John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

John Gordon Ross header image 3

Whittle It a Little, It’ll Fit

Odds and sods I look at regularly, just because they amuse me. I hope they do the same for you. Incidentally, I found this page’s title on Greg Ross’s Futility Closet (it’s somewhere on this page) in a mini-article which also includes the delightful sentence in Icelandic: Barbara Ara bar Ara araba bara rabbabara. Ross points out that this, “besides being fun to say, is spelled with only three letters. It means “Barbara, daughter of Ari, brought only rhubarb to Ari the Arab.”

Fark.com RSS » What could possibly go wrong when news anchor doodles on live TV…? [Facepalm]

Wednesday 16 November 23:45:00 UTC 2016

Facepalm [link] [45 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » United Airlines to start charging for overhead bin use – flight attendant side-eye and secret farting still free [Facepalm]

Wednesday 16 November 23:26:32 UTC 2016

Facepalm [link] [104 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » United Airlines pilot has the fish [Scary]

Wednesday 16 November 23:08:05 UTC 2016

Scary [link] [24 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » 20 Years of tractor trailer experience leads to one moment as driver of 18-wheeler intentionally drives off the road to avoid hitting school bus [Hero]

Wednesday 16 November 22:52:05 UTC 2016

Hero [link] [78 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Oh lordy, oh lordy. It's Wednesday and I haven't submitted the Fark Writer's thread yet *delete* sonofab- [CSB]

Wednesday 16 November 22:36:05 UTC 2016

CSB [link] [53 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Bull in a 'gina shop [Fail]

Wednesday 16 November 22:30:58 UTC 2016

Fail [link] [32 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » The Mysterious Case of the Skeleton in the Cylinder

Wednesday 16 November 22:30:00 UTC 2016

Was there a body hiding in plain sight on a Liverpool street for 60 years? [Link]

Fark.com RSS » A 19-year-old. 208mph. In a Mustang. Yeah, right [Unlikely]

Wednesday 16 November 22:20:04 UTC 2016

Unlikely [link] [136 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Denver is going to let restaurants apply for weed licenses and this is what our future will undoubtedly look like [PSA]

Wednesday 16 November 22:05:04 UTC 2016

PSA [link] [51 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 6 Everyday Foods With Major Fitness Benefits

Wednesday 16 November 22:00:00 UTC 2016

Skip the protein bar and pour yourself a bowl of cereal instead. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Are superheroes really just fascists in costumes? [Interesting]

Wednesday 16 November 21:36:05 UTC 2016

Interesting [link] [114 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Rid Your Feed of Fake News With This Hoax-Detecting Chrome Extension

Wednesday 16 November 21:28:24 UTC 2016

The "B.S. Detector" flags Facebook posts from questionable sources. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » MN police officer charged with 2nd degree manslaughter in shooting death of Philando Castile [Followup]

Wednesday 16 November 21:11:54 UTC 2016

Followup [link] [136 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this group of goats [Photoshop]

Wednesday 16 November 21:00:01 UTC 2016

Photoshop [link] [22 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Why Is AriZona Iced Tea Cheaper Than Water?

Wednesday 16 November 21:00:00 UTC 2016

The company's enormous vats of iced tea are cheaper than pure water. What kind of sorcery is this? [Link]

Mental Floss » Bat Poop Might Be Turning Gabon’s Cave Crocodiles Orange

Wednesday 16 November 20:30:00 UTC 2016

Orange is the new croc. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Law-abiding pervert turns out to be not so law-abiding. Still a pervert, though [Florida]

Wednesday 16 November 20:20:05 UTC 2016

Florida [link] [33 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » This Star-Shaped Pill Could Revolutionize the Way We Take Medicine

Wednesday 16 November 20:01:00 UTC 2016

The pill is capsule-shaped when swallowed, then expands in the stomach to deliver an entire course of treatment over several weeks. [Link]

Mental Floss » 4 Famous Recipients of the Nansen Passport, the Travel Document Created for Refugees

Wednesday 16 November 20:00:00 UTC 2016

The Nansen passport restored the right of half a million stateless people to cross borders and prove their identities. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Up until now, old convictions for being gay would stay on your record forever. Now all you have to do is hire a lawyer and spend a lot of money [Spiffy]

Wednesday 16 November 19:50:04 UTC 2016

Spiffy [link] [63 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » ‘Post-Truth’ Named Word of the Year By Oxford Dictionaries

Wednesday 16 November 19:45:00 UTC 2016

It beat out "adulting" and "coulrophobia" (fear of clowns) for the distinction. [Link]

Mental Floss » Americans Wasted 375 Million Paid Vacation Days in the Past Year

Wednesday 16 November 19:30:00 UTC 2016

We received an average of 15 annual vacation days, but we only took 12. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » North Korea government hasn't yet told their people that Donald Trump has been elected president. Apparently Kim Jong-un wants to break it to them easily that he's no longer the world leader with the worst haircut [Followup]

Wednesday 16 November 19:20:05 UTC 2016

Followup [link] [74 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Nebraska Senator Moonlights as an Uber Driver

Wednesday 16 November 19:15:00 UTC 2016

Cash-strapped millennials aren’t the only ones who understand the value of a side hustle. [Link]

Mental Floss » Don't Miss Wednesday's Top Amazon Deals

Wednesday 16 November 19:02:14 UTC 2016

Digital watches, comfy shoes, deeply discounted tablets, and more. [Link]

Mental Floss » You Can Buy Cory's House From 'Boy Meets World'

Wednesday 16 November 19:00:00 UTC 2016

Live like the Matthews family, if the Matthews family lived in L.A. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » "Now if THIS isn't the ultimate Canadian experience short of a beaver walking into a bar holding a jar of maple syrup, I don't know what is" [Spiffy]

Wednesday 16 November 18:50:04 UTC 2016

Spiffy [link] [125 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Light Therapy Could Help Bees Recover From Pesticides

Wednesday 16 November 18:30:00 UTC 2016

Red light helped honeybees bounce back after exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Pensioner trampled to death by " NO – NO – NO- NOTORIOUS" sheep [Amusing]

Wednesday 16 November 18:20:04 UTC 2016

Amusing [link] [71 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Two tablets containing the oldest known copy of the 15 *crash* Single tablet containing the oldest known copy of the 10 commandments is up for auction [Interesting]

Wednesday 16 November 17:50:04 UTC 2016

Interesting [link] [70 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 21 Famous Authors and Their Favorite Books

Wednesday 16 November 17:26:35 UTC 2016

One key to being a good writer is to always keep reading—and that doesn't change after you've been published. [Link]

Mental Floss » 5 Questions: Dial Tone

Wednesday 16 November 17:26:21 UTC 2016

[Link]

Fark.com RSS » What does your state consider "sweater weather?" Bare-armed South Dakotans point and laugh at shivering Arizonans [Cool]

Wednesday 16 November 17:20:05 UTC 2016

Cool [link] [156 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Match the Movie to Its Poor Description

Wednesday 16 November 17:13:13 UTC 2016

Take the quiz! [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Bought a cheap burner phone to avoid U.S. government surveillance? Congratulations, now you have Chinese government surveillance [Obvious]

Wednesday 16 November 16:47:51 UTC 2016

Obvious [link] [78 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » You Still Have a Chance to Grab an NES Classic This Week

Wednesday 16 November 16:45:00 UTC 2016

But you've gotta be quick. [Link]

Mental Floss » Get a Steal on Amazon's Fire HD 6 Tablet

Wednesday 16 November 16:30:00 UTC 2016

Owning an HD tablet just got a lot less expensive with this promo code. [Link]

Mental Floss » Watch: The Courageous Couple Behind 'Loving'

Wednesday 16 November 16:30:00 UTC 2016

Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter married in 1958. Five weeks later, they were arrested. The crime? Being an interracial couple. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Donald Trump to destroy yet another great American tradition once he's in office [Amusing]

Wednesday 16 November 16:17:51 UTC 2016

Amusing [link] [160 comments] [Link]

FMyLife » princessrose says FML

Wednesday 16 November 16:11:06 UTC 2016

Today, I asked the guy I share a desk with at work out because he has texted me a few times and seemed pretty into me. He said he doesn't date coworkers, even though the last 5 people he's dated have been coworkers. FML [Link]

Mental Floss » 11 Hard-to-Snag Restaurant Reservations Around the World

Wednesday 16 November 16:00:00 UTC 2016

If you want to get into the Walt Disney-founded Club 33, you'll have to spend at least $50,000 … and wait 14 years. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Life is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes they need to be adopted [Florida]

Wednesday 16 November 15:50:04 UTC 2016

Florida [link] [34 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 15 Intense Facts About 'Cape Fear'

Wednesday 16 November 15:30:00 UTC 2016

In 1991—long before everyone was making gritty reboots—Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro teamed up to make a gritty reboot of J. Lee Thompson's 1962 thriller. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Lawyer who blamed a non-existent black man to cover up her drunk driving gets 10 days in jail. The non-existent black man was sentenced to 20 years [Followup]

Wednesday 16 November 14:50:04 UTC 2016

Followup [link] [119 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Morocco Welcomes Africa’s First Bike Share Program

Wednesday 16 November 14:30:00 UTC 2016

The launch coincides with the UN's climate change conference in Marrakech. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Scientists find that pigs can be optimists or pessimists, depending on their personality. This is news to the funding agency, who gave the scientists the grant to work on a Zika cure [Weird]

Wednesday 16 November 14:20:05 UTC 2016

Weird [link] [74 comments] [Link]

Weird Universe » Theory of Continental Drip

Wednesday 16 November 14:11:59 UTC 2016

Ormonde de Kay, Jr. first proposed the "theory of continental drip" in Horizon magazine (Winter 1973), although it was more of an observation than a theory. He wrote:

Continental drip is the tendency of land masses to drip, droop, sag, depend, or hang down — like wet paint in the Sherwin-Williams trademark — except that they cling to the Earth's … [Link]

Weird Universe » Sighted Stiff, Sank Same

Wednesday 16 November 14:11:58 UTC 2016




Original article here. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this laid back young woman [Photoshop]

Wednesday 16 November 14:00:01 UTC 2016

Photoshop [link] [37 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Statistics professor goes against advice and wins a lottery payout of $100,000. More amazing is that he already beat astronomical odds when he got a job with a degree in statistics [Spiffy]

Wednesday 16 November 13:42:05 UTC 2016

Spiffy [link] [71 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 12 Ferocious Facts About King Cobras

Wednesday 16 November 13:30:00 UTC 2016

One of the most feared and revered snakes on the planet, the king cobra is renowned for its imposing size and deadly bite. But it also has plenty of other unique qualities: a distinctive voice, remarkable nesting habits, and a name that obscures its true identity. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » If you want to mess with your dog's head just give him a bowl of water with the drawing of a cartoon bone at the bottom [Amusing]

Wednesday 16 November 13:24:09 UTC 2016

Amusing [link] [47 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Bernie Bro loses election bet, has Trump photo tattooed on a place selected by Facebook fans. Naturally they choose his lower back [Amusing]

Wednesday 16 November 13:20:05 UTC 2016

Amusing [link] [49 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Ryan Reynolds Pens Hilarious 'Deadpool' Awards Campaign Letter to Voters

Wednesday 16 November 13:00:00 UTC 2016

The Merc With a Mouth himself goes straight to the source to get 'Deadpool' some gold. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » New Balance reaps the fruits of Trump endorsement, awarded title of "Official Shoes of White People" by the Neo-Nazis [Followup]

Wednesday 16 November 12:47:06 UTC 2016

Followup [link] [252 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Man has special gun-ditching hole in his car just in case the cops pull him over. NRA says, what's the big deal? [Fail]

Wednesday 16 November 12:34:58 UTC 2016

Fail [link] [89 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Retrobituaries: Dan Rice, America’s First Famous Clown

Wednesday 16 November 12:30:00 UTC 2016

Think Robin Williams at his fastest and Jon Stewart at his most political, and you have Dan Rice. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Man mistakes brother for a coyote or small deer and shoots him. Police say that explanation is suspicious because experts tell them that coyotes and deer don't normally wear bright orange hunting coveralls [Sad]

Wednesday 16 November 12:20:06 UTC 2016

Sad [link] [63 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Dial Tone

Wednesday 16 November 12:15:00 UTC 2016

[Link]

Mental Floss » Mantis Shrimp: The Quickest Killers in the Animal Kingdom

Wednesday 16 November 12:00:00 UTC 2016

These are some seriously scary (and amazing) little crustaceans. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Toddler is the 'only person in the world' who can't eat or drink anything [Sad]

Wednesday 16 November 11:32:58 UTC 2016

Sad [link] [77 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 11 Brilliant Gifts for the Cat in Your Life

Wednesday 16 November 11:30:00 UTC 2016

Cats love playing with tinsel and wrapping paper, but those shouldn’t be their only holiday treats. [Link]

FMyLife » MBoomer says FML

Wednesday 16 November 10:36:24 UTC 2016

Today, I found a great parking spot but I wasn't sure if it was restricted by any means or of I could just park there for free. I asked a police officer walking by and he told me it was alright, only to come back 4 hours later to find a ticket on my windshield. FML [Link]

FMyLife » pinkrazorsare4men says FML

Wednesday 16 November 10:36:23 UTC 2016

Today, whilst taking a shower, I noticed my razor wasn't in its usual spot. Upon inspecting it closer, I noticed that there were tiny white hairs in it. When confronting my father about it, he claimed the "pink razors" are his. We've been sharing the same razor this entire time. FML [Link]

FMyLife » Anonymous says FML

Wednesday 16 November 10:36:22 UTC 2016

Today, my college dormitory accused me of something I didn't do, breaking a law that I never heard of, charged me $200 to fix "what I did wrong", and is forcing me to go to counciling at the school. Not only was I not on campus when it happened, but I was the one who reported the problem. FML [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Guinness Book of World Records not interested in NRA's idea of record setting. Look, we got a thousand guys to line up and all shoot their guns at once, that's gotta be a record? Guinness says, point the guns at yourselves and we'll be th

Wednesday 16 November 10:31:38 UTC 2016

Dumbass [link] [110 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Morning Cup of Links: Famous Improvised Movie Scenes

Wednesday 16 November 10:30:00 UTC 2016

17 Iconic Movie Scenes That Were Actually Improvised. Trusting the input of talented people can make magic happen.
*
These Might Be the Strangest Ice Cream Flavors Ever. Scoops ice cream shop is thinking outside of the icebox.
*
The Harry Potter Movie Series That Could Have Been. Early ideas that were scrapped would have made the movies very different. … [Link]

FMyLife » Anonymous says FML

Wednesday 16 November 9:36:24 UTC 2016

Today, I was hanging out with a guy friend I hadn't seen for ages. The sexual tension was off the charts. We were making out and think were progressing, hands were roaming to both nether regions when I freaked out and blurted out, 'But aren't we just friends?' We then sat and watched TV. FML [Link]

Mental Floss » Interactive 'Game of Thrones' Events Will Let Fans Step Inside Westeros

Wednesday 16 November 8:30:00 UTC 2016

The promotional experiences in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles will celebrate the Blu-ray and DVD release of Season 6. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Woman sues Zara Dresses after allegedly finding dead rat sewn into her clothes, developing rodent rash. Expect company to look into "Cinderella Defense" [Sick]

Wednesday 16 November 8:06:00 UTC 2016

Sick [link] [39 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Turns out the Chinese have figured out the "when pigs fly" part and now are working on the "where pigs land" part [Amusing]

Wednesday 16 November 6:39:57 UTC 2016

Amusing [link] [39 comments] [Link]

Futility Closet » Sunrise, Sunset

Wednesday 16 November 6:36:41 UTC 2016

Is it unjust to adopt a constitution that binds both ourselves and future members of our society? We need a set of fundamental laws to regulate ourselves, but is it fair to extend that to future citizens? Shouldn’t they have the right to choose their own rules? Thomas Jefferson thought so. In a 1789 letter to James Madison, he held … [Link]

Mental Floss » A Musical Score Designed to Look Like a World Map

Wednesday 16 November 6:30:00 UTC 2016

James Plakovic's scores are composed with more than just melody in mind. [Link]

Mental Floss » An Infographic Guide to Your Baby's First Year

Wednesday 16 November 5:30:00 UTC 2016

Presented by Allstate. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » 'We don't get many koalas in here." "Well, at these prices, you won't get many more" [Obvious]

Wednesday 16 November 5:22:32 UTC 2016

Obvious [link] [30 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Today's difference between Canada and the US: when digging their own graves, Canadians use a backhoe, not an election [Strange]

Wednesday 16 November 4:50:26 UTC 2016

Strange [link] [41 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Watchdog group releases Top 10 list of most dangerous toys for 2016. Little guy Irwin Mainway and his Bag-O-Glass shut out again in favor of soulless corporate creations like the Warcraft DoomHammer [Obvious]

Wednesday 16 November 4:38:37 UTC 2016

Obvious [link] [123 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » And the award for 'lackluster criminal name of the year' goes to, "The Air Horn Guy", for blasting a train horn at 4:00am [Dumbass]

Wednesday 16 November 4:15:34 UTC 2016

Dumbass [link] [40 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Ford Motor Company tells Donald to fark himself, Mexico expansion full steam ahead [Followup]

Wednesday 16 November 3:20:04 UTC 2016

Followup [link] [285 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Warning: smoking causes cancer, heart disease, and pictures of you being treated for non-smoking related health issues appearing in anti-smoking ads [Fail]

Wednesday 16 November 2:50:04 UTC 2016

Fail [link] [38 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Man arrested for DUIASABSIM: Driving Under the Influence After Spraying Axe Body Spray Into Mouth [Dumbass]

Wednesday 16 November 2:20:04 UTC 2016

Dumbass [link] [29 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » 'Soul Patch Bandit' robs another bank, seen on the run with 'Landing Strip Lizzie' [Misc]

Wednesday 16 November 1:50:04 UTC 2016

Misc [link] [24 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 15 Stimulating Facts About the Playboy Mansion

Wednesday 16 November 1:45:00 UTC 2016

When Hugh Hefner can't make a party, he makes sure his cardboard stand-in is there for guests. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » I'm not saying Trump injects the blood of teenagers to stay young and spry, but he probably totally will. If he isn't already [Scary]

Wednesday 16 November 1:20:04 UTC 2016

Scary [link] [54 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this scary monster [Photoshop]

Wednesday 16 November 1:00:01 UTC 2016

Photoshop [link] [23 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » ♫OOOOOOklahoma where the bullets go flying by the planes♪ [Scary]

Wednesday 16 November 0:54:26 UTC 2016

Scary [link] [15 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Best Korea to China: Stop calling our dear leader Kim Fatty III. We are not amused [Amusing]

Wednesday 16 November 0:50:04 UTC 2016

Amusing [link] [58 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » How is babby formed? How girl get pragnent? "Superfetation is extremely rare. It is a medical phenomenon so rare there are only 10 medically documented cases of it in the world" [Strange]

Wednesday 16 November 0:20:04 UTC 2016

Strange [link] [82 comments] [Link]

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