More Weird Shorts

Residents of the English town of Castleford in Yorkshire were probably delighted to hear that UK TV station Channel 4 was to film a documentary of the ongoing urban regeneration scheme, up until their local council decided to rename a local landmark ahead of filming. The popular local landmark had been known as “Tickle Cock Bridge” since Victorian times - probably due to its popularity as a trysting place according to one local historian – but prudish council members decided to put up signs for the more polite “Tittle Cott Bridge” for the cameras. However local objections have been so vocal that the officials have been forced to back down and restore the feature’s original “rude” name (Metro).

And if you fancy taking a trip to Tickle Cock Bridge, why not make a grand tour of it and take in some more of Britain’s rudest place names (Telegraph).

It’s always worth making sure you have plenty of the local currency on holiday, but for one German tourist this became more of a life-saver than a simple convenience. Dominik Podolsky was just riding the ski-lift back down in Hochzillertal in Austria as darkness fell when it was suddenly switched off, as it is every dusk, leaving him stranded. As temperatures dropped to minus 18° Celcius (0° F) Mr. Podolsky began to set light to whatever was to hand to attract attention, starting with paper napkins and some business cards before in desperation he was forced to set fire to his money. He had just burned his last euro when he was finally spotted by a cleaning crew and rescued (Orange).

Perhaps he would have done better to visit the Swiss side of the Alps instead. If not on the mountains, at the very least he would have been better looked after in that country's brothels. Principally because, with an increasing number of elderly clients packing a well-known anti-impotence treatment, Swiss brothels are training their staff in the use of defibrillators in an effort to stop the pill-popping pensioners become clog-popping corpses. "Having customers die on us isn't exactly good publicity" said one sex-club owner. Funny, I would have thought the opposite was true (Telegraph).

But trained as they may be, Swiss working girls will never have the edge on their American competitors. At least that’d be the conclusion you might draw from the results of a recent poll which placed America at number one on the list of countries with the most attractive people (Switzerland didn’t even make the top 20). So rejoice America, from the wild and wanton women of Walmart to the sultry street-girl sirens of Chattanooga, your beauty is unsurpassed (Herald Sun).

What’s The Chances? - 2

Earlier this year we heard of the national lottery that drew the same numbers two weeks running. Now meet the man who has just won a lottery jackpot for the second time!

The unnamed 34 year-old from the Limpopo province of South Africa beat 24 million to one odds to take the country's "PowerBall" draw for 30 million rand ($4 million), just seven years after winning 11 million rand ($1.5 million) from an earlier state lottery system with odds of 14 million to one. His feat is all the more remarkable given he claims to spend only 100 rand ($13) a month on tickets (Telegraph).

Strange Congo Signage

World-traveler Peter Danssaert contributes this photo of a sign he saw in Kisangani, the Congo.

Madame 710

A new piece of video artistry featuring a cow, bare human breasts, and a transparent garment stuffed with money. Perfect for Weird Universe! Could it be something new from Pipilotti Rist? No, it's the co-creation of Mary Ellen Strom & Ann Carlson.

How I wish I could embed this video here! But it's exclusively on display at a New York City gallery, as you can learn in this review.

You'll have to be content with these two photos from the piece, and a quote:

The three-channel projection "Madame 710" sets Carlson in a gallery with a cow, who has an udder swollen with milk and a yellow ear tag reading "710." Carlson wears nothing but a hooded clear plastic jacket half-stuffed with dollar bills. She dances around the cow to the strains of a Mozart motet, "Exsultate, jubilate."

Expensive Pets

Alex's post on animal owners seems to have divided WU readers into two camps: those who would pay any sum to heal their pet, and those who would duct-tape a gerbil at the first sign of infirmity.

I'm sure both types of readers would like to learn about the experiences of Kim Cavallero.

Due to myriad health issues, Kim Cavallero has racked up more than $20,000 in veterinary bills for her cat, Annie, in the past year. Through the employee assistance program at her job, she discovered Feline Outreach. "During a time when people thought I was crazy for continuing to care for my pet through very serious and expensive medical care, Feline Outreach validated me -- especially emotionally,'' she said. "With their grant, they let me know that I was doing the right thing for my cat.''

A Day of Thanksgiving

What Is Money?

How I wish I knew!

ACM Wallet

Yes, for only $60.00 you can replace the rubber band that's currently wrapped around your driver's license and credit cards with an ACM Wallet, much too bulky to fit into any pocket or purse, but perfect for a Sherpa's knapsack. Imagine the awed look when you whip this out at a restaurant or store.

I imagine the reaction you'd get would look something like this:

What Makes Us Tick

Ha-ha-ha-ha! The Stock Market as savior of our nation! (Here in two parts.)

Donation Meters

How to solve the problem of unruly panhandlers?

The donation meter!

The picture here portrays one in Denver, which I found on the Flickr page of msitarzewski.

Read all about Atlanta's recent experiment with donation meters here.

All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.