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.