Archive for the 'Absurd' Category

The 2009 Ig Nobel Awards

Friday, October 9th, 2009

ScientistThis year’s Ig Nobel prizes were awarded on October 1st. It was a fairly weak field, but here are some of the better ones (see the linked article for the full list):

  • Medicine: Donald L. Unger, of Thousand Oaks, California, USA, for investigating a possible cause of arthritis of the fingers, by diligently cracking the knuckles of his left hand — but never cracking the knuckles of his right hand — every day for more than sixty (60) years.
  • Veterinary Medicine: Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, for showing that cows who have names give more milk than cows that are nameless.
  • Peace Prize: Stephan Bolliger, Steffen Ross, Lars Oesterhelweg, Michael Thali and Beat Kneubuehl of the University of Bern, Switzerland, for determining — by experiment — whether it is better to be smashed over the head with a full bottle of beer or with an empty bottle.
  • Chemistry: Javier Morales, Miguel Apátiga, and Victor M. Castaño of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, for creating diamonds from liquid — specifically from tequila.

Link: http://improbable.com/…
(via Neatorama)

I’m a Victim Here! #4

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

AbsurdSo you’ve got a brand new bachelors degree but can’t find a job. What do you do? Sue the college, of course! Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit against her alma mater, New York’s Monroe College, for $70,000 to reimburse her tuition and $2,000 to compensate for the stress of her job search.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/…
(via digg)

Aren’t Bonuses Supposed to be Based on Performance?

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

MoneyAccording to the New York Attorney General, three major banks paid out nearly $18 billion in bonuses, yet only managed to drum up $9.6 billion in revenue. That’s revenue, not profit. They gave bonuses worth almost twice their total income. Seems pretty absurd to me.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

I’m a Victim Here! #3

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

AbsurdA new study finds that those horrible, terrible, evil Western societies are to blame for 15 percent of China’s CO2 emissions. Never mind that China might have some responsibility in the matter.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/…
(via digg)

Update: It gets even better.

Bigger Than the Constitution

Monday, February 9th, 2009

GovernmentHere’s a direct quote from Mayor Frank Melton of Jackson, MS: “I certainly respect the Constitution, but we have some issues that are much bigger than the Constitution.” He’s referring to an executive order banning saggy pants. No, really.

Link: http://www.clarionledger.com/…
(via Neatorama)

I’m a Victim Here! #2

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

AbsurdSo you got drunk and beat up your wife. What’s your next step? Treatment? Alcoholics Anonymous? Nope—you sue the airline that served the alcohol.

Link: http://www.news.com.au/…

2008 Darwin Awards

Monday, January 5th, 2009

AbsurdThe 2008 Darwin Awards are out, and the winner is the balloon priest. I don’t agree with this one—it seems more like a tragedy than a case of stupidity.

Link: http://www.darwinawards.com/…
(via Neatorama)

I’m a Victim Here!

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

AbsurdSo you just finished up a 14-month gambling spree and lost $26 million in the process. What’s your next step? Sue the casino, of course!

Link: http://www.reuters.com/…

German Church Attendance

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

AbsurdChurch tax? Politicians specifying who can attend mass? Thank God for the Bill of Rights.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/…

Two Seats For the Price of One

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

AirplaneHere’s a way to get a two-for-one deal on airline seats. It appears that Canada officially considers obesity to be a disability.

Thanks to Josh for this topic.

Link: http://www.reuters.com/…

Microsoft Targets Pirated Copies of Windows

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

MicrosoftMicrosoft has implemented a benign form of nagware for pirated versions of Windows. What I find ridiculous, however, is that the people using illegal copies are upset about this. They should just be glad Microsoft isn’t wiping their hard drives instead.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

Nineteen Hours in an Emergency Room – No Service

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

DoctorThis woman waited in a hospital emergency room, with a broken leg, for 19 hours before giving up and going home. But while the hospital couldn’t tend to her leg, their billing system was working perfectly.

Link: http://www.chron.com/…
(via digg)