Extreme couponers jailed in 'one of the largest' fraud schemes ever discovered - "An FBI press release earlier this week revealed an extreme couponing fraud amounting to $31.8 million, in which a Virginia couple faces a combined sentence of nearly 20 years in prison... Lori Ann Talens, 41, had a background in marketing with strong computer design skills, allowing her to create a coupon for almost any grocery or drug store product and to make it for whatever value she wanted. Prosecutors said the counterfeit coupons were “virtually indistinguishable” from real ones... During the investigation, officers discovered that Talens not only used these counterfeit coupons herself, she used Facebook to find groups of enthusiasts in order to sell them fraudulent coupons. She communicated with her customers through an encrypted messaging app, Telegram, where they needed to provide proof of using fake coupons in the past, ensuring that they understood the risks involved in this operation. “She had coupons for $24.99 off a $25 box of diapers. And it would work,” said Postal Inspector Jason Thomasson. “And you’d have people walking out the door with those diapers for almost nothing.”"
Water Is Wet. Street Trash Cans Reduce Litter, City Behavioral Study Finds - "A new behavioral research study undertaken by the City of Philadelphia and three prestigious university research partners has confirmed something so painfully obvious it's actually insane we're wasting time arguing about it: that putting out more public trash cans reduces litter on the streets. The significance of the study is that, inside the Streets Department, some people actually believe that taking away public trash cans reduces litter. Putting out pubic trash cans, the thinking goes, will only make things dirtier by attracting more trash, sometimes even household trash and commercial trash, and the solution is to take cans away... removing public trash cans increased litter in the long run and even contributed to some subway track fires in places it was tried. Yikes! And yet, according to the authors there has still been "growing interest" in implementing these failed ideas in Philadelphia, because of course there has."
Does gestation vary by ethnic group? A London-based study of over 122 000 pregnancies with spontaneous onset of labour | International Journal of Epidemiology - "This research suggests that normal gestational length is shorter in Black and Asian women compared with white European women and that fetal maturation may occur earlier."
Meme - Nicholas Carlson @nichcarlson: "Insider is launching a series that demystifies people's salaries, and we need your help"
"What is your salary, Nich?"
"Fun question! I'd rather not say publicly for lots of practical reasons I'm sure you can imagine. This feels a little wimpy, but also prudent. I think I would submit it to some third party I could trust to keep it anonymous and average it with other people in roles like mine."
unicorn in lakewood - "A Lakewood resident is continuing a tradition he started in 2020- snow blowing while wearing an inflatable unicorn costume... As much as I love the unicorn costume, Snowba Fett might be my favorite."
Haunted house actor stabs Ohio boy with real hunting knife - "A hard-to-frighten 11-year-old boy was accidentally stabbed by an overzealous actor in an Ohio haunted house last week – yet continued his tour of the Halloween attraction anyway... The unidentified actor, 22, reportedly agreed with police that it “was not a good idea” to use a real hunting knife instead of one of the prop knives the haunted house supplies its entertainers for the purpose of fake fright. The boy was treated at the scene for an injury to his toe with his mother by his side, but refused any further treatment. He continued his tour of the haunted home. Police confiscated the knife but filed no charges at the mother’s request."
NY to limit marijuana permit eligibility to those convicted of pot-related offenses
Meme - "ALAN MOORE. Writer / Wizard / Mall Santa / Rasputin Impersonator"
SciELO - Brazil - Correlação entre a incompetência esfincteriana anal e a prática de sexo anal em homossexuais do sexo masculino Correlação entre a incompetência esfincteriana anal e a prática de sexo anal em homossexuais do sexo masculino - Correlation between anal sphincter incompetence and anal sex practice in male homosexual: "INTRODUCTION: the anal incontinence (AI) is a disfunction of multifactorial origin with significant impact in thequality of life of the individual. Amongst the diverse etiologies for AI meets it traumatic, provoked for the object penetration inthe anal canal. The inclusion of the anus in the sexual activity, already comes being described, mainly between homosexuals ofthe masculine sex. From this premise, the possibility of the penetration of the penis in the anus was questioned in this researchif to fit as traumatic etiology of the anal incontinence. OBJECTIVE: to verify the possible correlation between changeable the analincontinence and the practical one of anal sex being used as age, practical time of and the weekly frequency of anal sex. Methods:100 passive masculine homosexuals had answered a questionnaire elaborated for the researchers and an Index of Anal Incontinence. RESULTS: the anal incontinence was present in 62%, being that the loss of gases was considered most significant. However, thecorrelations proposals had not been presented statistical significant. CONCLUSION: the majority of the homosexuals presentedsome degree of anal incontinence, probably in result of the practical one of the anal sex."
Meme - "Visiting home and my dad just walked to the dinner table wearing this shirt. None of us have kids. When asked about it I was told "it's a suggestion"."
"BEST GRANDPA EVER"
Alenora on Twitter - "Nobody: What’s your favorite paradox?
Me: If you ask Rick Astley for his copy of the movie UP, he cannot give it to you as he will never give you up. However, in doing so, he lets you down. Thus creating the Astley Paradox."
Legacy of a Lie: The crash of Atlas Air flight 3591 - "On the 23rd of February 2019, a Boeing 767 transporting cargo for Amazon suddenly dived into Trinity Bay while on approach to Houston, Texas, killing all three people on board. From the putrid estuary, investigators pulled the jet’s two black boxes, which together revealed the perplexing story of the last moments of Atlas Air flight 3591. It all began with a bumped switch, a tiny action that ultimately led to catastrophe when the disoriented first officer panicked and flew his plane into the ground. The sequence of events in the cockpit defied comprehension. How could a trained pilot make such a fundamental error? It was in their attempts to answer this question that investigators found the real cause of the accident. Beneath the surface of the first officer’s training record, they found a long history of failed examinations, terrible airmanship, and difficulties performing basic procedures. One instructor said that he was one of the worst pilots he had ever trained. And after all of this, he was hired anyway — due to inadequate hiring practices, a deliberate act of deception, and an FAA program that wasn’t implemented in time to stop it... Conrad Jules Aska... Over the next 11 years, he worked for no fewer than seven different airlines... Scrutiny of Aska’s records from all of these airlines revealed numerous training difficulties. First he failed to complete training at two different airlines. Then at Trans State Airlines, he failed an oral exam on the ERJ-145, then failed a check ride (a graded flight with an instructor) in May 2014, followed by a failed line check (a regular line flight, but graded by an instructor) in August, after which he resigned. In May 2017 at Mesa Airlines he failed to upgrade to captain. In September 2017, at Atlas Air, he failed his Boeing 767 type rating exam “due to unsatisfactory performance in crew resource management, threat and error management, non-precision approaches, steep turns, and judgment.” After most of these failures, he went to remedial training and eventually passed. To learn more about why he failed so many times, the NTSB interviewed the examiners and check airmen who had graded him. The Atlas Air check airman who failed First Officer Aska on his Boeing 767 type rating examination told the NTSB that Aska lacked situational awareness, “overcontrolled the airplane,” was “very nervous,” “did not work well with the other pilot,” and forgot to perform emergency checklists. Aska was constantly behind his airplane and its actions would catch him by surprise. When confronted with something unexpected, he would panic and start pushing the wrong buttons. The check airman worried that the failure was so traumatic that Aska would not be able to “mentally recover.” Next, the NTSB interviewed the check airmen who had trained First Officer Aska at his previous employer, Mesa Airlines. According to three instructors at that airline, Aska had no trouble with rote tasks; however, they confirmed that when faced with an unexpected event, he would start pressing random buttons in order to feel like he was doing something. His ability to fly the plane manually was weak, but he wasn’t any better with the automation, because he struggled to use the flight management computer. Like the check airman at Atlas, they stated that Aska had poor situational awareness and didn’t understand what his airplane was doing. One Mesa Airlines check airman said that Aska’s piloting ability was among the worst he had ever seen. Another told the NTSB that despite all the evidence to the contrary, Aska didn’t think he was a bad pilot, or at least he was unwilling to admit it. Every time he failed he came up with an excuse, blaming his poor performance on the hotel where he spent the night, his simulator partner, or the instructor. He had no idea that he lacked basic airmanship skills, refused to accept feedback, and didn’t understand why he couldn’t upgrade to captain. NTSB investigators were left utterly astounded. Naturally, they had encountered some poor pilots over the years — but none quite so bad as Conrad Jules Aska. It seemed obvious that, for his own safety and the safety of the public, Aska should have been forced to pursue a different career. So why did he keep getting hired? A review of hiring records and interviews with Atlas Air’s human resources department revealed the shocking truth: Aska had gotten the position at Atlas Air because he lied about his past."
Miami Pilot was Killed in a Plane Crash. Now His Brother is Suing Atlas Air and Amazon. - "Elliott Aska’s lawsuit claims the maintenance on the plane was inadequate and seeks to hold the companies accountable."
The only reason to keep the ugly Marilyn Monroe statue? She protects from the rain - "It has been panned as one of the world's worst public art eyesores, but from Chicago's enormous Marilyn Monroe statue is a community service - protecting tourists from the rain."
ersh on Twitter - "my boyfriend is so loyal he doesnt watch porn with any girls in it 🥰🥰🥰🥰"
Meme - "Boys, romanticize yourselves. You are a king. You are a warrior. You are an enchanter. You are an angel. You are a god. You are all of these things and more, you are the stuff of fairytales."
"You know, that's the first time anyone's ever told me that"
"That's sad, because you deserve the chance to be as much of a prince as I get the chance to be a princess."
"That's really needed actually, thank you."
Meme - "My five-year old students are learning to read. Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said "Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!"
I took a deep breath, then asked..." What did you call it?"
"It's a frickin' elephant! It says so on the picture!"
And so it does... "A f r i c a n Elephant"
Hooked on phonics! Ain't it wonderful?"
Rudy Giuliani reveals himself on The Masked Singer prompting judge Ken Jeong to walk off - "Rushfield added, it’s possible that Fox probably assumes that any criticism won’t matter in the long run. “We’ve seen time and time again that with a lot of these types of things that people who would be inclined to actually boycott something and move away from it are a tiny number of people mostly active on Twitter — and within three hours, they’ve moved on to the next thing”"
How professional. Ironically liberals used to claim that you should do your job or get fired (when it was government officials refusing to process gay marriages)
VIDEO: Voyage Of Shelf Discovery: Man Finds Secret Passage In His 500-Year-Old Home's Library - "It was not uncommon for houses to boast secret passages for the servants and other staff to use, as they were typically not allowed to use “official” corridors and staircases."
Dem Mayor Hires Convicted Sex Offender Who Raped Teenage Girls To Inspect Homes. Residents: ‘I’ll Be Terrified’ - “On Sept. 20, village records show Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard hired 46-year-old Lavelle Redmond as a code enforcement officer — a job in which he goes into Dolton homes and businesses to inspect them and make sure they are up to code”
Florida 'Teacher of the Year' arrested for hitting pupil who criticized award - "A Florida educator was busted for child abuse two days after being named Teacher of the Year — for allegedly hitting a student who criticized her getting the award, according to police. High school English teacher Caroline Melanie Lee, 60, was proudly hailed for her achievement by the Duval County Public Schools"
Meme - Emily Forney @EmilyKaitlinnn "I was on a dating app and a guy jokingly wrote "what should we name our first child?" as his intro message and had to tell him that in fifth grade I lost a bet to my best friend Hannah and have to without question name my first born child Megatron and then the man unmatched me"
Meme - "It's so cold outside the sign post died. You can actually see when the spirit leaves its body."
Crunchtime: Japan 'miracle' snack in first price hike since 1979 - Nikkei Asia - "The maker of Japan's Umaibo corn puff is raising prices for the first time, in a shock for fans of the "miracle" snack beloved for decades for its crunch and 10-yen price tag. Tokyo-based Yaokin Corp is increasing the price of Umaibo by 2 yen ($.02) apiece to 12 yen from April due to higher costs, according to a person familiar with the matter. It marks the first such increase since the snack -- whose name means "delicious stick" -- went on sale in 1979... Similar to cheese puffs but shaped like a cylinder, Umaibo come in 15 flavors, from cheese to seasoned cod roe, with creamy corn soup the best seller.
Japan's Sado gold mine faces uphill climb to World Heritage list - Nikkei Asia - "The Japanese government is in the final stages of deciding whether to recommend the historic site of a former gold mine on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture as a candidate for UNESCO's World Heritage list. While conservative lawmakers in Japan are pressing the government to nominate the site, a rule that Japan itself asked the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to introduce several years ago could turn out to be the biggest obstacle. Japan previously led an effort to create a system in which UNESCO does not register sites nominated under a separate program, UNESCO's Memory of the World, if the registration is opposed by another member state. That move was taken in response to the registration of "Documents on Nanjing Massacre" under the Memory of the World program in 2015. Japan criticized the registration, saying it held a "contradictory view to China's." It proposed a change in the system which gave the UNESCO director-general the final say on registrations. Based on the Japanese proposal, a rule was instituted requiring that the screening for Memory of the World registration begin only after a consensus is reached among relevant countries. Japan is critical of historic records on wartime "comfort women," which South Korea is pushing to register, and demanded that the registration be put on hold under the new rule. This Japan-led system looms over the Sado nomination. The World Heritage registry, which the Sado gold mine is up for, is separate from the Memory of the World program. The former does not require a consensus among the relevant countries. Still, if Japan nominates the Sado site for inclusion in defiance of South Korea's opposition, it could invite claims of a double standard. South Korea has opposed the nomination of the Sado gold mine, arguing that workers from the Korean Peninsula were subjected to forced labor at the mine during World War II. The Japanese government, for its part, argued the nomination applied only to the time frame through the Edo period (1603-1868), but it has failed to convince Seoul."
Japan researchers develop electric chopsticks to enhance salty taste - "Japanese researchers have developed computerised chopsticks that enhance salty tastes, potentially helping those who need to reduce sodium in their diets... The device uses a weak electrical current to transmit sodium ions from food, through the chopsticks, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness... The taste-enhancing chopsticks may have particular relevance in Japan, where the traditional diet favours salty tastes. The average Japanese adult consumes about 10 grams of salt per day, double the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation."
Japanese professor creates lickable TV screen that produces food flavours - "This new prototype, which is in line with the Japanese culture of innovation, is called "Taste the TV". Its short form name is TTTV."
Pika Zilla's answer to Why didn't gunpowder weapons spell the end of Japanese castles like we saw in Europe? - Quora - "East Asia has severe and frequent earthquakes compared to most of Europe. As a result, walls are built differently. Building a European-style stone-only wall would, in East Asia, not last long after multiple earthquakes. So what they did was make a mound of dirt and then place the stones onto it from the sides. This ‘dirt filling’ made the walls almost immune to cannonballs. It also must be stated that Japan spent 214 years in a state of isolated peace known as Sakoku, which meant that there were few sieges that took place in Japan after the Sengoku Jidai. WWII was really the only time Japanese castles would be bombarded on a large scale in the modern-day."
Scientists based in Japan have successfully 3D printed a hunk of wagyu beef complete with marbling - "Michiya Matsusaki, one of the project's researchers, said that with these adjustments, customers might one day be able to order a cultured cut of meat with the amount of fat they desire, tailor-made to their tastes and health concerns. Wagyu beef is known to be extremely expensive, with high-grade wagyu fetching prices of up to $200 per pound and adult cows selling for more than $30,000. In 2019, Japan's wagyu exports raked in a record high of $268.8 million in profits, up 20% from 2018. While this might be the first cut of wagyu beef ever to be 3D-printed, other attempts have been made to bioprint steaks. In February this year, Aleph Farms and the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology jointly bioprinted and cultivated a ribeye steak using real cow cells."
How to Clear a Path Through 60 Feet of Snow, Japanese Style - "Mt. Tateyama rises 9,892 feet in Japan’s Hida Mountains and is considered one of the country’s Three Holy Mountains. It also may be one of the snowiest mountains in Japan, and perhaps one of the snowiest places on planet Earth. The Hida Mountains are part of the Japanese Alps and meteorologists suspect that parts of the range receive as much as 1,500 inches of snow a year, or 125 feet. Piled continuously, that would be snow nearly half as high as the Statue of Liberty. Amazingly, there is a highway that runs through a part of this epic snow country. Route 6 begins in the 420,000-person coastal city of Toyama, approaches the western flank of Mt. Tateyama, then disappears into a tunnel. The route eventually emerges on the other side of the Hida Mountains, in Nagano Prefecture, where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held. But just before the road enters the tunnel—and just after it passes the remote and The Shining-esque Tateyama Kokusai Hotel—it runs for about a quarter-mile along the base of a broad ridgeline. In Japan this particular stretch of highway is known as yuki-no-otani, or Snow Canyon. The height of the canyon’s snow walls can reach a staggering 66 feet. Using another New York City analogy, that would leave your average five-story East Village walkup apartment building buried head to toe in snow."
Online Japanese hostess bar turns out to be better than real thing for our first-time customer- - "hostess bars make money not just through their seating fees, but through food and beverage sales as well. Sure enough, Onkyaba Japan has a similar system, so Yuichiro bought a drink for his hostess. However, the big difference is that, obviously, Onkyaba Japan can’t sell the customer any food or drink, which means there’s no incentive for the hostess to coax her customer to drink more than he wants to, or to sweetly pressure him into buying high-priced items for himself. For example, during his session Yuichiro enjoyed an ice-cold happoshu (a super-cheap low-malt class of Japanese beer) and a box of Kentucky Fried Chicken, which cost him far less than a meal at a hostess club would. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a guy who can’t drink very much liquor,” Yuichiro’s hostess told him. That’s something you’re very unlikely to hear at a regular hostess bar, since alcoholic drinks are their high-margin money makers. Even when Yuichiro revealed that he likes Cassis Orange, an inexpensive cocktail with a “girly” reputation in Japan, his hostess made no attempt to goad him into trying something higher in alcohol content and price"
New Japanese smartphone prohibits users from taking naked selfies - "The newest kakiyasu smartphone model, from low-cost provider Tone Mobile, is the Tone e20. Priced at a very reasonable 19,800 yen (US$180), it still boasts a perfectly acceptable list of features, with a 6.26-inch display, Android 9.0 operating system, 64 gigs of storage, and a triple-lens camera. It also comes with something called “Smartphone Protection,” but that’s not to protect the phone from damage, but a way by which the phone protects the user... Tone Mobile didn’t develop Smartphone Protection because they think that consenting adults sending each other sexy pictures is sinful, but in hopes of protecting children and teens... Smartphone Protection can also be linked via an app to a parent or guardian’s phone. If the link is established, when the Tone e20’s user attempts to take an inappropriate photo the parent’s phone receives an alert, which contains the date and time of the attempted photo, GPS information for where the attempt took place, and a pixelated thumbnail of the photo (which Tone Mobile says is not retained on any other devices or servers). Ostensibly Smartphone Protection can be disabled by adult users who wish to be able to photograph themselves wearing as little as they wish. Alternatively, it seems like you could also ask your spouse or dating partner to keep the function active and link it to your phone, if you’re worried about them fooling around behind your back and sending naked pics to someone else"
Try cooking a Big Mac in rice cooker - "4. Add Chicken McNuggets.
Place Chicken McNuggets in the rice cooker, then add tomato sauce.
5. Coca-Cola next.
Pour in some Coca-Cola. The important thing is that you DO NOT use regular Coke, but Coca Cola ZERO. Regular Coke makes the taste too sweet.
6. Start cooking.
Cook at the mode that you usually cook rice. After about an hour, your “McDonald’s Miracle Mixed Rice” is ready to ... eat."
Man hit by train in quest for perfect selfie - "A self-filmed video of a man who was hit by a Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) train in Hyderabad, India, has been viewed thousands of times online. Gym trainer T Siva ignored warnings from a person nearby and the train driver while filming near Borabanda railway station on 21 January. Mr Siva survived but has suffered head injuries... In October 2017 three teenagers were run over by a train while trying to take a selfie in Karnataka state, and two teenagers were killed while taking selfies on railway tracks in Delhi... The majority of selfie deaths across the world have taken place in India... In India, most selfie deaths are related to trains, which Mr Lamba said was due to "the belief that posing on or next to train tracks with their best friend is regarded as romantic and a sign of never-ending friendship.""
Cultures Explained: Hong Kong — Why are Locals So Rude and Unfriendly? - - "If you’ve visited Hong Kong and experienced a culture shock of how seemingly unfriendly the locals are, you’re not alone."
Nadine Dorries wants to give you better internet so you can 'downstream' movies - "Nadine Dorries was made the secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, but has continually demonstrated that she may not fully understand her job. Recently, the secretary claimed that Channel 4 receives public money (it does not) and asked Microsoft to get rid of algorithms. In her latest blunder, Dorries said she wants everyone to have fast internet so they can “downstream” films."
Life savings wiped out in days: 75-year-old lost S$1 million to China official impersonation scam - "When 75-year-old Madam Fong (not her real name) picked up a call from an overseas number last December, she did not imagine that she would end up losing an eye-watering S$1 million to an elaborate scam. The caller claimed that her name was being used in China for money laundering. “They asked me to cooperate with them … so I agreed,” said the retiree. Soon, “official documents” were delivered to her door, bearing the logos of government agencies such as the police, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Attorney-General’s Chambers. Not long after, the scammers also delivered a mobile phone and SIM card, calling her thrice a day on a pre-downloaded app to check in. They built a rapport over two months through light, friendly conversation – only after ensuring her family members were not at home. Unbeknownst to Mdm Fong, a withdrawal request of S$1 million had been made from the retiree’s CPF account to her bank account, accessed via two-factor SingPass login. She could not recall how this may have happened. She also visited a UOB bank branch to apply for Internet banking for the account, at the scammer’s instructions. The money then began flowing out. From Jan 30 to Feb 3, the sum was disbursed to multiple local and overseas accounts in many S$50,000 transactions. “They just asked me to transfer, but they did not give an explanation, (they) just wanted to accumulate the amount for later use"... “I thought they just wanted me to protect my family members,” she said, adding that scammers had said her husband and children could get involved. She is one of at least 109 victims, who have lost a total of at least S$14.6 million since January this year to scammers impersonating Chinese officials... Describing Mdm Fong as disciplined, her husband said: “She never stepped one step out of the square ... The possibility that she could go to jail and die in jail, that’s what she was afraid of.” He added that she also “wholeheartedly” believed the scammers were “friends” who were trying to help her solve the issue, as they had spent a long time building up the relationship. When UOB flagged the case to the police’s anti-scam centre, officers visited Mdm Fong to speak to her – but she did not believe them. The fact that she had been conned only sank in when she messaged them about what the police had said, but they did not respond... “(This sum was) accumulated over 50 years, it’s life savings. For 50 years, you have to work day and night … And it’s wiped out in (a few) days."
Is there a correlation of sonographic measurements of true vocal cords with gender or body mass indices in normal healthy volunteers? - "The study demonstrated no correlation between vocal cord measurements and patient's characteristics of height, weight, or BMI's."
Study shows members of 'The Squad' ranked among most partisan in House | The Post Millennial - "The "Bipartisan Index" was compiled by The Lugar Center, in collaboration with Georgetown University. It "measures the frequency with which a Member co-sponsors a bill introduced by the opposite party and the frequency with which a Member’s own bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party.""
Man breaks into wrong home to clean, leaves townhouse spotless - "Next time Louis Angelino III wants to help out a friend and clean his home, he may want to double-check the address... when he arrived at what he thought was a friend of a friend’s condo in South Jersey, he looked for the key under the mat. Like he was told, there was one"
Meme - Authoritarian Left: "Pop Culture Robin Hood
- sTeal. frOm tHE riCh ANd giVE to ThE poOr
- boring af "
Authoritarian Right: "Also the original Robin Hood
- Fought in the Crusades
- Loyal to the true king when his brother tries to take the throne"
Libertarian Left: "Disney Robin Hood
- furry"
Libertarian Right: "Original Robin Hood
- Steal from the Government to give back to the people
- Worst enemy is a tax collector"