BabbleFest

Winston Churchill’s dentures sold at auction in England

A partial set of dentures used by former British leader Winston Churchill — described as the teeth that saved the world — sold at auction today for 15,200 pounds ($23,723.)

The upper dentures, one of several sets specially made for the wartime prime minister, were crucial for maintaining his distinctively slurred speaking style famous from World War II-era radio broadcasts.

Churchill’s specially made dentures were a bad fit…and intentionally so. The poor fit of the dentures was designed to preserve the distinctive natural lisp in his already well-known speaking voice.

Probably moreso than today, and certainly more than in earlier eras, the speaking voice was the trademark and an integral component of the popular identity of a major figure like Churchill in the age of radio.

Thanx, Melvin.

It’s that time again!

Something to help those who still have jobs get over the hump, and something to give those who don’t have jobs a reason to get out of bed this afternoon.

Prisoners escape Argentine prison under watchful eye of dummy with soccer ball for  head.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacks Paul the Octopus

Mobile phones have 18 times more bacteria than toilet handle

Caught on camera: Photo of ‘extinct’ hairy-nosed otter in Borneo jungle

Garage Sale Buyer Gets $200 Million Ansel Adams Photos — for $45

It’s a jungle out there: Tarantulas breeding in Bolton, a snake found in a washing machine and flying ants across Britain… not to mention the runaway vulture

‘World’s Fastest Pizza Maker’ Crowned in Las Vegas

You’ve heard of cat-sitters, dog-sitters and, of course, babysitters. But chicken-sitters?

I mean, the guy could have been standing on a street corner panhandling.

Homeless Man Breaks Into Shuttered California Bar, Starts Selling Drinks

Apparently he was buying booze at a package store across the street and reinvesting his profits, and ran the bar, which had lost its liquor license, for several days before law enforcement officers spotted a newspaper article about the place reopening under new management.

Here’s a little something to help those still working in America get over the hump. And for the other 20% or so, hey, at least it helps you keep track of what day it is.

The DaVinci Car   Did Leonardo DaVinci invent the automobile?

Extinct Critter Poses for Picture   Thought to be extinct, furry slender loris shows up in studio-quality photo.

Dancing Zombie Frog Legs   No, really! Swear to God!

“Massachusetts Cop Walks Off the Job to Go See Midget Porn Star”   Clearly the headline of the day, and I got nothin’ to add

A double dose of good news for Indonesian Muslims! 

Indonesian Muslims Cancel Fatwa Against Rare Coffee  (thanx KPH)   Indonesian muslims now free to drink world’s most expensive coffee, as long as they wash off the poop.

Indonesian muslims now actually praying toward Mecca instead of someplace in Africa.   It’s confusing, you know, north, south, east, west … all those different directions to figure out!

Escape from Auschwitz  (thanx bbc)   True story of courage in a time and place of soul-crushing horror

Owners say they have gone the distance, “Field of Dreams” for Sale  (thanx bbc)   Mythic field is just like in the movie, no signs, no admission or parking fees ever charged, but they built it and still they come.

Happy Bastille Day!

For those Americans who still have jobs, here’s a little something to help you over the hump. For the other 20% of Americans – you’ve got nothing better to do, so read along!

Gorillas ‘play games of tag just like human children’.   Well, anyway, like human children used to, before it was banned because it might damage their self-esteem or something.

They’ve cracked it at last! The chicken DID come before the egg.   But we still don’t know why it crossed the road.

Visit Mars! Microsoft and Nasa team up to let you explore planet using stunning new interactive map.  Press ctrl-alt-del to see the little green men.

Giant unmanned airships to patrol Afghanistan skies for up to three weeks at a time.   No laughing at the artist’s rendering of the craft beaming electronic signals back and forth with ground forces.

Male fireflies flash in unison ’so females don’t get confused’.   But they don’t have nerve enough to tell the females that’s why they do it.

What’s the secret to running and swimming faster? The position of your belly button, say scientists.   Does it make a difference if it’s an “innie” or an “outie”?

Drunk tourist mauled by Fatso the crocodile… after trying to  RIDE 16ft-long beast.  Drunk breaks into zoo, accosts crocodile, gets bitten … I got nothin’ to add.

Cancer patient sparks radiation alert on cross-Channel ferry after setting off terrorism detectors.   But can he read at night without turning on a light?

OK, next week I promise to put a little more effort into this. But honestly, I scan the Daily Mail headlines and it pretty much writes itself.

Monkey soldiers. So says an article in “People’s Daily Online”, apparently an official publication of China’s Communist ruling party.

Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents are training monkeys to use weapons to attack American troops, according to a recent report by a British-based media agency.

Reporters from the media agency spotted and took photos of a few “monkey soldiers” holding AK-47 rifles and Bren light machine guns in the Waziristan tribal region near the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The report and photos have been widely spread by media agencies and Web sites across the world.

The report also tells us that the Taliban hopes to rouse animal rights groups in the U.S. to pressure Washington to end the war and withdraw from Afghanistan, and that, ironically, the idea for Monkey Soldiers originated when the CIA unleashed battalions of armed simians against the Viet Namese.

 The original article is here.

Sounds like the makings of a new reality show:

Authorities said a drunken man and woman were arrested after they were found pushing a baby stroller holding two young boys, open containers of alcohol and a bayonet inside.

The incident occured at about 1:30 a.m.

More details are here.

I think it’s safe to say a career change is in order for Christian Hernandez.

Hernandez, an apparently now former matador, put on an unusual performance at the Plaza Mexico in Mexico City:

In a sight rarely seen in the bravado world of bullfighting, Hernandez made a spin with his red cape at the charging bull, then ran across the ring and leapt headlong over the wall to safety, dropping his cape in the process. The crowd hooted in derision.

Bullfighting is a barbaric and archaic spectacle which seems misplaced in any modern civilized society.

Still, I’d have paid money to see this one.

The full article is here:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/14/raging-bull-running-matador-mexican-bullfighter-drops-cape-leaps-wall-flees/

File this under things it never really occurred to me to wonder about but found interesting once I stumbled across it.

How do crocodiles cross oceans?

Body surfing, dude!

At least that’s the conclusion reached by a research group that used sonar transmitters and satellite tracking to follow the movements of salt water crocs in an Australian river system, then transfrerred their efforts to sea-going critters.

Although the crocodiles aren’t particularly strong swimmers, they are apparently pretty savvy sailors. Research showed that crocs undertaking ocean voyages leave with the outgoing tide and follow the ocean currents. One crocodile even laid over in a sheltered bay for four days until the current in a narrow strait shifted in the direction he was going.

How – or if – the crocodiles know where the currents will carry them would seem to be another question.

The full story is here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/secretrevealedhowcrocodilescrossoceans

For some strange reason, I found this extremely interesting:

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/berthiers-door.html

From the GameStation (UK) users’ agreement:

“By placing an order via this web site, on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamestation.co.uk or one of its duly authorised minions.”

Yes, this is for real. They originally posted it as a “Change in Terms of Service” on April 1. The company is now sending emails to customers telling them they are waiving their claims to the customer’s souls. Had customers actually looked at the TOS they would have found an opt-out button for that clause that would have given them a 5-pound gift certificate. And allowed them to keep their souls:

“…we reserve the right to serve such notice in 6 (six) foot high letters of fire, however we can accept no liability for any loss or damage caused by such an act. If you a) do not believe you have an immortal soul, b) have already given it to another party, or c) do not wish to grant Us such a license, please click the link below to nullify this sub-clause and proceed with your transaction.”

See the whole article here:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/04/15/online-shoppers-unknowingly-sold-souls/

Turns out Ralphie’s mom was right after all. Not about shooting his eye out with his Red Ryder 200 shot carbine action BB gun, but about falling icicles being known to kill people.

According to this Reuters report

Six people have been killed in three days by icicles falling from buildings in a central Russian region, ITAR-TASS news agency reported Tuesday.

Just when the 9-11 twoofers have me convinced that the US has cornered the market on complete and utter ignorance and stupidity, I come across this survey involving 3,000 residents of England, raising the hope that maybe other countries have as many drooling imbeciles per capita as we do:

23% of those British surveyed believe Winston Churchill is a myth, a fictional character who never really lived.

I am not making this up.

47% think King Richard the Lionheart is a mythical character. 23% think nurse Florence Nightingale is made up, and 3% believe Charles Dickens, one of England’s most celebrated writers of fiction, is himself a fictional character. Also on the list of people believed to be myths are the Duke of Wellington and Mahatma Gandhi.

On the other hand, 58% know that Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective, was a real person. Which would come as a surprise to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer who created Holmes.

Newspapers in Venezuela are reporting that Hugo Chavez and British-born supermodel Naomi Campbell began dating two months ago after Campbell interviewed Chavez in Caracas for the magazine GQ.

Chavez reportedly flirted with the 37-year-old model and invited her to “touch my muscles” during the interview.

Chavez is 53 and  has four children from two marriages. Campbell has never been married, but she has been arrested for physically and verbally abusing employees and associates. Last year she pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless assault against her maid and was sentenced to five days community service and ordered to attend an anger management course.

I’m not sure how you get sanctioned as a World Burrito Eating Championship event, but for what it’s worth:

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine - A day trader and aspiring pizza chef known as “Eater X” munched through 10 3/4 burritos in a dozen minutes Saturday to win what was billed as the world burrito-eating championship.

10 3/4 burritos in 12 minutes? These are “professionals”? They’ve obviously never seen my teenage son eat burritos. The $3,000 prize money wouldn’t cover his Taco Bell tab for the month.