Wacky news that makes you go "wtf?"

[xilman]

Man injured by Amsterdam pop-up toilet

[kladner]

Originally Posted by xilman

Man injured by Amsterdam pop-up toilet

[only_human]

L.A. school board approves $11 million to fix faulty records system

The system caused problems districtwide this fall, with thousands of students unable to enroll in classes required for graduation or college. Teachers were unable to record attendance, and grade information was lost or corrupted

The district has spent more than $130 million trying to develop a fully functional student records system. The new system is called My Integrated Student Information System, or MISIS.

Tuesday's measure passed unanimously. The cost will be covered with voter-approved school construction bonds.

[ixfd64]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/17...o-years-dating

[kladner]

I picked this up from a story about a Facebook algorithm designed to reduce the distribution of hoax postings. However, the Snopes article it links to has the actual hoax post regarding the above-named snake.

Source is here.

[kladner]

http://thinkprogress.org/culture/201...st-goes-viral/

Colleen McCullough wrote 25 novels. Her The Thorn Birds sold 30 million copies worldwide for $1.9 million, then a record; a miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain and Barbara Stanwyck based on her work became one of the most watched in history, second at the time only to Roots. (The miniseries won four Golden Globes but McCullough, whose tastes did not align with the HFPA’s, called it “instant vomit.”) Her historical series, Masters of Rome, was critically acclaimed by the likes of Henry Kissinger. Before becoming a full-time author, McCullough was a researcher at Yale medical school. And in between her time in New Haven and her global literary pursuits, she established the neurophysiology department at Syndey’s Royal North Shore hospital. She published her first novel, Tim, in 1974; her last, Bittersweet, in 2013. She was still working on a sequel when she died yesterday, at age 77, in a hospital on Norfolk Island.
But if you read her obituary in the Australian Photograph you will learn other, definitely more important facts about her before you ever get to this list of accomplishments. Because the second sentence of that obit reads: “Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless a woman of wit and warmth.”

[xilman]

Originally Posted by kladner

http://thinkprogress.org/culture/201...st-goes-viral/

Definitely a "warts and all" description. Students of English history will recognize that one, possibly the best known characteristic of an otherwise important historical figure. The description has passed into the English vernacular.

[Primeinator]

This add by Budweiser during the Super Bowl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siHU_9ec94c

Budweiser "attacks" craft breweries. This is ironic because they have been buying up a number of craft breweries over the last few years. In fact, one of the breweries they have purchased makes a pumpkin peach beer that they make fun of during the commercial. While pumpkin peach likely doesn't appeal to many, the idea that craft beer is "sissy" strikes me as odd considering Bud is low ABV and has very little taste compared to things like Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (18% alcohol and enough hops to bounce off the table), Green Flash Palate Wrecker, Perennial Artisan Ales Abraxas, Omer Vander Ghinste Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge, Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy Rochefort 10, Boulevard Saison-Brett, Evil Twin I Love You With My Stout, Bell's Hopslam, Brouwerij de Ranke Guldenberg, Firestone Walker Parabola, Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout, Brouwerij van Honsebrouck Gueuze Fond Tradition, Weihenstephaner Vitus (oldest brewery in the world), Brouwerij St. Bernardus Prior 8, Brasserie d'Achouffe Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel, Stone Cali-Belgique IPA, HaandBryggeriet Dark Force... and many, many more great beers.

A paraphrase of one of my favorite responses: " I'm hard at work making my own Budweiser. As soon as I pee out this gallon of water I just drank I'll be almost done."

[kladner]

A paraphrase of one of my favorite responses: " I'm hard at work making my own Budweiser. As soon as I pee out this gallon of water I just drank I'll be almost done."

Or as a Brit rant (mis)attributed to John Cleese puts it, "Nearly frozen, weak gnat urine," pronounced with a long "i" sound in the last word.

[Nick]

For serious quality beer:
In Britain: Camra http://www.camra.org.uk/about-real-ale
In Germany: Reinheitsgebot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot
In the Netherlands and Belgium: Trappist http://www.trappistbeer.net/

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Nick

F
In the Netherlands and Belgium: Trappist

Shouldn't that be spelled "tres pissed"?