Wednesday, 16 May 2012

The Top Ten Most Absurd Laws from Around the World



Did you know that in some countries it is illegal to name a pig 'Napoleon', to die in the House of Parliament or to wear black clothes? This top 10 looks at some of the most preposterous, outdated laws on the planet. 




10. Yellow margarine is illegal in Missouri, US.



Did you know that if you buy yellow margarine in Missouri you're committing a crime? A 19th century state law banned the sale of yellow margarine, though "it's been years since any violator was ordered to spread them." Most of Missouri's restrictions on imitation butter date to 1895, and they were last amended in 1939. Although the state no longer enforces them, the penalties could still make dealers in contraband dairy product toast: up to a month in jail and a $100 fine for first-time offenders and six months in jail and a $500 fine for repeat offenders.


9. China - The One Child Policy



China's one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit communist China's population growth. Although designated a "temporary measure," it continues a quarter-century after its establishment. The policy limits couples to one child. However over time this rule has caused a disdain for female infants which include abortion, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide have been known to occur to female infants.


8. Pillows labeled as "Passive Weapons" in Germany



Hmmm, if you were attacked by someone would you rather be assaulted with a knife or a pillow? Hard decision, but I would have to go with the pillow. I've been in a few savage pillow fights but somehow I don't think I'd feel very intimidated by someone walking down the street carrying a pillow. However Germany seem to think otherwise. 


7. The Banning of Electronic Games in Greece



This legislation first came into full force at the beginning of August 2002 as part of a policy to clamp down on illegal gambling. At first it only illustrated the banning of video games in Internet Cafes but in 2003 it was revised to include the banning of ALL electronic games. If caught you could face a hefty fine or even a jail sentence. 


6. It is illegal to address a pig as Napoleon



Yes, this is in fact a law. If you have a pig, don’t call it ‘Napoleon’ or you will be summoned by the authorities. The law came after a story on animals where the author made a terrible mistake of calling their pig ‘Napoleon’. Today many people consider the law a joke and hardly anyone respects it, let alone knows it exists. 




5. Littering in Singapore is a very serious offense



Littering is a serious offense. If caught littering your punishment includes a fine of several thousand dollars, hours of litter collection, state-sponsored counseling, as well as your picture in the local news. It is also illegal to carry a Bible or to talk to someone about Jesus. 


4. Against the law for children to purchase cigarettes, condoms, or alcohol but there are legally allowed to use all of them in Australia



Although it is against the law in Australia for children to buy cigarettes, condoms, or alcohol, they can legally use all of them. However the law makes it impossible for them to get it legal. Adults can not give them or buy it for them. It is also illegal to wear black clothing, felt shoes, and black shoe polish on your face while roaming the streets as these items are the tools of a cat burglar and it is also illegal to wear hot pink pants after midday Sunday in Australia. 


3. Flushing in Switzerland



Flushing the toilet after 10 pm where the person lives in an apartment is illegal in Switzerland.Instead of doing something about the plumbing the government took an easy way out by inventing this law that restricts people living in apartments from flushing their toilets after 10 pm. So whether you relieve yourself and leave the house reeking or you just wait till morning, the choice is entirely yours.


2. Honor Law of Marriage in Japan



This law isn't so much “absurdly ridiculous” in the sense of others on this list, but it is surely considered very strange by most and truly shows the intense respect and honor Japanese people give to their family. This law gives the elder brother the prestige to ask for the hand of his younger brothers girlfriend. 




1. It is Illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament



The reasoning behind this is that technically anyone who dies within the walls of Parliament is automatically granted a Royal state funeral. Also when putting stamps on your postcards in Britain, watch out! It is considered an act of treason to glue a stamp with a Monarch’s head upside down on the envelope or postcard.























Monday, 14 May 2012

The Top Ten Greatest Celebrity Mullets Of All Time



We've all had a bad hair day, but back in the 80's mullets were the height of fashion. A famous hairstyle in which the front is cut trim, but the back is long, left wild and often uncut. Even when the back is cut, it is still longer than the front. Here are just a few of the most memorable mullets...


10. Kiefer Sutherland





Kiefer's ultra platinum blonde mullet has been glued into my mind since the first time I ever watched The Lost Boys. He was supposed to be the baddest vampire in Santa Carla, but this mullet suggested otherwise. 


9. Hayden Christensen/ Anakin Skywalker





May the mullet be with you. Even a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, this sort of haircut was not acceptable. No wonder Anakin decided to turn to the darkside...


8. Andre Agassi





It was a wig to hide his baldness in the 90's, but you just have to applaud this man for choosing the most amazing sun bleached mullet wig around. 


7. David Bowie





I really can't say anything bad about Bowie's famous mullet explosion. He's one of the rare few that could rock the mullet and still look awesome.


6. Chuck Norris





Chuck Norris is known far and wide for his Kung Fu Mullet. No words can truly describe the epicness of this Mullet Masterpiece.


5. Mel Gibson





Is it a coincidence that both Gibson's mullet and his grip on reality disappeared at about the same time? I think not.


4. Michael Bolton





The mullet prince of darkness. "How are we supposed to live without Michael Bolton's mullet?" We ask ourselves that very question every time we see his sleek new mullet-less do.


3. Billy Ray Cyrus





His mullet is so unique, and has undergone so many changes, that it is simply know as the Achy, Breaky Mullet.


2. Dana Carvey in Wayne's World





We can only drop to our knees and plead "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" in the presence of such an awesome mullet. 


1. Pat Sharp



There's no denying that Pat sharp was the ultimate mullet god. An true legend among fellow mullet lovers. 









Tuesday, 10 April 2012

THE TOP TEN WORST DESIGNED LOGO'S



After designing some logo's of my own I decided it was best to take a look at some logo inspiration when i came across these badly designed and offensive ones that I thought you all might somehow enjoy, and yes these are real Logo's.



1. Institute of Oriental Studies at the Catholic University of Portugal


If you can't already see what this logo is... it's in fact supposed to be a Japanese house in front of a rising sun however, it actually looks like someones rear end. Someone needs to do some explaining when they came up with this one.


2. Kids Exchange



It's blatantly obvious what's gone wrong with this design, if someone had actually used their brain and separated the " S " from the " E " then everything would have been ok.


3. MEGAFLICKS



To be fair, they just needed to use a different font in this scenario.




4. The Computer Doctors




A classic example of why you shouldn't have a " mouse " on your logo. Even the slogan makes its so much worse.


5. Kudawara Pharmacy

 

Oh come on, this is ridiculous. There is no plausible non-sexual explanation for what the people in this logo are doing. Dear oh Dear.


6. A-Style



It certainly is a style alright.


7.  Can you guess what the logo below is? Is it A. a sexual abuse by priests support group logo, B. a logo for a crazy brand of umbrellas, or C. The Catholic Church’s Archdiocesan Youth Commission. If you picked C, you’d be right.

Cathoiic Priest Boy Logo

Yes this is in fact a logo for the Catholic Church’s Archdiocesan Youth Commission, it dates from 1973, and won an award from the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles in 1974.


8.  Office of Government Commerce

 

was intended to signify a bold commitment to the body’s aim of “improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement”. Instead it just appears to be a man possibly enjoying himself. The logo cost £14,000 to create, obviously no one thought to turn it on it's side...

The OGC logo rotated 90 degrees

9. Locum



My jaw pretty much dropped at this one, obviously the creators had no innocent intentions whatsoever. But I suppose it is Sweden, they tend to be pretty open when it comes to this stuff.

10. Mont Sat



Now you know why Mr Satellite looks so happy.

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

The Top Ten Most Controversial Movies 


Movies that attract controversies are often those that depict sex, violence, religion, politics, homosexuality, racism, drugs, obscene language, and related issues at a level that is considered taboo and not the norm.
Here are a few of the most controversial movies of all time.

1. Passion of the Christ




It's a VERY graphic depiction of how Jesus was betrayed, tortured and crucified. Says it all really. Mel Gibson with his deep Catholic faith had the sole intention to produce an unflinching depiction of Christ's suffering on behalf of mankind. What he succeeded at best, however, was igniting a culture-war inferno unrivaled in Hollywood history. In Gibson's defense though any film about religion is bound to cause a degree of controversy but In this scenario he overstepped the mark.


2. A Clockwork Orange




The story revolves around teenage delinquent turned gang rapist Alex. Who gets brainwashed by a futuristic English Government so that each time he encounters violence he becomes deathly ill. Apart from Alex's disturbing facial expressions, it didn't just cause controversy because of it's violent and pornographic scenes but because the film makes you sympathise with a total sociopath and rapist,which is very very disturbing. It was banned by it's own director in the UK for 30 years after it's reception caused social uproar and reports of copycat crimes.


3. Deep Throat




Continuing with the theme of pornography, this film is centered on it. It was the first pornographic film to feature a plot, character development and relatively high production standards. A woman named Linda Lovelace with an unusual birth defect ( her clitoris is located in her throat), comes to a doctor who has an unorthodox solution (which I'm sure you can guess from the title) to her problem. Many conservative leaders at the time got it banned and put Harry Reems who plays the doctor, on trial for obscenity charges. Even Lovelace herself later denounced the film, claiming that while filming ''there was a gun to my head.''


4. Natural Born Killers




This film was named one of the best films of the 1990s by many. It takes a look at our immoral and corrupt society that showcases serial killers as media celebrities and cultural icons. The characters Mickey and Mallory are homicidal lovers who don't kill for money or revenge but just for pure fun. After going on a three week murder spree they get arrested and become overnight celebrities. Even though it was intended as a satire on the media, the film inspired several copycat killers seeking their own personal fame. Over 12 murders were committed in the U.S because of this film.

5. Team America ( World Police )





Try to imagine, if you will, a movie that in its first few minutes offends just about everyone who's watching it.
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt stone rose the controversy bar with their puppet movie.With the high level of political parody and the famous notorious sex scene involving puppets it was bound to offend. The scene actually had to be cut 12 times to appease the censors.

6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre





Considered as one of the most influential and controversial cult horror films of it's time. The film was loosely inspired by real-life murderer Ed Gein who wore human skin, but didn't use a chainsaw. It was one of the first depictions of cannibalism in a mainstream movie. From Marilyn Burns' character having her fingers chopped off to Leatherface's fleshy mask, it was some hardcore x rated violence which was banned in a number of countries.


7.  Cannibal Holocaust



A New York University professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon rainforest with the footage shot by a lost team of documentarians who were making a film about the area's local cannibal tribes. Due to the nature and content of the film, Deodato was arrested on obscenity charges. He was later accused of making a snuff film due to several rumours which emerged claiming that certain actors were killed on camera. Deodato was later cleared of the charges, however the film was banned in the UK, Italy and many other countries due to it's extreme depiction of gore, sexual violence and also the six genuine animals death involved in the film.


8. The Life of Brian





When we think of Monty Python now we probably tend to think of them as silly and surreal. Slapping each other in the face with fish and prancing around clapping coconut shells together. They are now seen as comedy gods but it's easy to forget how controversial they once were. The Life of Brian contains themes of religious satire that were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations of blasphemy and of course protests from religious groups. The film was banned in places like Ireland and Norway, but the  filmmakers used such notoriety to benefit their marketing campaign, with posters stating "So funny it was banned in Norway!".  



9. Kids





One of the most shocking films of the 90s, kids is about a group of teenagers prowling the streets of New York in search of sex, booze and drugs. The film focuses on a HIV positive teenager who embarks on a quest to intentionally infect as many girls as he can get his hands on. While some praised this movies as a wake up call about the youths of that generation, others saw this movie as an exploitation of child actors confronting very adult themes.


10. Salò (120 days of sodom)






Four fascist libertines round up 9 teenagers and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental and sexual torture. Because of its scenes depicting intensely graphic violence, sadism, and sexuality, the movie was extremely controversial upon its release, and remains to this day banned in several countries. The film caused outrage throughout the world when it was released in 1975, in Britain, the first cinema to screen an uncut version of the film in 1977 was actually raided by police. Says it all really. It was Pasolini's last film, he was in fact murdered shortly before Salò was released.







Thursday, 2 February 2012


The Top Ten Most Extreme Sports


The first time I ever heard about extreme ironing I was hooked on the whole concept of the idea. People actually strap themselves to taxis, climb exceedingly high mountains or even dive 4,000 metres into the ocean just to iron for sport? To me that just seems awesome. So I have come up with a list of the the top ten most amazing extreme sports in the world.

1. Crocodile Bungee

Bungee jumping into a sea of hungry reptiles? well you can't say that's not in the least extreme. It's a craze among Aussies who wanted to spice up the sport of bungee. The video below is a must see!


2. Extreme Ladder Climbing

Yes, this is in fact classed as a sport, who comes up with these? but you can't deny that it's not the strangest and fastest way to reach the top. This short clip below gives an interesting insight into the world of extreme ladder climbing.


3. Limbo Skating


A big hit in India, this is an impossible sport which requires you to be nearly as flexible as rubber. This kid in India holds the unofficial world record for limbo skating beneath 57 cars! What a champ! 




4. Volcano Boarding


A new sport which involves racing down an ACTIVE 2,390 ft volcano at speeds of up to 50mph armed with only constructed plywood as protection. Well it beats going down a hill on your sledge. Here's a sneak peek of these thrill seekers in action



5. Train Surfing

This is definitely an illegal sport, but that hasn't seemed to put some people off. Train surfing is the act of standing on top of a moving train or by clinging on to dear life by the side at ridiculously high speeds. Don't think I'll be trying this at home anyway.



6.  Bog Snorkelling

It's a sporting event that consists of competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a 60-yard water filled trench cut through a peat bog, in the shortest time possible. It's that serious a sport that they even have the World Bog Snorkelling Championship held each year. oh dear...


7. Zorbing

Although zorbing was invented in 2000, it has only just recently begun to take off around the world. It's the art of effectively throwing yourself down a slope in a gigantic ball.It originated in New Zealand, check out the video below. Looks pretty awesome. 



8. Chess Boxing

Chessboxing is a hybrid sport that combines chess with boxing in alternating rounds. It allows a mixture of intelligence and brute strength. Who said chess was just for old folks?



9.  Cliff Diving

It may sound to me like a suicide mission but cliff diving is defined as the acrobatic perfection of flinging yourself off an extremely high and dangerous cliff. The sport originated from the Hawaiian islands. It's supposed to show immense courage, focus and thrill for the participants involved. 



10. Cheese Rolling

Some class it as a sport, others class it as pure madness. However this tradition is worshipped in coopers hill which holds the annual antics of cheese rolling, which involves hundreds of people getting battered and bruised fumbling around the hills chasing cheese. This ones definitely for the hardcore thrill seekers...