We love Yahoo’s Odd News here in our house. I think this next collection of AP headlines from today is possibly the greatest group ever to pop up. Here they are, in the original sequence:
Cracked has a great post on eight adults who got a little too carried away at youth sporting events. And, by a little too carried away, we mean went completely NUTS.
The Texas cheerleader mom is there, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For instance, there’s the dad who fashioned his son’s football helmet into a secret slashing device. FIVE players suffered lacerations before the refs caught wise and started checking equipment. And, let’s not overlook the dad who used ipecac to poison his son’s nemesis, only to have it affect the entire team. Crazy, but not nearly as nutty as the volleyball coach who grabbed a cleaver out of her car to threaten everyone with. (Why, exactly, did she have a cleaver in her car?)
What is it about kids playing sports that causes some adults to become unhinged? Some parents think that their child should never lose. Ever. Even if it means spending a little time in the pokey. Whatever happened to the fun being in the game itself, regardless of the outcome? I hate that “everyone is a winner” mentality. Isn’t it better for them to learn that sometimes you lose? Life isn’t fair. Get used to it now, kids.
It is estimated that 30 million Americans visit tanning salons each year to get brown without the sun. Just how unwise is this? A new study has found that using tanning beds can quadruple your chance of skin cancer. Regardless of your age, the risk of cancer goes up with the frequency at which you indoor tan.
People, really? 30 million folks in this country haven’t heard the news yet? Even before this study, the information on tanning beds and skin cancer was in the news for years. If you’re this out of the loop, I’m sure a few juries could use you.
The FDA is recommending that children under eighteen be barred from using tanning beds unless they have parental consent. Yeah, give kids yet another reason to get a fake I.D. Instead, why not make each person who wants to use a tanning bed watch this slideshow beforehand?
Not everyone can invent the Pet Rock. (A rock sold in a box. As a pet. Genius.) But that doesn’t stop folks from trying. Here are a few products you can classify under “useless.” Save your money and use a little elbow grease instead!
With the unemployment rate at 9.9% in April, many American are still out of work. The recession has hit a lot of families hard and these people are struggling to make ends meet. Well, we can’t all be Sarah Ferguson with a bit of royal access to sell, so a few folks are falling back on simple skills to pay their bills.
My favorite story is about a grandmother in Georgia. She lost her job in 2007 and has not been able to find employment since. So, she fell back on her homemade pralines to earn money. She’s gotten great feedback on the candy, but there is a snag. Driving around to sell her product costs gas money she doesn’t have.
I have been out of work since 2007. I have worked all of my life and find it very difficult to ask for help. I raised four children without a father’s help (yes, I was married). Think about it — after all the years I have worked and raised a family, I am still dealing with threats to turn off my utilities and repossess my car. I only have three months before I pay it off and they’re demanding all the money now or they’ll take it back.
What have I learned from being unemployed? That it’s frustrating and demoralizing. I have learned I would prefer to work to support my family and that I don’t want to be dependent on a Congress that obviously does not have America’s best interests at heart. I have learned to have more compassion for people who are in this situation and I’m now more willing to help them.
Some people want to work because they enjoy it. Not everyone wants a handout or to ask for help. This grandmother is ready to do what it takes. In the past three years, she’s gone back to finish her Associate’s Degree and passed the Real Estate exam.
So, Internet, we know your powers when it comes to Betty White, but what about supporting some of these small, struggling businesspeople? Buy some candy for a good cause, dammit.
Irony is a concept that a lot of people misuse. In fact, a huge rock song based on irony got it all wrong. (This would be “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette, which contains phrases that are actually not ironic.) So, do you know what “irony” is?
Cracked.com has a funny flowchart about irony to test your skills.
Here’s the definition of irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.
More important is what irony is not. It’s not sarcasm, bad luck, or a simple coincidence. Going back to Morissette’s “Ironic”…
If it rains on your wedding day, that’s a coincidence, not an irony. If you win the lottery and drop dead before claiming the money, it’s good luck followed by bad luck. If you meet the man of your dreams and then meet his beautiful wife, it’s a bummer. But if a song called “Ironic” contains no irony, is that in itself ironic? Nope.
Remember the LifeLock ads where the owner broadcasts his own Social Security Number? Well, after the ads ran, owner Todd Davis’ identity was stolen thirteen times. Crooks opened up credit card accounts, ran up phone bills, and applied for bank loans using Davis’ SSN. Doesn’t do much for the company image, dudes.
Customers pay $10 to $15 a month for their service, which has a $1 million guarantee that your identity is secure with them. The FTC went after them earlier this year, claiming the company was making false advertising claims:
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz states the Commission’s feelings bluntly: “While LifeLock promised consumers complete protection against all types of identity theft, in truth, the protection it actually provided left enough holes that you could drive a truck through it.”
In the settlement, LifeLock agreed to pay $11 million to the FTC, which will be refunded to consumers. Also, they have been instructed to remove any “100% effective” claims from their advertising.
Bottom line: no one but YOU can protect your SSN. Only give it to those that need it, and then keep it in the lockbox.
Mother necessity, where would we be without your inventions? Well, we’d be looking at a product called NewSeat. This is a disposable seat cover that fits over chairs at movie theaters, weddings, convention halls, meeting rooms…basically anywhere that might have a seat that doesn’t meet your OCD standards.
Me, if I see a chair with schmutz on it, I just choose another seat. But, that’s me.
Again this past weekend, someone died in the New York City subway because he had jumped down onto the tracks to retrieve something. What precious item had fallen? A jacket. Yes, a man lost his life trying to save a jacket. (What’s really sad is that he was just a good samaritan trying to help the woman who dropped the jacket. She lived.)
People, if you drop something on the subway tracks, let it go. No iPhone, Blackberry, music player, piece of clothing, or shoe is worth losing your life over. If you need it back, go find a station agent or transit employee for assistance. (I know there have been cutbacks, but they still do exist.) This man was the third New Yorker in the span of six months to die from jumping down on the tracks to get something.
The trains move fast and anyone who thinks they can move faster is delusional. Also, there is no easy way to climb out. There aren’t rungs to hold onto and the platforms can be quite high up.
“It’s just not worth taking the risk,” said Paul Fleuranges, a spokesman for New York City Transit. “In one instant the coast looks clear, and you think you can hop down, retrieve your item and hop back up. In reality, it’s not that simple.”
About 90 people are hit by subway trains each year, and about half the time it is fatal. But officials could not say how many cases involved an attempt to retrieve something.
Have you seen a Blu-ray player that retails for $200, but comes with a $50 rebate? Sounds good, right? Well, you may never see that $50. Companies love mail-in rebates because consumers jump on them and yet most people never mail them in. Or, the consumer doesn’t fill out the rebate form “correctly,” which gives companies the right to refuse the rebate. Either way, this helps to add up to the $500 million in unclaimed rebates each year.
Rebate redemption rates never hit 100 percent. They rates generally range from 5 percent to 80 percent, depending on the value of the rebate. While vendors have accelerated nearly every other aspect of the purchasing process in recent years — from overnight shipping to 24/7 instant chat support — rebates are still stuck in the stone age to discourage redemption.
Many companies run deceptive or intentionally difficult rebate campaigns. They don’t want you to be able to claim the money because that’s money out of their pocket. So you lose out because you didn’t read the fine print that said your rebate needed to be mailed from a post office within 30 hours of purchase. In recent years, the FTC has taken issue with many big companies, such as Buy.com and Office Depot, for deceptive advertising and delayed delivery on rebate payment.
I was excited to see that New Jersey is considering a measure to eliminate the mail-in rebate altogether. The legislation would, “requires retailers to charge consumers an advertised after-rebate price, rather than making them send in coupons or log on to manufacturer’s websites to claim their savings.” It would then be the retailer’s responsibility to get the rebate from the manufacturer. Rhode Island and Connecticut already have this law in place.
So, manufacturers, stop making consumers jump through hoops for a couple of lousy bucks. Give us the real price from the get-go, and we won’t hate you later when our rebate form is declared invalid. Consumers, if you decide to purchase a rebate product, read the fine print before you buy it. And, make copies of everything before you mail the rebate away for fulfillment.
Daily Dose of Common Sense cuts through the crap, hype, and pseudoscience to tell it like it is. Part science, part news, and part, er, common sense, this site may be harsh sometimes but it's just tough love.
Cracked has 
It is estimated that 30 million Americans visit tanning salons each year to get brown without the sun. Just how unwise is this? A 
With the unemployment rate at 9.9% in April, many American are still out of work. The recession has hit a lot of families hard and these people are struggling to make ends meet. Well, we can’t all be Sarah Ferguson with a bit of royal access to sell, so a few folks are falling back on simple skills to pay their bills.
Irony is a concept that a lot of people misuse. In fact, a huge rock song based on irony 
Remember the LifeLock ads where the owner broadcasts his own Social Security Number? Well, after the ads ran, owner Todd Davis’ identity was stolen thirteen times. Crooks opened up credit card accounts, ran up phone bills, and applied for bank loans using Davis’ SSN. Doesn’t do much for the company image, dudes.
Again this past weekend, 
Have you seen a Blu-ray player that retails for $200, but comes with a $50 rebate? Sounds good, right? Well, you may never see that $50. Companies love mail-in rebates because consumers jump on them and yet most people never mail them in. Or, the consumer doesn’t fill out the rebate form “correctly,” which gives companies the right to refuse the rebate. Either way, this helps to add up to the $500 million in 
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