April 2012

You + Crime + Police Car + Facebook = Arrest

Self-explanatory: WYMT-TV in Letcher County, Kentucky, reported on Tuesday that the 20-year-old gentleman who appears in this picture he posted on Facebook had been arrested and charged with theft for siphoning gas from a police car. Police were able to…



Plaintiff: This Soap Did Not Attract Women as Promised

From a Courthouse News report of new filings in February: Frank O_____, an individual, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, v. The Dial Corporation [et al.] No. 3:12-cv-361 (S.D. Cal. filed Feb. 9, 2012) Class action complaint for…


How Physicists Beat Traffic Tickets

From "The Proof of Innocence," a paper by Dimitri Krioukov, a physicist at the University of California (San Diego): According to this post at Physics Central (via Neatorama), Krioukov got a ticket for running a stop sign, and submitted the paper to support…


Yet Another Gladiator Fight at the Colosseum

On Thursday, apparently while I was finishing up the earlier piece on Rome's gladiator problem, another fight broke out at the Colosseum when police showed up to evict the two guys protesting the permit requirement. A gaggle of twenty-five other…


Rome Still Having Trouble With Gladiators

A few days ago these jokers climbed up on the Colosseum to protest the fines they got for bothering tourists. As you can see, they are sort of dressed like Roman legionaries or gladiators, except for the blue jeans, and…


Just Say No to Government Trouser Invasion [Updated]

Via the blog of security expert Bruce Schneier, here's an excerpt from a very funny post by journalist and lawyer David Allen Green about an encounter he had with airline security at Heathrow last year: “Sir, your trousers.” “Pardon?” “Sir, please…


Security Cam Records Burglar’s “Signature Dance Moves”

Do you recognize this man? Maybe more importantly, do you recognize his swag?   Police in Galveston released this security-camera footage last week, saying the man pictured was one of three suspects in a burglary on March 27. It wasn't…



Should This Warning Be on Every Product? [Updated]

I guess it couldn't hurt. In this case, it appears on a smoke grenade, so it probably is a good idea. Whether it would work or not is another story. We actually might be able to test that in this…