15:41:00.000-04:00

This flickr album is pretty cool. It's a collection of children's product labels from the 1950's.

As of now, it has about 222 photos to browse through.

[Click Here]

"No One Dares to Help"

2006-09-24T14:58:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered what it's like to live in a war zone? This interesting and deeply moving article presents four short stories of normal people living in Baghdad. They talk about how their lives have changed in response to the increasing violence there.

Note: The graphic descriptions may disturb some readers.

[Click Here]

Reading this makes me want to help somehow. But I have no idea what to do ...

A new look at the Mars Face

2006-09-23T18:05:00.000-04:00

Our first view of the famous Mars Face came from a Viking orbiter 30 years ago, and it looked like this:

The European Space Agency has managed to take higher resolution photos with a ground resolution of about 13.7 meters per pixel. This is what they have released:

You can read more about it [here].

The top 10 ugliest, most embarrassing fashion trends of the past 25 years

2006-09-23T17:03:00.000-04:00

Check it out! Revisit some funny fashion embarrassments, sure to make you point and laugh :)

[Click Here]

Weatherman vs. Cockroach

2006-09-23T16:57:00.000-04:00

Hilarious video! Hit "Play" below, or [click here].

Of course, there's more to the story than just the video.

[Click here] to read more of the story.

Lightning Strike Survivors

2006-09-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered what lightning strike survivors were doing when they got struck, and how the strike affected their lives?

Well here's a list of Lightning Survivor Stories from the National Weather Service. Considering some people were doing things as seemingly harmless as fixing a car in a garage or talking on a phone indoors when they were stuck by lightning, it's an informative read and provides good safety info.

(You can click on the victims' names to read their individual stories.)

[Link Here]

Network TV Censoring Positive Message for Kids

2006-09-23T07:38:00.000-04:00

NBC and the makers of "Veggie Tales" (a Christian-themed cartoon) signed a contract.

After the contract was signed, the makers of "Veggie Tales" were told that any references to God must be edited out of the shows.

The censorship includes the removal of the "Veggie Tales" core tagline, "Remember kids: God made you special, and he loves you very much."

NBC says "Veggie Tales" must be censored like all of its other cartoons. They say that children must be protected from negative influences.

Nevermind the fact that all of NBC's other cartoons are filled with meaningless hyperactive violence, fighting, and explosions -- apparently those don't negatively affect children. But telling a kid that God loves them is the shock of the century and simply cannot be broadcasted.

[Full Story Here]

No wonder all those Islamic terrorists say that the USA is evil.

Good Samaritans Unknowingly Aid Car Theft

2006-09-21T21:22:00.000-04:00

The car theif was 14 years old. People saw that he was having trouble driving the manual shift vehicle, so they gave him advice and impromptu driving lessons.

Hilarious story. [Click Here]

North Pole ice caps cracking, Santa stashes his twinkies

2006-09-20T21:45:00.000-04:00

The jolly man in the red suit has officially consumed too many twinkies. The ice caps at the north pole are cracking under his weight.

There is no word yet on how many elves and reindeer are in danger.

(No, really.... the ice caps are cracking)

[Article Here]

Will breast implants really make women happier?

2006-09-19T23:16:00.000-04:00

A study has shown that women who receive breast implants are 73% more likely to commit suicide than women without breast implants.

Other studies have examined the suicide rate among women who have undergone various other types of cosmetic surgery, and they also conclude that women who receive cosmetic surgery have a higher suicide rate.

Women who choose to augment their bodies tend to have lower self-esteem and more mental disorders than women who choose not to.

[Full Article Here]

Just another reason for us ladies to learn to like our own bodies.

Why We Itch

2006-09-18T15:04:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered why we itch? I have.

This article explains it pretty well. [Click Here]

It just goes to show, you never know what you're going to learn today :P

Inflatable Flash Drive Physically Expands as Memory Fills

2006-09-18T07:57:00.000-04:00

Very interesting site [here]. They have many other designs, including purses and Spongebob Squarepants.

The concept is cool -- you can see your flashdrive physically become "full" as its memory fills up.

HumanForSale.com -- How much are you worth?

2006-09-16T09:32:00.000-04:00

It says I'm worth $1,835,260

How much are you worth?

[Find Out Here]

Parents who won't protect their children, under the disguise of "morality"

2006-09-14T14:30:00.000-04:00

The human papilloma virus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer. 3,700 women die of cervical cancer every year. Fortunately, a vaccine has been made to prevent women from contracting HPV. The best time to receive the vaccination is before sexual activity starts.

The state of Michigan has issued legislation that would require all girls attending public school to receive the vaccination before entering the 6th grade. There are provisions for parents to opt out for medical, moral, or philosophical reasons. [Story Here]

Of course, some parents are outraged. They say that this sends the message to kids that underage sex is okay. What these parents don't understand is that whether underage sex is "okay" or not, their own children have a 62% chance of becoming sexually active anyway.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, [View PDF File]:

6% of girls and 8% of boys start having sex before the age of 14
62% of teens have had sexual intercourse by the 12th grade

Yes, your little angels have sex regardless of whatever morals you try to instill in them.

For parents of girls, this especially applies to you:

18% of sexually active boys in grades 9-12 have had more than four sexual partners
25% of sexually active girls' first partners were four (or more) years older than them; girls with older partners are less likely to use contraceptives
33% of sexually active kids ages 15-17 report "being in a relationship where things are moving too fast sexually",
24% of sexually active kids ages 15-17 participated in sexual acts that they really did not want to do
12% of girls in grades 9-12 report being physically forced to have intercourse

The prospect that a young teenage girl is forced into sex by an older boy who has had four or more sexual partners is a bit scary. Keep reading:

4 million teens contract sexually transmitted diseases each year
1 in 4 sexually active teens will contract a sexually transmitted disease

So if one in four sexually active teens has an STD, and 18% of sexually active boys have had four or more partners, then it is reasonable to assume that nearly all of those boys have an STD.

These are the boys that your daughter is most likely to have her first sexual experience with -- whether underage or not. Even if she remains abstinent during her teenage years (which she is statistically unlikely to do), she will be dating these guys in college and thereafter.

So to the parents who are outraged over the suggested requirement for this vaccination: Take off your blinders and stop chanting the "it won't happen to my child" mantra. How terrible would you feel if your precious daughter undergoes years of chemotherapy only to die from cervical cancer because you were too morally rigid to have her vaccinated? At some point, you need to realize that your child is human and will make bitterly regrettable mistakes. When a preventable consequence is cancer, it is inhuman not to take action.