Inventor of Super Glue Dies

Max Read · 03/28/11 01:01AM

Harry Wesley Coover, who (indirectly) saved the lamp your grandmother gave you by inventing Super Glue, died on Sunday at age 94. The adhesive came about, as all good inventions do, following a lab accident. [CNN]

Robert Gibbs Might Go Work at Facebook

Max Read · 03/27/11 11:00PM

Get ready for some truly horrible jokes from our nation's least funny people, political pundits: Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs may be joining Facebook in "a senior role in helping to manage the company's communications."

Wiping Up Condiments Has Never Been So Much Fun

Matt Cherette · 03/27/11 10:11PM

Don't you hate it when you're squirting out some ketchup or mayonnaise or whatever and you misfire, thereby spilling the flavorful gooeyness all over your table? If so, then this little condiment-wiping (scraping?) contraption will help! It'll also amaze you.

Jailvertisements Coming Soon to New York State

Max Read · 03/27/11 10:01PM

New York's Erie County Holding Center will be playing advertisements on a television screen in its holding cells, apparently in an effort to plug the hole created by upcoming budget cuts. Obviously, the HDTV won't be for ads only—it will also "publicize general information about parking, the jail's policies and more," according to Anthony Diina, the advertising whiz who came up with the idea. ("What do people want they are in the Holding Center?" Diina asks, intriguingly, before settling on the rather obvious answer, "They want to get out.") "It strikes me as inserting a commercial aspect into something when I don't feel there is any place for it," says former prosecutor James Auricchio, which is a sweet thing to say, but get real, James, do you even know what "monetizing" is? Talk about "captive eyeballs," I am right? And listen to this:

Your Happiness Will Peak at Age 85

Max Read · 03/27/11 09:01PM

Happiness peaks in old age, according to Lewis Wolpert, emeritus—i.e., old—professor of biology at University College London, whose new book is about getting old. Wolpert's book gets a writeup in The Daily Telegraph, which cites a psychologist at UCL to write:

Jim Jeffries on Studs Vs. Sluts

Marisa Gladstone · 03/27/11 08:00PM

Love him or hate him, Jim Jefferies always says exactly what's on his mind. Here, he explains why it's acceptable for women to be called sluts, and why this same standard doesn't apply to men.

This Man Made a Panty Quilt

Adrian Chen · 03/27/11 06:00PM

Vietnam vet Louis Garrett of Louisiana, Mo. ("friends know him as Shovelhead because of his love for Harley-Davidson motorcycles with shovelhead engines") has a lot of time on his hands. And in the grand scheme of things, fashioning a quilt out of women's panties is not the worst thing he could be doing with that time. Still, it's pretty strange! Apparently the idea for the panty quilt came from a magazine, which makes us think we've been reading the wrong magazines. Garrett also claims the panty quilt was a natural progression from his mannequin collection, since he had been dressing them up in lingerie. Obviously.

Radiation Levels at Fukushima Aren't 10 Million Times Higher Than Normal

Adrian Chen · 03/27/11 04:23PM

When is it good news to hear that radiation levels are 100,000 times higher than normal? When you at first thought they were 10 million times higher. Officials at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant say readings of staggeringly high radiation levels in water leaking from a reactor were mistaken. From the AP:

Reporter Imprisoned In a Closet at Joe Biden Fundraiser

Adrian Chen · 03/27/11 03:38PM

Beware Joe Biden! He storms into town, Motorcade of Death demolishing everything in its path. But sometimes the havoc hits even before he arrives. Biden's goons stuffed a reporter in a closet in Florida yesterday to keep him from speaking with guests at a fundraiser he was covering.

Insane Japanese Game Show Spanks Contestants for Laughing

Preksha Kumar · 03/27/11 02:00PM

This game show is ridiculous, to say the least. Some guy is counting, inaccurately, in English and a roomful of contestants have to watch him without laughing. If they do, they get spanked by masked men and are thrown out.

Legos Make Love in Animated Video

Junior Mendez · 03/27/11 12:30PM

This very creative animated video by Studio Shelter uses Legos to tell its quirky story. Colorful blocks gettin' it on? Anything is possible. When in doubt—throw in a little Star Wars, too.

Love Is What Americans Regret Most

Adrian Chen · 03/27/11 11:34AM

Sunday is probably a good day to talk about regrets, considering the regrettable things we may have done last night. (Hint: it involved a live octopus and three boxes of graham crackers.) For a new study, a couple of psychologists called up 370 random Americans and asked them to detail their biggest regret. Unsurprisingly, "romance" topped the list.

Deadly Cobra Missing From New York Zoo

Adrian Chen · 03/27/11 10:28AM

The Bronx Zoo was closed today after an adolescent Egyptian cobra went missing from an off-exhibit enclosure. Uh oh. "Deadly cobra" and "missing" are not two things you want to hear in the same news story.

Skydiving Pennsylvania Mayor Doesn't Open Parachute, Dies

Brian Hickey · 03/27/11 10:00AM

Scott Shields, the mayor of Rutledge Borough in the Philadelphia suburbs, died Friday when he failed to pull the cord on his main or reserve parachute while skydiving in South Jersey. By the time the reserve opened on its own, it was too late. Shields, on the left in the photo, was 45, and by all accounts a good guy.

The Royal Wedding Cake Is Gross

Adrian Chen · 03/27/11 09:49AM
  • Royal wedding news! The official cake for Kate and William's wedding has been revealed, and it is… "a multi-tiered, traditional fruitcake"? As we speak, the cake is "maturing," because you apparently don't bake a fruitcake as much as ferment it. There will be a bunch of "3-D scrollwork, flowers, leaves and other decorative touches," on it, but, ew, England. It's bad enough at Christmas, but the Most Important Wedding of All Time is going to have a fruitcake? Look at the official royal baker, Fiona Cairns, mixing the cake above. GROSS. Oh, but don't worry there's also going to be a "chocolate-cookie cake". A chocolate cookie cake? Is this a spectacular royal wedding or an insurance office goodbye party? The main course at dinner will be canned beans slopped on paper plates with a ladle. [People]