Missouri Excelled at Meth Production This Year

Lauri Apple · 12/17/11 05:17PM

After learning that Kentucky led the nation in the number of meth labs seized last year, glory-hungry (and hopefully flame-retardant) Missourians rigged up more labs than ever to make sure their state reclaimed the title of "America's meth capital."

Family-Values Politician Bought Gay Sex Shop Wares With Taxpayer Money

Lauri Apple · 12/17/11 04:12PM

For those of you who keep track of America's conservative family-values Republicans who are caught doing sexy gay things, here's a new name to add to your lists: Southaven, Mississippi mayor and failed Congressional candidate Greg Davis, who allegedly billed taxpayers $67 for purchases at a Canadian gay sex shop called Priape.

Your Partner Is Making You Binge-Drink

Lauri Apple · 12/17/11 03:10PM

After studying 208 unmarried couples and their drinking habits, researchers at Canada's Dalhousie University have discovered that the binge-drinking of one partner in a relationship often transfers to the other partner. Alcohol abuse is a contagious disease.

How to Photoshop Your Way to a $425,000 Payoff

Lauri Apple · 12/17/11 02:00PM

Former University of Northern Colorado student Tom Mink (right) (ha, just kidding—left!) just received a $425,000 settlement from a bunch of Colorado cities for improperly searching his home and confiscating his computer after he'd created "Junius Puke," the Photoshop at right of UNC finance professor Junius Peake.

Comment of the Day: It's (Sexy) Time For the Grandmas

Leah Beckmann · 12/16/11 06:00PM

Today we learned that advertising comes in all shapes, sizes, and ages. As humans, we are all one big walking, talking demographic as far as advertising goes. Mother, father, sister, uncle, grandmother, the ads target us all (this is really what the Tree of Life was about, FYI). But because today was a Golden Girls kind of day in the ad world, let's stick to that. Some commenters over at Sterling-Cooper put their noggins together and came up with some additional campaigns.

There Is No Way These Are the Most Annoying Words of 2011

Max Read · 12/16/11 04:55PM

The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion has done its annual survey and declared "whatever" the "word or phrase considered to be the most annoying in casual conversation" in 2011. Right. Ummm... sure. I mean... whatever.

Jack the Giant Killer: A Boy Learns About Beans, the Magical Fruit

Leah Beckmann · 12/16/11 04:00PM


Jack the Giant Killer, from X-Men director Bryan Singer, is the latest in a string of classic fairy tales darkly adapted for the screen. The problem with these is that they try so hard to avoid the kiss of box office death that is the for-kids-and-adults genre, that they end up being a silly, self-conscious incarnation of the anti-family flick and up looking like a Twilight afterthought, aesthetically anyway. And thus we have Jack, a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk featuring Nicholas Hoult, the kid from the British Skins.

Fear of Jogging Proves Greater than Love of Soda

Hamilton Nolan · 12/16/11 03:15PM

For years, nay, decades, public health scolds have tried and tried to politely inform the American people that drinking gallon upon gallon of Fanta cola in lieu of water could have negative health effects, including but not limited to the fact that we as a nation are now enormous. But! Now, public health advocates have learned to tap into that most primal fear of Americans: fear of exercise.

Britney Spears Is Engaged to Surprisingly Normal Jason No. 2

Leah Beckmann · 12/16/11 01:57PM

Britney Spears is engaged to a normal (though how normal could he be, really?) named Jason Trawick. According to TMZ, Jason was poised to pop the question tonight, but after a mysterious status update cropped up on Le Spears' Facebook wall earlier this afternoon, it would appear that the engagement took place last night.

Christopher Hitchens' Unforgivable Mistake

John Cook · 12/16/11 12:57PM

The outpouring of grief, goodwill, and teary encomia that has attended news of Christopher Hitchens' passing would—if he was anything like the persona he presented in print—have turned his stomach. He loathed sentiment, welcomed combat, and delighted in inflicting hard truths. In that spirit, it must not be forgotten in mourning him that he got the single most consequential decision in his life horrifically, petulantly wrong.

R. Kelly Is Selling His Home, Closets Included

Leah Beckmann · 12/16/11 12:40PM

Perpetually trapped in small spaces Robert Sylvester Kelly, R. Kelly to his fanz, has listed his Illinois mansion for $1.59 million. And for the palatial 22,000 square-foot, six bedroom, eight full bathrooms and six half baths (with a bladder like his, you can't be too careful), that's a steal.

The Curious Case of Bradley Manning and the White House Staffer

Adrian Chen · 12/16/11 11:43AM

Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old gay Army intelligence analyst in court today facing charges of leaking 150,000 State Department cables to Wikileaks, was connected to some important figures in D.C.'s gay political scene. Including a White House staffer he claimed tried to sleep with him.