Humor

The most popular story on Google News' Science and Technology section yesterday: the earth-shattering announcement by Google that it is shutting down video site YouTube after eight successful years. Of course, it was all just an April Fool's prank. ... In a video posted to YouTube (which you can view by clicking here ), Google claims that the site was just one big eight-year experiment designed to find the very best video clip. $500 Reward for Best Video Google "competition director" Tim Liston (who appears to be entirely fictional) says that, with a best video selected, YouTube will shut down. ... (view more)

It's understandable that anyone would be pretty excited to win a $350,000 super car like the Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster LP640, which boasts almost 650 horsepower. But it's a real shame to become too excited and wreck the car only hours after ... taking possession. That's what happened to Utah-based Frito-Lay truck driver David Dopp, who recently won the super car through gas station operator Maverik, which organized an 18-month contest to help raise money for local charities. No Chance for Driving Lessons Dopp picked up his slick new ride, which is lime green, this past weekend. In an effort ... (view more)

They're natural opposites: geeks get the grades and, sometimes the great jobs. But muscle-bound jocks get the girls and all the attention. So, which would you rather be? According to a new survey it's clear who Americans prefer: geeks. The survey, ... which was released on International Geek Pride Day, was conducted by Modis, an information technology staffing firm. They find that fifty-seven per cent of all Americans believe being called a geek is a compliment, and would rather be a geek than a jock. Apple, Microsoft Make Being a Geek Cool "People have gone from the vision of the movies 'Revenge ... (view more)

Although it's unlikely the popular toy company will soon be unveiling an IT supervisor He-Man, Mattel has instead made one big step towards the 21st century by unveiling its latest hip new toy: a Computer Engineer Barbie. In the past, we've known ... Barbie not for her smarts, but mostly her curvy, '50s-inspired looks. And let's face it, Barby hasn't done much more than lounge by the pool with Ken, or perhaps bake a few brownies for her supermodel friends. But now, it seems now that Barbie's maker, Mattel, will be making an intellectual quantum leap for the doll when it unveils its Computer ... (view more)

A Minnesota man caught driving a recliner (yes, you read that right) under the influence has seen his beloved chair sold at auction for a surprising sum. Minnesota's Dennis LeRoy Anderson built the chair, which when it was first unveiled boasted an ... estimated retail value of over $43,000. Why? Because the rocket-on-wheels featured not only a comfy seat, but nitrous oxide boosters, stereo, working headlights, "sport" steering (right between the legs), six-speed gear shift, and rear-view mirrors. Oh, and cup holders, of course. (Source: myfoxdetroit.com ) The chair is powered by a single ... (view more)

It means apathy and to a generation of Americans growing up in the grunge era when fashion wasn't so much a statement as it was a hassle, "whatever" has become a very popular word. According to a new poll, it's also the most annoying term any of us ... could possibly use. In a poll conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, the word "whatever" received 47 per cent, almost half, of the total votes when subjects were asked to choose from a list of the most annoying popular phrases. It beat out equally ambiguous phrases "you know" and "it is what it is," which placed second and third, ... (view more)

The next time you complain about a slow broadband connection or a lengthy file upload time, remember the people of Durban, South Africa. In an attempt to circumvent their slow broadband connection, a financial service company recently let their ... time-saving creativity take flight... literally. The experimental, but surprisingly evenly-matched, competition pitted a homing pigeon bearing a 4GB USB stick against the local Durban broadband connection to determine once and for all which form of data transfer was the fastest. The estimated distance between the two offices was 80 km. (Source: pcpro. ... (view more)

Having a bad day at the office? Here's a solution only some of you may have discovered: a hot drink. According to a recent study, the warmth of a steaming cup of coffee, hot tea, or decadent cappuccino can improve one's mood. Conversely, researchers ... found a cold drink can have the opposite effect. Researchers in the journal Science recently tested the role hot and cold drinks have on personality. Lead researcher John Bargh and his University of Colorado team interviewed forty-one volunteers while holding a warm drink. The researchers presented subjects with total strangers -- people they ... (view more)

If you've been keeping up with the latest news on Infopackets.com, you might recall a recent article titled " Software That Improves... Wait, What Was it... Oh, Memory ". The article reported that IBM and Microsoft were in the process of testing new ... software designed to improve individual memory. While humans have been battling memory loss since the dawn of time, only now is software and technological resources being used to help us remember. Kwiry is the latest in a string of companies committed to help recall important information. The California-based company has launched an open beta ... (view more)

If you love your 80s teen movies, you'll be very familiar with plots in which geeky teenagers (often played by Matthew Broderick) use dial-up modems and green-screen monitors to hack into their school computers and change their grades. Two ... California students have recently been charged over similar incidents where they reportedly used a blend of 21st century hacking and old fashioned brute force. Rather than simply looking in the principal's assistant's drawer for the password, they allegedly broke into the school and installed spyware on staff computers so that they could remotely access the ... (view more)