Sunday, November 30, 2008
I did not know that
Glenn Miller's 1940 hit "PEnnsylvania 6-5000″ refers to the telephone number of the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City, where Miller's orchestra often played.
It still works: 212-736-5000 is the hotel's main number.
It still works: 212-736-5000 is the hotel's main number.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Those square-heads really know how to make the alphabet work for 'em
The Icelandic sentence Barbara Ara bar Ara araba bara rabbabara, besides being fun to say, is spelled with only three letters. It means "Barbara, daughter of Ari, brought only rhubarb to Ari the Arab."
Surging shoppers kill New York Wal-Mart worker
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man working for discount retailer Wal-Mart was killed on Friday in a stampede by frenzied shoppers who broke down doors and surged into a Long Island, New York store, a police spokesman said.
The 34-year-old man was at the entrance of the Valley Stream Wal-Mart store just after it opened at 5 a.m. and was knocked to the ground, the police report said.
The exact cause of death was still to be determined by a medical examiner.
Four shoppers, including a 28-year-old pregnant woman, were also taken to local hospitals for injuries sustained in the incident, police said.
Wal-Mart said it was saddened by the death of the man, who was working for a temporary employment agency serving the retailer, and by the injuries suffered by shoppers.
"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," the world's largest retailer said in a statement. It said the incident was still under investigation and referred any other inquiries to local police.
New York's largest grocery workers union on Friday urged federal, state and local authorities to investigate what it called "Wal-Mart's failure to provide a safe workplace."
"This incident was avoidable," said Bruce Both, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500. "Where were the safety barriers? Where was security? ... This is not just tragic; it rises to a level of blatant irresponsibility by Wal-Mart."
Wal-Mart said it had added additional internal security, third party security, more store associates and had worked closely with local police.
"We also erected barricades. Despite all of our precautions, this unfortunate event occurred," Hank Mullany, a Wal-Mart senior vice president, said in a statement.
The Friday after America's Thanksgiving holiday is known as Black Friday and is traditionally the busiest retail day of the year, kicking off the Christmas shopping season.
U.S. stores across the country opened early to offer discounts to consumers hit by a contracting economy. Hundreds of shoppers waited in line before dawn at some locations to secure deals on holiday gifts.
(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa in Washington)
(Reporting by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Anthony Boadle)
via Reuters
Hey, idiots: Next year, try this instead.
The 34-year-old man was at the entrance of the Valley Stream Wal-Mart store just after it opened at 5 a.m. and was knocked to the ground, the police report said.
The exact cause of death was still to be determined by a medical examiner.
Four shoppers, including a 28-year-old pregnant woman, were also taken to local hospitals for injuries sustained in the incident, police said.
Wal-Mart said it was saddened by the death of the man, who was working for a temporary employment agency serving the retailer, and by the injuries suffered by shoppers.
"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," the world's largest retailer said in a statement. It said the incident was still under investigation and referred any other inquiries to local police.
New York's largest grocery workers union on Friday urged federal, state and local authorities to investigate what it called "Wal-Mart's failure to provide a safe workplace."
"This incident was avoidable," said Bruce Both, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500. "Where were the safety barriers? Where was security? ... This is not just tragic; it rises to a level of blatant irresponsibility by Wal-Mart."
Wal-Mart said it had added additional internal security, third party security, more store associates and had worked closely with local police.
"We also erected barricades. Despite all of our precautions, this unfortunate event occurred," Hank Mullany, a Wal-Mart senior vice president, said in a statement.
The Friday after America's Thanksgiving holiday is known as Black Friday and is traditionally the busiest retail day of the year, kicking off the Christmas shopping season.
U.S. stores across the country opened early to offer discounts to consumers hit by a contracting economy. Hundreds of shoppers waited in line before dawn at some locations to secure deals on holiday gifts.
(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa in Washington)
(Reporting by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Anthony Boadle)
via Reuters
Hey, idiots: Next year, try this instead.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Elbert Martin
In 1912, there was an assassination attempt on Teddy Roosevelt by John Schrank. He shot Roosevelt in the chest once. The would be assassin was then grabbed by Elbert Martin, who was a stenographer to Roosevelt. Martin wrestled the gun from Schrank, saving Roosevelt's life.
Roosevelt, bleeding, and shot in the chest, went ahead and gave his complete speech, and then went to the hospital. The letter in the photograph is Roosevelt's speech, and shows the hole from the bullet passing through it.
It really is my perfect job
Conductor: Stand clear of the doors. You are delaying service. (pause, then impatiently) Stand clear of the doors! You are delaying service! (pause) I will come back there and stab you if you do not get out of the doorway.
--Uptown 1 Train
Automated announcer: The next stop is 59th Street.
(people flee the train)
Conductor: The next stop on this train will be 14th Street, Union Square. Not 59th Street. ...you people take this train every day. You should know better than that, now come on!
--Uptown 4 Train
Via Overheard in New York
--Uptown 1 Train
Automated announcer: The next stop is 59th Street.
(people flee the train)
Conductor: The next stop on this train will be 14th Street, Union Square. Not 59th Street. ...you people take this train every day. You should know better than that, now come on!
--Uptown 4 Train
Via Overheard in New York
Thursday, November 27, 2008
It's all about respect
Soldier #1: Sir, are you going to do anything while on leave?
Lieutenant, sitting in the one shady spot in the blazing heat: Yeah, I think me and my cousin are going to get some fuckin beers, get all smashed, go out and get tattoos. It's gonna be cool shit. Grab some brews, bitches...way cool.
Soldier #2, walking up: Yeah? Are you going to get a tattoo of a penis on your forehead, dickhead?
(shocked silence)
Lieutenant (thoughtful): Naw...fuck that.
Iraq
Overheard by: TK- soldier#3 almost peed stopping from laughing
Lieutenant, sitting in the one shady spot in the blazing heat: Yeah, I think me and my cousin are going to get some fuckin beers, get all smashed, go out and get tattoos. It's gonna be cool shit. Grab some brews, bitches...way cool.
Soldier #2, walking up: Yeah? Are you going to get a tattoo of a penis on your forehead, dickhead?
(shocked silence)
Lieutenant (thoughtful): Naw...fuck that.
Iraq
Overheard by: TK- soldier#3 almost peed stopping from laughing
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Demon core
On Aug. 21, 1945, physicist Harry Daghlian accidentally dropped a brick of tungsten carbide into a plutonium bomb core at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The mass went critical, and Daghlian died of radiation sickness.
Exactly nine months later, physicist Louis Slotin was conducting an experiment on the same mass of plutonium when his screwdriver slipped and the mass again went critical. He too died of radiation sickness.
The mass became known as "the demon core."
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