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Newspaper

Palin Web Ad Cites Thumbs Up From 'Famous Person'

Is the McCain campaign still nursing a grudge against Peggy Noonan?

This morning on news sites, the McCain campaign appeared to be in need of a copy editor when it attributed a positive review of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's debate performance last night to a "Famous Person."

Smiley

2008 Ig Nobels honor best, weirdest scientific research

2008 Ig Nobel
Last night kicked the scientific award season into full swing; the 18th First Annual Ig Nobel Awards were handed out in Harvard's Sanders Theater. Not quite as well-known as their more prestigious namesake, the awards recognize "research that first makes people laugh and then think."

The ceremony saw the ever-popular 24/7 lecture series, where leading researchers from around the world discuss the technical details and ramifications of their work in 24 seconds, then explain it in layman's terms in 7 words. This year's 24/7 series included talks from Benoit Mandelbrot, Anna Lysyanskaya, Dany Adams, and the 1976 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, William Lipscomb. Other ongoing traditions include the Ig Nobels being handed out by Nobel laureates, and an eight-year-old girl being kept up past her bedtime whose role is to ensure that acceptance speeches are capped at 60 seconds.

Bell

Video: Homer Simpson Tries To Vote For Obama

Homer tries to vote for Barack Obama, but runs into a few problems...

Comment: This is from an episode of the Simpson's that will be aired on November 2nd.


Einstein

Man shoots himself in arm after being denied sex

FORT MYERS, Florida - Authorities say a Fort Myers man shot himself in the arm after his girlfriend refused to have sex with him. The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported that a 29-year-old man and his girlfriend returned home from a bar early Wednesday morning.

Mr. Potato

Couric to Palin: Do You Know We're Recording This?

Several times during her exclusive interview with Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric asked Palin whether or not she was aware that the interviews were being taped, and that "other people would see them." Palin reportedly told Couric that she was indeed aware, but then asked Couric what she meant by "broadcast."

Mail

McCain Talk: a "letter of support"

This "support letter" has been posted on McCain Talk, "An Unofficial Forum for Supporters of John McCain for President". It is a great joke at the expense of McCain campaign... at least we hope it was meant that way.

Footprints

UK: High heel injuries 'cost £29m a year'

Injuries to feet from wearing high heels cost the nation £29m a year to put right, according to figures out today. Operations and medical procedures to correct damaged feet can cost sufferers thousands of pounds a time, the report says.

Frog

UK: A 999 rescue for Woody, the iguana that branched out

Iguana Branch
Stick insect: The offending branch which was mistaken for an iguana
Cats are their stock in trade. But when firemen were summoned to rescue an iguana stuck up a tree, they responded with a due sense of gravity. After a call from the RSPCA, alerted by members of the public, fire officers dispatched an animal rescue expert and an aerial platform to the scene at Cove, near Farnborough, Hampshire. It wasn't until their expert was 25ft up that they realised they were victims of an illusion of nature. The 'iguana' was no more than a broken algae-covered branch.

Cheeseburger

12-Year Old McDonald's Hamburger, Still Looking Good

Ancient Burger
© Karen Hanrahan
The McDonald's hamburger on the right is from 2008; the one on the left is from 1996. And they both look fairly edible.

Wellness educator and nutrition consultant Karen Hanrahan has kept a McDonald's hamburger since 1996 to illustrate its nonexistent ability to decay. Aside from drying out and bit and having "the oddest smell," it apparently hasn't changed much in the past 12 years.

X

Iowa man faces charges after hugging officer

The man allegedly embraced the officer after being told to 'get away'

A hug has landed an Iowa City man in hot water. An Iowa City man who thought a police officer just "needed a hug" faces several charges including assault on a peace officer and public intoxication.