ArtieTSMITW asked:

To those who scoffed at this pointless endeavor of a video, let it be known that it was featured in a Geico commercial. Oho? What now, biatches?

To answer some questions: Yes, Geico contacted me and bought the rights to use this video. I knew they were going to use it, and yes, I am getting paid for its use.

Thank you Geico for letting me pay off my car. Who knew I would manage that by making an ass out of myself on the internet?

Peter Greenberg asked:


They say that travel is about the journey, not just the destination. But if you’ve ever arrived at your destination only to find out that your hotel room is dingy, dirty, and miles from all the action, it’s time to take matters into your own hands.

An increasing number of hotels are positioning themselves to be more than just a place to sleep—they are the action.

You may have heard of the ice hotels in Sweden and Montreal, or even funky spots like California’s Madonna Inn and the Dog Bark Park in Cottonwood, Idaho … but here are few more unusual hotels to inspire your next trip.

These are our picks for the world’s most unusual hotels, in no particular order.

1. To the Lighthouse

Love all things nautical? Then try sleeping in a lighthouse.

There are actually dozens of lighthouses around the world that welcome overnight guests, but at Brown’s Point Lighthouse in Tacoma, Washington, you get to be the lighthouse keeper.

This 30-foot concrete structure is perched by Commencement Bay and the keeper’s dwelling (at right) was recently restored for overnight stays. Guest participate in the “keeper program,” in which they maintain the lighthouse and hold public tours. This job is designed for at least two people, and six maximum, making it a great educational experience for families. Rates range from $500-$700 per week. 253-927-2536, www.pointsnortheast.org

2. Go Climb a Tree

If it seems like the days of kids clambering up trees and running around outdoors are a thing of the past, skip the sedentary vacations and force them out – and up.

The Cedar Creek Treehouse is a private mountain retreat in the woods of Mt. Rainier, located 50 feet up in a 200-year-old Western Red Cedar tree.

Owner Bill Compher built the treehouse himself, making it large enough to accommodate up to five people.

There’s a bathroom, kitchen and dining area, not to mention skylights and an observatory 100 feet up that offers great views from all around.

Though it’s a safe climb up, kids under 10 are not allowed inside the treehouse. Rates are $250 for two people, and $25 for each additional guest. 360-569-2991, www.cedarcreektreehouse.com

3. All Aboard the Romance Train

To conjure up the romantic days of train travel, why not cozy up inside an actual train car for the night? The Northern Rail Traincar B&B in Two Harbors, Minnesota, is made up of connected rail cars with 18 guest rooms.

The Porter Suite sleeps two and includes a dinette and a private bath for $109-$139. Or go all out and climb aboard the King Conductor Suite, a full train car that sleeps up to four, with a king bedroom and a separate living room.

Located on 160 acres of forested land (about 25 minutes outside of Duluth), you have access to Lake Superior and Gooseberry Falls, plus outdoor activities like hiking and golfing. 877-834-0955; www.northernrail.net

4. Were You Raised in a Barn?

Located on the Puget Sound, just a ferry ride away from Seattle, is a quirky little spot designed for two. The Big Red Barn Getaway is a real barn built in the 1890s which has been renovated into a tiny inn.

You’ll be surrounded by miles of unspoiled nature (and may even catch sight of a Bald Eagle). The historic Victorian seaport of Port Townsend is a 10-minute walk away, where you can take advantage of the requisite quaint antique shops and art galleries; Fort Worden State Park is only two minutes away, with gorgeous beaches and plenty of hiking trails.

And, since it’s a barn, Fido and Fluffy are welcome to join you for an extra fee (but they’re asked to stay out of the Jacuzzi). 360-301-1271, www.BigRedBarnGetaway.com

5. How About a Yurt?

Ever slept in a yurt? Even know what a yurt is?

These round, canvas dwellings were created by Mongolian nomads more than 2,000 years ago; it’s an ingenious structure that sits sturdily on the ground and often can fit several people at once.

Treebones Resort in Big Sur, California, has 16 yurts along the ridge above the Pacific Ocean, four of which can fit families. You’ll have the best ocean-view room in town. Rates are $170-$270 for two to four people, including a waffle breakfast. 877-424-4787, www.treebonesresort.com

6. Batting Around in a Cave

You may not know that there are several underground hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey (a region in the middle of Turkey not too far from Ankara), but the most highly touted one of all is the Gamirasu Cave Hotel, which is located inside a restored, thousand-year-old Byzantine monastic retreat. There are 18 exquisitely adorned rooms, some of which were actually monk cells, which are carved into the cave or built with volcanic rock.

Calm, cool and peaceful, a stay here will make you feel as if you’ve been transported centuries back in time. And don’t worry, there is running water. Room rates range from about $110 for a double room to about $500 for a deluxe suite. www.gamirasu.com

7. Digging the Dug-Out

The Australian outback is filled with opal mines and dugouts galore—so dive in and experience one first-hand at the Desert Cave Hotel located within the sandstone of Coober Pedy.

The hotel boasts 19 underground rooms, and about 30 rooms above ground for those who prefer not to live troglodyte-style. Also underground are casinos, shops featuring locally mined opals and Aboriginal arts and crafts. Rooms are about $150 a night, not including meals or a cave tour. www.desertcave.com.au

8. Sleeping in the Pipelines

OK, this one is for the truly adventurous … but if you ever wanted to brag that you slept in a drainpipe, read on. Daspark Hotel in Lintz, Austria consists of three concrete drainpipes in the middle of a park.

Inside each one is a teensy room built for two, with a double bed, a lamp, a small storage space, and even power outlets. Food, toilets and showers are all located nearby.

If you’re concerned about sleeping in a public park, rest assured that the drainpipes are all locked with a safety code. Sure, a drainpipe room may be a little, well, rudimentary, but the beauty is that you determine your own rates. www.dasparkhotel.net

9. Sleeping with the Fishes

With both China and Dubai building underwater hotels called the Hydropolis, sleeping under water seems to the wave of the future. China is hoping to have its land-based HydroTower component open by the Olympics, but if you can’t wait until then, stick a little closer to home and visit the Jules Verne Undersea Lodge.

This underwater hotel is actually a research lab in Key Largo, Florida, but regular landlubbers are invited to spend the night. You’ll actually have to scuba dive your way into the hotel, but they’ll give you all the necessary training. An overnight visit costs about $475 and includes diving gear and unlimited dives if you’re certified (or you can get certified during your stay). 305-451-2353, www.jul.com

10. Doing Time

The new Liberty Hotel in Boston has been making headlines as a former jail-turned-luxury-hotel. After a five-year renovation program that cost upward of $150 million, the Charles Street jail has maintained some precious features that pay homage to its history—such as a restaurant called Clink, and a bar called Alibi housed in the former “drunk tank.”

But if you’re looking for a more, well, authentic prison experience, you’ll have to jet yourself over to Latvia to the Karosta Prison. Located in Liepaja (about three hours west of Riga), this former Soviet detention facility was once known as the “prison that nobody escaped from.”

Today, it welcomes (if that’s the right word) visitors to spend a night for about $16.

This is no blueblood luxury hotel: Guests play the role of a prisoner, complete with ex-Soviet military guards berating and ordering you around, cold iron beds, and toilets that remain uncomfortably close to their original state. Karosta Prison – English website.

By Managing Editor Sarika Chawla for Peter Greenberg.com.

Steve Bishop asked:


In an age where educating children is becoming more and more expensive, relief for both students and parents comes in the form of scholarships. Graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships are types of aid that help students pay for their education. Scholarships and fellowships, unlike student loans, do not need to be repaid. In usual circumstances, scholarships are granted to students who are exceptionally brilliant in their studies, or in the field of athletics or art.

However, from time to time, colleges and other private sponsors of scholarships set up scholarships with mysterious eligibility requirements. These have come to be known as the unusual scholarships for students, an example being a scholarship for left-handed students. The Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship of up to $1,000 is the only scholarship for left-handed students. This scholarship is awarded to left-handed students who will be either attending or already enrolled at the Juniata College.

Though very few in numbers, they do manage to attract a lot of attention due to the slightly offbeat nature of the scholarship.

Unusual scholarships allow a student the chance to explore a wide variety of skills, interests, characteristics and talents that could make him/her eligible for a scholarship. Scholarships in the unusual category range from grants for accordion players, asthma patients, amateur radio operators, bird watchers, bicyclists, blind students, boy scouts and girl scouts, bowlers, cartoon experts, children of veterans, choral singers, cheerleaders, debaters, entrepreneurs, farmers, French speakers, Gospel musicians, grandchildren of alumni, Huguenot descendants, never married students, overweight students, etc. This list just gives a glimpse at some of the categories, while in actual, there are much more of such unusual scholarship requirements, new ones are also being added on a regular basis.

Another unusual scholarship is the ‘Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Contest’. This contest, open to students who are US citizens, of 14 years of age or older, and who are attending a high school prom in the spring, requires the couple to wear a complete attire or accessories made from duct tape. The main prize for the contest includes a $2,500 scholarship for each member along with a $2,500 cash prize to the school that hosted the prom.

Meanwhile, to win the $7,500 Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award, open to graduating high school senior scholar athletes, candidates need to excel in academics, athletic performance, along with leadership and community service. The Students for Organ Donation Youth Leadership Award, which awards two scholarships of $500 to $1,000 each, is available to undergraduate college students or high school students who commit to raise awareness about organ donation and transplantation.

Similarly, there are many such kinds of obscure scholarships which aid students in carrying on with their higher education. While some people might ridicule the nature of these scholarships and awards, it is worth-a-while to take note of how many students benefit from such esoteric financial aid schemes every year.

John Smith asked:


When you are stumped to give that special someone a present and you just don’t know exactly what Gifts to give, why not choose from these exciting and unique options? There are personalised calendars, personalised mugs, pocket garden gifts, Spaceform keepsakes, grow it gifts, gift tins, personalised photo gifts, nostalgic gifts, engraved gifts, personalised pictures, humorous gifts and unusual gifts from which to choose.

Most personalised calendars are available in either an A4 wall hanging version or desktop format. Personalised mugs let you give someone a special, unusual gift that is stunning and quirky. Pocket gardens are a unique gift for any occasion and it is an easy way to give the gift of flowers without giving the responsibility of having to make them grow. Choose from between mini sunflowers, wild strawberries and hot stuff chilli pocket gardens to spice up anyone’s home! As one of the UK’s leading suppliers of Spaceform glass gifts, these are unusual gifts for giving, and gifts for living. Personal and elegant, this is a keepsake to cherish. Grow It gift boxes make the perfect gift for a budding gardener. Choose from a wide range that includes: chilli plants, cactus plants, carnivorous plants, sunflowers, Aloe Vera, vegetable patch, fruit selection, and bonsai tree gift boxes. It doesn’t get much better than this in the unusual department!

Give someone an unusual gift with one of our unique Gift Tins or Packs, where you can become a Lord & Lady, name a star, name a rose, own an acre of land on the moon, take an IQ test, adopt a vine, discover the family’s history, or own a racecourse. Definitely out of the ordinary, wouldn’t you say and qualifies in the unusual gifts department quite easily. Or make someone smile with our range of unique photo gifts. A unique range of Personalised Photo Gifts are professionally printed with the photo of your choice – go on, put your photo onto anything from a faux suede wash bag, glasses case, canvas tote bag, tea cosy, director’s chair, faux suede tote bag, faux suede cushion, personalised deck chair, Lichtenstein style pop art print, Andy Warhol style pop art print, faux leather handbag, mini shopper bag, canvas wash bag, faux suede make up bag, canvas make up bag, beach bag, small canvas cushion, personalised apron or even the oven gloves! There’s nothing too unusual to personalise as a gift!

Nostalgic Gifts are unusual gift ideas that can mean a great deal to a person, for example, choose a set of classic coins, reproductions of old original news reports, or a breakfast mug – a Victorian inspired mug makes a great nostalgic gift. Scrapbooks, Decade books football memories sets, childhood memorabilia packs, a beautiful hardback version of a classic cookbook, a Blitz memorabilia pack, the RAF at War memorabilia pack, the Golden Age of Steam Trains memorabilia pack, The Golden Age of Cruise Liners, and even reminisce about your childhood holidays with a British Seaside Holidays memorabilia pack. As unusual gifts go, the rekindling of a memory has to be a winner!

Engraved items can also make for a special and unusual gift that can mean a lot to a person. Practically anything can be personalised for you: a silver plated money box, a Bundle of Joy photo album, a pewter tankard, silver plated flutes, a golf set, a stainless steel hip flask, square cufflinks, a wedding frame on an easel, a trinket box, a stylish desk set, a key money clip, to a compact mirror. A personal engraved message of your choice can bring tears of joy and real meaning to an unusual gift.

Personalised pictures are an unusual gift where any name is cleverly included within the photograph. For instance, you could exclusively reveal Top Gear’s ‘The Stig’ identity with a name of your choosing! An exclusive print spells out the name of your choice from themes as diverse as cooking, to sport, to fauna & flora, right up to having the name spelt out in the very stars themselves. It’s a fabulous, innovative and individualised gift that’s a keepsake for all time. But if it’s humour your after, look no further for an usual gift that will have them laughing out loud: anything from the sublime to the ridiculous such as a set of matching Pint and a Half Pint T-shirts for Dad and Nipper, to owning an acre of land on the Moon, and from a state-of-the-art spud gun to a personalised doormat, there are just so many unusual gifts to show your friends and family how much you care.

Charles L. Harmon asked:


Due to my other Internet activities I had relegated my hundreds of domain names to a low priority and seldom gave them much thought. The exception was for some minor research for topics to create websites for a small number of domains. Fortunately, a registrar who caters to those with many domains managed most of my names. Part of their service is providing a number of statistics on each domain name. In addition, the names (URL’s) host a directory website where I can make a few cents (if I’m lucky) if visitors to the website click any of the links.

A few days ago I decided to take a quick look at some of those domains. I had a new idea for a few possible websites and wanted to see which ones were getting enough hits to warrant further consideration. As I created a report showing traffic on some of my domains I was amazed to find one of my domain names had a lot of impressions (website page views). Where normally that name had a few impressions each day it had several hundred that day along with several dollars of profit where there usually was none.

That was the first time I had noticed such a drastic change in one of my domains in such a short period of time – one day. The previous day there were the normal few views and no money to be made from that domain name. I asked my co-worker if he heard anything in the news involving video games since the domain name showing unusual traffic was related to video games. He said no, he had heard nothing. Since he was a thirty-something and was usually aware of such things I first thought it might be just an aberration, but it was unsettling nevertheless. As a stock and options investor, I am very familiar with the effects of news on those financial instruments so news was the first thing to cross my mind that might change the activity on a domain name so fast.

Later that evening, right before turning off my home computer, I thought of that domain name again and took a quick glance at its statistics. Wow! There were a lot more impressions and many more dollars showed as profit off that surge of hits.

About that time my son, nineteen and an ex video game fanatic, who was in Korea (I was in Southern California), came on and sent me a message via Instant Messenger. We conversed a short while then I asked him if he had heard any news about Xbox because by then I was suspecting something big must have been said in the news related to that specific video game platform. My domain name XboxStars.com was going wild with hits, compared to its usual half-dozen hits or less each day. He said, “Dad, I think they announced they are coming out with an Xbox 2″. Immediately I knew that was why my domain was getting so much action. It was reacting to the news! Maybe even over reacting. The news had probably been released that day. I never really saw the actual news related to that announcement, but I later checked some of the video game sites and their forums and there was lots of talk about Microsoft’s announcement related to Xbox2 to have some games created in Japan and speculation that some version or prototype of Xbox 2 would be at a well known game convention the next week.

I followed the impressions and clicks for the next few days and sure enough, the action had it been graphed, would have looked like a huge peak, rising very high and then falling like a rock in just a matter of a few days. Until that day I had never realized a domain name could react to news. Here is how it played out.

Date Domain Impressions Earnings 02-25-05 XboxStars.com 1 $00.00 02-26-05 XboxStars.com 1 $00.00 02-27-05 XboxStars.com 4 $00.00 02-28-05 XboxStars.com 1 $00.00 03-01-05 XboxStars.com 261 $97.77 03-02-05 XboxStars.com 483 $30.33 03-03-05 XboxStars.com 404 $28.15 03-04-05 XboxStars.com 569 $22.05 03-05-05 XboxStars.com 2 $01.22 03-06-05 XboxStars.com 4 $00.00 03-07-05 XboxStars.com 4 $00.00 (as of 03-07-05 9:00 am)

I had noticed some domain names had ups and downs before, but never associated that with potential news affecting the domain name. One especially, but with not so pronounced activity, I did a cursory check on, and found out the name is related to football. Although initially the name Insidend.com didn’t sound related to a sport I guess the “inside” and the “end” could be construed as being related to inside linebacker and end zone, defensive end, or tight end, etc. That’s a far stretch, but then again football is an extremely popular sport and is often in the news during football season. Whether or not football is affecting this particular domain remains to be seen, but now I’ll be on the lookout for such possibilities when I register new domain names or see huge changes in activity on any of my domain names.

I had better do some follow up research on other domain names that seem to have a lot of fluctuating activity. Take a hint from my experience. If you have any domain names that could be subject to reaction to news events you may be able to plan a strategy to capitalize on certain events depending on the circumstances. This could be especially profitable if you are selling something on a website with such a name.

Vikram kuamr asked:


 

Is your friend, colleague, or family member going to be wed? Surely, you would be busy helping out with the wedding plans. Whether you are part of the preparation stage or merely an onlooker of the upcoming special event of someone else’s life, you are surely also busy thinking of what to give as a wedding gift. When you are invited as part of the wedding celebration, you can’t help but give gifts that make the couple feel special. And sometimes this means that you have to give unusual gifts that make the couple remember you as a part of their life.

 

When these things happen, you are sometimes faced with the difficulty in finding unusual gifts. There are many things that may come to your mind as unusual gifts. However, you also must think if it is worth giving them as one of the many wedding gifts that couples will receive. To help you out, there is one special and unusual item that you may find interesting as wedding gifts. These are teas and other related items.

 

Tea is a healthy beverage. It is an antioxidant that helps minimize cholesterol, prevents serious diseases like heart ailment and different kinds of cancer, and can also be a therapy for weight loss. More than that, it can be a social beverage, which people drink after a meal, during tea parties, or meetings. What makes it a great unusual gift idea is that teas come in various forms and packages.

 

The most popular tea in the UK is black tea, which is usually packed in tea bags or pouches that are submerged in hot water. Some other, often higher quality Chinese teas that you can choose are green teas, Oolong teas, and rare white silver tip teas. There are also flowering teas, which have black, or green tea leaves as the base but have added flowering ingredients. These too have many other variants such as jasmine, rose and osmanthus flowers. Flowering teas are also called scented teas because they give out a sweet aroma once the teas are submerged in the water. These Chinese premium teas also have health giving benefits. Depending on the shop where you buy these teas, you can get them packaged in trendy and fashionable tea sets.

 

One UK based shop that offers tea as wedding gifts is The Exotic Teapot. The online store offers a selection of different kinds of luxury teas packed in a presentable manner. You’ll find many wedding gift ideas. An example of a tea used as wedding gifts is the flower tea ball packed in a golden foil bag with golden ribbon. You can also choose to buy tea sets especially for couples that contain a glass teapot, different kinds of flowering teas, and sets of glass cups or glass mugs. You can choose to have it gift-wrapped and add a personalised message to it.

 

All in all, this is truly an unusual gift for a couple. You give them a health-giving beverage plus a useful tea set. If budget is an issue, you simply buy the tea balls that are packed attractively and also make excellent wedding favours. With such an unusual gift for a wedding gift, you can surely make a memorable impact on the couples. You do not only share in the joy of their celebration but also the joy of providing them a healthy beverage which they can share in their new life together. If you buy tea sets as a wedding gift for instance, you could just imagine them sitting with a scenic view while drinking tea together perhaps even on their honeymoon.

Tony Jacowski asked:


Everyone has their choice of what career they want to pursue. Why on earth would anybody object; after all, it is your passion. Especially when the ‘unusual career’ of your choice has a potential to pay more than many common jobs, you are more inclined to pursue it. Here I will list a few unusual jobs that are respectable and pay reasonably well.

List Of Unusual Careers

Bartending: Well, this is not just about mixing drinks. As a bartender, you will have to put in long and unusual hours, going very late to bed and getting up when it most people are already at work. There is lot of money to be made in this profession in the form of tips, especially if you deal with wealthy customers. Of course, well-known bars and restaurants hire bartenders who have a broad range of skills. A short training course and experience will help you break into this profession. It doesn’t hurt to have some well-placed networking contacts, either. DJing: Disk Jockeying can catapult you into stardom, if you are very good. You can have your own way of playing music; you can play with sound and virtually anything that sounds good. You can look at music with a new vision and feed it to your audience while you get paid for just enjoying your music. There are not much responsibilities and instant results from your ‘customers.’ Keep in mind though, that you will need to spend a good deal of time promoting yourself; it doesn’t hurt to have others do the same.

Jewelry designing: Jewelry designing and gemology are very well paying jobs. As they say, the sky is the limit for a revolutionary jewelry designer. The demand for this profession can be understood by the near tripling of the gold price in the last decade. There will always be high demand for unusual and unique jewelry pieces.

Magazine Editor: The popularity of magazines has taken a beating from a flurry of ezines, TV shows, etc. for the last decade or so. Those which survived did so on the strength of the features covered and their design and layout. But is it really so well paying? Talk to a professional editor. It is not just important to have good features these days, you need to know how to present them well, and in a way that the readers will like. All it takes to being a path-breaking editor is an eye for detail and a quick grasp of what the audience likes.

Funeral Director: Yep, you heard right. This is really a very lucrative profession, although probably not suitable for everyone. There will never be a lack of demand for funeral directors, for obvious reasons. The scarcity of funeral professionals makes life hectic for the few available.

Greeting card writer: All those mind boggling, emotional yet simple poetry or short write-ups are not done by the card manufacturers. Just take a minute to think about the profit made if the card manufacturers have to pay a fraction of the profits to only a handful of card writers. Now that qualifies to be called lucrative.

Coffee tasters: Tea and coffee manufacturers spend millions on researching and perfecting blends that would make their brands blockbusters. And how will they know which blend is the perfect match to the research predictions? Brewers make hundreds of samples and professional tasters taste each one of them and report back to management based on their impressions and notes.

Maggi Carstairs asked:


s would you NOT EAT by choice…. What is the strangest food you have eaten?

Create your own squidoo on Food…….

Unusual Foods, or Food that is Different to a Caucasian Westerner What is the strangest food you have eaten or seen served, or read about? Travelling and living and working in different countries and cultures has often led me into sitting staring at something served on a plate in front of me that I either just do not wish to eat, or the odour of which, to me, is absolutely appalling.

Let me try and explain some incidents when I have not been able to eat the meal placed in front of me.

Recently, in Korea, I was taken to lunch by a very attractive Korean girl, who took me to a Restaurant and asked if I liked Octopus. I love calamari, and expressed my interest to try the Korean version. Imagine my chagrin when a bowl of living, and writhing, miniature octopus was placed in front of me. When I said something about them being alive, she calmly cut one with a pair of scissors, and ate it while it was still writhing.

There are stories of Koreans choking to death from eating live octopus. The tentacles are actually moving, and there have been instances when the tentacles get suctioned in the throat of the diner, and death can occur from choking.

Another Korean delicacy I simply cannnot handle is Silkworms. When you walk up to the mountains where the Temples are, vendors along the side cook huge Wok like pots where they turn what looks like grubs. They are grubs. They are silkworms, who have been removed from the steamed silk cocoons, after the silk has been care fully spun out, and the silkworms are steamed or cooked in water. They have the odour of used football socks being boiled in water, and I am sure they taste the same. Silkworms are reputed to have the protein content of 6 egg yolks in one grub, but I was told that only Koreans can utilize this form of protein, so eating a grub on toast would hardly fill my protein requirements for the day.

When a New Zealand Friend came to visit me last year, I cheekily gave him a paper cup of silkworms, which is how they are served, and looking somewhat surprised, he carefully tasted one, and proclaimed it dreadful. I was tempted to try one, for the experience of tasting a morsel that is reputed to have the protein content of 6 eggs…for a Korean…but the musty, old, dead and dying smell on his breath, turned me off completely. They look like small cockroaches, and there is no way I would eat a cockroach by choice, either.

I keep adding this ‘by choice’ as there have been times in my life, where I have eaten something with delight, and later discovered what it was and never eaten it again, by choice.

When teaching in China, to students who did not not have a single word of English, I dined regularly on ‘chop’ which I rather liked. In fact it tasted like the beef I know, and I rather enjoyed the ‘stew’ and it was often ordered for me. Imagine my chagrin when a few months later, after I had taught the students to speak English, we were guests of the Director, and they told me I was eating dog….

Recently another visitor to China explained that she was given the delicacy of Frogs Blood Soup, which she had to eat. It sounded appalling. I did not even know frogs had blood, let alone enough to fill a soup dish. She also mentioned pigs Eyeballs, and steamed almost mature chickens, complete with their feathers and some of the albumen. The local cafeteria features a special stall where they sell all the parts of the pig. You can have sliced pigs ear, a special delicacy, and also pigs penis, and other unnameable parts. I look and pass on by. The dried, salted ducks hanging out to dry just outside my window look rather sad amongst the other lines of washing, and there is no way I can suck, even delicately, on a dried chicken’s foot. It looks too much like a shrunken mummy’s hand, or worse, the hand of an ailing but cherished Aunt.

Marguerite 2008 What foods would you not eat by Choice??? What food would you not eat? What is the strangest food you have eaten???

Create your own list of the top foods you would not eat by choice.

I would not eat dog, mice embryos, silkworms, live octopus and anything living that is looking at me, and I do not eat rat, even if it cultivated in the Bayous of New Orleans and in Asia. I refuse duck blood soup, and gag at coddled fresh blood, and there is no way I would eat a cockroach, even if it is delicately spiced and cooked in the finest of virgin oils.

This is just my choice, and I know these items are delicacies in other cultures.

http://www.squidoo.com/CookingCookingCooking

Imran ali asked:


A lot of people like to know what celebrities wear and what do they get on their engagements. Many jewelry makers from different countries produce celebrity inspired engagement rings for ordinary people to enjoy and cherish. You will find tons of options in this category with rings ranging in price from $100 to $5000 and even more. Although celebrity rings are way too expensive, with most of them costing around millions of dollars, designers try to use inexpensive materials and imitation stones to create look-alikes of those rings. If you want to know what Jennifer Aniston, Kate Walsh, Kate Hudson, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Katie Holmes and other celebrities got on their engagement, keep reading on.

Katie Holmes was presented with an Edwardian style ring by Tom Cruise which cost over 1.5 million dollars. It is a 5-carat diamond ring in oval shape set in platinum and rose gold. The huge diamond and the setting speak of antique style which is quite noticeable. Jennifer Aniston got a ring specially designed by Brad Pitt and it is truly beautiful. It is composed of 20 diamonds set in a spiral in white gold. Replica rings of this type are now widely available on the internet starting from as low as $35. Although these rings might not be long lasting or sturdy, they can be bought to see the exquisite design and lovely setting.

One of the most unusual and extremely beautiful celebrity engagement rings is the one received by Jessica Simpson. This ring is designed with two side stones and a center stone which is pear shaped set in platinum. The diamonds used on this ring weigh around 3.5 carats and have internally flawless clarity. These types of diamonds are rare and very expensive. Kate Hudson’s art deco style ring with 5-carat asscher cut center diamond and small pave set diamonds on the sides is gorgeous. Kate Walsh inspired CZ ring is also available out there with a similar design.

Many other celebrity engagement rings are unique and simply exquisite. And why wouldn’t they be? After all, the men who happen to fall in love with these celebrities have to spend millions of dollars to steal their beloved’s heart away. Good news for all those who love these rings and would like to have an identical ring on their engagement: there are many designers who create celebrity inspired rings which also include personalized and custom-made rings in all styles. Usually less expensive stones or diamond stimulants like moissanite and CZ are used on these rings to make them affordable for ordinary people. In place of platinum, 14k or 18k white gold is used.

Whether it’s a classic solitaire diamond ring, or a lavishly designed beautiful and luxurious ring with lots of diamonds, celebrity engagement rings are considered unique and extraordinary. Internet has made it possible for everyone to enjoy the beauty of these rings and also to order an identical ring in just about minutes. Check out the various stunning rings in this category and choose one for your sweetheart.

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If love makes the world go round, impotence turns it upside down. This distressing condition that affects over 30 million Americans is responsible for a lot of heartaches, misery, and ruined relationships.

Impotence is not only an embarrassing condition but it attacks the very soul of man. Depression, anxiety, fear, and grief are but a few of the emotions associated with impotence. When men are threatened by this condition and the burden of losing their manhood and virility becomes too heavy to bear, victims often strike out in shocking and unforgettable ways.

Take the case for instance of Hans Peterson, a 29-year-old man suffering from acne. When his dermatologist Dr. David Cornbleet prescribed Accutane for his condition, Peterson mistakenly assumed that the drug had made him impotent. Disheartened by his condition, Peterson lashed back at his doctor, stabbing the latter to death.

“The law enforcement source said evidence links Peterson to the crime, saying blood in Cornbleet’s office, where he was killed, matched DNA from a cigarette found at Peterson’s New York apartment,” according to the Daily Mail.

In Turkey, a 52-year-old man desperate to end his impotence sacrificed three donkeys in the name of “science.” Agence France-Presse reported that Mehmet Esirgen brought home a donkey three times, chopped off the animals’ sexual organs, and searched vainly for a doctor who would give him a penis transplant. This annoyed his family and his angry son shot Esirgen in the leg!

Impotence not only affects the person suffering from it; its negative effects can also be a burden to others. A good example is German farmer Rico Gabel who sought thousands of dollars in damages from three youths whom he blamed for making his prized ostrich impotent!

Gabel alleged that the noisy firecrackers caused his ostrich Gustav to lose interest in sex. He demanded over $6,000 in damages for the teenagers’ antics.

“The farmer claimed that fireworks set off by the boys made the previously lustful Gustav apathetic and depressed, and thus unable to perform for half a year with his two breeding partners. Before Gustav regained his sex drive, the farmer estimated he lost out on 14 ostrich offspring, worth $470 each,” said the Associated Press (AP).

However, an ostrich expert found no connection between the firecrackers and Gustav’s behavior. The expert, Christoph Kistner, said while the noise could cause stress, it had no effect whatsoever on Gustav’s sperm count. The boys were told to pay only $188 in vet fees.

Sometimes when you least expect it, you can stumble upon an impotence cure not mentioned in medical journals. This is what happened to a 29-year-old New Yorker who supposedly experienced a rock-hard erection that wouldn’t subside after drinking a vitamin-enriched chocolate drink.

“The lawsuit filed by Christopher Woods of New York said he bought the nutrition beverage made by the pharmaceutical company Novartis AG at a drugstore and drank it. Woods’ court papers say he woke up the next morning ‘with an erection that would not subside’ and sought treatment that day for the condition, called severe priapism,” AP said. To this day, it is not known what has become of this bizarre case.

If you are troubled by impotence, there are many ways to deal with the problem without becoming a part of this weird world. One safe and natural way is Erectasil, a popular male enhancement cream that will help you rise to the occasion. Check out http://erectasil.com for details.