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.”

Mental Floss » 5 Things We Know About ‘Making a Murderer’ Season 2

Tuesday 31 January 23:53:58 UTC 2017

Steven Avery's story is far from over. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Your hotel was just hacked for a Bitcoin ransom. What do? [Followup]

Tuesday 31 January 23:50:05 UTC 2017

Followup [link] [54 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Man stabbed with scissors after refusing threesome with woman from dog park [Scary]

Tuesday 31 January 23:20:07 UTC 2017

Scary [link] [91 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Considered most unpopular of Big 8 Japanese cities, Nagoya asks public to submit catchphrase to lure tourists, highlighting city's status as mecca for sports tourism, cosplay and anime. Winner to get annual passes to Nagoya Castle and Legoland Ja

Tuesday 31 January 22:50:06 UTC 2017

Unlikely [link] [85 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Duke's Grayson Allen tries to trip an opposing player again, fourth time this year. Duke Sucks [Dumbass]

Tuesday 31 January 22:50:05 UTC 2017

Dumbass [link] [40 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » You Can Now Wear the Eyes of Famous Portraits As You Sleep

Tuesday 31 January 22:30:00 UTC 2017

The project is called “Masterpieces Never Sleep!” [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Electrical tape-bikinis and sun for perfect tan lines in — hey, where'd everyone go? [Giggity]

Tuesday 31 January 22:16:46 UTC 2017

Giggity [link] [80 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 5 Ways Doing Improv Can Help Your Professional Life

Tuesday 31 January 22:00:00 UTC 2017

Learn to listen, take risks, and cooperate on the stage and in the office. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Hooters to add male servers and ditch revealing outfits with new venture 'Hoots' [Fail]

Tuesday 31 January 21:50:05 UTC 2017

Fail [link] [145 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » French Town Needs Help Restoring Van Gogh's Grave

Tuesday 31 January 21:30:00 UTC 2017

The artist's headstone was damaged last year after a stormy spring. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » The FDA is cracking down on rogue genetic engineers. Wait, that's a thing? [Scary]

Tuesday 31 January 21:20:06 UTC 2017

Scary [link] [88 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this dark hallway [Photoshop]

Tuesday 31 January 21:00:01 UTC 2017

Photoshop [link] [23 comments] [Link]

Futility Closet » Peace

Tuesday 31 January 20:37:59 UTC 2017

Dentist William T.G. Morton was the first to use sulfuric ether as an anaesthetic, but he’d learned about this property at the chemistry lectures of Charles T. Jackson. Which of them deserved a monument? Oliver Wendell Holmes suggested setting up statues of both men on the same pedestal, with the inscription: To E(i)ther [Link]

Mental Floss » New Technology 'Reads' the Thoughts of ALS Patients

Tuesday 31 January 20:23:19 UTC 2017

Researchers were able to communicate with ALS patients suffering from complete locked-in syndrome. [Link]

Mental Floss » Have You Seen This Bobcat? Ollie Escapes From National Zoo

Tuesday 31 January 20:23:18 UTC 2017

She's mostly harmless to humans, but hide your chickens. [Link]

Mental Floss » How 19 San Diego Neighborhoods Got Their Names

Tuesday 31 January 19:30:00 UTC 2017

San Diego has a particularly complex web of neighborhoods. Where do their names come from? [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Not News: Nebraska's flag is bad Fark: It flew upside down outside the Capitol building for 10 days and nobody noticed [Facepalm]

Tuesday 31 January 18:50:05 UTC 2017

Facepalm [link] [133 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » LEGO Launches Kid-Friendly Social Network

Tuesday 31 January 18:30:00 UTC 2017

Young LEGO maniacs can now turn their fandom into a safe and social experience. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Auto repair shop located below freeway off-ramp has customers literally falling out of the sky to get service. Fark: Eight times over the past nine years (Security footage of latest incident included) [Amusing]

Tuesday 31 January 18:20:07 UTC 2017

Amusing [link] [113 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Could Jack Have Fit on that Door? 'Titanic’ Director Says No

Tuesday 31 January 17:58:08 UTC 2017

In a recent interview, James Cameron calls out 'Mythbusters' for suggesting that Jack and Rose both could have survived. [Link]

Mental Floss » 8 Over-The-Top Hot Chocolates to Try

Tuesday 31 January 17:30:00 UTC 2017

These are the sweetest, messiest, most decadent hot chocolates around. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » 'Ghost ship' found off of Cape Hatteras 96 years ago today remains a mystery, although suspicion currently rests on the six-toed cat [Interesting]

Tuesday 31 January 17:20:06 UTC 2017

Interesting [link] [65 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » IKEA to Roll Out Hackable Furniture in 2018

Tuesday 31 January 16:57:44 UTC 2017

DIY enthusiasts will soon have a new reason to shop at IKEA. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Intense heat grips Australia as temperatures soar to 45 degrees centigrade. For those of you who don't speak metric, that's 113 degrees Fahrenheit or 98 wallabies per dinkum [Scary]

Tuesday 31 January 16:20:06 UTC 2017

Scary [link] [179 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 20 Hilarious Facts About 'Waiting for Guffman'

Tuesday 31 January 16:00:00 UTC 2017

Though it didn’t make much of a dent in the box office when it hit theaters 20 years ago, Christopher Guest’s mockumentary has become a cult hit in the years since. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Good Samaritan beats off bus attacker with cane. Well, it's always nice to give someone a hand [Hero]

Tuesday 31 January 15:50:06 UTC 2017

Hero [link] [42 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Want to get your stolen car back quicker? Fake an Amber Alert [Stupid]

Tuesday 31 January 15:20:06 UTC 2017

Stupid [link] [78 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Robot-Staffed Coffee Shop Opens in San Francisco

Tuesday 31 January 15:00:00 UTC 2017

What this barista lacks in warmth it makes up for in efficiency. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Leopold the cat vs. tiny drone in apartment match to the death [Amusing]

Tuesday 31 January 14:50:06 UTC 2017

Amusing [link] [72 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Meet Quincy: Colorado's Cutest Paperboy

Tuesday 31 January 14:30:00 UTC 2017

For the last 11 years, Paul Goldan's neighbors in Boulder, Colorado, haven't had to go far to get their morning newspaper. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Cheese accused in pizza delivery theft [Dumbass]

Tuesday 31 January 14:20:06 UTC 2017

Dumbass [link] [50 comments] [Link]

Weird Universe » Most painful places to get stung

Tuesday 31 January 14:15:46 UTC 2017

Before 2014, science had information about which insect species delivered the most painful sting, but it didn't have info about how the painfulness of stings varied by body location. So Cornell University graduate student Michael Smith set about to correct this omission. He used honey bees to sting himself in 25 body locations and then rated the painfulness of the … [Link]

Weird Universe » Atomic Seeds

Tuesday 31 January 14:15:45 UTC 2017

From the American Legion magazine for May 1962. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this door in the wall [Photoshop]

Tuesday 31 January 14:00:01 UTC 2017

Photoshop [link] [29 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 6 Things Americans Should Know About Net Neutrality

Tuesday 31 January 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Including the epic "Star Wars" quote battle of 2015. [Link]

Overheard In The Office » If You Like Playing “Stop Hitting Yourself,” You'll Love Sales

Tuesday 31 January 13:57:34 UTC 2017

Sales rep, to no one in particular: What did five fingers say to the face? Slap! Fort Lauderdale, Florida [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Neighbors at war over manure pile visible on Google Earth. The annual summer block party is going to be awkward this year [Sick]

Tuesday 31 January 13:50:06 UTC 2017

Sick [link] [70 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Virginia considering new law that would impose a $250 fine on those recalcitrant a-holes who refuse to yield right of way to faster traffic in the left lane [Hero]

Tuesday 31 January 13:20:07 UTC 2017

Hero [link] [507 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » "Dear Prudence: I'm half-Latina, my mother full-blooded. My father is white. At Thanksgiving, I was having a discussion with another relative when my dad's aunt called me a Communist and started chanting 'Build that wall.' Should

Tuesday 31 January 13:15:10 UTC 2017

Awkward [link] [240 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » This $18,000 Machine Promises the Perfect Cup of Coffee

Tuesday 31 January 13:00:00 UTC 2017

If you imbibe coffee by throwing back espresso shots or—heaven forbid—slurping vanilla caramel macchiatos through a straw, the Royal Coffee Maker "may not be for you." [Link]

Mental Floss » 5 Questions: Manos, the Hands of Fate

Tuesday 31 January 12:45:00 UTC 2017

[Link]

Mental Floss » Cutter Turns Cookies Into Nut-Hoarding Squirrels

Tuesday 31 January 12:30:00 UTC 2017

Almost too cute to eat. Almost. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » "Naked pastor fled married woman's armed husband." Some headlines need no improvement [Florida]

Tuesday 31 January 12:15:10 UTC 2017

Florida [link] [56 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » A sheriff's deputy decides to use a force machine in a high school robotics class to test the trigger pull on a couple of his handguns. The Dumbass tag gives you a hint on what happened next [Dumbass]

Tuesday 31 January 11:44:37 UTC 2017

Dumbass [link] [113 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Don't worry, people of Arizona. The 2-mile long fissure opening up in the desert is nothing to worry about [Weird]

Tuesday 31 January 11:11:37 UTC 2017

Weird [link] [81 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Morning Cup of Links: The Emerald Mosque

Tuesday 31 January 11:00:00 UTC 2017

Great links for great folks! [Link]

Mental Floss » How to Make Hand-Hewn Spectacles From Found Materials

Tuesday 31 January 9:00:00 UTC 2017

You'll need limestone, sand, hardwood ash, wood, and a lot of time. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » It's hard to believe with everything going on these days, but 10 years ago today the city of Boston was completely terrorized by Lite-Brites with a cartoon figure giving people the finger. Yes, it was the Great Mooninite Panic of 2007 [Facepalm]

Tuesday 31 January 8:26:37 UTC 2017

Facepalm [link] [91 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » A New Plane Seat Could Make the Middle Spot the Roomiest

Tuesday 31 January 7:00:00 UTC 2017

The design would also make boarding faster. [Link]

Futility Closet » Proof of Concept

Tuesday 31 January 6:39:11 UTC 2017

England went mad for water lilies after an Amazon lily was named after Queen Victoria in 1837. The plants balked at English weather, but when gardener Joseph Paxton put one in an experimental conservatory it flowered in three months. Ultimately the lilies inspired their own greenhouse: Impressed that their radiating ribs could support his daughter Annie, Paxton borrowed this “natural … [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Cat eats corn on the cob just like a human and as predicted in the Book of Revelation. Boy, those portents of Armageddon are just flying around this week [Scary]

Tuesday 31 January 3:40:26 UTC 2017

Scary [link] [83 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Mosque attacks, airport protests, imminent breakdown of civil society as we know it – you know what, fark today, let's get wasted, strap a GoPro to a sword and slice the shiat out of some watermelons and remind ourselves what makes America awesom

Tuesday 31 January 3:36:34 UTC 2017

Spiffy [link] [23 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Old man doesn't shout at clouds when his fishing mate dies of old age; he puts an ad in the newspaper to find a new one and becomes an overnight sensation [Sappy]

Tuesday 31 January 3:24:14 UTC 2017

Sappy [link] [29 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Lutheran Church of Norway embraces same sex marriage. Baptist church of Norway insists that this is the slippery slope to man-lutefisk weddings [Hero]

Tuesday 31 January 3:22:20 UTC 2017

Hero [link] [32 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » The risk of a cardiac event jumps 23% two days after major snowstorms … (so do your shoveling 1 day after the storm) [PSA]

Tuesday 31 January 3:13:41 UTC 2017

PSA [link] [35 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » "Joggers are being attacked by a mystery yob who throws vegetables at them while they are running. Runners report being pelted with potatoes, eggs, turnips and even avocades in the drive-by attacks" [Strange]

Tuesday 31 January 3:09:12 UTC 2017

Strange [link] [40 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » How Do Refugees Get Vetted?

Tuesday 31 January 2:57:27 UTC 2017

It takes years, and you can be denied at every turn. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » The person responsible for sacking the people ordering immigrants to be detained has been sacked [NewsFlash]

Tuesday 31 January 2:42:17 UTC 2017

NewsFlash [link] [1333 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 10 Movies (and 1 TV Show) That Almost Starred Gene Hackman

Tuesday 31 January 2:00:00 UTC 2017

Shortly before Hackman won his first Oscar, Sherwood Schwartz wanted the actor to star in 'The Brady Bunch.' [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Mormons plan to build huge city in Florida. In the far distant future it will war with the Clearwater Scientologists and they will merge and Florida will become the Church of the L. Joe Hubbard Smith's Mormontoloscientifics & Scientomormonolo

Tuesday 31 January 1:33:23 UTC 2017

Florida [link] [91 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Why It’s Essential to Get Enough Sleep During Flu Season

Tuesday 31 January 1:14:24 UTC 2017

A small study of identical twins found that missing even a little sleep can suppress the immune system and increase susceptibility to germs. [Link]

Mental Floss » This Jewelry Holds Real Flowers and Crystals Inside

Tuesday 31 January 1:14:23 UTC 2017

Thanks to Irish designer Kay Bells, you can take a bit of nature with you wherever you go—from miniscule mushrooms to dandelion seeds, she incorporates real flora and fauna into her handmade jewelry. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this smart cetacean [Photoshop]

Tuesday 31 January 1:00:01 UTC 2017

Photoshop [link] [15 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Head of the Knights of Malta discovers that withstanding the might of the entire grand army of the Ottoman Empire is one thing. Standing up to a PO'ed Pope Francis is another matter entirely [Followup]

Tuesday 31 January 0:41:09 UTC 2017

Followup [link] [62 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » At 8PM ET Paul's Memory Bank presents my 100th show "Request Night". Any TFers who put in a request in Sunday's thread will have their request granted. Still room for a couple more. DIT. LIT [Audio]

Tuesday 31 January 0:36:46 UTC 2017

Audio [link] [82 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 10 Authors Who Write Under Different Pen Names

Tuesday 31 January 0:30:00 UTC 2017

What if a well-known author wants to write something completely different without alerting their fans? That's where pseudonyms come in. [Link]

Archive

25 Apr 2024  24 Apr 2024  23 Apr 2024  22 Apr 2024  21 Apr 2024  20 Apr 2024  19 Apr 2024  18 Apr 2024  17 Apr 2024  16 Apr 2024  15 Apr 2024  14 Apr 2024  13 Apr 2024  12 Apr 2024  11 Apr 2024  10 Apr 2024  09 Apr 2024  08 Apr 2024  07 Apr 2024  06 Apr 2024  05 Apr 2024  04 Apr 2024  03 Apr 2024  02 Apr 2024  01 Apr 2024  31 Mar 2024  30 Mar 2024  29 Mar 2024  28 Mar 2024  27 Mar 2024  26 Mar 2024  25 Mar 2024  

No Comments

0 responses so far ↓

  • There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.

You must log in to post a comment.