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

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

"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

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:

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

In an AP article "Teen Marriage Attempted Kidnapping" two teenagers had been communicating over the internet and decided they wanted to get married. Then, two men show up at the girl's school to pick her up and take her to North Dakota to get hitched - simple as that, right? Maybe not. If you're fourteen, stick to meeting your potential boyfriend or girlfriend around the playground...and keep your parents out of it.

-Shannon

Police arrested a group from Greenpeace who unfurled a banner from the West End Bridge.

Being from the Pittsburgh area, this is just about the one time I wish I was at home instead of here at Penn State. Some of my friends who attend college in the 'Burgh have the next few days of class canceled. The schools fear protesters and traffic since certain roads have been closed for the meeting. One of my friends has a Facebook status that read: "[P]ittsburgh is effin crazy right now. [T]hese protesters are insane." Another's said "[H]ow happy am I that Point Park is scared of protests!!! This break is much needed."

According to the New York Times, while Mayor Luke Ravenstahl expects over $35 million revenue from the summit, despite expecting to spend more than $19 million on security ($10 million covered by the federal government and $4 million by the state).

An Associated Press story from earlier in the week reported that some protesters were confused and thought the Strip District neighborhood in the city was a red light district because of its name. The area is in fact populated by small businesses and restaurants. Unfortunately, many of which have boarded their storefronts and closed for the G-20, as the article reports.

Another article from Time.com says even though the press corps at the White House laughed when the press secretary announced Pittsburgh as the meeting's location, the city was chosen because of it's transformation from a smoky, industrial city to America's Most Livable City (also boasting two national champion sports teams -- just had to throw that in there).

As far as news goes, never before in my lifetime has an event with such international prominence been so close to my hometown, but maybe it's for the best that I'm at Penn State so that I don't get tear gassed or pepper sprayed. Oh, wait, that happens here too.

--Stacey

Ever thought you've been so close to your dog you think you know what it's thinking? You're not alone.

An article featured in Time magazine delves into the life of scientists and professors who study and research dog and owner relationships.

"Everyone feels like an expert on their dog," says Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist at Barnard College and author of the new book Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. But scientists had carried out few studies to test those beliefs -- until now.

Brian Hare, assistant professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, plans to open the Duke Canine Cognition Center this fall where he will test dogs brought in by owners to learn more about their interaction and responses. He also hopes his research will help him discover more effective ways to train ordinary dogs.

The article explains how sometimes dogs may or may not understand humans words, but often respond to their actions and sense of presence. Check out the article it's really interesting and makes you think.

--Erin S.

According to ReadWriteWeb reporter Sarah Perez, you can friend your mom, future employers and your best friends without totally eliminating every "unsavory" picture/post. She outlined five steps to keeping your Facebook private and personalized.

• Make friend lists: this way you can separate and block groups of people from seeing certain posts/pictures.

• Make sure your privacy settings are set to "only friends."

• Consider whether you want your address, phone number and other personal information seen by your "friends."

• Change who can find you on searches, under settings you can specify who can and cannot find you when searching your name.

Stop taking quizzes! They share your information with people you have no control over.

So for everyone who left the Career Fair planning on deleting their Facebook, there are other ways. You learn something new every day.

-Shannon

Anyone who's ever been to a baseball game knows what it's like to hope catching a foul ball. To witness someone catching a ball is a cheap thrill and to catch one yourself seems almost impossible. So, this video is great because it shows the excitement of the dad, Phillies fan Steve Montforo, catching the foul ball hit by Jason Werth, and Montforo's subsequent disbelief as his 3-year-old daughter instinctively tosses the ball back. The viral nature of the video reminds me a bit of the fly ball catch in 2003 during the National League Championship, but definitely with a more positive reaction.
The NBC TV news affiliate in Philadelphia spoke with Montforo, who was at the game with his wife and two daughters. He said he and 3-year-old Emily play catch often and her reaction was just to throw the ball she was handed. Though he looked upset at first, Montforo then reassured his daughter that everything was OK and gave her a big hug. What a good dad.

-- Stacey