Planking
May 16, ’11
11:02 AM
This is the first I heard of it. I wonder how long before somebody takes it too far and dies.
Acton Beale, 20, originally from Tannum Sands near Gladstone in the state’s central region, fell from a high-rise building on Sunday morning when he tried to plank on a balcony railing.
Planking involves a person lying face down in a rigid position at random locations and posting photos of the act on the internet.
Opposition police spokesman John-Paul Langbroek says the craze is dangerous.
“[It] really just shows that these fads that people are coming up with really can have tragic consequences if they are not careful,” he said.
McDonalds Monopoly Fraud
May 16, ’11
10:03 AM
From Wikipedia:
In 2000, the US promotion was halted after fraud was uncovered. A subcontracting company called Simon Marketing (a then-subsidiary of Cyrk), which had been hired by McDonald’s to organize and promote the game, failed to recognize a flaw in its procedures, and the chief of security, Jerome P. Jacobson,[1] was able to remove the “most expensive” game pieces, which he then passed to associates who would redeem them and share the proceeds. The associates “won” almost all of the top prizes between 1995 and 2000, including McDonald’s giveaways that did not have the Monopoly theme. The associates “netted” over $24 million. The scheme was uncovered when one of the participants informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation on its ringleaders. While the fraud was perpetrated without McDonald’s knowledge, the McDonald’s Corporation voluntarily attempted to rectify the situation by issuing payouts to new (legitimate) winners, awarding five $1 million annuity prizes, and fifty $100,000 prizes over a five-day period.
(via Reddit)
Today in TSA
May 16, ’11
9:54 AM
Texas House passes bill banning TSA ‘groping’ :
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House of Representatives late on Thursday approved a bill that would make invasive pat-downs at Texas airports a crime, after a former Miss USA said she felt “molested” at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport last month.
Transportation Security Administration agents could be charged with a misdemeanor crime, face a $4,000 fine and one year in jail under the measure.
The proposal would classify any airport inspection that “touches the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person including through the clothing, or touches the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person” as an offense of sexual harassment under official oppression.
And
