Bathroom Readers' Institute's Blog, page 176
February 19, 2013
Ever Dream This Man?, Etc.
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Uncle John has a bunch of websites in his “WORK BAD—HATE WORK” file. He thought he’d share a few with you. (Some are wine. Some are crackers…)
!!! *** WARNING *** !!! : Some sites have auto sound! Be ready!
You Fell Asleep Watching a DVD
The Useless Web (“Take me to another useless website please.”)
Not Pron (Take your time. Pay attention. Very weird. Not for everyone.)
Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers
February 17, 2013
Video: Cave Made Into Playable Organ
In one of our very favorite Bathroom Readers of all time – Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader PLUNGES INTO MUSIC – we have an article called “Seven Instruments Bigger Than a Tuba.” (It’s on page 311.) Number 7 on the list: The Great Stalacpipe Organ:
Check out this video, made by Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and sanctioned by Luray Caverns administrators:
• Here’s the official GSO website
• “Red River Valley” (auto play!) played on the GSO, from OddMusic.com
• Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on the GSO
• An endearing and occasionally annoying video made by a woman named “Bowser” who put the GSO on her “Bowser Buckey List” (well done!)
• ”Musical Gems From Solid Rock”! (from here)
• You can read the entire “Seven Instruments Bigger Than a Tuba” right over here in the throne room.
• Once again, that’s from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader PLUNGES INTO MUSIC (page 311)
Finally: You know how to tell a stalactite from a stalagmite, right? A stalactite has a “c” in it – stalaCtite – and it hangs from the Cieling.
A stalagmite has a “g” in it – stalaGmite – and it grows up from the Ground.
February 16, 2013
Rubber Ducktato, You’re the One…
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This must be from Uncle John’s Certified Organic Bathroom Reader!
Too dang cute.
From right over here.
And thank you, BRI fan Ginny D. for the tip!
P.S. As reader Doug C. says: “I’d be more inclined to call it Duckmato as it’s a tomato, not a potato.” Good point.
February 15, 2013
Meteorite Hits Frozen Lake? And a Joke
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The Guardian has a great – and large – collection of videos, photos, and reports from news media and just regular folks on the wild meteor event that occurred in Russia last night. Including this shot, with their caption:
A hole in the Chebarkul Lake made by meteor fragments on February 15, 2013 in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Space.com says it was the largest meteor event in 100 years.
NASA says, based on very preliminary data, the meteor was almost 50 feet in circumfrence:
Based on the duration of the event, it was a very shallow entry. It was larger than the meteor over Indonesia on Oct. 8, 2009. Measurements are still coming in, and a more precise measure of the energy may be available later. The size of the object before hitting the atmosphere was about 49 feet (15 meters) and had a mass of about 7,000 tons.
The meteor, which was about one-third the diameter of asteroid 2012 DA14, was brighter than the sun. Its trail was visible for about 30 seconds, so it was a grazing impact through the atmosphere.
But here’s what we want to note:
A really lot of people naturally assumed that meteor was related to the asteroid mentioned above, which was due to pass quite close to Earth just a few hours after it struck. But, from the Guardian link:
‘NASA has now posted a message saying “the trajectory of the Russian meteor was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object.”’
So let us get this straight: This was a completely unrelated meteor, the size of which hasn’t been seen in ages, that just happened to appear just hours before an enormous asteroid was making one of the closest huge-asteroid passes in ages?!
What are the odds against such a thing occurring? They’ve got to be astronomical!
Editor’s Note: We didn’t say it was a good joke…
February 14, 2013
14 Ways an Economist Says I love You
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An oldie – but a darn goodie – for Valentine’s Day:
So much more at the link.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
February 11, 2013
12yo Launches ‘Hello Kitty’ 25 Miles Into Stratosphere
Just too cool:
For a science project, seventh grader Melody Green did an experiment on the effects of air pressure and temperature on altitude, using a weather balloon kit, a homemade “rocket,” and…Hello Kitty.
According to their notes on her YouTube video, the structure, which included four GoPro cameras, entered the Stratosphere, where the balloon eventually burst. It landed 47.5 miles from the launch site, 50 feet up in a tree. Melody was able to track it down using the GPS system she had equipped the capsule with, and also by calculating the distance based on the wind speed and direction.
[...]
The capsule reached an altitude of about 25 miles above Earth, entering the Stratosphere. This is technically not “outer space” but is still incredibly high, especially for a Hello Kitty doll.
Check it out. (The balloon exploding—at 2:15—is awesome.)
Bonus: This video doesn’t have any rockets. Or space. Or Hello Kittys. But it has kids, and it has an experiment. And it’s as funny as two piglets on a waterslide. (Note to self: Make a video of two piglets on a waterslide.)
February 8, 2013
Video: NY Rangers Announcer Takes a Puck to the Face—Keeps Announcing
Reason punchillion hockey rules:
John Giannone has been around hockey players long enough to know that you play through little hurts.
Giannone, the ice-level reporter for New York Rangers broadcasts, showed his tough side Thursday when he was hit in the face by a flying puck during the Rangers-Islanders game at Madison Square Garden. With blood streaming from the bridge of his nose and down to his chin, Giannone stayed in his spot and finished the second period.
Here’s the video:
Did we mention we have an entire Bathroom Reader dedicated to hockey? No? Okay – here you go. (E-Book links on this page.)
P.S. At the end of the video they go to an announcer in the clubhouse. Who is the TV actor that guy sounds like?! He sounds just like…that guy…on…WE DON’T KNOW! WHO IS IT?
Found him! That announcer at the end sounds just like from “The Closer”!
February 7, 2013
Gill Communication? 3 Weird Fishing Techniques
Some guy with a really BIG fish.
Fishing is definitely not for the impatient, especially during winter. Have you ever tried ice fishing? It’s fun…if you enjoy sitting in a frosty shack while waiting for a nibble that may never come. Naturally, many fishermen have tried to take the tedium out of angling. The following three fishing techniques will certainly increase your chances of a big catch.
Phone-a-Fish. In the early ‘50s, an Alabama conservation worker spotted two elderly fishermen using a bizarre device to electrocute catfish out on the Tennessee River. It was homemade, constructed mostly out of parts from an old hand-cranked telephone. As one man turned the crank, catfish began popping up around their boat. Within a few minutes, the worker noticed, they had fifty pounds of catfish. This method has since become known as “telephoning” or “monkey fishing” and it only seems to work on catfish. Word soon spread and, according to a Sports Illustrated story from 1954, within a few years telephoners had nearly wiped out catfish populations in certain areas while sending the market price of the scaly critters to a record low. (The practice wasn’t new—it dates back to at least the early ‘30s.) These fishing techniques are now illegal in many states…unless you’re a licensed fish biologist.
Remote Control Fishing. This technique involves remote controlled boats. Here’s how it works: a fisherman connects a line to the boat and sends it out on the water. This allows the line to cover a much larger area, thus increasing the chances of a catch. Strangely enough, most states still allow this method provided the line disconnects when a fish is hooked, forcing the fisherman to reel it in with a conventional pole, so they kind of have to be onboard, thus negating the remote control aspect.
Good Ol’ Fashioned Explosives. This is definitely the one of the most illegal fishing techniques on this list and, without a doubt, not one you would ever want to attempt while ice fishing. It’s also the simplest. Just toss a stick of dynamite or a homemade bomb into the water, wait for it to kill every bit of aquatic life within the blast zone, and scoop up all the fish. Also known as “blast fishing,” this one has caused irreparable damage to coral reefs around the world and it’s still popular in parts of Indonesia and the Philippines. This has led to an outcry from marine conservationists as well as billionaire do-gooders Virgin founder Richard Branson.
February 6, 2013
Monopoly “Iron” Token Out, “Cat” In
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Wow – hadn’t even heard they were doing this! We would have started a “toilet” token movement!
The Monopoly iron is going off to that giant linen closet in the sky.
The token, a staple of the Hasbro board game since the 1930s, is being retired after only garnering 8% of fan votes in a “Save Your Token” campaign. The Scottie dog was the clear choice for fans and game players from 185 countries, getting 29% of the vote.
While the iron leaves the game, a new cat will take its place passing “GO!” and collecting $200 going forward. The feline piece conquered its own competition in a separate vote on theMonopoly Facebook page, winning over four other proposed tokens — a toy robot, guitar, helicopter and diamond ring — with 31%.
Monopoly extras, from page 105 of of Uncle John’s HEAVY DUTY Bathroom Reader:
Longest game of Monolpoly ever played in a moving elevator: 384 hours.
Often overlooked rule: If a player lands on a propery and opts not to buy it, the propery must be auctioned off.
Monopoly was popular in Cuba before the rise of Fidel Castro, who banned the game and ordered all copies destroyed.
In 2009 Kenneth Reppke of Fraszer, Michigan, was arrested on an assault chare for hitting a friend in the head because she wouldn’t sell him Boardwalk and park Place during a Monopoly game.
There are dozens of actual—if unofficial—”opoly” games, including Bibleopoly, Dog-opoly, Cocktailopoly, Dino-opoly, and Ghettopoly—possibly the most politically incorrect boardgame of all time.
February 5, 2013
Wikimedia Commons’ SHOCKING 2012 Picture of the Year
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Holy cow – Wikimedia Commons! That’s a pretty daring selection for Picture of the Year! (Click on pic to enlarge.)
A question mark? On a plain white background? Really? We could see if the question mark was next to a nice, soft waterfall, or a goat—goat pictures are HOT right now!—but sheesh. And the composition is just so dull, too. If it were like this:
Then yeah. That’s got some tension. Some real je ne sais quoi. Just what does it all mean?
Okay. That’s all. Post over. As you were.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out Wikimedia Commons’ Picture of the Year. Very nice stuff from a very good website. (This year’s winner will be published in a few weeks. And you can see all the winners going back to 2006. And check the rules – maybe you can still vote!)
