Clipmarks | hitchhiker08's clips

Moby 'Leak'ed - where's Capt. Ahab?!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:11:04 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Phew!

The website of odd, strange, interesting, and unbelievable things
spilled on the road by trucks.

Thar She Blows! (OK, that was too easy).

A 56-foot, 60-ton sperm whale died on a beach in Taiwan in January, 2004. Researchers wanted the carcass to perform an autopsy and for research, so they loaded the whale onto a tractor-trailer and set out through the city of Tainan, heading for the Shi-Tsau Natural Preserve. It took 13 hours, three cranes and 50 workers to get the whale loaded on the truck. Unfortunately, on the way through the city, gasses built up to a critical level in the whale and it exploded, spewing whale guts in the street, on the cars and over pedestrians. According to witnesses, the smell was pretty bad. Residents and shop owners put on masks and tried to clean up the mess. Eventually the whale continued its journey to the research center.

Tags: humor, sperm whale, taiwan

6 cities that shortened yellow light time for profit

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:06:38 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: www.motorists.org

6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit

Clip Source: www.motorists.org

Short yellow light times at intersections have been shown to increase the number of traffic violations and accidents. Conversely, increasing the yellow light duration can dramatically reduce red-light violations at an intersection.

Here are some of the cities that have been caught with short yellow light times over the past few years:

1) Chattanooga, Tennessee

2) Dallas, Texas

3) Springfield, Missouri

4) Lubbock, Texas

5)Nashville, Tennessee
Even without red light cameras, police in Nashville, Tennessee have been earning hundreds of thousands in revenue by trapping motorists in conventional ticket traps at city intersections with the shortest yellow warning time.

6) Union City, California
In 2005, Union City, California was caught trapping motorists with a yellow signal time 1.3 seconds below the minimum established by state law. As a result, the city was forced to refund more than $1 million in red light camera fines.

Tags: traffic lights, motorist, yellow light, red light, synchronization

Watch your thoughts - nice quote...

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:01:43 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: www.uscg.mil

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

– Frank Outlaw

Tags: us coast guard, frank outlaw, character, destiny, quote

Message in a bottle delivered after 21 years!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:50:26 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: seattlest.com

Message in a Bottle Found After 21 Years at Sea

Twenty-one years ago, a suburban Seattle elementary school science class signed type-written messages, put them in bottles, and dropped them in Puget Sound. Earlier this month, Merle Brandell, a bear hunter in Alaska found one of the soda bottles in the Bering Sea and was intrigued by the message. The letter read:

[This letter] is part of our science project to study oceans and learn about people in distant lands.Please send the date and location of the bottle with your address. I will send you my picture and tell you when and where the bottle was placed in the ocean. Your friend, Emily Hwaung.

The letter in the soda bottle traveled over 1,700 miles before being discovered. The message was sent during the 1986-87 school year and spent over 20 years in transit before its discovery late last year.

Tags: amazing, seattle, bering sea, messages, oceanography, communication, bottle

Gordon Halloran's ice paintings!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:21:35 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Wow!

Clip Source: www.roadsidescholar.com

gordon halloran ice paintings - seen in person

the spectacular ice paintings from canadian artist gordon halloran

i didn’t realize that they would be all frosty and frozen over until i saw them in person (duh!). when the guy came out with the blow torch to reveal the artwork’s true colors, people watched grinning, in stunned silence, as bursts of color came through one after the other.

the exhibit is gone now, but seeing the gorgeous, original work with my own eyes was worth bearing the frigid temperatures. and boy did i get the color fix i need on a regular basis this time of year!

Tags: canada, chicago, exhibition, gordon halloran, ice, painting, vibrant, color

7 pains you shouldn't ignore

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:35:52 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: www.webmd.com

7 Pains You Shouldn't Ignore

No. 1: Worst Headache of Your Life

Sharon Brangman, MD, FACP, spokeswoman for the American Geriatrics Society, tells WebMD that when someone says they have the worst headache of their life, "what we learned in medical training was that was a classic sign of a brain aneurysm. Go immediately to the ER."

No. 2: Pain or Discomfort in the Chest, Throat, Jaw, Shoulder, Arm, or Abdomen

"A woman's discomfort signs can be more subtle," says Cohen, who is director of preventive cardiology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Clip Source: www.webmd.com

Experts describe the types of pain that require prompt medical attention.

(continued)

No. 3: Pain in Lower Back or Between Shoulder Blades

No. 4: Severe Abdominal Pain

No 5: Calf Pain

No. 6: Burning Feet or Legs

No 7: Vague, Combined, or Medically Unexplained Pains

Tags: human body, aches, pains, american geriatrics society, cardiac pain, aetiology

17 health facts you never knew

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:56:15 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: healthranker.com

17 Random Health Facts You Never Knew

1) Motorists who talk on cell phones are more impaired than drunk drivers with blood-alcohol levels exceeding .08!

2) Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

3) Some parts of the world protect their babies from disease by bathing them in beer.

4) The word ‘gymnasium’ comes from the Greek word gymnazein which means ‘to exercise naked.’

5) There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.

6) The average American eats at McDonalds more than 1,800 times in their life.

7) A hard working adult sweats up to 4 gallons per day.

8) There are more bacteria in your mouth than there are people in the world.

9) According to U.S. FDA standards, 1 cup of orange juice is allowed to contain 10 fruit fly eggs, but only 2 maggots.

10) Apples are more efficient than caffeine in keeping people awake in the morning.

11) Strawberries have more Vitamin C than oranges.

Tags: usfda, mcdonalds, exercise, coffee, apples, orange juice

18000 post-it notes in an office!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:58:18 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Now why would someone want to take such pains?!

Clip Source: www.eggshellskull.com

Tags: post-it, humor, office