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 » Is 'The New York Times' Slogan False Advertising?

Friday 7 April 23:30:00 UTC 2017

Do they really publish "All the News That's Fit to Print"? [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Not only is it 5 o'clock somewhere, it's National Beer Day. So crack open a cold one or eight and celebrate the anniversary of FDR reauthorizing the buying, selling, and drinking of beer [Hero]

Friday 7 April 23:13:52 UTC 2017

Hero [link] [65 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » The Story Behind 6 Iconic Movie Logos

Friday 7 April 22:30:00 UTC 2017

Nude models are hiding in one of the most recognizable logos in movie history. [Link]

Mental Floss » Cephalopods Evolve Differently From the Rest of Us, Study Finds

Friday 7 April 21:26:16 UTC 2017

Experts say octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish have been using “an alternative engine” for evolution. [Link]

Mental Floss » French Scientists Are Paying Men $17,000 to Lie in Bed for Two Months

Friday 7 April 21:00:00 UTC 2017

The experiment is meant to mimic the experience of being weightless in space. [Link]

Mental Floss » How to Answer 4 Tricky Job Interview Questions

Friday 7 April 20:30:00 UTC 2017

Only an interview separates you and your dream job. But to get there, you have to navigate through a minefield of tricky questions. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this bronze selfie. Difficulty level: no 1968 [Photoshop]

Friday 7 April 20:00:01 UTC 2017

Photoshop [link] [32 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 'The Blair Witch Project' Wasn't Supposed to End That Way

Friday 7 April 20:00:00 UTC 2017

A bigger budget could have ruined the film's most chilling scene. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » US missile strike in retaliation for killing children kills four children [Followup]

Friday 7 April 19:50:04 UTC 2017

Followup [link] [326 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » When Was the First Pizza Delivery?

Friday 7 April 19:30:00 UTC 2017

All hail Queen Margherita! [Link]

Mental Floss » You Can Help NASA Prove the Existence of Planet 9

Friday 7 April 19:00:00 UTC 2017

The space agency is funding a massive crowdsourcing effort to comb through 200,000 images in search of a theorized ninth planet. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » If you plan on traveling to Hawaii, do your best to avoid undercooked slugs [Sick]

Friday 7 April 18:50:04 UTC 2017

Sick [link] [69 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » The Quiet Strength of Julia, the First Muppet with Autism

Friday 7 April 18:45:00 UTC 2017

The first new felt-faced Sesame Street cast member in a decade spent years in development. Her objective? To help viewers better understand the complex world of autism. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » A special pen for the weaker sex, a cologne that smells like urine and, presumably, the wøndërful telephøne system are just a few of the exhibits to explore at the Museum of Failure in Sweden [Amusing]

Friday 7 April 18:20:05 UTC 2017

Amusing [link] [76 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » While exploring an abandoned mine in Baja California, scientist discovers a baseball sized AW HELL NO [Cool]

Friday 7 April 18:13:53 UTC 2017

Cool [link] [135 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » ‘The Fifth Element’ Is Coming Back to Theaters

Friday 7 April 17:48:51 UTC 2017

Sony Pictures will commemorate the movie’s 20th anniversary with a two-day theatrical re-release in May. [Link]

Mental Floss » Google Is Using Snopes and PolitiFact to Fact-Check Fake News

Friday 7 April 17:30:00 UTC 2017

Know before you click whether the answer is bogus. [Link]

Weird Universe » 7 Clicks (April 7, 2017)

Friday 7 April 17:24:50 UTC 2017

7 Clicks
A Weird Universe News Service
April 7, 2017

News You Can Use (Irish law!): OK to call a litterer "skankhole," judge says. [Irish Times]

Trivago Challenge: Make sure they tell you that your 2/3-star NYC hotel is also a homeless shelter (1,453 hotel rooms in NYC are, thanks to real-shelter overflows). [NY Post]

Sadness and tears in Glassell … [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Awesome: A new Bad Lip Reading video. Awesomer: Of "The Force Awakens". Awesomest: Featuring Mark Hamill as Han Solo [Cool]

Friday 7 April 16:38:36 UTC 2017

Cool [link] [4 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Worried about escalating tensions with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea? Buy this deactivated underground ICBM launch center in Missouri to protect yourself from the impending nuclear apocalypse [Interesting]

Friday 7 April 16:20:05 UTC 2017

Interesting [link] [137 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Look Up! Jupiter Is Close, Bright, and Showing Its Stripes

Friday 7 April 16:18:58 UTC 2017

Get your telescope: You’re going to see some magical things. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Pro tip, dude: Before you surrender yourself to the court, check your pockets and make sure you didn't leave any weed in there [Dumbass]

Friday 7 April 15:29:50 UTC 2017

Dumbass [link] [34 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Swedish terror suspects arrested, with pics and video. That's some fine police work, Sven [Followup]

Friday 7 April 15:27:51 UTC 2017

Followup [link] [182 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 11 Seriously Accomplished Sets of Siblings

Friday 7 April 15:18:42 UTC 2017

Happy National Sibling Day! [Link]

Mental Floss » The Poop of Young Fish Can Help Older Ones Live Longer

Friday 7 April 15:18:40 UTC 2017

The microbiome of youth could have anti-aging properties when transplanted into older individuals. [Link]

Mental Floss » Great Apes Understand When Humans Are Wrong

Friday 7 April 15:18:39 UTC 2017

And they want to help. [Link]

Mental Floss » 5 Questions: More Movie Parts

Friday 7 April 15:18:34 UTC 2017

[Link]

Mental Floss » Watch Bob Ross Paint Nightmares With the Help of a Neural Network

Friday 7 April 14:30:00 UTC 2017

Those happy little trees get a lot more sinister in the hands of technology. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Russia says our cruise missiles went 23 for 59. or a .389 batting average [Followup]

Friday 7 April 14:20:05 UTC 2017

Followup [link] [341 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Grizzly Bears Once Lived in the White House

Friday 7 April 14:14:35 UTC 2017

In 1807, Thomas Jefferson received an adorable gift of animals that soon went dangerously awry. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » US journalist commenting on Syria atrocities says Hitler would never have gassed his own people, because well, he's an idiot [Dumbass]

Friday 7 April 13:50:04 UTC 2017

Dumbass [link] [97 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Truck driven into crowd at a market in Stockholm, Sweden. Shots have been fired. 3 reported dead [NewsFlash]

Friday 7 April 13:37:51 UTC 2017

NewsFlash [link] [437 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Job growth for March much lower than expected. After taking credit for January's good job number Trump quickly to blame Obama for the new bad numbers [Interesting]

Friday 7 April 13:37:51 UTC 2017

Interesting [link] [80 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Transport Your iPhone to the 1980s With This Retro Mac Case

Friday 7 April 13:30:00 UTC 2017

Indulge your nostalgia without giving up your smartphone. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Your kids would have a lot more fun playing by themselves if you weren't always hovering, giving too many warnings, and insisting on using household items for their intended purpose [Obvious]

Friday 7 April 13:12:39 UTC 2017

Obvious [link] [103 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this piano man [Photoshop]

Friday 7 April 13:00:01 UTC 2017

Photoshop [link] [23 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Scientists have discovered that bees have great eyesight. Well duh. When was the last time you saw a bee wearing glasses? [Obvious]

Friday 7 April 12:50:06 UTC 2017

Obvious [link] [22 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » 15 Old Words for the Duplicitous That We Should Bring Back

Friday 7 April 12:30:00 UTC 2017

Consider reviving these words the next time you encounter anyone twistical. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Trump told Putin, Putin told Assad…but hey, look at those cool videos of destroyers launching missiles [Followup]

Friday 7 April 12:28:50 UTC 2017

Followup [link] [235 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Chili's policy on sexually harassing underage employees: Transfer manager to new location and throw a party featuring a "F*CK EMILY" cake [Strange]

Friday 7 April 12:20:05 UTC 2017

Strange [link] [168 comments] [Link]

Weird Universe » Name That List, #39

Friday 7 April 11:58:16 UTC 2017

What is this a list of? The answer is below in extended.

A jar of dirt from the grave of Patrick Edward Madden A plastic menorah A Charlie Chaplin doll Endless reams of printed receipts News clippings Restaurant menus A plentiful variety of urine, captured and wax-sealed in bottles A roll of scotch tape A small bottle of K-Y lubricant … [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Move over Florida Man, Pennsylvania Man was nude when he punched a cop and attacked his dad before being tased [Dumbass]

Friday 7 April 11:37:49 UTC 2017

Dumbass [link] [25 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Oh Christ, it's this asshole again [Facepalm]

Friday 7 April 11:18:50 UTC 2017

Facepalm [link] [209 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » More Movie Parts

Friday 7 April 11:15:00 UTC 2017

[Link]

Mental Floss » Celebrate Literature Instead of Your Alma Mater With These Pennant Flags

Friday 7 April 11:00:00 UTC 2017

The Emerald City Wizards are having a great season this year. [Link]

Weird Universe » Mystery Gadget 46

Friday 7 April 10:45:00 UTC 2017

This machine produces what now?

The answer is here.

And after the jump.
[Link]

Fark.com RSS » History will remember this as the dawn of the Canadian Empire of nations that were tired of being associated with dickheads [Spiffy]

Friday 7 April 10:18:50 UTC 2017

Spiffy [link] [85 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Morning Cup of Links: 20-Million-Year-Old Blood Cells

Friday 7 April 9:30:00 UTC 2017

Links to keep you busy all weekend! [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Asthma inhalers recalled due to airflow problems [Ironic]

Friday 7 April 9:28:49 UTC 2017

Ironic [link] [30 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » The Greatest Flea Market Find In History?

Friday 7 April 8:30:00 UTC 2017

How to turn $4 into $2.4 million. [Link]

Mental Floss » A New Interactive Map Lets Nature Lovers Track Yosemite's Bears

Friday 7 April 7:30:00 UTC 2017

Zoom in for an up-close look, or check to see how far the bears have traveled. [Link]

Futility Closet » An Audio Ghost

Friday 7 April 6:30:56 UTC 2017

When Alexander Graham Bell died in 1922, it was thought that no recordings of his voice had survived. But in 2013 the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History announced that it had a fragile wax-on-cardboard disc that Bell had made as an experiment in sound recording … and that now this could be played using optical scanning technology. The … [Link]

Fark.com RSS » A zipper-obsessed horse would be perfect for handling horse flies [Amusing]

Friday 7 April 6:20:46 UTC 2017

Amusing [link] [18 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » New Recycling Method Could Make Fast Fashion Less Wasteful

Friday 7 April 5:30:00 UTC 2017

Unlike current textile recycling methods, this new fabric would come out even stronger afterward. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Zamboni legend is ready for octopus office. This mad libs headline has been brought to you by the Detroit Free Press [Strange]

Friday 7 April 5:19:13 UTC 2017

Strange [link] [25 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Police were baffled by narcotic thefts at pharmacy until meeting the pharmacist. Mighty fine police work there, Lou [Amusing]

Friday 7 April 3:35:16 UTC 2017

Amusing [link] [86 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » ‘Fear and Desire’: The Movie Stanley Kubrick Didn’t Want You to See

Friday 7 April 3:30:00 UTC 2017

The legendary perfectionist tried to bury his debut feature. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Mugshot of the month has been claimed by a Toledo man [Amusing]

Friday 7 April 2:45:24 UTC 2017

Amusing [link] [88 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » South African rhino ranchers: To pay for protecting rhinos from poachers, we need to be able to sell the rhino horns, which won't increase poaching at all, trust us, so we need the ban on domestic sales lifted. South African court: Well alrighty

Friday 7 April 2:44:03 UTC 2017

Asinine [link] [48 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Bong exhibit considered high art. Indeed [Cool]

Friday 7 April 2:22:14 UTC 2017

Cool [link] [38 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Bear and two cubs show up in back yard of one Gold E Locks. They are suspected to have eaten some porridge and slept in some beds. Expected to live happily ever after [Scary]

Friday 7 April 2:00:25 UTC 2017

Scary [link] [13 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Trump wags dog [NewsFlash]

Friday 7 April 1:32:52 UTC 2017

NewsFlash [link] [1417 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Teens plead guilty to eliminating a few steps in flaming chicken wing recipe [Dumbass]

Friday 7 April 1:16:47 UTC 2017

Dumbass [link] [22 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » The town famous for naming a bridge "James Brown Soul Center of the Universe" seeking input on the name of a new MTB trail [Followup]

Friday 7 April 0:54:58 UTC 2017

Followup [link] [34 comments] [Link]

Mental Floss » Scientists Create a Wheel of Old Book Smells

Friday 7 April 0:35:00 UTC 2017

Subjects in an experiment on old books described aromas like chocolate, coffee, wood, and, in some cases, mothballs and fish. [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Attention, students: please do not bring roadkill alligators into the dorms [Florida]

Friday 7 April 0:33:09 UTC 2017

Florida [link] [14 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Usually people hide their crack pipes in backyards, not their newly born babies. But, hey, it's crack [Florida]

Friday 7 April 0:11:20 UTC 2017

Florida [link] [18 comments] [Link]

Fark.com RSS » Photoshop this steaming smoke [Photoshop]

Friday 7 April 0:00:01 UTC 2017

Photoshop [link] [23 comments] [Link]

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