2 Bizarre

Card game amidst crash chaos

2008-10-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

Three road crash victims in China were captured on camera playing cards in the midst of a chaotic accident scene.

More than 20 vehicles were involved in the pile-up on a motorway in Luoyang, Henan province, which caused three deaths, two critical injuries and left dozens more hurt.

A journalist from China News Network arrived at the scene to find three people, an old couple and a middle-aged woman, sitting right in front of a wrecked truck and playing cards.

"It looked like they didn't know what was happening at all," said the shocked journalist, Zhao Xiaoli.

Conkers voted best game ever

2008-09-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Conkers has been voted the greatest playground game of all time.

Second place in the poll of 3,000 adults was the Rubik's Cube which has sold more than 300 million since 1979.

In third place was the yo-yo, which first became popular in the 1920s and made a resurgence in the 1990s.

Hopscotch, the oldest game in the top 20, was fourth. It originated in Britain early in the Roman Empire as a training exercise for foot soldiers.

The 1990s craze Pogs - a game involving decorated cardboard discs - is at number five.

A spokesman for Debenhams, which carried out the poll, said: "Playground memories are such a big part of our childhood and everyone can remember school breaks playing with the latest toy or game of the moment.

"Conkers are a classic school ground craze and every generation can reflect on happy memories collecting conkers and preparing them for playground contests.

"Having the latest trend is so important to kids and all the fads in the top ten all evoke fond times of hours spent playing with them."

Japanese cartoon Pokemon was voted in at number six followed by the classic game of Marbles. Tamagotchi - digital pets that need feeding, cleaning and putting to bed - came eighth.

Roller skating and skate-boarding completed the top ten. Other crazes to feature in the top 20 include the cult card game Top Trumps at number 12.

Dolphin speedboat makes a splash

2008-09-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

A dolphin-inspired cross between a jetski and a submarine is the latest millionaire plaything making a big splash.

The Seabreacher can glide on top or below water at high speed - and it has enough power to soar out of the water and fly through the air and perform stunts.

The two-man £30,000 craft has been designed to mimic the shape of a dolphin and self-rights whenever it splashes down.

The mini-submarine has a top speed of 45mph over the surface of the water and half that when it dives under.

The 15ft fibre-glass machine can stay under for long periods as it has a snorkel that supplies air to its 1,500cc, 215hp marine engine.

Its Californian creators custom-build up to 20 of the crafts a year, mainly for the super-rich yachting market. Its see-through polycarbonate canopy is half-an-inch thick and is the same used on F-16 fighter jets.

Rob Innes, of design company Innespace, said: "You can drive it just like a boat with the canopy open at full speed of 45mph on the surface.

"It can do 20mph below the water. If you go below snorkel depth you run out of air for the engine and you stay under for 20 seconds before the craft will automatically surface. But with the snorkel system in use you can stay under for longer."

Police too fat for their cars

2008-09-03T07:59:00.003-07:00

Some police officers are so overweight they can only transport one suspect in their squad cars.
Tests found some police vehicles carrying two hefty officers are within 14 stone of legal weight limits, reports the Daily Telegraph.
That means they can only carry one suspect in the back of the car and if two people are arrested the officers would have to radio for another vehicle.
Overweight police cars may not be insured if they are involved in an accident and officers could be left open to legal action by suspects injured in an a crash.
Officers could also be fined for driving an overloaded vehicle on the roads and there are concerns that the weight burden could affect the handling and stopping distances of patrol cars.
One force, Lothian and Borders, has already decided that only one passenger can be carried in the back of some of its vehicles because they are close to legal weight limits.
The standard patrol car is a 1.6-litre Ford Focus or a 1.3-litre Vauxhall Astra. As well as police officers they carry computers, cameras, fire extinguishers, stingers, metal road signs and body armour.
Joe Grant, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "There's a very serious note to this. Buying ordinary, run-of-the-mill vehicles and kitting them out with weighty police paraphernalia remains questionable. The weight limit is there for a reason and it needs to be observed."

Wise Old Man

2008-09-03T07:53:00.001-07:00

A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I’ll give you each a dollar if you’ll promise to come around every day and do your thing.”

The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trashcans.

After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. “This recession’s really putting a big dent in my income,” he told them. “From now on, I’ll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans.”

The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they accepted his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus. A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street.

“Look,” he said, “I haven’t received my Social Security check yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?”

“A freakin’ quarter?” the drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we’re going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you’re nuts! No way, dude. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.

Top 10 reasons studying is better than sex

2008-09-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

10. You can usually find someone to do it with.

9. If you get tired, you can stop, save your place and pick up where you left off.

8. You can finish early with-out feelings of guilt or shame.

7. When you open a book, you don’t have to worry about who else has opened it.

6. A little coffee and you can do it all night.

5. If you don’t finish a chapter you won’t gain a reputation as a “book teaser.”

4. You can do it, eat and watch TV all at the same time.

3. You don’t get embarrassed if your parents interrupt you in the middle.

2. You don’t have to put your beer down to do it.

1. If you aren’t sure what you’re doing, you can always ask your roommate for help!

Girl Drinks

2008-09-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Seven New York City bartenders were asked if they could nail a woman’s personality based on what she drinks. Though interviewed separately, they concurred on almost all counts. The results:

Drink: Beer
Personality: Casual, low-maintenance; down to earth.
Your Approach: Challenge her to a game of pool.
Drink: Blender Drinks
Personality: Flaky, annoying; a pain in the ass.
Your Approach: Avoid her, unless you want to be her cabin boy.
Drink: Mixed Drinks
Personality: Older, has picky taste; knows what she wants.
Your Approach: You won’t have to approach her. She’ll send YOU a drink.
Drink: Wine - (does not include white zinfandel, see below)
Personality: Conservative and classy, sophisticated.
Your Approach: Tell her you wish Reagan had had four more years… Alzheimer’s and term limits be damned.
Drink: White Zinfandel
Personality: Easy; thinks she is classy and sophisticated, actually has no clue.
Your approach: Make her feel smarter than she is…
Drink: Shots
Personality: Hanging with frat-boy pals or looking to get drunk…and naked.
Your Approach: Easiest hit in the joint. Nothing to do but wait.

Space wedding

2008-09-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

Space transportation provider Rocketplane Kistler Japan has teamed up with wedding planner First Advantage to begin hosting weddings aboard the Rocketplane XP suborbital spaceplane.
A cool 240 million yen ($2.2 million) buys you a wedding ceremony aboard a 1-hour space flight that reaches an altitude of more than 100 kilometers (62.1 miles), as well as a photo and video album, original dress, wedding certificate and other ceremonial items. The otherworldly price tag also includes the cost of transportation to and from the launch site, accommodations, a live broadcast of the ceremony to friends and family at a reception hall on the ground, and 4 days of rehearsal. The space wedding services are scheduled to begin in 2011, but the group will start accepting applications early next month.

Dog Cheats At The Track

2008-09-03T07:21:00.000-07:00

You know your in for a good day at the dog races when something like this happens. That is the smartest and coolest dog ever, next time hes not gonna even start hes just stay put and declare himself winner.

Champagne Beer

2008-09-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Champagne Lager (Or Champagne Beer as it is known in the US) sets out to tempt and tease your taste buds with its combination of beer and Champagne. Flying in the face of drinking convention, which states that 'grapes and hops' should not be drunk in the same session, this new drink was enthusiastically sampled and approved by hundreds of the festival attendees. Available in 750ml bottles, the retail price it's around $12.

Beer for the Blind

2008-09-02T13:15:00.001-07:00

Leave it to the Germans to find the only unexploited niche in the beer market: the blind! Dusseldorf's Uerige beer, one of the world's finest, is now releasing new bottles with a braille label. Thus, Uerige has created the first beer for the blind. Blind activist (and beer drinker) Joana Zimmer rejoiced, "You often have no idea what's about to go in your mouth. But with this bottle you are clearly told what it is - and that's fabulous."

Beer + Milk = Bilk

2008-09-02T13:14:00.001-07:00

A brewery in Hokkaido, Japan recently released a low-malt beer using milk. The idea came from the son of a liquor store who is in the dairy farm industry. After having a problem of discarding milk, he proposed the local brewery to produce the milk beer. As one-third of beer is milk, it is the good way to help local farmers. The beer called “Bilk” came from beer+milk. The taste of beer is like a taste of fruits and it goes well with sweets. Because of its fruity flavor, Bilk hopes to be popular among women.

Duff Beer: Homer Simpson's Beer comes true!

2008-09-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Remember Duff Beer? The official sponsor of Homer Simpson drinking sessions is now available thanks to a mexican guy, Rodrigo Contreras Díaz. Produced in Jalisco and distributed only via internet, this limited edition lager beer has been a success, selling over 200 boxes (12 bottles) in 2 weeks. Each box costs around US$ 20 plus shipping.

Struck by lightning - divine intervention ?

2008-09-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

A Chinese man who swore to God that he didn't owe money to a neighbour was hit by lightning a minute later. The man, named Xu, made the oath in front of a crowd of neighbours in Fuqing city, reports Southeast Express. He vowed that he had never borrowed money from Mr Huang, who claimed Xu borrowed 500 yuan, the equivalent of £40, from him three years earlier. "He borrowed 500 yuan three years ago from me for a friend's marriage gift, but he has denied it ever since then," said Huang, who went to Xu's home to demand payment. "I told him that if he dared to swear to God that he didn't owe me the money, then I would waive his debt," said Huang.

Xu made the oath, but was suddenly struck by lightning a minute later. He was immediately taken to hospital where doctors confirmed he had been hit by lightning. He is expected to make a full recovery.