November 8, 2001

AM I BORED TO DEATH AND DESPERATE FOR ENTERTAINMENT OR NOT?

By now everyone has probably seen one of the various "Am I Hot or Not?" websites where you can rate the photos of comlete strangers. (If not, hit amihotornot.org.) You may not be aware, however, that there are now dozens of clone sites, like my personal favourites Am I Drunk Or Not?, and Am I Punk Or Not? Now there's also a site where you can upload your own photos and create your own categories. Needless to say, people have posted some pretty strange categories, like "Am I Being Photographed Taking A Shit Or Not?", "Am I A Child Molesting Scumbag Or Not?", "Am I A Cynically Manufactured Pop Band Full Of Talentless Nobodies Or Not?", "Am I Desperate For Sex Or Not?", "Am I A Wannabee Rasta Who Thinks He Can Smoke Loads Of Weed Like The Big Boys Or Not?", and literally hundreds more. Good wholesome fun for the whole family! Check it out at iamcal.com/ami/list.php.

WHERE DID I PUT MY GIANT VIBRATOR?

A high school senior in Ann Arbour won first prize in the Halloween costume contest but was suspended for two days from school after dressing up as an anatomically correct vagina. Christian Silbereis' costume included folds of satin and lace running from his chest to his knees, a pink cape lined with wig hair, all covering a t-shirt bearing a rendering of a fetus. School staff were outraged by the costume and issued the suspension, but Christians' classmates were unfazed, handing him first place in the costume contest. "It's not about me being a pervert," he said, "what if I was wearing an elbow costume? Would they suspend me then?" (Ann Arbour News)

ATTACK OF THE KILLER CHUPACABRA!

The mystery of the Chupacabra simply won't go away. The lastest series of strange animal deaths began on Oct. 10 in the Mexican state of Chihauhua, when farmer Francisco Gonzalez found 12 dead sheep and a dead pig in his fields, all without a drop of blood in their bodies and with two small bite marks on their necks. Two weeks later, his brother's animals were attacked, with 35 dead sheep killed in the same manner. The most recent attack came on Oct. 25, when another relative found 16 of his sheep dead and 14 injured. Police are investigating all three incidents. (Ananova)

RAVING SPEED FREAKS

The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection has expressed outrage at reports of experiments carried out four years ago at Cambridge University that studied the effects of loud music on the toxicity of methamphetamine in mice. The experiment involved injecting the mice with speed and then blasting the drugged mice with music by the band Prodigy played at a volume of 95 decibels. The intent was to simulate the brain chemistry of a kid on drugs at a rave. The music seemed to cause more brain damage from the speed than mice would normally suffer, and the researchers concluded that listening to "pulsating noise" (my newest favourite euphemism for music, by the way) enhances the toxic effects of amphetamines. (BBC)

THOSE LIMEY BASTARDS

Britain's Advertising Standards Agency has ruled that the term "kraut" - a put-down of Germans used by the English since World War One - is an acceptable word to use in advertising. After a group of Germans in England objected to the word used on a poster advertising a football match that read "The Krauts Are Coming," the Standards Agency ruled that kraut is "a light-hearted reference to a national stereotype unlikely to cause serious or widespread offense." (Reuters)

MORE GENETIC MONSTROSITIES

The U.S. Military has spliced a gene from an orb weaver - a small spider that spins the world's toughest natural material - into two Nigerian dwarf goats whose milk will then be manipulated into incredibly tough silk. The strands of silk are three times as tough as bulletproof Kevlar, and a woven cable as think as a thumb can bear the weight of a jumbo jet. The military plans to use the material to create featherweight ballistic vests, medical sutures and artificial ligaments. (Nexus)

THAT'S GONNA BE ONE NASTY SWIMSUIT COMPETITION

Perth, Australia has revived the Ugly Man competition from the 1920s and plans to crown Perth's ugliest man at The Ugly Ball next month. (news.com.au)

FCKCNSRSHP

A federal appeals court has sided with the state of Vermont against a woman who had applied for vanity license plates that read "SHTHPNS." The court stated that "the state has a legitimate interest in not communicating the message that it approves of the public display of offensive scatological terms on state license plates." (Reuters)

I BRAKE FOR HALLUCINATIONS

Thanks to The Oregonian, here's some bumper stickers we'd like to see: "Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?"; "Do I look like a freakin' people person?"; "I do whatever my Rice Krispies tell me to"; "Honk if you love peace and quiet"; "Too many freaks, not enough circuses."

CLICK HERE FOR WAY MORE TRIPPY NEWS

Go to:

• BACK TO HOMEPAGE
  
• CURIOUS TIMES ARCHIVES
  
• SPAM ME
  
• FREE EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION TO CURIOUS TIMES
  
• BACK TO TOP
  
• CURIOUS LINKS