Archive for June, 2008

We had the story of North Carolina and their WTF license plate.  In Virginia a man with a custom license plate that tells OPEC to KMA.  Click here for the full story.

We had a story about Mini Cooper using the Microsoft logo as curse word.  Now the state of North Carolina has mistakenly used a license plate prefix that is a curse word to some Web and Text savvy folks.

Probably most of you know what “WTF” means.  But if you don’t let me give you a hint.  If you worked in a candy store and a customer asked: “How much is the brown chunk candy with the nuts?”  You might reply: “…What, The Fudge?”  Get it?

Here’s the full story from Fox News Raleigh, NC.  Thanks to Jason for the story tip.

People who reviewed JokeWallpaper over the years often said that I “bashed” Microsoft.  Well…I did, but I also made fun of Apple, Intel, and other tech. companies.  I wasn’t the only Web site that did, but usually it was the small guys like me and not any large companies and certainly not a car manufacturer.

I’ve been doing some online car shopping and visited the Web site for Mini Cooper, which is a division of the giant BMW car company.  On the site they have several animated features that show the benefits of the small 12 foot long Mini including how easy it is to parallel park the car.  One animation begins with a large car trying to fit into a parking spot and ends with the smaller Mini fitting in.  When the larger car is trying to fit in the parking spot the driver crashes into the truck behind them.  A cartoon bubble pops up with the expletive curse words thoughts of the driver.  I would expect the usual cartoon #@&**! type representation, but was surprised to see the Microsoft Windows logo as part of the curse words uttered by the driver.  Look closely, it’s the fourth character from the left.  Interesting. Does the Mini artist have it in for Windows?  Or are they a dedicated Apple user.  Does Mini USA not like Windows?

Here’s a link to the full screen capture of the page.

Here’s a link to the animation on Mini USA Web site. It’s really quick so watch carefully.

You just gotta’ love the good old U. S. of A.  Where else could a Naked Cowboy  sue a Blue M&M Candy.  Here’s the full story.

“Sometimes a Lollipop is just a Lollipop” says the Sigmund Freud watermellon flavored “Head Pop”.  The copy from the sales Web site says:

“Once you get over the initial reluctance to put a human head in your mouth, you’ll find that the subtle contours and watermelon flavor of these Sigmund Freud Head Lollipops are worth the strange looks you’ll get as you suck them”

They also have “Let them eat candy” Marie Antoinette Lollipops and Orange flavored Abraham Lincoln Lollipops.

They’re real.  Here’s a photo of ‘em in a store from “drinkerthinker” on Flickr.

According to Cliff Arnall, a psychologist at the University of Cardiff in Wales, Today June 20, 2008 is the happiest day of the year.  He has a formula that calculates time spent outdoors, warm summer temperatures and more.  Here’s the full story from Fox news.

Wonder if Cliff is in Cardiff today.  The weather report calls for a high 57 degrees and rain.  Not exactly sunny/happy weather.

And maybe the dog ate her homework too.

True story from Salt Lake City, Utah.  17 year old girl hits a stopped car because she was distracted by her gerbil who escaped it’s cage.  Here’s the fully story with video from KSL-TV.

A high school in Middletown, Pennsylvania had some unusual names show up in in their yearbook.  William and Elizabeth Givler’s last name is “Giver” in the book, and Cameron Bendgen’s last name was changed to “Bandage.” Student council member Kathy Carbaugh became “Kathy Airbag.”

It’s was first thought to be a prank, but the yearbook publisher ‘fessed up that it was a computer spell check program run amok.  Click here for the full story.

What does Fidel Castro and George Bush, Sr. have in common? Swiss Army Knives. I love Swiss Army Knives. I have a collection of ‘em and carry a small one with a built in flashlight & pen on my keychain. From Wired.com’s Gadget Blog here’s a gallery of Swiss Army Knife stories and pictures.  

At the bottom of the original JokeWallpaper page it says “JokeWallpaper.com established September 10, 1995″.  That was the day I created the first “joke” graphic: “Microsoft: Where Do You Want To Go Today? Wherever Mr. Gates Wants Us To.”  At that time I was a TV newscast Producer/Director at WISH-TV in Indianapolis.  Reporter Ray Rice did a feature story about me and the site.  Remember this is 13 years ago when the whole idea of a “Home page” and “the Web” were brand new.  Here’s the video:

Here are some of the links mentioned in the story:

The Flaming Mac

“Microsoft: Where Do You Want To Go Today? Wherever Mr. Gates Wants Us To.”

“It’s now safe to turn off your brain.”

Flash forward to 1998. Dick Wolfsie of WISH-TV’s Daybreak morning show interviews me about JokeWallpaper. Here’s the video:

From The Hartford Courant newspaper:

Simsbury, Conn. and local residents have had their problems with hungry black bears, roaming coyotes and escaped emus. Now town folks can add store-bought chicken, stuffed with a bomb, to the list of odd animal incidents.

Here’s the full story

Maybe you like Lacoste shirts, but hey, it’s summer. You need to hit the beach or the pool. How about a permanent green crocodile logo. Just one featured in the book: No Regrets: No Regrets: The Best, Worst, & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever. Check out the book, or this slide show from ABC News.