Piranhas from Wikipedia:
Piranhas is a historic city and municipality in the western of the State of Alagoas, in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Located on the bank of the São Francisco River, just at the border with the State of Sergipe, Piranhas was founded in 1891 and originally named Floriano Peixoto (in honor of the Army General who was one of the founders of the Republic and later elected President). It was initially named Porto de Piranhas, because a fisherman had caught some piranhas (a carnivore predator fish) there. In the 30s, Piranhas was attacked several times by the cangaceiros, bands of marauders and bandits commanded by the infamous Lampião, who frequently hid from the police in the rocky outcrops near the city.
]]>When you buy the remote you get a bag of keys and the base. You can reconfigure what the remote does when keys are pressed by somehow interfacing the remote with your computer (usb or bluetooth maybe).
Obviously all the guts are in the base including the battery pack and infra red sender.
The greatest attraction in Atlantic City was the Steel Pier, which featured a host of extraordinary side shows, and where stars of stage and screen regularly performed at the Marine Ballroom. But the most popular, and the most indelibly remembered, act on the Steel Pier was the Diving Horse. For children especially, the diving horses were for decades a mesmerizing and never-to-be-forgotten experience.
The Steel Pier was opened on June 18 1898, and was originally built by the Quakers, as a private resort. However, it was soon open to the public, as “the handsomest and most luxuriously appointed pier in the world”, and this was no idle boast. Later it was owned by the Hamid family, who maintained the Steel Pier’s high standards.
The venue’s most fondly remembered act began in the 1920s. Dr W. F. Carver, a noted sportsman, was returning home on horseback one night in 1924. The bridge he was crossing collapsed, and he and his horse plunged forty feet into a raging river. The horse executed a well-balanced dive, and both swam safely to shore. Dr Carver wondered later whether a horse could be trained to do this. Dogs could certainly be trained to dive…but horses?
One of the original riders, and certainly the most famous rider of all, was Sonora Webster Carver, Dr Carver’s daughter-in-law. Her husband Al Carver had been the original horseman, but Sonora made a female rider a traditional part of the thrilling show. Her sister Annette was also a rider of the diving horses in their forty, and sometimes sixty, foot plunge into a special tank. At first Dr Carver had thought that Sonora Webster, who had her heart set on riding the horses, was too small for the task, and he gave her a job as a stable hand. But she persisted, and was finally given the chance to fulfill her dream.
Tragedy struck Sonora Carver in 1931. After a bad dive she suffered from detached retinas and was blinded. Incredibly, she continued to take part in the show for another ten years. She published her memoirs in 1961, in a book entitled ‘A Girl and Five Brave Horses’, which inspired the film ‘Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken’, about Sonora Carver and the diving horses. She died only this year, in Pleasantville New Jersey, at the age of 99. She had been blind for 72 years.
Many people have written about the extraordinary experience of seeing the famous diving horse during a childhood holiday in Atlantic City. John B. Abbott writes:
‘Thinking back on that day, I remember the windburn I got on my forearms from the cool salty breeze off the Atlantic—a first for me. And to this day, I can’t go to the Jersey Shore without bringing home a box of fresh saltwater taffy.
‘But above all, I remember anxiously getting bleacher seats to see the Diving Horse. As we took our seats, the horse, with a girl named Arnette Webster (clad in a rubber wet suit) on its back, was about to jump from a platform roughly thirty feet high into a pool. I recall staring at the odd sight of a horse standing as calmly as you please on a platform above a pool just like the kind I swam in at my Aunt Anne and Uncle Leo’s house. To a recorded drum roll and cymbal crash, Webster urged the horse forward, and the two fell through space, to make the biggest splash I’d ever seen—even bigger than the cannonballs my uncle could make in his own pool. Wow! And then both horse and rider surfaced, though for the life of me, I can’t recall how they got out of the pool.’
(The diving tower, originally some sixty feet high, was later lowered to forty feet, and finally to thirty feet).
Another memory, from a very dear reader of ‘Petticoat Discipline Quarterly’, recalls a special summer in 1952, when she and her brother were staying with their uncle and aunt in Atlantic City:
‘The rest of the day was filled with exciting sideshow acts, such as Mr. Johnson’s Boxing Cats; Elsie the Cow and her son Beauregard, and Captain Kelly and his sea lions. Best of all was Dimah the Diving Horse, named after Steel Pier owner Mr. Hamid, but spelled backwards.
‘Dimah was a beautiful jet-black filly. Her rider, a pretty young woman, stood on top of a high diving platform waving to the crowd as the announcer called our attention to the small water tank.
“Ladies and Gentleman, Dimah the Wonder Horse is going to dive into this small tank of water. Her rider Miss Olive Gelnaw will guide Dimah during her sixty-foot drop in to the tank. Now we need you to be very quiet, it takes all of her concentration to get it right, or they will miss the tank and fall to their death in the ocean.”
‘The crowd grew silent. Dimah, standing at the bottom of the ramp, was released from her trainer and trotted up the long ramp to the top of the diving platform, and her awaiting rider. Miss Gelnaw, standing on a side railing, sprung effortlessly over to the filly’s back landing just behind the harness. She took hold of the leather strap cinched up around Dimah’s huge girth, before making the big jump.
‘We held our breath as the filly walked to the edge of the platform and looked out over the crowd. Just then a sea gull flew by catching her attention. She lifted her head and sniffed the air, curling her upper lip over her nose. It looked as if she were smiling at us. In a blink of an eye, she slid her two front legs down the ramp, and jumped off the platform. Down she came!
“Sp–lash!” Most of the water in the tank came rushing up in a huge wave, spilling over the sides of the tank, leaving it less than half full. The crowd went wild; Dimah and her rider did a perfect dive. They emerged from the tank and took a bow, the filly’s coat wet and shiny, gleamed in the sun as they led her back to her stall.
“Wow, I want to do that when I grow up!” I said to the gang dressed in old-fashioned bathing suits climbed up a ladder to the top of the diving platform and announced that they were going to do a dive better than Dimah. The fat man was going to play the part of Dimah, and the skinny fellow was going to be the rider. We all laughed and booed them, saying they couldn’t do it. The announcer gave them a count. On the count of three the fat man dove off the platform leaving the other man behind. “Hey dummy, you forgot me!” he hollered to the man below in the tank. The fat man climbed back up the ladder complaining all the way, telling the crowd, “And they call me the Jackass, why he can’t even count.”
And another reminiscence:
‘The High Diving Horses were always my favorite. I must have seen at least six of them over the years. They each had their own style of diving. One would wait a good five minutes before jumping – he would hold his head up and watch the seagulls fly by. Some dove with their front legs straight out, while others tucked up their legs as if they were going over a jump. One horse would twist in the air and land on his side, making it dangerous for his rider.
‘The riders (all women) would suffer one or two broken bones a year. Most of the injuries came from getting out of the pool of paddling hooves. They made it look easy, but it wasn’t. Years ago a rider by the name of Sonora Carver (in the late 1920’s) went blind from a bad impact with the water. The jump was sixty feet at that time, but was then lowered to forty.
‘Another horse, I think his name was Patches, drew quite an audience. After making so many jumps he no longer waited for his rider. He would charge up the ramp to the tower and take a running jump off the diving board, leaving the rider behind. A couple of the girls tried to leap on him as he flew by, only to be left sailing through the air mount-less. One day, he got up so much speed he almost overshot the pool. Needless to say, they retired him. One year they even had a high diving mule.’
The Diving Horses ceased in 1978, when the Steel Pier was bought by Resorts International, and was shut down. Thankfully, the last two diving horses were saved by an animal protection society. The Steel Pier itself had been through a good deal of drama: in 1962 a tidal wave washed part of it away, and in 1970 the famous Marine Ballroom was sadly destroyed by fire. Atlantic City had acquired a somewhat seedy and run-down reputation, but today there are plans to restore and reopen the pier. Hopefully they will be fulfilled.
But the diving horses will never come back. It was an act with significant dangers, and many riders, Sonora Carver in particular, suffered quite severe injuries. The horses seemed to enjoy it greatly, but the animal protection societies would never permit such an act again. It has vanished into the bitter-sweet mists of memory, but there are still many thousands of people who will carry with them all their lives the thrilling and spectacular memory of the Diving Horses of Atlantic City…
The DualTow watch by Christophe Claret retails for $300,000, but it only displays the time to the nearest five minutes. As the people behind the blog say: “So you’re paying for a, seemingly, needlessly complicated watch that doesn’t actually tell you the correct time”
The iCarta+ Stereo Dock and toilet paper holder. Yours for $90
The Brigg umbrella, which comes fitted with a screw-in glass flask, retails for about $725. The people who run the blog say: “The umbrella says, ‘Man of taste’, while the flask says, ‘There’s a good chance I’ll pass out in a ditch somewhere tonight’. Two great looks married together in one convenient package”
DEOS Group’s diamond earbuds retail at between $1,200 and $15,000 for a pair
Here’s the Leman Rose Gold Limited Edition Pen by Caran D’Ache, retailing at $15,800. Well, it is 18-carat gold and covered in up to 34 diamonds or stones
The Diesel DZ9044 Sideview watch is a snip at a mere $365. Your osteopath’s bill will be more than that once you’ve twisted your arm around a few times to check the time
Here’s a chocolate truffle for $240. Yes, for one truffle. That’s $2,600 per pound. But it’s a truffle with a black truffle inside, you see. Lovely.
Here’s the Apple iPhone 3G Kings Button, retailing for about $2.4 million. And now rendered obsolete by the Apple iPhone 3GS
The $2,800 Pizza Royale 007, created by Chef Domenico Crolla, is topped with tomato pizza sauce, smoked salmon, venison medallions, cognac-marinated lobster and champagne-soaked caviar. Oh, and 24-carat gold leaf.
And finally, there’s the Anita Bling-kini by Pistol Panties, which cost £2,000 (about $3,000). But then they are covered in more than 5,000 Swarovski crystals.
I know that green beer is regular beer with tasteless food coloring added. And yet, when you drink it, your mind thinks something is off. Food colors matter.
So I put together this list of 11 weirdly-colored foods, strange food colors, and/or experiments in food coloring that were just flat-out wrong
- Green beer. Alcohol shouldn’t color your tongue. If it does, you’re doing it wrong. That’s why I never do shots out of test tubes. Why put the shots that are all juice and coloring into the nerdiest scientific item in the entire bar? They don’t light up your flaming shots with a bunsen burner.
Pink fake bacon (or “fakon”). I don’t get why they do this on vegetarian products. It’s not bacon. It doesn’t taste like bacon. And, worst of all, in their attempts to make it resemble bacon, it’s hot pink with fake off-white marbling.
Purple ketchup. At one point, Heinz decided that kids didn’t want red ketchup any more, they wanted colored ketchup. The stuff looks like, at best, mold.
Blue raspberry. I never understood why blue became the universal color of raspberry in candy. I get that cherry is red, but kids aren’t stupid. And they haven’t lost their vision yet… they can still visually discern between red and maroon or red and vermilion. “Blue raspberry” was such a weird decision someone made once upon a time that stuck.
- Crystal Pepsi. Frankly, this was all just an elaborate ruse to cram yet another reference to Crystal Pepsi onto this blog.
Green eggs. My name is Sam. For my entire life I have been tormented by this food. At least when people want to make a lame cultural reference to my name they go for “Sam I Am” and not “I Am Sam”. And then to round it out I could say “Am I Sam?”
Pink butter. Unacceptable. If butter’s pink, how can Americans continue to secretly cook everything in it and fatten up. The pink would leave evidence behind.
White mint chocolate chip. I remember when my mom bought some white mint chocolate chip ice cream. I thought it was weird. Then I ate some and it was effing delicious. Seriously. I think my mom and I would’ve killed a man for trying to take this away from us.I’m fairly sure that green is added to most cheaper mint chocolate chip ice creams just to distinguish it from regular chocolate chip.
It’s like the green color in the Shamrock Shake. Does it really add a minty taste or is that in your head? (And, more importantly, did you just think to yourself, “Oh shit it’s March 18th McDonald’s is gonna stop selling Shamrock Shakes this week I gotta go buy one before I get McRibbed.”
Purple mashed potatoes. I actually don’t care for mashed potatoes, so this doesn’t gross me out any more than regular white mashed potatoes.
- Black tomatoes. These, on the other hand, gross me out hardcore.
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The Greeks brought the world a number of awesome things.
The first Olympics, delicious Gyros, but most importantly The Greek Gods.
Today we’re going to jump into the Delorian and take a look at what might have happened if you somehow disappointed one of them.
Does the punishment fit the crime? In many cases we’d like to say no, but we’ll let you be the judge.
Actaeon – Actaeon was a hunter who spent his days chasing wild life with his hound dogs. One afternoon he was hunting in the woods when he stumbled across Artemis who was bathing. Like any heterosexual male, he took a moment to admire her cans.
His Punishment - Artemis didn’t like the fact that she was being stared at by a nobody, so she cursed him with forbidden speech. Talking would result in a shape shift. Basically he had to shut the f**k up for the rest of his life or he would turn into a deer. Sadly, he couldn’t keep quiet long and he tried to call out to his hunting party. Upon doing so, he was turned into a stag and ripped to pieces by his own dogs. Pretty steep fine for accidentally stumbling across a set of t**s.
Arachne – Archne was a weaver, and a damn good one. Like many people who become the best at something, she slowly started to develop a monster ego. She even went so far as to tell people that she could out weave Athena (the goddess of wisdom and war as well as the weaving arts). Athena gets pi**ed, disguises herself, and challenges Archne to a ‘weave off’. Arachne weaves up several portraits of the gods displaying infidelity (oops). Although the tapestry was flawless, it sent Athena into a rage.
Her Punishment – Athena (now pi**ed) completely destroys Arachne’s work, and touches her forehead. Doing so instilled the notion of guilt upon her. This sent Arachne into a depression and eventually she hanged herself. Now feeling bad that Arachne had off’d herself, Athena decides to bring her back to life…as a fu**ing spider.
IO – Zeus liked to play the field. One of the hunnies he liked to mess with was a slammin’ betty named IO. One day they were getting it on, when Zeus’ jealous wife (Hera) rolls up on them. Not wanting to get caught, Zeus quickly turned IO into a cow. Hera wasn’t completely fooled though so she demanded the cow as a gift.
Her Punishment – Poor IO really didn’t do anything wrong. Sure she was grabbing her ankles for Zeus, but what would’ve happened if she had said no? Exactly. Eventually Zeus decides he wants her back so he gets Hermes to kill Argus (who was gaurding IO in her cow state). The now very jealous (and bat s**t crazy) Hera just became more upset and had a gadfly chase down IO, stinging her in the ass, so she could never rest again.
Sisyphus – Zeus had taken the daughter of the river god Asopus for his sexual desires.
Sisyphus knew where she was, so he made a stupid move and told Asopus of her whereabouts.
His Punishment – Naturally this made Zeus furious, so he gave him a slap on the wrist.
By slap on the wrist I mean, being cursed to push a gigantic boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down again – for eternity.
Narkissos – This guy was a regular lady killer. By the time he was 15 years old, every girl in town wanted to be with him. One day, a grl by the name of Echo stalked him into the woods. When she finally showed herself he wasn’t the least bit interested and basically said “t**s or gtfo” (without the t**s part). This devastated Echo.
His Punishment – Since Echo was a total crybaby, she spent the rest of her life doing so, until Nemesis heard her prayers. Apparently Nemesis was tired of her belly aching as well so he decided to give Narkissos a taste of his own medicine. Later, Narkissos saw his reflection in the water, fell love with it, realized that it was an image of himself, and died (knowing he couldn’t act upon his love). His soul was sent to the darkest hell (the narcissus flower grew where his body once l**d). Keep this story in mind next time you’re about to shun the girl with f***ed up teeth at the bar.
Ixion – One evening Zeus invited Ixion over for dinner. The not so bright Ixion started to lust after Hera. Playing footsie with Zeus’ old lady was definitely frowned upon, so he was scolded and told to stop. Being a generous host, Zeus invites Ixion to stay the night. To test his loyality he formed a cloud like replica of his wife and sent her to Ixion’s room. Ixion, without missing a beat, hit that s**t.
His Punishment – Zeus was done giving this guy warnings so fired a lightning bolt at him. He wasn’t quite satisfied with just a lightning bolt though so he fastened him to burning wheel…for eternity.
Tiresias – This guy once came across two snakes mating, so he decided to kill one of them (the female snake). For some reason this turned him into a woman. Years later he saw different set of snakes mating, so he killed the male this time, turning him back into a man. Meanwhile, Zeus and his woman (Hera) were arguing about who gets the most pleasure out of sex, the man or the woman. They called upon Tiresias to settle this (since he had been bent over quite a few times when he was in his female state). Tiresias explained that men give 10 times more pleasure then they receive during sex.
His Punishment - Surprise, surprise – Hera is fu**ng fired up yet again. Displeased with losing the argument, she decides to blind poor Tiresias. Zeus was like “Damn dude I hate when she gets in these moods, I can’t get your eyes back but I will extend your life by 7 and also give you the gift of foresight.” There really isn’t a moral here besides ‘never try to win an argument with a woman’.
Prometheus – It is said that without Prometheus, mankind would have never had fire. He did this by putting some hot coal in a fennel-stalk that he took from the gods, then gave the contraption we call fire, back to the humans.
His Punishment - Zeus did not like this act of betrayal so he chained Prometheus to a rock. That doesn’t seem to bad does it? Oh I forgot to mention that a motherfu****g eagle swoops down every day to eat out his liver which regenerated at night.
Conclusion: Sure the gods were a bit harsh, and sometimes I’d go so far as to say they were being as**oles, but look what it accomplished. People knew that if they messed up, they’d be eating a s**t sandwich (possibly for eternity). Wouldn’t you feel a whole lot better if the douchebag who cut you off in the Ford Ranger got a Greek God smack down? “Dear Zeus, some bro in a Ranger just cut me off, also his bumper sticker said ‘Hera sucks d**k’.”.
You can be gr
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Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic militant organizations in the United States, originating in the southern states and eventually having national scope, that are best known for advocating white supremacy and acting as terrorists while hidden behind conical hats, masks and white robes. The KKK has a record of terrorism, violence, and lynching to intimidate, murder, and oppress African Americans, Jews and other minorities and to intimidate and oppose Roman Catholics and labor unions.
The first Klan was founded in 1865 by veterans of the Confederate Army. Its purpose was to restore white supremacy in the aftermath of the American Civil War. The Klan resisted Reconstruction by intimidating freedmen and white Republicans, members of the abolitionist movement. The KKK quickly adopted violent methods. The increase in murders finally resulted in a backlash among Southern elites who viewed the Klan’s excesses as an excuse for federal troops to continue occupation.
Whereas the number of indictments across the South was large, the number of cases leading to prosecution and sentencing was relatively small. The overloaded federal courts were not able to meet the demands of trying such a tremendous number of cases, a situation that led to selective pardoning. By late 1873 and 1874, most of the charges against Klansmen were dropped although new cases continued to be prosecuted for several more years. Most of those sentenced had either served their terms or been pardoned by 1875. The U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated the Ku Klux Act in 1876 by ruling that the federal government could no longer prosecute individuals although states would be forced to comply with federal civil rights provisions. Republicans passed a second civil rights act (the Civil Rights Act of 1875) to grant equal access to public facilities and other housing accommodations regardless of race. Ironically, the Klan during this period served to further Northern reconstruction efforts, as Ku Klux violence provided the political climate needed to pass civil rights protections for blacks. Although the Ku Klux Act of 1871 dismantled the first Klan, Southern whites formed other, similar groups that kept blacks away from the polls through intimidation and physical violence. Reconstruction ended with the election of President Rutherford B. Hayes, who suspended the federal military occupation of the South; yet blacks still found themselves without the basic civil liberties that the period had sought to secure.
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But sometimes these inventions come from a creative place so deep, they can be perceived by some as offbeat, unusual and possibly a bit eccentric. And that’s where we step in… America’s Goofiest Patents!
Bulletproof Bed
Do you need protection from bio-chemical terrorists attacks? How about natural disasters? Kidnappers and stalkers? Or would you just feel safer sleeping in a bulletproof bed? If you answered yes to any of the aforementioned questions, you need the oh-so-versatile Quantum Sleeper.
Not for the claustrophobic or light of check book, this $160,000 coffin-esque “saferoom” does not include the optional microwave, fridge or entertainment center.
Pierced Glasses
Anyone who wears glasses knows that the earpiece that holds your glasses to your head can be annoying and on a bad day, cause headaches. The earpieces have to be tight enough to hold your glasses on and loose enough to be comfortable.
And, it can be tricky finding this happy medium. So our fearless inventor discovered a new way to hang eye glasses on your face, by using body piercing studs. That’s right… pierce your face, hang your glasses!
Finally, piercing gets practical!
Hijacker Injector
Okay, we know we’re treading on sensitive ground here, but even methods to stop airplane hijacking can be totally absurd. This patent dates back to 1974 when there were kinder, gentler hijackers. We have to presume our nattily dressed felon either just handed the flight attendant his demand note or, after he told the pilot of his intentions, he was asked to return politely to his seat and buckle up. Now here comes the insight into genius; there is a hypodermic needle injector built into every seat on the plane!
According to the inventor, the “hypodermic injection apparatus is arranged for driving the needle of a hypodermic syringe through the seat cushion, into the passenger to instantly sedate or kill the passenger”. Ouch!
Fish ‘n Flush!
Goldfish die and then what happens next? You flush them down the toilet! But that’s not what the Fish ‘n Flush is all about my friend, oh no.
The Fish ‘n Flush is a toilet aquarium kit that turns your toilet into a facsimile of the Great Barrier Reef, complete with colorful fish and bubbling treasure chests.
Finding Nemo has never been easier. Our concern is for the poor fish and the views they have to endure
Hurricane House
Thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes, as we have recently witnessed, can devastate conventional homes. The shear force of Mother Nature can rip apart seemingly sturdy structures and the cost to build a hurricane-proof house has been prohibitively expensive. That is, until now. Our inventor looked into high winds until he was blew in the face (we couldn’t resist), and thus invented… the Hurricane House!
Hey, that looks like a jet airplane, you may be saying to yourself. Well, it is, because commercial airliners are designed to withstand winds in excess of 500 miles per hour. So our inventor ripped out this retired planes seats and filled it with suitable home furnishings. Then he mounted it on a rotating base that is securely embedded in the ground. Now when the winds whip up, the Hurricane house automatically “weathervanes”, rotating into the wind, as if it were flying at 30,000 feet, providing the smallest cross-sectional area to the destructive wind forces.
Human Car Wash
People need bathing. Hospital patients need bathing too and to speed up this process, may we suggest the Human Car Wash? The HCW eliminates slipping and falling because the washees are strapped into a hanging harness and merely need to stand or dangle in a fixed position while the conveyor belt moves them from station to station. First the wetting station, then the soapy spray station, next the rinsing station and at the end, no towels are needed because there’s a blow drying station!
Developed in 1969 during the cold war, the inventor suggests the Human Car Wash can be built into a mobile trailer “to cope with the mass bathing requirements after an atomic bomb”.
Imaginary Friend
The inventor says this invention is a mobile desk for your moto, designed to sit in your front seat, giving you have access to drawers and cubbyholes for your pens, papers, files and food. But then she had a bold idea… why not make this a security device too!
So she added an imaginary friend, an official looking inflatable village person that you can hang out with. Not only that, in case some desperados see that your friend is only half there and they are still after you, it’s time to reach for your fake phone! That’s right, it looks like a real phone and we’re hoping big time that the robbers think it’s real, but it’s really only useful for talking to your Imaginary Friend.
As an added bonus, Mr. Inflatable is also useful for car pool lanes and Desperate Housewives.
Remote Controlled Horse
Remote controls are running rampant in our lives! We remotely control our TV’s, our DVD’s and our CD’s. There are remote controlled ceiling fans, remote controlled curtains, and now you can even control your homes lights and temperature settings from anywhere in the world, via remote controls over the internet. But our inventor was way ahead of the curve. Way back in 1981, he envisioned something for the ultimate couch potato, he invented the Remote Controlled Horse! The inventor indicates in his patent statement that it can be time consuming and costly to search for and pay a hired rider to herd cattle or a jockey to race your horse. But with the Remote Controlled Horse, all that our non-rider needs to do is sit back in a comfy chair and use his joy stick to remotely control his trusty steed using a specialized servo saddle. Motorized mechanisms pull the horses reins, steering him in the right direction or pulling back, commanding Seabiscuit to a full stop.
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The cover reads “Chemistry or Life?”
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