Odd Stuff

Weeeeeeeeeeeird

Hell's Angels
A new BBC documentary is claiming that the Hell's Angels, angry about taking the blame for Altamont, planned to kill Mick Jagger.

Mangold said the men tried to reach Jagger by sea. "The boat was hit by a storm and all of the men were thrown overboard," he was quoted as saying. They all survived but made no other attempt on his life, Mangold said.

It was not clear whether Jagger was ever informed of the alleged plot against him.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Source: Detroit Free Press

Supplies
So apparently there's a pro-reading charity called 826 that has come up with an interesting way to raise money: theme stores.

In Brooklyn, they have the Superhero Supply Store.

In LA, a time-travel themed convenience store.

Neat.

Booze
So some Swedish MPs who don't drink are a bit miffed about the booze that flows freely at Swedish government functions.

A teetotal group of Swedish lawmakers said Wednesday alcohol-free drinks should be served at official parliamentary functions because alcohol prevents some MPs from fulfilling their duties.

"We want (official functions in parliament) to be alcohol-free by default," Egon Frid, a member of the opposition Left Party and the head of a group of 14 teetotal MPs, told AFP.

He said those who wanted an alcoholic drink could have one, but they should have to ask.

It seems like your government works pretty well when oiled up. Why rock the boat?

Source: Raw Story

One-Way
So there's a growing movement to make the first manned trip to Mars a one-way jobby, to save on all the fuel you'd have to bring to get back.

Yeah, this is going to go so well.

“When we eliminate the need to launch off Mars, we remove the mission’s most daunting obstacle,” said McLane. And because of a small crew size, the spacecraft could be smaller and the need for consumables and supplies would be decreased, making the mission cheaper and less complicated.

While some might classify this as a suicide mission, McLane feels the concept is completely logical.

“There would be tremendous risk, yes,” said McLane, “but I don’t think that’s guaranteed any more than you would say climbing a mountain alone is a suicide mission. People do dangerous things all the time, and this would be something really unique, to go to Mars. I don’t think there would be any shortage of people willing to volunteer for the mission. Lindbergh was someone who was willing to risk everything because it was worth it. I don’t think it will be hard to find another Lindbergh to go to Mars. That will be the easiest part of this whole program.”

...



And the whole world would be watching, said McLane, so it wouldn’t be as if the lone astronaut would be completely by himself. “You would have constant communication,” he said. “The astronauts on the International Space Station have an army of people on earth keeping track of what they are doing. They really have no peace. Somebody is constantly planning and monitoring their activities. I don’t think being lonely will be much of a problem on a mission to Mars.”

Of course McLane’s hope is the solo astronaut would be joined by others shortly in the future. Orbital mechanics provides a desirable launch window from Earth to Mars every 26 months. “This person wouldn’t be there by himself for very long. It’s just returning home that would be impossible,” he said. Another option McLane has offered is a one-man and one-woman crew, possibly creating an Adam and Eve-type situation.

So many bad ideas in one place!

To begin with, when something goes wrong, and it inevitably will eventually, since the guy can't come back, he'll die out there, slowly, on tv. People will have to sit back and watch helplessly. No doctors, no nothing.

That'll kill manned space travel forever right there.

Plus, an Adam and Eve scenario? WTF? Is he nuts?

Do NOT base scientific work on the bible, man. It's like building your blast shelter out of flash paper.

Source: Universe Today

Snow
Science types have decided to try and ruin my fun by announcing new-fallen snow is still dirty.

PITTSBURGH - To the list of simple childhood pleasures whose safety has been questioned, add this: eating snow.

A recent study found that snow - even in relatively pristine spots like Montana and the Yukon - contains large amounts of bacteria.

Parents who warn their kids not to eat dirty snow (especially the yellow variety) are left wondering whether to stop them from tasting the new-fallen stuff, too, because of Pseudomonas syringae, bacteria that can cause diseases in bean and tomato plants.

But experts say there's no need to banish snow-eating along with dodgeball, unchaperoned trick-or-treating and riding a bike without a helmet.

"It's a very ubiquitous bacteria that's everywhere," says Dr. Penelope Dennehy, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on infectious diseases. "Basically, none of the food we eat is sterile. We eat bacteria all the time."

If I was a tomato plant, I'd be a lot more concerned.

Though if I was a tomato plant, I also wouldn't be typing. Or eating. Or what not.

(To be perfectly fair, the article states that the original science publication did not evaluate the risks to people in any way. This is more scaremongering on the part of the journamalism types)

Source: AZ Central