Places with Dubious Distinctions

   1. "'Aliens choose Luton' as top town"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4630329.stm >
   "A collection of 10 stories about Luton is being launched in an attempt
    to improve its image after it was voted 'crap town' of the year last year"

   3. "Town celebrates being named the Armpit of America by reporter"
      [expired link]
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2003/08/21/165833-ap.html >
   "About 2,000 people turned out over the weekend for the community's second
    annual 'Festival in the Pit' - a takeoff from Battle Mountain being named
    the 'Armpit of America' by a Washington Post reporter in 2001"
      "Why not the worst?"  [original article]
      < http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A31628-2001Nov28?
          language=printer >
   "We promised to find the armpit of America. Turns out it's only about five
    inches from the heart"

   4. "Detroit named America's fattest city"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1020001.htm >
   "Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has committed something of a cardinal sin
    in the motor city by blaming cars and trucks for Detroiters' bulging
    waistlines"

   5. "Baked bean capital dubbed Windy City"  [expired link]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_870837.html >
   "West Bromwich has been dubbed The Windy City after a survey found its
    inhabitants to be the UK's biggest fans of baked beans"

   6. "Winnipeg still world Slurpee capital"  [expired link]
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/07/08/531948.html >
   "How sweet it is. For the fifth year in a row, Winnipeg can proudly call
    itself the Slurpee Capital of the World"

Where am I? - using Google Maps

   Google Maps has expanded it's catalogue of satellite imagery, now covering most
   of the known world.

   I've picked a few landmarks for you to guess "where am I?":

   1a. < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-34.9152,138.5961&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
   1b. < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-34.9152,138.5961&spn=0.060596,0.07930&t=k >
        Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, South Australia
   2.  < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.4339,12.3387&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
        St Mark's Square, Venice, Italy
   3.  < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.8902,12.4919&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
        Colosseum, Rome, Italy
   4.  < http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.8581,2.2942&spn=0.003787,0.004957&t=k >
        Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Taken for a Ride

   1. "Cops say bogus bus driver collected fares, followed route"
      < http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_060303_busbandit.html >
   "The bogus bus driver apparently dropped every one of his passengers off
    safely, at the correct destination"

   2. "Bus driver is taken for a ride by pupils"
      < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/20/
          nskool20.xml >
   "Rather than helping the driver, the mischievous pupils led him on an
    estimated 20-mile round trip"

   3. "Man charged with drunken ride in stolen plane; teen passengers not
       charged"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/06/22/1099967-ap.html >
   "An intoxicated 20-year-old stole a small plane and took two friends on
    a three-hour, predawn joyride early Wednesday that ended with a safe
    landing at a closed airport, authorities said"

   4. "Teenagers stole bus"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1388457.html >
   "Australian police are looking for three teenagers who stole a bus after
    the driver nipped out to go to the toilet"

   5. "Police tell of teen tram thief's obsession"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1347521.htm >
   "A 15-year-old boy who allegedly stole two trams over the weekend, drove
    them a total of more than 25 kilometres and picked up passengers along
    the way is a good lad whose obsession got the better of him, according
    to police"

Random Pix

   Today, for your viewing pleasure, a random assortment of photo links.

   1. The Ugliest Cars in Britain
      < http://www.uglycars.co.uk/ >

   2. Swedish "Boy" Bands?
      < http://www.heysuburbia.com/cgi-bin/m4/headline/03_04_02_22_50 >
   Abba doesn't look so bad after all

   3. The Helipad Open photos
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/photo_galleries/4289977.stm >
   Federer v Agassi: "Just a normal day at Dubai's 321m high Burj Al Arab
   hotel, which is set on a man-made island"

   4. The World Islands
      < http://guide.tenuae.com/living/dubai/the_world_islands.php >

   5. Snow Crystal Photographs
      < http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm >

   6. Tornado and Rainbow Over Kansas
      < http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050613.html >
   First, the good news: your house is at the end of rainbow.  And now the
   bad news: your house is also in the path of a tornado.

Examples of Customer Relationship Mismanagement

   1. "Outrage at energy company howler"  [expired link]
      < http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11652324%255E2862,00.html >
   "A Melbourne man is seeking an apology from energy company TXU after it
    sent him a letter addressed to 'Paranoid Fool'"

   2. "Shock over 'strangling' tax letter"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/2952928.stm >
   "A woman who contacted the Inland Revenue for help was stunned when
    officials wrote back calling her 'Mrs Deserves-Strangling'"

   3. "Home Office enquiry into 'racist' letter"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1875640.stm >
   "The Home Office has promised an urgent investigation into letters it sent
    to a Nottingham asylum seeker addressing him as 'Mr Paki'"

   4. "Valentines cards prove the wrong medicine"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1310598.htm >
   "A pharmaceutical company that sent anonymous Valentine's cards to Dutch
    gynaecologists in a publicity stunt has been forced to apologise for
    sparking family rows"

   5. "Insurer apologises over letter gaffe"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2124713.stm >
   "Insurance giant Scottish Widows has apologised after sending out 100
    letters offering health cover to people it knew had died"

   6. "NTL admits billing letter blunder"
      < http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/07/28/ntl_admits_billing_letter_blunder/ >
   "NTL has apologised after sending out 800 letters by mistake to customers
    demanding payment on 'overdue' accounts"

   7. "Global village"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/06/10/1118347599380.html >
   "Customers who rang the helpline of one of Britain's biggest cable TV
    companies were shocked to be told to 'f--- off'"

Nowhere to Hide

   1. "Missing rugby player found in fridge"
      < http://www.srar.net/2004/07/missing-rugby-player-found-in-fridge.html >
   "A Tongan rugby player has been found hiding in a fridge as he tried to
    dodge deportation from New Zealand"

   2. "Prisoner hides in sofa"
      < http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg9_14 >
   "An escaped prisoner was found by police - hiding inside a sofa"

   3. "Florida man on lam found inside of television"  [expired link]
      < http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0115fugitivefound
          ,0,7406040.story >
   "A 6-foot man allegedly on the run from Florida authorities since September
    was found this week curled up inside of a television"

   4. "Fugitive's luck runs dry"
      < http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/1245512.html >
   "A second search of the home turned up a twisted, 6-foot Nunn hiding in a
    clothes dryer that was blocked by yet another clothes dryer"

   5. "Drink driver locked herself in toilet"  [expired link]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1203154.html >
   "A drunk Dutch driver had to be freed by the fire brigade after she locked
    herself in a hospital toilet to avoid a blood test"

Museums of the Modern Age

   1. "New Swedish herring museum creates a stink"
      < http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1387491,00470002.htm >
   "A new museum dedicated to the smelly Swedish delicacy of fermented Baltic
    herring opens its doors this weekend in northern Sweden, giving visitors
    a unique olfactory experience"

   2. "Odorama celebrates Italy's 'white diamonds'"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1242138.htm >
   "Italy's warty white truffles, once aphrodisiacs for the ancient Romans
    and now the most expensive fungi in the world, are finally getting their
    own museum"

   3. "Elvis-A-Rama museum casts net for impersonators"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1386453.htm >
   "A Las Vegas museum dedicated to the memory and myth of Elvis Presley has
    launched a worldwide casting call for impersonators of the King"

   4. "Mining museum clinches arts prize"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4582869.stm >
   "Big Pit, a disused Welsh coal mine which reopened as a working museum,
    wins the UK's biggest arts award"

   5. "Historic hair salon museum piece"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4574459.stm >
   "A 1950s hairdressing salon is being dismantled piece by piece to be
    rebuilt at the Museum of Welsh Life"

   6. "Kids, we're going to the foreign debt museum"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1356967.htm >
   "Three years after staging the largest debt default in modern history,
    Argentina has opened what may be the first Museum of Foreign Debt to
    teach people the perils of borrowing abroad"

   7. "Child's play at 20,000 toy museum"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4347025.stm >
   "A new museum of childhood, housing a collection of over 20,000 toys, is
    to open in west Wales"

   8. "Mower man's museum a cut above the rest"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1382815.htm >
   "Brian Radam is mad about lawnmowers - he loves their smell, their sound,
    the way they look and the way they are built, and he is not the only one"

   9. "Science museum ready to gross out visitors"
      < http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=98382 >
   "[I]n addition to the wonders of the world already on display, Minnesota's
    Science Museum will open Animal Grossology"

   10. "Gross side of life"
      < http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/
          visual_arts/6923016.htm >
   "if you always wanted to know why vomit stinks, how much gas people pass
    on an average day or how to make fake boogers; well, friend, you may be
    a grossologist, and the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose has some-
    thing for you"

Some Toilet Humour

   1. "Exploding toilet leads to lawsuit"
      < http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1498923,00.html >
   "A man who says he was severely burned when a portable toilet exploded
    after he sat down and lit a cigarette is suing a general contractor and
    a coal company, accusing them of negligence"

   2. "Residents told to batten down toilets"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1372385.htm >
   "The authority is cleaning the sewerage mains with high pressure jets.
    During a similar operation about three years ago, the process caused raw
    sewage to explode out of a toilet at a house in King George Avenue
    coating the walls, floors and ceiling"

   3. "Court official sues after toilet breaks under him"
      < http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-4-2004_pg9_3 >
   "'I was sitting on the toilet bowl and the next thing you know, it exploded.
    I was on the floor, on top of a pile of broken porcelain, in a puddle of
    water and filth'... He now goes to physical therapy and a chiropractor,
    and stretches every morning for 20 minutes before going to work. 'It's a
    pain in the ass to do all this stuff,' he said"

   4. "Toilet traps man's neck in Frankley"  [expired link]
      < http://ruberyvillage.co.uk/news/article/render.asp?include=1185.asp >
   "Paul Sanders was fixing a disabled toilet in Frankley on Thursday at around
    1015 BST when his leg flipped a switch causing his neck to become wedged in
    a motorised section of the device"

   5. "Cop accidentally shoots man while on loo"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1366410.html >
   "An off-duty policeman's gun went off twice as he pulled down his pants to
    use the toilet, injuring a man"

   6. "Restaurant uses toilet bowl theme"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/06/03/1069598-ap.html >
   "Taiwanese restaurateur Eric Wang has given new meaning to the traditional
    revellers' cry of bottoms up"

   7. "Gas station bathroom offers royal touch"
      < http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2005-03-16-luxury-loo_x.htm >
   "As Paul Moghadan puts it, a good toilette is good for the bottom line. A
    chandelier, faux travertine walls, silver columns and a marble counter
    adorn the bathroom at his Chevron gas station in West Covina, some 20
    miles east of Los Angeles"

Look What I Found

   1. "Nebraska woman finds $3,000 in chair bought at garage sale"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/05/31/1065078-ap.html >
   "Stafford has found more than $3,000 in bills dating from 1928 to 1953 in
    the bottom of a high-backed chair she bought at a garage sale - for $2"

   2. "Beggar found 400 pieces of jewellery in rubbish bin"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_790082.html >
   "Assia Mladenova was looking for iron and cardboard objects to sell to
    recyclers when she came upon the treasure trove, worth about £4,400"

   3. "Orem Man Finds $10K in New House"
      < http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=5&sid=198393 >
   "When he and a friend pulled the cover off of an air vent during the
    installation, he found a metal box. As he opened it up, he saw something
    was wrapped up in aluminum foil. When he unwrapped the foil, he saw cash"

   4. "£5 jacket had £600 in pocket"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1161188.html >
   "A Chicago woman bought a jacket from a charity shop for £5 - and found
    £600 in the pocket"

   5. "Woman finds expensive art in cheap wallpaper"
      < http://www.boston.com/news/daily/21/odds_art.htm >
   "In late June, Corinne Turner walked into a Utah discount store and spent
    99 cents on canvas wallpaper. She opened her purchase to find -- surprise!
    -- five pieces of art worth $6,000"

   6. "Precious cello saved from CD cabinet fate"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1111127.htm >
   "A Los Angeles nurse has found a stolen Stradivarius cello worth $5 million
    next to a rubbish bin and planned to turn it into a CD cabinet until she
    discovered it was the instrument the whole town was searching for"

   7. "Woman finds rare car buried in garden"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1096461.html >
   "A woman has found a 60-year-old car buried in her garden... The car turned
    out to be a rare Ford V8 Pilot"

   8. "Man finds tank in garden"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1321523.html >
   "A New Zealand man who hit a metal object while digging the garden was
    shocked to find it was a four tonne tank"