Daily Dose of Common Sense

Proving that just because you can make a sign doesn’t mean you can spell, someone has started a Flickr account called, “Teabonics.” These are photos of actual signs seen at Tea Party events around the country. It’s genius.

No matter where you stand on the issue, folks, make sure you spell check your protest signs. Misspellings just make you look like an idiot.

[Via the fine folks at BoingBoing]

We shouldn’t speed, drive drunk, or be aggressive/reckless behind the road. We know it, but sometimes it helps to be reminded–especially in a clever way. Australia has decided to use some off-beat humor in a viral campaign to get a safe driving message across to younger drivers. The tag line: “Don’t be a dickhead.” I must admit that some of these are amusing. You would almost think they’re Saturday Night Live skits.

The ads discuss the possible–yet completely crazy–consequences of unsafe driving. These include: red-headed angels will get their wings, you will live the rest of your life with a giant pole coming out of your stomach, Twitter and Facebook will be turned off, and more.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcIy8-EKW00

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCsPaW3Ghz0

And…wait for it…my favorite:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CBJr0GReI

It’s great to see a company (in this case, the Victoria, Australia government) doing something out of the ordinary to reach a new audience. Think of how great it would be if someone would roll out the “Don’t litter or you’re a douche bag” campaign. It would make you think twice about littering, wouldn’t it?

All of the ads can be seen here.

[Via AdFreak]

A man was caught streaking through a grocery store and gave one of the all-time best answers as to why he was running naked: boredom.

He did, however, wear a face mask. Boredom doesn’t diminish your modesty, apparently.

Most of us watch TV or eat to fight boredom (sometimes both at the same time). Dude, next time turn on Lost and eat a Hostess Twinkie instead of showing your own Twinkie to the neighborhood.

A drunk man in Pennsylvania tried to resuscitate a dead opossum. Yes, the man was seen giving mouth-to-mouth to roadkill.

It is hard to believe that this needs to be said, but here are three quick rules.

First, don’t try to revive animals on the side of the road.

Second, any dead animals on the side of the road should be left alone.

Third, if you are so drunk that if you try to revive roadkill, please check yourself into rehab.

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Some people don’t realize there is a grammatical difference between the words “less” and “fewer.” They mean the same thing, essentially. But, to be used correctly, you must first think of what you’re trying to represent as not having as much. Is it a “count noun” or a “mass noun”?

According to Grammar Girl:

A count noun is just something you can count. I’m looking at my desk and I see books, pens, and M&M’s. I can count all those things, so they are count nouns and the right word to use is fewer. I should eat fewer M&M’s.

Mass nouns are just things that you can’t count individually. Again, on my desk I see tape and clutter. These things can’t be counted individually, so the right word to use is less. If I had less clutter, my desk would be cleaner.

She goes on to explain good ways to remember this grammar rule as well as exceptions to the rule. Did you know that the grocery aisle saying “10 items or less” is grammatically incorrect? It should be “fewer” because you can actually count the items.

If you slipped on a grape while shopping in your local produce department, would you sue the store? Well, two separate women in Chicago have filed suit against two separate grocery stores for this very issue.

In one case the 64-year-old plaintiff is suing a Food 4 Less store in Cicero, IL, and its parent company Kroger for over $50,000 after she claims an errant grape caused her to incur over $21,000 in medical expenses.

The other grape-related incident allegedly occurred last May at a Moo & Oink in Hazel Crest. The plaintiff in that case says she “suffered injuries of a personal and pecuniary nature” and is suing for more than $30,000.

Once you stop laughing over the name “Moo & Oink,” think about the situation. Have you ever slipped on a grape? Yes, they are small and can hide in a number of places. But, first, most of us know to watch where we’re walking in a produce section. Second, it’s not like slipping on ice–or even a banana peel. It’s a small grape. I am skeptical that a run-in with a grape caused such serious bodily damage.

Will it get to the point where grapes are sold from behind plexiglass, like meats at the deli counter?

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Yesterday was World Water Day. Did you celebrate? No, we didn’t either. But, water is a huge issue globally. Did you know that dirty water kills more people than violence? It’s true, according to the U.N.

We’re not a fan of bottled water, so it was great to find this. “The Story of Bottled Water” is by The Story of Stuff Project, and it should make you think twice about buying that next bottle of water.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0

We’ve talked about water more than a few times here on DDOCS. (See “Water, Water Everywhere” and “The Great Water Debate: Bottled vs. Tap“.) But this video, while slightly on the hippie side, makes it plain and simple: you’re a rube if you buy bottled water. Unless your community has proven unsafe tap water, purchasing water in plastic bottles is absurd.

Drink tap water and save the money. If you don’t like the taste of your city water, buy a filter.

[Source: BoingBoing]

I don’t understand really long fingernails.

How can you accomplish anything quickly with long talons at the end of your fingers. Every day, you use your hands to grab, touch, sign, collect, wash…whatever. Long nails only get in the way. And, I’m not talking long nails. I’m talking about loooong nails.

In 2008, a woman made media headlines when she complained that the iPhone’s touch screen was hard to use with long fingernails. She even went as far as to call Apple “misogynistic.” I guess cutting her nails was out of the question. Instead, let’s just expect the product manufacturer to redesign the mousetrap to accommodate us. Makes sense, right? (I’d like an iPhone that will also clean bathrooms. Let me know when it’s ready.)

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It sure is fun to laugh at some of the dumb things criminals do, especially if it results in his or her capture. That’s why we love this bit from Cracked: 6 Baffling Mistakes Criminals Apparently Make All the Time. The article is full of ineptness and stupidity. Included are such gems as “Fight the urge to give away personal information” and “Cover your tracks:”

The second thing you should do is take the weather into consideration. If it’s been snowing in the area, a smart criminal will employ snowshoes or a flock of trained eagles that will carry him above the ground to avoid leaving painfully obvious footsteps in the snow. Unlike Rashaun Preston, a not smart criminal who, in 2007, robbed his employers and left a deep, visible trail leading from the scene of the crime straight to his apartment–like some lovably inept cartoon badguy.

Most of these mistakes are just common sense. But, if you had a lot of common sense, you wouldn’t become a criminal in the first place. We hope lawbreakers don’t read the Internet so they’re just that easier to catch.

Twitter is great for up-to-the-minute updates and news flashes. But, some tweeters just don’t know when to keep their thumbs in their pants.

Ryan Seacrest caught flack this week for giving away the results of “American Idol” on Twitter before West Coast viewers had seen the show. Seacrest tweeted the name of the contestant who was booted off, spoiling the broadcast for many fans in other time zones.

Now, revealing an “Idol” castoff isn’t the end of the world. But, what if you make an off-handed joke about bombing an airport? In the old days, this wouldn’t be a big deal, either. Now, the terrorism police (that’s the technical term, I believe) take that shizzle seriously. In the UK, a man was just arrested for a tweet he sent after his flight was cancelled due to a snowfall:

“You’ve got a week and a bit to get your s**t together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!”

That tweet came back to haunt him when the police showed up on his doorstep. Now, his cell phone, laptop, and desktop computer have all been confiscated, plus he is banned from the intended airport FOR LIFE. Ridiculous, we know. All for a tweet made in jest.

Whether it’s tweeting too often, as in the case of John Mayer and his overzealous tweeting, or tweeting the inappropriate, sometimes it’s better to think before you tweet.

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