Daily Dose of Common Sense

Unveiled at Fashion Week 2010 was the “sweater-kini.” Yes, that’s a sweater bikini. Just perfect for summer, ladies! Besides uncomfortable and impractical, they aren’t very attractive.

I love the Daily News’ description:

Firstly, the pool water would surely shrink this onerous one-piece around your body. And HELLO, ever hand-washed a cardigan? You need a forklift just to hang the thing to dry.

Plus, anyone who’s ever gotten doused by a rainstorm while wearing a sweater knows that no amount of Chanel No. 5 can cover that wet dog smell.

Seems obvious that the designer, Victoria Bartlett, did this only for publicity and not for sale. (Which is the same with most all high fashion and couture designs.) But, this is so beyond a high ruffle or too-short dress. I wonder if the models on the runway experienced any chafing?

[Via PatsPapers]

It’s water-proof, flexible, self-adhesive and dishwasher safe. And it’s taking the world by storm. In fact, many folks are calling it the best invention since Duct tape or Blu tack. It’s called Sugru.

Sugru is the brain child of Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh, a former product design student, who thought one day, “I don’t want to buy new stuff all the time. I want to hack the stuff I already have so it works better for me.” Aside from unleashing your inner inventor (C’mon, we’ve all had the “I could’ve made that better” thought), Sugru is the ultimate reduce-reuse-recycle tool.

But what exactly is it? Essentially, it’s a silicone based play-dough for adults that you can adhere to surfaces to improve, repair or hack them.  Scissor handles pinching? Use Sugru and mold a fix. Wish your mobile phone had a bigger volume control button? Make one.

Still a little confused? The Sugru website and blog do a beautiful job demonstrating its many uses. And as Jane says herself on the website “People are natural hackers, we’ve just gotten out of the habit of it.”

Watch more about Sugru here:

Here are some of our favorite brief Web stories from this week.

Some people had common sense.

• The city of Boston dismissed thousands of tickets and tow fines for people who were issued violations while preparing for a storm that never came. The city had declared a snow emergency in expectation of the big storm cutting up the eastern seaboard. Stay classy, Boston.
• A 5-year old girl in Indiana called 911 when her dad experienced chest pains. She remained calm and stayed on the line for nearly ten minutes. She is now credited with saving her dad’s life.

And, some did not.

• Southwest Airlines kicked Kevin Smith off a flight for being too fat. Smith claims he fits between the two arm rests, which is the test of whether a person is too large for their seat. Huge PR nightmare for Southwest Airlines because Smith is a celebrity. I ask why the airlines even let him board in the first place, instead of kicking him off once on the plane?
• New toy: Fisher Price’s Bigfoot the Monster. It’s cute in a Muppet-gone-bad kind of way, but do we really want to encourage children to believe in this nonsense?

If you live in close confines, chances are your neighbors hear you having sex. Most walls just aren’t that thick.

A group of New Yorkers were polled, and…

According to the survey, the most common sounds heard through the walls were thumping (60 percent), moaning (56 percent), screaming (28 percent) and “other” (23 percent).

But just 12 percent of New Yorkers said neighbors ever complained about their lovemaking, and only 24 percent said they went out of their way to pipe down.

So, you can assume that your neighbors hear you getting it on, but the good news is that you won’t receive many (if at all) complaints about it. Pretty good news the day before Valentine’s Day, huh?

[Via PatsPapers]

If it’s between this and flowers for Valentine’s Day… FLOWERS! Dear god, let it be flowers.

[Via MomLogic]

There’s a problem in the Florida Everglades that has nothing to do with climate change or the depletion of habitat. The problem is from pet owners who buy snakes they don’t know anything about, and then dump the snakes out in the swamp when they get too difficult to handle. The animals are then free to disrupt the ecosystem.

Wildlife biologists say the troublesome invaders — dumped in the Everglades by pet owners who no longer want them — have become a pest and pose a significant threat to endangered species like the wood stork and Key Largo woodrat.

Two types of non-native pythons are taking over the Everglades: the Burmese python and the African rock python. These snakes proliferate quickly, laying 50 to 100 eggs at a time, and experts say there may be as many as 150,000 of them in the area. The pythons have no predators in their new environment, so they can pretty much run roughshod over the local wildlife.

Not to mention a Florida resident who owned a Burmese python, only to have it escape and strangle his girlfriend’s two-year old daughter one night in 2009. A tragedy that could have been avoided with a little common sense.

Obviously, you shouldn’t buy pets you don’t understand or know anything about. Unless you have a full-time experienced keeper on hand, it’s irresponsible to keep exotic pets. But, even WORSE is to dump the animal out in the wilderness once it’s no longer any fun. Especially when you don’t know what the repercussions might be to the environment. At least give the animal to a local zoo.

Remember the Ouija Board? It’s a staple of the middle school sleepover, to fill up the minutes when you aren’t playing “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board.” Well, Hasbro has released a pink version of the game and some folks are really…well…freaked out.

Meet Stephen Phelan, communications director for Human Life International, who believes that using a Ouija Board, “will leave a person’s soul vulnerable to attack.”

“It’s not Monopoly. It really is a dangerous spiritual game and for [Hasbro] to treat it as just another game is quite dishonest.”

Some comments on the product’s Amazon page chastise Hasbro for marketing Ouija Boards to young girls. Reviewers say Hasbro should be ashamed, and one person advises to buy this only if you hate your child:

Guns don’t kill people, people kill people, right? Why doesn’t Amazon.com sell automatic weapons or child porn? Because it is understood that these are very dangerous.

Um, what? Child porn and guns are the same as Ouija Boards?! That seems a bit ridiculous. And, actually, it’s not understood that these are dangerous. Has there ever, EVER, been an incident reported where something bad happened (legitimately) because of a Ouija Board? They have been debunked many times. How does a Ouija Board work?

What makes the pointer move? An effect similar to that which occurs in dowsing, known as the ideomotor effect. This is a fancy name for involuntary/unconscious movement, such as a dowser’s hand flicking enough to move his stick when he passes over an area he knows has water.

Sorry to get all “science-y” on you, but this should explain that a Ouija Board is nothing to be afraid of. It’s a game, and just a game. So, paint it pink, blue, purple, or yellow–it still won’t conjure up anything more than harmless fun. Don’t believe the experts? Then take Skeptic.com’s advice and debunk it yourself:

To prove this, simply try it blindfolded some time. Have an unbiased bystander take notes on what words or letters are selected. Usually, the results will be unintelligible.

I actually think it’s pretty smart of Hasbro to create a pink version and market it to tween girls. They know *exactly* who their audience is!

[Via BoingBoing]

In economic downturns, it seems like everyone is looking for a way to stretch a buck. Whether it’s cutting back on luxury expenditures or simply getting back to budgeting, we all appreciate a little more green in our pockets.

Enter AltUse.com. A relatively new website fueled by user-generated content, their purpose is to provide alternative uses for everyday products you most likely already have in your house. Suggestions range from using dryer lint to make firestarters (I’ve actually done this and it works!) to smelling coffee ground to alleviate car sickness.

While I won’t be wasting my Vodka stash to help my cut flowers stay fresh anytime soon, I might try the hangover cure.

So whether your goal is to go green, save green or simply experiment, AltUse is worth checking out.

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With stomach flu taking over our house this week, we didn’t have much time for the news. But, of the little we saw, here are some of our favorite brief Web stories from this week.

Some people had common sense.

• Heinz has redesigned the ketchup packet. No longer do we need to fool with torn packets and ketchup everywhere. Behold the new packet that lets you either dunk or squeeze.

And, some did not.

• A man at a sledding party in Michigan wanted a boost of power. So, he filled a car muffler with gasoline and gunpowder, strapped it to his back, and ignited it for what he hoped would be a rocket-launch effect. He was burned over 20% of his body. No word on why NO ONE at the sledding party warned him what a bad idea this was.

If you’re a fan of wearing your PJs in public, be glad you don’t live in Shanghai or in Cardiff, Wales.

With the World Expo 2010 looming, officials in Shanghai have launched a campaign encouraging citizens to leave their pajamas at home. If you look at the photos, it’s hard to see what the fuss is about. The pajamas look quite respectable: They match, they’re bright and colorful, and we don’t see any obvious stains or signs of wear. I mean, most people don’t have PJs this nice.

A grocery store in Wales is now refusing service to anyone shopping while wearing PJs. I understand that a few folks might be uncomfortable at the thought of someone, fresh from bed, frolicking amongst the cantaloupe in his or her night clothes. However, there isn’t much difference between pajamas and most of the casual “workout” clothes you see people wearing all the time. In fact, athletic clothes are usually tight, and some of the folks wearing said outfits should be in much, much looser clothing.

It can be a hard call, too. Some pajamas don’t look like pajamas, and some regular clothes might be confused for PJs. How can you really be sure?

I would much, MUCH rather see people in loose-fighting, tasteful pajamas than some of the outfits I’ve seen while shopping in Target and Walmart. Not to pick on those two fine retail establishments, but…well, there’s a web site you can check for verification. We made fun of the “pajama/jean” concept here, but perhaps this is a just a bigger trend to get us all in pajamas 24/7. (Sure would come in handy after a big meal!) So, lighten up on the PJs, folks. It could be worse.

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