It's News to Me

The city of love might not be so in love any more. The Associated Press reported that Paris held its first ever divorce fair on Sunday, and thousands of people were in attendance. In France, nearly one out of two marriages ends in divorce, according to the country's National Institute of Demographic Studies. More than 130,000 divorces were registered in 2007, as compared to just 50,000 three decades ago.

Various vendors, such as lawyers, consultants, tarot card readers and self-esteem coaches sold their goods and services to the divorcees. Conferences held throughout the two-day-long fair included talks entitled "Plastic surgery's role in re-conquering your image" and "How to re-seduce your partner using the Gestalt method," as well as "Meeting on the Web" and "Separation: What does a lawyer do?"

Not quite your cookie cutter kind of fair, but pretty interesting. Do you think something like this would ever happen in the United States?

-Shields

Sometimes a game is just a game -- a fun way to spend time with friends, get some exercise or pass the time. Other times, games take on a larger significance, representing political or social change. For instance, the 1980 Olympics' "Miracle on Ice" or the four medals Jesse Owens won at the 1936 Games under the gaze of Nazi Germany. The New York Times reported on one such game that took place Monday. It was the first time ever the Palestinian women's soccer team played a home match -- with over 10,000 people, three-quarters of whom were women, in attendance. The game was significant, because, as the Times article said, "the line between the dual quests for equality and statehood became increasingly blurred as the women chased the ball."

The team played Jordan -- whose players symbolically wore their opponents' colors before the game as a gesture of solidarity -- and the game ended with a 2-2 draw. I think this video shows the intensity, excitement and significance of it all very well, especially judging by the priceless reaction of the sideline after the team's first goal.

--Stacey

Ever seen an absolutely absurd invention or creation and weren't quite sure what to call it? Don't worry, an enterprising Japanese gentlemen called Kenji Kawakami has coined a term, 'Chindogu', to classify this type of crazy innovation. The word's definition is "any invention which is so mind-bogglingly absurd that you forget about its actual practicality" -- and there are quite a few inventions like that out there. Some examples:

"The Baby Mop"

The full body umbrella

The noodle cooler

The Daddy nurser

The finger mounted tooth brush

There is even an established International Chindogu society. So if you're trying to create a bizzare invention worthy to be defined as a Chindogu, follow the 10 tenets of Chindogu.

The following ten tenets define the gentle art and philosophy of Chindogu:

1. A Chindogu cannot be for real use
2. A Chindogu must exist
3. Inherent in every Chindogu is the spirit of anarchy
4. Chindogu are tools for everyday life
5. Chindogu are not for sale
6. Humor must not be the sole reason for creating a Chindogu
7. Chindogu is not propaganda
8. Chindogu are never taboo
9. Chindogu cannot be patented
10. Chindogu are without prejudice

-Erin Shields

There are many serious things that could cause someone to get angry at their neighbors. Angry enough to kill them? Maybe. But, is a clothesline enough of an argument?
The New York Times reports that a documentary is being made about outdoor clothes drying, which features an argument between one disgruntled neighbor in Verona, Miss., who shot another because he was tired of telling the man to stop hanging his laundry outside. The documentary, "Drying for Freedom," is set to come out next May.

The article goes on to describe many communities where drying clothes outside is considered an eyesore for neighbors, so it is banned. There are "laundry activists" in the film who are working to change that through an organization called Project Laundry List, a group that is advocating air-drying and cold-water washing clothes in order to save energy. The article says that dryers use up to 6 percent of all household energy consumption.
Many people used to hang their laundry outside until the advent of the electric dryer in the 1950s when the clothesline began to become a sign of poverty, because of the inability to afford the popular electric dryer. In addition to that, some say laundry is an eyesore and they shouldn't have to stare at their neighbors sheets when they could be looking at trees and grass and birds.
Alexander Lee, a New Hampshire lawyer who runs Project Laundry list, said in the New York Times article he has seen a telltale sign of the times:
"There are a lot of kids these days who don't even know what a clothespin is," he said. "They think it's a potato chip clip."

Just for fun:

The Daily Mail is reporting that tiny pigs that fit in teacups as piglets and only reach 14 inches in length when they're full-grown are all the rage in England.

They're selling for up to 700 pounds, or about $1,113 U.S. The piggies are cute, but I think I'd rather have this little fella.

-Erin R.

When planning a wedding, most brides think about white dresses, bouquets of flowers and receptions, not costumes, vampires and haunted houses. The Chronicle Telegram of Elyria, Ohio covered a story about a native couple who had an ornate Halloween themed wedding this past weekend complete with the groom dressed as a vampire, and his bride-to-be as a vampiress. The groom arrived at the wedding in a coffin riding in a hearse and was carried to the altar by six costumed pallbearers to meet his lady vampire lover. A minister dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th delivered the vows, and finally told the groom he could kiss...er bite his bride's neck. After the wedding, the newly married vampires went through a haunted house together before arriving at the reception. Both the couple and their guests seemed to enjoy the event.

Weddings can be an extremely stressful to plan and families hope the event goes off without a hitch. This haunted wedding seemed entertaining and a complete success. However, sometimes they don't and it's pretty funny to see the results. Here are a few of my favorite clips of weddings or receptions gone wrong. Enjoy!

To anyone who has ever seen The Goonies, exploding toilets do exist, especially when there is a group of teenagers underground rattling the pipes. Whether or not Nikita Fulton has ever seen the movie, she knows from first hand experience.

According to Philadelphia Daily News reporter Gloria Campisi, Fulton has filed a personal-injury lawsuit against the owners of a toilet located at 1900 Market Street. On Oct. 30, 2007 excess water pressure caused a toilet explosion which catapulted Fulton from the bathroom stall. According to the article, this woman suffered severe, permanent physical damages as a result of the explosion. One can only imagine what kinds of injuries result from a toilet exploding underneath of oneself.

What can you do to make sure the john doesn't turn on you? Perhaps avoid public toilets? But the reality is water pressure build up can happy anywhere, so toilet-users beware.

According to a recent New York Times article, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain began a rise in popularity after performing at the Royal Albert Hall for a BBC music festival last month.

The "orchestra" has eight members and doesn't really play classical music (how much can you do with only four short strings?) but instead plays covers like "Shaft," "Ride of the Valkyries," whistle along with "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and even do a version of "Anarchy in the U.K." YouTube offers up a pretty good example with their cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana:

They also sing and use their voices to make other sounds. One of the members, Dave Suich, said other Ukelele players gravitated toward the group and the instrument. "People love them like puppies," Mr. Suich said.

The musical equivalent of puppies -- thank you New York Times.

A German trucker crashed his truck and lost his load last week. The cause of the accident? The man was masturbating while on the job.

The trucker was apparently undeterred by the 4 a.m. crash in Sweden; he continued to masturbate while police interrogated him.

This is the most delightfully innuendo-laced news story I've ever seen, from the headline, to the last sentence, which claims "a stiff fine is possible."

-ErinR

Watch out babies, there's a new kid on the block. Not just your regular baby either. This one's a whopper. Akbar Risuddin a 19.2 pound baby boy was born last week in Jakarta, Indonesia. Thankfully for his mother, Ani, he was delivered via cesarean section. The baby is the biggest born in Indonesia, but just shy of the world record for the biggest baby born, which was set in 1879 by a 23 pound baby. While it is likely that babies born this big may develop diabetes and childhood obesity, baby Akbar is healthy so far. A child usually reaches 20 pounds when they are around one year old, so this is quite an unusual occurrence. To put in perspective how heavy this baby is, think about some other things that also weigh around 20 pounds. For example, a car tire:

A 20 lb. tuna:

A large armadillo:

That would be quite some weight to carry around in your belly. Congratulations to the proud mother and we hope that Akbar stays happy and healthy.

--Erin Shields