8.28.2008

Where Is Your MLB Country?

This is a pretty interesting, unscientific representation of fan coverage of MLB teams. Some of them are surprisingly large amounts of land coverage.

NBA Superstars

I am sure some of my readers will appreciate these more than others but either way they are a couple of totally awesome 80's musical basketball videos.





3 Things To Know This Thursday


1. Have you come down with a case of "Olympic Syndrome" yet?

2. Deep-fried grilled cheese and Jelly Belly's mmmmmmm.

3. Price of rat meat quadruples, better stock up now.

8.22.2008

8 People Who Lost It All When They Won The Lottery

These are some fascinating stories of lives that were ruined by winning the lottery. I guess it's not always great to win millions?!? Most of them are kind of whiners but fun to read either way.

Click here to read it.

3 Things To Know This Friday


1. Woman handcuffed and booked for not paying library fines.

2. Man uses Barbie fishing pole to catch record 21-pound catfish.

3. Stem cells created from 10-year-olds wisdom teeth.

8.21.2008

Sex And The Olympics

This is really interesting. Who knew?!?

Click here to read it.

19 Of The Weirdest Fish Stories You'll Ever Read

"26 dead, 297 injured and two left traumatised. Matt Clarke takes a look at 19 painful incidents involving fish."

(The second to the last one is the worst!)

Click here to read them.

3 Things To Know This Thursday


1. John McCain is not an elitist. Oh wait.

2. Hallmark starts selling gay marriage cards.

3. Man continues tradition of a Cadillac-a-year since 1955.

8.20.2008

Map Of Springfield


Jerry Lerma and Terry Hogan created a map of the Simpson's hometown Springfield. You would think that it would be cheesy but it is pretty impressive and fun to see how many different places from the show are on this map. Click below to see it full size so it's easier for you to read.


Click here to see the large version.

The Most Fun You Could Have Waiting For A Bus

3 Things To Know This Wednesday


1. New York might become the new windy city.

2. Bigfoot turns out to be a rubber suit, weird.

3. Husband and wife to split lottery winnings, no matter what.

8.18.2008

Musicians I Like Monday's - Mickey Avalon - Jane Fonda

This is Mickey Avalon. The song is "Jane Fonda" from the album Mickey Avalon which came out in 2006. He is a rapper from Hollywood. The songs are a little crude but very catchy. I really recommend the whole album, so go listen to it.

3 Things To Know This Monday


1. Baby, born dead, comes back to life after some time spent in freezer.

2. Another reason to vote Obama.

3. NBC helping save the planet by air conditioning their outdoor studio at Olympics.

8.13.2008

The History Of Miniature Golf (In 10 Fun Facts)


I did a little digging around and created a list of facts that tell the history of the great sport of miniature golf. enjoy.


  • The Ladies' Putting Club in St. Andrews, Scotland is considered the very first miniature golf course. It was built in 1867 for practical purposes as it was considered unacceptable for women to take the club back past their shoulder during this time period.

  • Holes were originally 50 to 100 yards long.

  • In 1916, James Barber designed Thistle Dhu, considered America's quintessential miniature golf course. It was designed with the Tuileries Garden at the Louvre in mind. Miniature golf courses were very artistic at this time and were built for their natural beauty more than sport.

  • In 1926 the fad of building miniature golf courses on Manhattan roof tops was in full swing and by the end of that year there were nearly 150 successful courses.

  • During the Great Depression, miniature golf was considered "big business" and one of the few businesses that could be successful. Over 25,000 courses were built during this period. It became the most popular entertainment for people of all ages.

  • There were stories of 12-year-old boys, during the Great Depression, that for an initial investment of 90 cents would set up a miniature golf course in a vacant lot and turn a 1000% profit over the weekend.

  • Six thousand Tom Thumb courses were built during the depression. They were the first "brand" of miniature golf and the beginning of the end for artistic courses. It was said a Tom Thumb courses could be built and open to the public in six days.

  • Tom Thumb courses were considered sterile minimalist and all had very similar designs. The key attribute to this type of course was that you always had a chance to get a hole-in-one. A classic example of a sterile minimalist course hazard is the Loop-The-Loop.

  • During the second half of the 20th century "crazy golf" took over. Gone were the days of flat land covered in fairly easy holes. Giant monuments such as windmills, clowns, and castle were taking over to attract as many drive-by customers as possible.

  • By the 1990's corporate America had taken over. It was no longer viable to just build a miniature golf course alone. Competition brought on the need for entertainment complexes full of go-karts, arcades, and amusement rides to bring customers in.

Spain Is Crazy.

This is a real picture of the Spanish basketball team doing "slit-eyes" in a promotional photo that was published in many local Spanish newspapers. Who thought this was a good idea?!? How racist.
Click here to see the news story.

3 Things To Know This Wednesday


1. $1 house takes 19 days to sell on the open market.

2. Three fried-egg sandwiches, two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes (You'll never guess who eats that for breakfast).

3. Six months in jail for putting hair in a steak.

8.12.2008

Springfield Punx Blog


This is a pretty frequently updated blog from a guy who draws the Simpsonized version of a bunch of popular people.

Click here to check it out.

Best Bike Helmet Idea Ever.


These were created by Danish designers. Basically they are slim bike helmets that have 10 (so far) covers that fit over the top to make it look like a variety of popular hats. It's actually pretty difficult to tell that it is a helmet other than the chin strap. This is a fantastic idea as the only reason people don't wear a helmet is because the current ones look ridiculous. Lower the price a bit and there could be a cycling revolution lol.

Click here to see these awesome bike helmets.

3 Things To Know This Tuesday


1. Employee caught bathing in Burger King sink (and you can watch the video).

2. Rise of the human dolphin! (thats a real headline)

3. Another China faking the Olympics story but this one really is terrible.

8.11.2008

8.07.2008

$25 iTunes Giftcard Just For Blogging

If you click the link below and blog about the contest they have going on at www.myawesomeblog.com you have a 1 in 25 chance of winning a $25 iTunes gift card. What a deal.

Click here to try and win a $25 iTunes giftcard.

The Origin Of Common Phrases

I found these and thought they were really interesting. enjoy.

LONG IN THE TOOTH
Meaning: Old.
Origin: Originally used to describe old horses. As horses age, their gums recede, giving the impression that their teeth are growing. The longer the teeth look, the older the horse.

CHARLEY HORSE
Meaning: A muscle cramp.
Origin: In 1640, Charles I of England expanded the London police force. The new recruits were nicknamed "Charleys." There wasn't enough money to provide the new police with horses so they patrolled on foot. They joked that their sore feet and legs came from riding "Charley's horse."

BEAT AROUND THE BUSH
Meaning: Go about things in a circuitous manner, go around an issue rather than deal with it directly.
Origin: In the Middle Ages, people caught birds by dropping a net over a bush and clubbing the ground around it to scare the birds into flying into the net. Once a bird was caught, you could stop beating around the bush and start eating.

PULL SOMEONE'S LEG
Meaning: Fool someone.
Origin: Years ago back-alley thieves worked in pairs. One thief, known as a "tripper up," would use a cane, rope, or piece of wire to trip a pedestrian, knocking them to the ground. While the victim was down, the second thief would rob them. Pulling your leg originally referred to the way the "tripper up" tried to make someone stumble. Today it only refers to tripping someone figuratively.

SECOND STRING
Meaning: Replacement or backup.
Origin: You might have caught William Tell without an apple, but not without a second string. In medieval times, an archer always carried a second string in case the one on his bow broke.

MEET A DEADLINE
Meaning: Finish a project by an appointed time.
Origin: The phrase was born in prisoner-of-war camps during the Civil War. Because resources were scarce, the prison camps were sometimes nothing more than a plot of land surrounded by a marked line. If a prisoner tried to cross the line, he would be shot. So it became known as the "deadline."

SON OF A GUN
Meaning: An epithet.
Origin: In the 1800s, British sailors took women along on extended voyages. When babies were born at sea, the mothers delivered them in a partitioned section of the gundeck. Because no one could be sure who the true fathers were, each of these "gunnery" babies was jokingly called a "son of a gun."

I'VE GOT A FROG IN MY THROAT
Meaning: I'm hoarse from a cold.
Origin: Surprisingly, this wasn't inspired by the croaking sound of a cold-sufferer's voice, but by a weird medical practice. "In the Middle Ages," says Christine Ammer in It's Raining Cats and Dogs, "infections such as thrush were sometimes treated by putting a live frog head first into the patient's mouth; by inhaling, the frog was believed to draw the patient's infection into its own body. The treatment is happily obsolete, but its memory survives in the 19th century term frog in one's throat."

CHEW THE FAT
Meaning: Chat; engage in idle conversation.
Origin: Originally a sailor's term. Before refrigeration, ships carried food that wouldn't spoil. One of them was salted pork skin, a practically inedible morsel that consisted largely of fat. Sailors would only eat it if all other food was gone... and they often complained as they did. This (and other) idle chatter eventually became known as "chewing the fat."

PAY THROUGH THE NOSE
Meaning: To pay a high price; to pay dearly.
Origin: Comes from the ninth-century Ireland. When the Danes conquered the Irish, they imposed an exorbitant Nose Tax on the island's inhabitants. They took a census (by counting noses) and levied oppressive sums on their victims, forcing them to pay by threatening to have their noses actually slit. Paying the tax was "paying trough the nose."

3 Things To Know This Thursday


1. Speed cameras, on the highway, could soon be a reality in Illinois.

2. 8 Billion French oysters dead, herpes to blame.

3. Living with 3 million bees.

8.06.2008

3 Things To Know This Wednesday


1. I wonder what the last movies Barack Obama and John McCain saw last?

2. 111-year-old becomes father, first child in 38 years.

3. 08-08-08, lucky day?"

Interactive Olympic Medal Counts


I found this on the New York Times website. It graphically shows the medal counts of the countries that competed in each of the Olympic games. The most interesting part is how countries come and go as you click through the years. enjoy.

Click here to see the interactive Olympic medal history.