Fun News Stories

The Four Most Outrageous Commutes in the World

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:40:00 GMT

If you think YOUR commute sucks, check out this list from "Reader's Digest" of the worst commutes in the WORLD. You've probably heard how crammed-in they are in Beijing: Last August, a traffic jam stretched for 60 miles and lasted NINE DAYS. So Beijing definitely makes the list. Here are four more.

#1.) The Tokyo Rail System. It gets so packed, you just stand there and can't move at all. So they actually have "train pushers" who wear white gloves and literally pack people into the train so the doors can close. The system gets around 8.7 million passengers a day, and regularly runs at 200% capacity. Plus, you have to deal with the, "chikan," which loosely translates to "train gropers."

#2.) The Los Pinos Zipline. The village of Los Pinos is in the middle of the Colombian jungle, and to get to school, kids either have to walk around a 1,200-foot gorge, or use a 1,300-foot zip line to go OVER it. They use a piece of wood as a brake, so they don't slam into the tires on the other side at 40 miles an hour. (Check out a video of people using it.)

#3.) The Hussaini Bridge in Pakistan. It's made of rope and wood, it's 635 feet long, and it's completely falling apart. (Check it out here. It looks kinda like the bridge Indiana Jones has to cross in "Temple of Doom", but worse.) People use it to transport crops, firewood, and livestock. It's not very high, but it crosses a huge river. And if you fall in, you can easily get swept away and drown.

#4.) Yungus Road in Bolivia. It's 38-miles long, and most of it is only wide enough for one car, but it's not one-way. And if you drive off the side, you fall 3,000 feet. Hundreds of people have died on it, so it's also known as "El Camino de la Muerte," which means "The Road of Death".

(Reader's Digest)

Memorial Day Is Only the Third-Most-Popular Day for Grilling

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:40:00 GMT

Memorial Day is coming up, which is when most people break out their backyard grills for summer cookouts. A survey by the Weber grill company found that 71% of Americans plan to cook out on Memorial Day. That's a lot, but it's only the THIRD-most-popular grilling holiday.

The Fourth of July is the most-popular, with 90% of people grilling. And 76% of people say they cook out to celebrate birthdays. Memorial Day finished ahead of Father's Day, with only 53% of people cooking out for dad.

71% of Americans own a grill, and three quarters of them cook out at least once a week. Hamburgers are the most-popular food to grill, followed by chicken and steak.

(PR Newswire)

Should Doctors Be Able to Prescribe Vacations?

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:39:00 GMT

Should doctors be able to prescribe VACATIONS? We don't know if it's a realistic possibility, but it would be good for the country in two ways. One, doctors would prescribe us fewer mind-controlling pills, and two, we'd actually be FORCED to relax.

And in a new poll, 56% of Americans think it would be a great idea for doctors to prescribe time off work.

The poll also found that 93% of Americans say they feel happier after a vacation. 77% think it improves their overall health, and 28% don't take annual vacations.

(Multivu)

Your Coffee Addiction is Saving Your Life? Six Cups a Day Actually Lowers Your Risk of Death

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:58:00 GMT

And now, news you WANT to hear. Next time you're feeling guilty heading to Starbucks for the third time in a day, don't worry about it. In fact, go a fourth time. And a fifth and sixth too. According to new research by the National Cancer Institute, drinking at least SIX CUPS of coffee a day isn't just "not bad" for you, it's GREAT for you.

Men who drink at least six cups of coffee a day had a 10% lower chance of dying during the course of the 14-year study. For women it was even better, they had a 15% lower chance of dying. The researchers aren't exactly sure why coffee is saving lives, though.

Drinking regular versus decaf didn't make a difference, so it's not that. And they haven't found any hidden antioxidants in coffee that make it good for you.

Their best theory is that there's something SOOTHING about coffee, either making it, drinking it, or the social aspects of drinking it with other people. That's good for your mental health, which is also good for your physical health.

(MSNBC)

How Common is Your Birth Day? A New Chart Lays Out All 365 Days by Popularity

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:57:00 GMT

Ever wondered how many other losers are selfishly sharing YOUR birthday? Now you can actually figure it out. Kind of. A statistician put together a chart of all 365 days of the year based on the total births on each of those days between 1973 and 1999. You'll want to check out your date, but here are some highlights.

The least-popular date for birthdays was February 29th, obviously, since it only occurs once every four years on a leap year, when there are actually 366 days in a year.

The second least popular day is December 25th. Apparently that birthday is already TAKEN.

The most popular date for births is September 16th. That's JUST about nine months after the holiday season. And actually, all ten of the most common birthdates are in September.

September 11th is the 24th most common, but that's now dropping.

July and August have the second and third most births.

Generally, major holidays have a lot fewer births around them, people really don't hook up on those days. July 4th has the fewest births of any summer day, and July 5th is second. Thanksgiving and New Year's Day are also sparse.

The only exception is Valentine's Day. It has the most births of ANY day in the first five months of the year.

The 13th of every month also has a dip in births. It seems to be the least popular day overall.

(Daily Viz)

Check out the interactive chart here where you can click your birthday to find its rank.

What Happened to a Six-Year-Old from Haiti Rescued by the Coast Guard 18 Years Ago?

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:55:00 GMT

18 years ago, six-year-old Orlando Morel and his mother got on a small wooden boat along with several other people, and headed to America from Haiti. They got lost and ran out of food. Orlando remembers having to eat bread that had fallen into the ocean and was soaked with salt water. No one knows if they would have made it here on their own, but the Coast Guard found them, rescued them, and brought them safely to America.

That was 18 years ago. Yesterday, Orlando graduated, from the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. And he's going to serve on a Coast Guard boat responsible for migrant interdiction off the coast of Florida. That means he'll be looking for rafts full of refugees, and patrolling the same water where the Coast Guard found him.

(Associated Press)

(Check out a photo of Orlando training for Coast Guard duty here.)

One Out of Every 12 Corvettes Ever Made Has Been Stolen

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:43:00 GMT

It's almost impossible to figure out the most stolen car brand in history, because of missing data and inconsistent reporting. But the National Insurance Crime Bureau has a pretty strong guess. Based on their historical data, they believe the most stolen car ever is, the Chevrolet Corvette. If you buy one, there's a REMARKABLY HIGH chance someone's going to steal it.

Since the Corvette debuted in 1953, there have been around 1.5 million made, and almost 135,000 stolen. That means, overall, 8.7% of Corvettes have been stolen. That's more than one out of every TWELVE. Just since 1981, when theft reporting became standardized and the data is the most reliable, 10.5% of Corvettes have been stolen.

(Sympatico)

A Guy Spent 55 Years Protecting New England's Tallest Elm Tree

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:42:00 GMT

In 1956, a logging company owner named Frank Knight in Portland, Maine decided to protect an elm tree. At 110 feet tall, it was the tallest elm in New England. And Frank made it his life's mission to keep the tree alive. He made sure it wasn't cut down for lumber, and he had workers from his company prune it regularly and treat it with pesticides, so it would stay healthy.

After nearly 55 years of Frank caring for it, the tree died of Dutch elm disease two years ago. It was the 14th time the tree had the disease, and the first time that Frank couldn't get it to pull through. On Monday, Frank died at 103 years old. And he'll be buried in a coffin made out of wood from the tree. His friends secretly took some of the wood from the tree when it was cut down, so they could pay tribute to Frank for spending more than half his life as its volunteer caretaker.

(Associated Press)

Here Are the Ten Office Supplies We Steal Most Often

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:35:00 GMT

According to a survey by an office supply company called Banner Business Services, two thirds of us have stolen office supplies at work. And it costs companies $3.2 billion a year. Here are the office supplies people steal most often:

#1.) Post-It notes

#2.) Tape

#3.) Scissors

#4.) Toilet paper (???)

#5.) Copier paper

#6.) USB memory sticks

#7.) Notepads.

#8.) Pens

#9.) Staplers

#10.) Highlighters

(Business Cornwall)

A New Study Says Almost a Third of Us Have Done Some Sleepwalking in Our Lives

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:55:00 GMT

Apparently sleepwalking is WAY more common than we all thought. So maybe NOW you can finally explain why your food keeps disappearing out of the fridge. According to a new nationwide study, 29.2% of people have had at least one sleepwalking episode in their lives. That's almost one-third of us sleepwalking.

About 3.6% of Americans sleepwalked last year. That's about eight million people. 1% sleepwalk more than twice a month. People who take sleeping medications like Ambien are 250% more likely to sleepwalk more than twice a month compared to people who don't.

(LiveScience)