Your Name On Toast: Unique Online Advertising

What better way to get your message out there on the Internet for everyone to see than by having it written onto a piece of toast?

That’s the idea behind the website Your Name On Toast. For a donation, you can have your message put on a piece of toast and have it displayed on their website; every penny goes to the charity Oxfam Ireland.

Your own piece of toast will be displayed for up to two years, and will include a link to the site of your choice.

(via Fabulist)

New “Big Brother” Billboards Watch And Record You

We all look at billboards — but what happens when they start looking back?

Over Memorial Day weekend, reports The New York Times, a Manhattan billboard advertising the TV movie “The Andromeda Strain” had a little camera installed into it. The camera, made by a company called Quividi, not only records the people who pass by, but uses software to analyze the faces and determine age and gender.

The reason for this surveillance? Marketing research.

Gathering user data on the Internet is cake; simply install some cookies, etc. But how to measure the effectiveness of ads like billboards? Enter the little cameras.

Is this a violation of personal privacy? What about those people who deface billboards in subway stations? Will they be recorded? Can the video be used to prosecute them?

And else can be done with this type of technology?

“Bed Snake Bat” Protects Against Unwanted Pregnancy

I’m not making this up.

There is actually a product you can buy called the Bed Snake Bat.

From the product page:

“Relentless research by a team of dedicated scientists have discovered that pregancy is caused by a small venomous snake, [Snakus Williuserectus] or Bed Snake.

The Bed Snake is found throughout the world and it’s favoured habitat is the bedroom. For much of the time it remains dormant, but don’t let this wrinkled reptile deceive you! On being approached it will be roused into action, and its fearsome venom has few known antidotes.

Now, utilizing cutting edge technology, we have created the remarkable contraceptive device, the Bed Snake Bat.”

And it’s only $6.10 American.

(via Nerd Approved)

Police On The Hunt For Thong Mask Bandits

For today’s robber, wearing pantyhose on one’s head is sooo passé.

Police in Colorado are on the lookout for two bandits who robbed a convenience store wearing thongs over their heads to conceal their identity. One wore a blue thong, and one green.

Think about it: isn’t a thong the perfect mask for the criminal-on-the-go?

It covers the essential identifying areas: nose, mouth, chin. Yet the eyes remain unobstructed, and the soft, breathable material in the crotch area allows for proper respiration as you attempt to outrun the police.

Best of all, when you’re done with your robbery, you can duck into a bathroom, dark alley, or phone booth, rip off your mask, and wear it in its proper place. Nobody would be the wiser.

Cosby Show Sweaters In eBay Charity Auction

A number of sweaters Bill Cosby wore on his hit “The Cosby Show” will be auctioned off on eBay for charity. Cosby’s daughter Erin unearthed the sweaters while cleaning out a closet.

The charity in question is the Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation, which benefits educational programs and was started in the name of Cosby’s late son. It will be held from June 2-12 — just in time for Father’s Day.

“The Cosby Show” aired from 1984 to 1992, and the star’s colorfully-patterned sweaters were instantly recognizable. To me, they are as essential part pop-culture Americana as the Fonz’s leather jacket or the Cheers bar.

(via Huffington Post)

Extra: Bill Cosby sweater cookies!

Woman Secretly Lives In Man’s Closet For A Year

A 57-year-old man in Japan got the shock of his life when he discovered a 58-year-old woman was living in his closet on-and-off for about a year. He initially became suspicious when the food started disappearing from his refrigerator, and a security camera confirmed his fears.

The woman had smuggled a mattress and several plastic bottles in her temporary residence, and, when confronted by police, said she had no place to live.

Then the man and woman realized that fate had thrown them together, and decided to get married, which I’m totally making up because it would have been really cool. I mean, can’t you see the American remake of this story with Adam Sandler and Sarah Jessica Parker?

Attacks On Emo Kids On The Rise Globally

Times Online reports on the disturbing increase of attacks on teenagers extolling the “emo” lifestyle, a lifestyle the article describes as a “gloomy, gothic teenage rock cult, which began 20 years ago in America.”

Among recent attacks in South America:

• Mexico, March 7th: a mob of 800 roam the streets of one town, looking for emo kids to beat up.
• Chile: There are reports of skin heads targeting emo children.
• Brazil: Emo kids are regularly attacked.
• Peru: A gang of “anarchist punks” attacked emos

Meanwhile in Great Britain, emo is under attack in the media, after 13-year-old emo teen Hannah Bond hung herself in her bedroom. And 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster was stomped to death for wearing emo clothes by a bunch of drunk teens.

Of course, there have always been fads and fashions among young people that have given parents and other authority figures pause, and have caused some level of persecution for being different. But this trend of targeting emos is still rather disturbing.

Video: Young Hillary Clinton

A young Hillary Clinton refuses to concede defeat in a Connect Four match and much more in this video created by Jerry O’Connell and Brandon Johnson.

“Pet Plant” Shows You Your Plant’s Emotions

The new gadget “Pet Plant” by Junyi Heo allows you to see your plant’s “emotions” — whether it needs water, is too hot, and other conditions that might lead to a cranky houseplant.

The secret to Pet Plant is in its pot. “Digital Pot” is fitted with sensors that process a series of data about the soil and its surrounding environment, and translates the information into pictograms on a digital display.

If your plant is thirsty, the pictogram on the screen will scowl at you. And you deserve it, too!

And if you overwater “Fluffy,” not to worry — the pot will automatically drain the excess.

Couldn’t find any ordering information, but a cool gadget like this will probably be hitting the shelves soon.

Cruel Google Adsense Ads Target Aging Users

Since I was reading these Google ads on a site called Sarah Jessica Parker Looks Like A Horse (Dot Com), I thought they were part of the “joke.” But they weren’t. They are actual Google ads for actual businesses — all targeting/putting down people middle-aged and older.

“Old Hag Varicose Veins Treatment” is the title of one, for the Vein Treatment Center of New York.

“Over 40 And Your Career Is Shot?: Educational Opportunities For Washed-Up Actresses” directs the user to NY Careers.

and “City Botox Injections For Aging Hipsters” is for some place called Smooth Synergy.

I think the way these ads are phrased are a little on the harsh side. Perhaps they were composed exactly for that purpose — to be edgy and thus noticed in the jungle of Internet advertising. And the super-cruel way Parker is referred to on the site itself must have tripped up those keywords.

But do these ads actually lead to conversions?