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 » CEO who sold his radio group to CBS says radio has suffered from "inaccurate perceptions," while people on the other end of the phone heard Nickelback for the second time during the call [Obvious]

Saturday 25 February 23:32:25 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » More than seventy Brazilian cities are canceling Carnival due to monetary concerns. Man, that's a lot of canceled Carnivals [Sad]

Saturday 25 February 22:42:48 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Today's cage match: the First Amendment vs Basic Human Decency [Sad]

Saturday 25 February 22:38:26 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this hot beverage [Photoshop]

Saturday 25 February 21:10:53 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Dept. of Homeland Security finds Trump's travel ban pointless, says we need to stay focused on the real threats like nail clippers at airports [Interesting]

Saturday 25 February 21:10:52 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » One researcher went to the Chinese factories that make Mardi Gras Beads and spoke to the workers who believe the beads will be given to royalty [Fail]

Saturday 25 February 21:10:51 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » "Parents are becoming increasingly concerned that their children, who grow up shouting orders at voice-activated gadgets like Siri and Alexa, could be growing up to be spoilt and entitled" [Obvious]

Saturday 25 February 19:36:41 UTC 2017

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Mental Floss » See Which Best Picture Nominee Is Most Accurate to its Real-Life Inspiration

Saturday 25 February 18:58:53 UTC 2017

Time for a fact-check! [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Murderer of Kim Jong Nam was paid just $90 for the assassination [Followup]

Saturday 25 February 18:46:50 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Today's made for Fark story comes to us from Fark's favorite state [Florida]

Saturday 25 February 18:38:50 UTC 2017

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Mental Floss » People Like Sharks More When They Swim to Upbeat Music

Saturday 25 February 18:30:00 UTC 2017

New research indicates that the ominous music that often accompanies footage of sharks leaves viewers with a negative impression of these great big fish—and that this effect is lessened when upbeat music is played instead. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Judge rules attack in which black 17-year-old was called racial slurs and 'penetrated with a foreign object' is neither racist nor rape. Why yes, football players were involved [Fail]

Saturday 25 February 17:51:09 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » I guess Brexit really was a warning [Obvious]

Saturday 25 February 17:38:17 UTC 2017

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Mental Floss » Look Up! A 'Ring of Fire' Eclipse Blazes the Southern Hemisphere

Saturday 25 February 17:30:00 UTC 2017

If you're in the southern parts of South America or Africa tomorrow, February 26, the show starts at 7:10 a.m. ET. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Meet Private William Speakman. He used bottles of beer to fight off 6,000 Chinese soldiers during the Korean war: "Because of his valor, 400 British troops lived to fight another day. Speakman was awarded the Victoria Cross" [Hero]

Saturday 25 February 17:05:51 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Elderly man to neighborhood youths – get ON my lawn [Hero]

Saturday 25 February 16:57:19 UTC 2017

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Mental Floss » Score This Weekend's Best Amazon Deals Now

Saturday 25 February 16:30:00 UTC 2017

From the Smart Shopping Team… [Link]

Fark.com RSS » They'll call it "The war of Eastern aggression" [Unlikely]

Saturday 25 February 15:55:02 UTC 2017

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Overheard In The Office » At Least This Time It Didn't Involve an ER Visit

Saturday 25 February 15:22:49 UTC 2017

Coworker #1, in copier room: That copier needs some KY.
Coworker #2: (hysterical laughing)
Coworker #1: Oh, no! I meant WD-40. I always do that! Richmond, Virginia [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. You can get Trumped, even if your name's Ali [Sad]

Saturday 25 February 15:02:19 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Today in the Saturday Morning Book Club we're keeping it simple: what's the last book you read, and what did you think of it? (LGT the Library of Congress because they're cool) [Interesting]

Saturday 25 February 15:00:00 UTC 2017

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Weird Universe » Death by Space Helmet

Saturday 25 February 14:55:25 UTC 2017

Another example of the danger of reading comic books. From July 1954:

a man suffocated by a plastic raincoat round his head was trying to copy a space-helmet he saw illustrated in a "comic." He appeared to be trying to imagine the sensation of travelling through space.
See here for a previous example.

The Guardian – July 27, 1954

Perhaps the … [Link]

Fark.com RSS » So, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, how do you, like, stop using filler words? [Interesting]

Saturday 25 February 14:34:51 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this woodsy woman [Photoshop]

Saturday 25 February 14:00:01 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Remember all the transparency that was supposed to happen when we gave our police body cameras? Well the police can only be transparent when the footage justifies their side, if not…well, you know [Obvious]

Saturday 25 February 13:38:18 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Remember the third guy shot by the racist in Kansas? "I was just doing what anyone should have done," Grillot told the newspaper. "It's not about where he's from, or ethnicity. We're all humans." (Hero beats followup.) [He

Saturday 25 February 13:30:19 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Even though he's a lion, deep down inside he's still a cat, and wants some attention this Caturday [Caturday]

Saturday 25 February 13:00:00 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » You know you're in Florida when you see a guy strip off his clothes in the middle of traffic and shout, "I am God" [Florida]

Saturday 25 February 12:45:15 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Abra cadaver, you're dead [Sad]

Saturday 25 February 12:11:15 UTC 2017

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Weird Universe » Eddie Harris: That Is Why You’re Overweight

Saturday 25 February 11:44:00 UTC 2017

Although the tune is fine, the lyrics are the thing here, and they start around 2:20. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » GOP Rep. Darrell Issa calls for special prosecutor on Trump-Russia ties [Cool]

Saturday 25 February 10:39:15 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » TGI Fridays apologizes after a employee asked job applicant if he would sleep with his parents [Fail]

Saturday 25 February 9:49:12 UTC 2017

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Mental Floss » Watch Scenes from Every Best Animated Feature Winner Ever

Saturday 25 February 9:30:00 UTC 2017

Surprise! It's not just Pixar movies! [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Subway's chicken contains about half real chicken and about half "tastes like chicken" [Sick]

Saturday 25 February 8:02:00 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » If your school is having a "Lunch with a Cop" day then you might just want to leave your airsoft gun and pot at home [Obvious]

Saturday 25 February 7:34:08 UTC 2017

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Mental Floss » 10 Carnival Traditions From Around the World

Saturday 25 February 7:30:00 UTC 2017

Several parts of the globe have developed rich and elaborate Carnival traditions, some of which survive even in places where Lent is no longer observed. [Link]

Futility Closet » The Candy Thief

Saturday 25 February 6:33:58 UTC 2017

A problem by Wayne M. Delia and Bernadette D. Barnes: Five children — Ivan, Sylvia, Ernie, Dennis, and Linda — entered a candy store, and one of them stole a box of candy from the shelf. Afterward each child made three statements: Ivan: 1. I didn’t take the box of candy.
2. I have never stolen anything.
3. Dennis did … [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Average Tooth Fairy payout hits all-time high of $4.66 in 2016. Entrepreneurial kids across the country reportedly going "full Kentucky" to cash in on these high rates [Silly]

Saturday 25 February 6:24:54 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » The best part of a War on Drugs is that you get to accuse anyone who wants to stop your War on Drugs of being a drug dealer [Asinine]

Saturday 25 February 5:16:35 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Looks like Peter Parker has some competition (Not safe for work content in sidebar & below article) [Scary]

Saturday 25 February 4:06:15 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » You have the right to remain silent. Any video you post on Snapchat can — and will — be used against you [Florida]

Saturday 25 February 3:50:05 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Too busy to sit through Church on March 1st? Come through the drive through and we'll rub dirt on your forehead [Interesting]

Saturday 25 February 3:46:25 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Unusually mild winter in Canada thwarting traditional Canadian ritual of putting old people onto ice floes and never seeing them again. What do you mean she's back? [Strange]

Saturday 25 February 3:20:05 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Judge to claimant: Fat, drunk and careless while wearing high heels is no way to go down the stairs lady [Obvious]

Saturday 25 February 2:50:05 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Sword-wielding felon threatens customers at Florida Walmart. 'Inappropriate weaponry at Florida Walmart' trifecta in play [Florida]

Saturday 25 February 2:20:05 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Kentucky PD: Yeah, maybe it wasn't the best idea to put a giant skull representing a vigilante and cold-blooded murderer emblazoned with the "Blue Lives Matter" colors on our vehicles. Our bad [Facepalm]

Saturday 25 February 2:03:11 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Kissimmee police take EPIC ethics training, which was totally rad and tubular [Florida]

Saturday 25 February 1:50:05 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » California Governor wants to spend $450 million on flood control – or about the same amount it costs to build 1 mile of high-speed rail [Facepalm]

Saturday 25 February 1:31:52 UTC 2017

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Mental Floss » 11 Forgotten Apple Products

Saturday 25 February 1:30:00 UTC 2017

If you ever needed a pair of Apple sneakers or a sock for your iPod, you're out of luck. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Actual headline: Mr. Peanut and the Nutmobile have come to Huntsville. And here we thought he was appointed as AG in Washington [Amusing]

Saturday 25 February 1:20:05 UTC 2017

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Fark.com RSS » Types of mass transit commuters. #1: Meh. #2: Needs to get kicked off. #3: Kicked off. #4: Needs to be smacked and kicked off. etc [Interesting]

Saturday 25 February 0:20:05 UTC 2017

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John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons