Here’s an odd collection of unrelated—but very odd—news and information that we discovered in a pile of peanut shells and candy wrappers under someone’s (Jay’s) desk as we were finishing up this book. (You might want to wear gloves.)
LOUD NIGHT
The maker of Great Britain’s most successful snoring remedy, Helps Stop Snoring, made a public call for recordings of heavy snorers in 2009. They then assembled the snore recordings into a snore-version of the Christmas song “Silent Night,” and put it up on their Web site. They called it the world’s first “snore-chestra.” (Everyone who sent in their snores was given a year’s supply of anti-snoring products.)
Brad Gellert, 32, of Apollo Beach, Florida, was arrested in March 2009. In his mug shot, Gellert can be seen wearing a T-shirt that reads “I [Heart] My Marriage.” Gellert had been arrested for trying to choke his wife during an argument.
Are you the kind of person who likes to kiss and tell? Well, if you do, go to JustMadeLove.com—and tell the world about it. The site, which uses the Google Maps program, allows you to zoom into your exact location and enter your information, and it shows up as a marker on a map on the JustMadeLove.com site. You can even leave a comment about how “it” went. A sample, from Greenland: “böyle bişi yokk doymuyor istiyor en son kanattimm onu pes etti yarim saat sonra bi daha istiyor hep isiyor.” (We hope that’s not dirty.)
Lloyd’s Pharmacy in England launched the “Sex Degrees of Separation” online calculator in 2009—which allows you to figure out how many indirect sexual encounters you’ve had in your life. You enter your age, how many direct partners you’ve had, and how old each partner was, and the calculator estimates how many direct encounters each of your direct encounters has had, which is the number of your indirect encounters. The pharmacy launched the program as an educational tool on the subject of sexually transmitted diseases.
Researchers estimate that laughing 100 times is a workout equal to 15 minutes on an exercise bike.
Police were called to a supermarket in Aachen, Germany, in December 2009 to break up a three-way fight between a 74-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman, and her 24-year-old brother. The elderly man was beating the younger man over the head with a salami; the woman was trying to stab the older man with a wedge of Parmesan cheese. Police broke up the tasty melee, and all three food fighters were arrested.
Officials in Foshan City, Guangdong, China, approved the installation of a new sculpture in a city park in 2009: a statue of a girl whose tiny body is about eight inches tall, with a pair of enormous breasts—about 16 feet wide, 16 feet high, and 20 feet long. Local parents were outraged. “The park used to be a great place for families,” one mother said, “but now what attracts my son the most is the huge breasts. I have tried to educate him with some scientific knowledge, but all he thinks when he sees the statue are smutty thoughts.” A park spokesman said the sculpture would remain in the park anyway. (He added that someone had vandalized the piece one night…by trying to put an enormous bra on it.)
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Imitating the “Livestrong” cancer-awareness bracelet program, in 2004 Bristish students were given blue “Beat Bullying” bracelets in an attempt to end schoolyard violence. However, because famous athletes and musicians were sporting the bracelets as part of the campaign, they became collectors’ items (eBay sellers could get up to $30 apiece for them). Result: Bullies beat kids up in order to steal their “Beat Bullying” bracelets.
Predatory Asian climbing fish travel in groups—over land—to new pools at night.