The People vs. Toys ‘R’ Us
The famous plaything purveyor has landed in hot water at least three times in recent years. Here’s a few of the most controversial moments in the recent history of Toys “R” Us.
Daily Dispatch
The Cassette Makes a Comeback
The mix tape had fallen out of cultural prevalence until the release of last summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie’s soundtrack is those songs, and it was released, almost in its entirety as an album called Peter Quill’s Awesome Mix Vol. 1.
The Year’s Most Interesting State Ballot Measures
Voters in 42 states will vote on a total of 158 statewide ballot measures on Election Day. Here are some of the most intriguing ones we found.
You Probably Think This Book is About You
A look into one of the world’s strangest, and rarely used, literary devices. A lot of novels are written in “third person.” This means that the action is told by a narrator who isn’t part of the story, describing the events as they unfold. If the book is “third person omniscient,” it means that the author makes the reader privy to the thoughts of all the characters. Jane Austen wrote this way. If just the main character’s thoughts are given, it’s called “third person subjective.” An example of this: the Harry Potter series.
Ask Uncle John Anything: This One Gets a Thumbs Up!
What’s the origins of the thumbs up? In the days of gladiator battles in ancient Rome, the losing gladiator would be then put to death…unless the emperor in attendance saved him by holding out a fist with his thumb extended upward. (A down-pointing thumb meant the death penalty stood.)
Vote Vader!
The midterm elections are about to go down in the U.S., but in the Ukraine, voters are trying to decide if they should cast their votes for a certain Sith lord.
The Very Tiny Bugs That Live on Your Face
If you’re squeamish, you might want to skip this one…but those little creatures are still going to be on your face.
Fake-or-Fact Friday: Prince Edition
Prince is making a comeback. After appearing on New Girl earlier this year, this month he released two new albums: Plectrumelectrum and Art Official Age. He’s also one of the biggest eccentrics in music history. Which of the following are true, and which isn’t? Answer at the end of the post.
Impossible Questions: Canned-Do Spirit (Answer)
It sounds easy enough but of course, the answer isn’t quite so simple. That’s because if you buy canned pumpkin this time of year to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, or other baked goods, in all likelihood, you aren’t buying a can of soft, cooked pumpkin at all.
The 3 Weirdest, Most Inconsequential Conspiracy Theories Of All Time
You’ve got your moon landing hoaxers and JFK assassination theorists, but there are groups out there devoted to exposing the “truth” about anything. And we mean anything.
London’s “Haunted” Bus Stop
For the past several years, someone (or something?) has been leaving videocassette copies of “Hellraiser” at a bus stop on London’s Old Kent Road.
Impossible Questions: Canned-Do Spirit
Think you know the answer to this question? Think you can get it? Good luck…and come back tomorrow to see if you’re right.
What’s in a canned pumpkin?
3 Baseball Records That Probably Won’t Be Broken Anytime Soon
Some achievements on the field might stand forever…simply because the game just isn’t played the same way anymore.
Ask Uncle John Anything: Blue By You
Where does the phrase “blue haired ladies” or “blue hairs” to describe prim and proper older woman come from?
No, you weren’t born so late that you missed a time period in which senior citizens dyed their hair strange, shocking, or unnatural characters like they were punk rockers or Marge Simpson. From the 1930s through to about the mid-1970s (or so), it was common to see women with silver hair streaked or dotted with blue.
Big Trouble in a Little Bubble
Reza Baluchi is the sort of guy that loves to perform extraordinary feats of physical endurance. A foolhardy attempt to raise money for charity by running around the Bermuda Triangle in an inflatable bubble concluded with him giving up and calling for help on October 4.
‘The Simpsons’ Ought to Live in Washington
In the late 1980s, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening reportedly based the show in a town called Springfield because it was widely believed to be the most common town name in the United States, and so the most generic and non-specific. He wanted the town to be set in “Anytown, U.S.A.,” and so he did, and named it Springfield.
Fake-or-Fact Friday: Death and TV Edition
Here are three weird news stories about memorializing the departed that somehow involve television. Two of the stories are true, and one we made up. Which one is false? The answer is at the end of the post.
Happy Columbus Day?
How groups around the country are revamping a very controversial holiday: Columbus Day.
