A day late, and a dollar short (2009 - Year in Review)

Ok, I'm a couple of days late, but here's your Year in Review.

1) The Cocker Spaniel is apparently the world's Meanest Dog. I know my mom's cocker spaniel, Armand, was a pain in the ass, but really? According to this study, yes.

2) That girl in Germany who auctioned off her virginity, is apparently a prostitute, or at least according to the government she is. What does this mean? It means her auction earnings are being taxed at 50%. Ouch.

3) Another wacky goings-on in Germany: it seems their patent office was not amused when someone tried to register a patent for a GPS enabled death chip. I don't even no what to say about this one.

4) Everybody loves a hero. Especially when it's a dog. Especially when it's a little dog. Or Three.

5) On the sad side of things, we had our first Twitter related death. Again, I'm not sure what to say about this one.

6) Another technology based wacky thing. A ring-tone that makes your boobs bigger. Granted some of us don't need this or wouldn't want it, but the science potential is huge.

7) I read this story and kept thinking about my grandmother having fits about little garter snakes inside the garden fence. I can't imagine her killing anything with her bare hands.

8) So, there's bacon, bacon salt, bacon chocolate and now Bacon Envelopes. Have we gone too far?

I think we're only gonna do 8 this year because my browser is acting up. I hope I made you think, or at least chuckle a bit. Good luck in 2010.

So, it's been crazy

2009 has been a stressful wacky year. I'll be compiling the funniest of the funny and weirdest of the weird for the year in Review over the next couple of days. I've been bookmarking stuff all year and I need to go through find the 10 0r so best stories and make sure that the links are work.

Stay tuned.

2008: A year in review.

Ok, so 2008 sucked. I think that's pretty clear, when even the sportscasters are saying it. For example, most people working retail got fewer hours and therefore smaller paychecks than expected. Lots of people lost their houses, couldn't pay their bills and so on. The economy is a mess, and so on and so on.

But some really good things happened this year. For example, Barack Obama got elected. Tons of people who never voted before (including me) got off their ass and did something about it. As a country, we proved that we are actually capable of caring about something important - like our future.

However, the post isn't for being preachy or for tell you things you already knew. I want to give you a chance to catch up on some news you may have missed. Good news, funny news, things that were way off the radar for the average person, so without further ado:

1) Forget socks, adopt a koala for Christmas

Why is this good? It's a chance to do something good, really good, without leaving your home. The money goes to medical care and habitat preservation for koalas and the best part is, since all the prices are listed in AUD, it costs less than it looks like it will.

2) Fingerprints Can Reveal Drug Use, Medical History

Why is this good? It's not mainstream yet, but it means that just through fingerprinting we could potentially eliminate suspects in crime, or eventually, maybe even use this for custody cases. If a parent is steadfastly denying drug use, this could be used to check the validity of that claim.

3) Jumbo Snow Globes + Sunlight = Consumer Hazard

Why is this good? Honestly, it's not. It's not good at all. But it is really funny.

4) Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen Use

Why is this good? Because the drug the man had used was not native to where he was from, it shows that ancient peoples travelled much further overland than was previously thought. It also it more evidence that drug use is not unique to modern cultures.

5) Single-Celled Giant Upends Early Evolution

Why is this good? Anything makes scientists re-evaluate old thinking is a good thing. It's how we learn more. When wacky stuff happens it makes people look at other things from a different perspective, and that's always good.

6) Oldest Marijuana Stash Found

Why is this good? This proves that ancient people raised crops for reasons other than survival. It sheds a lot of light on ancient culture. Like the Andean Drug Mummy, it also shows that drug use is not a new thing.

7) Christmas Lights May Pose Lead Hazard

Why is this good? This is not good in and of itself, however the fact that the public is being made aware is a very good thing.

8) Homeless get Caviar for Christmas

Why is this good? Seriously? Win-win situation people! Homeless get fed and it's ironic-funny.

9) Candy Canes Fight Germs, Settle Stomachs

Why is this good? My favorite Christmas Candy is actually good for me? This is awesome news! Also, they're making tons of headway into natural and holistic type cures and treatments with this line of research.

10) What are you doing here?: Man asks wife at brothel

Why is this good? It's not, not really. But it is funny. Plus, how slow a news day does it have to be for this to make INTERNATIONAL news. This happened in POLAND, people!

11) Bags To Go is available on Lulu.com

Why is this good? Because it's a book. By me. For sale. Which means I actually managed to finish my first book and by the deadline I set for myself!!!

12) Um, actually, I think I'm out of stuff.

Hope you enjoy these links, mostly they're from Discovery.com and Reuters Oddly Enough. Also, I hope you realize I have now given away the secret, you all know where I get all the wacky trivia from.