Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login

Paying For the Minibar

September 3rd 2010 03:58
Before you go for an easy snack or drink at the minibar, stop and think for a second about what you're paying for the convenience.

The info-graphic below, sourced from Mint-Life details the cost of chocolate, crisps, beer, wine and other items from your average hotel room, compared to the prices you would expect to pay at the nearest grocery store.
The results may surprise you!


minibar pricing
click to enlarge



7
Vote
   


Worst Robbery Disguises

September 1st 2010 03:36
As reported on Raw Justice, many robbers are by no means masters of disguise. In fact, most of the ones seen below are currently doing time.
The original article can be found here.


worst robbery disguises
Matthew Allan McNelly and Joey Lee Miller are two Iowa burglars who couldn’t come up with ski masks, so they improvised with black magic marker. A man called the police after the pair tried to break into his home and when they were caught there was no hiding their guilt. It was written all over their dumb faces. McNelly was charged with drunk driving and both idiots were charged with attempted burglary.



disguised as a black man
Conrad Zdzierak wore an elaborate disguise when he went on a bank robbing spree in Ohio. Police say the robber at six bank locations was described as a bald black man with acne scarring on his face. Zdzierak had used an expensive Hollywood-style mask as a disguise. Police acted on a tip and got a search warrant and the jig was up.


worst burglars
A man disguised as a tree tried to rob a bank in New Hampshire. Unbe-leaf-ably, duct-taped tree branches to his head and torso, entered the bank and demanded money from a teller. He was identified by the surveillance footage and arrested.



worst robbery disguises
Two Colorado retards wore women’s thong underwear on their heads in an attempt to disguise themselves while they robbed a convenience store. As it turns out, thongs don’t cover all that much, so they were recognized from the surveillance tape, on which they are seen beating the clerk in the face, breaking her jaw and stealing $100 and some cigarettes.



face covering in robbery
In Estero, Florida, a man surprised the clerk at a gas station by running in, wearing a mop on his head as a disguise, and demanding money. The cashier stalled him and he eventually just ran away empty-handed.
23
Vote
   


Best Onstage Meltdowns

August 30th 2010 03:06
Apparently, fame, fortune and adoring fans just aren't enough for some entertainers!
As reported on Metromix, here are some of the top onstage meltdowns of all time. Read the full article here



bands behaving badly - creed
Creed
When and where: Dec. 29, 2002, at the Allstate Arena in Chicago

Circumstances: There are bad performances. There are sub-par performances. But shows that are so god-awful fans later bring lawsuits against you? During a notoriously sloppy Chicago set, Creed lead singer Scott Stapp often left stage, flubbed lyrics and rolled around on the floor. He claimed it was dramatic rock theater, a “personal gesture.” Four fans thought it was a joke and sued for the price of tickets and parking, claiming he was so messed up on drugs and medication he was “unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song.”

Did it damage their image? A judge dismissed the lawsuit, saving Creed from what could have ballooned to a $2 million class-action suit. But Stapp’s unfortunate behavior has become a part of the band’s legacy.




bands in trouble
Milli Vanilli
When and where: July 21, 1989, at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut

Circumstances: Euro-pop pretty boys Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus were cruising in 1989, enjoying massive sales of their debut album and eventually scoring a Grammy for Best New Artist. But when the vocal track started skipping during this performance, repeating “Girl you know it’s…” over and over again, the group’s manufactured façade was exposed for all to see.

Did it damage their image? The lip sync incident basically ended Milli Vanilli and made them VH1 fodder for the rest of time. Their Grammy was revoked, they were dropped from their label, and even became the subject of a class-action lawsuit giving rebates to "defrauded" fans who bought the duo's music.




Axl Rose. Guns n Roses meltdown
Axl Rose
When and where: July 2, 1991 at Riverport Amphitheater (now Verizon Wireless Amphitheater) in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Circumstances: The temperamental Guns N’ Roses singer has had more than his fair share of onstage tantrums, but none was more explosive than the one he pitched on an early stop of the band’s Use Your Illusion tour. Spotting a fan illegally videotaping GNR’s performance, Rose first dove into the crowd in an attempt to confront the fan himself. Then, when that failed, he returned to the stage and announced that, due to “lame-ass security,” the show was over. As soon as his bandmates followed Rose off the stage, a riot broke out, destroying much of the band’s gear and the brand-new venue’s seating and sending some 60 concertgoers to the hospital.

Did it damage his image? Only in St. Louis, where Rose was convicted of assault and property damage and Guns N' Roses were banned from making any future appearances. Outside St. Louis, Rose’s eccentric, reclusive behavior in the 16 years since the tour has done far more to alienate fans.



Ashley Simpson Hoedown
Ashlee Simpson
When and where: October 23, 2004, on “Saturday Night Live”

Circumstances: The pop princess didn’t exactly have a lot of musical credibility leading up to this late-night performance, but her lip-synching gaffe certainly expended any that she may have had. After playing “Pieces of Me” during the first musical break, Simpson and her band came out to perform again, but when they started, the vocals for “Pieces of Me” played again. She acted confused, hopped around, and walked offstage 35 seconds into the song.

Did it damage her image? Simpson claimed she didn’t know what to do and “thought I’d do a hoe-down.” She hasn’t really been taken seriously since.



Jimi Hendrix. Gypsies
Jimi Hendrix
When and where: January 28, 1970 at Madison Square Garden

Circumstances: In addition to the more celebrated Jimi Hendrix Experience, the iconic ‘60s blues-rock guitarist also performed with a trio called Band of Gyspys. They were slated to appear as part of an anti-Vietnam War concert called the Winter Festival for Peace, but delays between other bands’ sets pushed the Gypsys’ time slot to 3 a.m. The troubled Hendrix, who would be dead within a year, took the stage under the obvious influence of booze or drugs or both and stumbled through two songs before muttering something about “that's what happens when earth [expletive] with space” and being helped off the stage. The Gypsys disbanded soon after.

Did it damage his image? Many fans were upset at the time by Hendrix’s erratic performance, as well as some vulgar comments he directed towards a female fan. But in retrospect, it’s hard to feel anything but pity for the doomed guitar god.


25
Vote
   


What Men Think Of Work

August 27th 2010 05:16
AskMen.com put together the Great Male Survey, which covered topics ranging from financial plans for retirement to whether you would punch a co-worker in the face if you could get away with it!

The results may or may not surprise you!

Click on the info-graphic to open in a larger version in a new window.


men in the workplace

15
Vote
   


World's Strangest Bathrooms

August 25th 2010 04:32
In the United States, "bathroom" commonly means "a room containing a lavatory". In other countries this is usually called the "toilet" or alternatively "water closet" (WC), lavatory or "loo". The word "bathroom" is also used in the U.S. for a public toilet (the more formal U.S. term being "restroom").

When designing a bathroom many factors must be taken into account. These include limited space available, the use of both hot and cold water which may be splashed on the walls and floor, and disposal of human waste.
These factors also make decorating a challenge.

Popular Mechanics takes a look at the most challenging and innovative bathroom engineering in the world. Read the full article here.


bathroom designs
Space Bathroom
With no gravity to ensure that water stays in the toilet bowl or to force waste down, NASA was forced to build pumps and harness airflow to create an effective and hygienic bathroom for astronauts.



space conservation bathrooms
Vertebrae Vertical Bathroom
Occupying a mere 4.3 square feet, this "Swiss Army Knife Bathroom" takes space conservation to a whole new level, packing a toilet, sink, cistern, two storage units and two shower heads into one compact system.


eco friendly bathroom
Urban Ecology Center
Nothing but rainwater flushes the toilets here, all electricity is solar-powered, soap is biodegradable and paper products are 100 percent recyclable. Even the paint on the wall is made out of organic compounds.


pop-up toilets temporary
UriLift Public Pop-Up Toilet
A bold move to hamper alcohol-induced nighttime public urination, the semi-permanent Urilift Pop-Up Urinal emerges at 10 pm and disappears at 3 am, coinciding with prime bar-hopping hours.


see through toilet
See-Through Toilet
This one-way glass stall looks like a mirror to an outsider, but completely transparent to an insider, leading to a nerve-wracking bathroom experience.


*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Bathroom.
37
Vote
   


Police Sketches

August 23rd 2010 04:01
Police sketches are facial composites of an eyewitness's memory of a face, as recorded by a composite artist. In modern times advanced software can be used instead of a trained artist. Facial composites are used mainly by police in their investigation of (usually serious) crimes.
The sketches can be seen at post offices, newspapers, tv and internet reports around the country.

[ Click here to read more ]
45
Vote
   


Competitive Eating

August 20th 2010 03:04
Competitive eating, or speed eating, is an activity in which participants compete against each other to consume large quantities of food in a short time period.

It may sound like a bit of fun, but in today's world (especially America and Japan) competitive eating is as serious a sport as any


[ Click here to read more ]
27
Vote
   


The World's Craziest Water Slides

August 18th 2010 02:40
As reported on Popular Mechanics, the water slide can be a feat of engineering genius. It uses nothing but gravity to give the rider a full set or twists, turns and drops all the way to the bottom.
Below are some of the wildest water slides in the world. View the full article here.

[ Click here to read more ]
24
Vote
   


The Fail Whale

August 16th 2010 02:19
original fail whale
The Original Failwhale, by Yiying Lu


When Twitter experiences an outage, users see the "fail whale" error message image created by Yiying Lu, illustrating several red birds using a net to hoist a whale from the ocean captioned "Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again


[ Click here to read more ]
36
Vote
   


M. Knight Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed 1999's The Sixth Sense, which was a commercial success and nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He followed The Sixth Sense by writing and directing Unbreakable, released in 2000, which received mixed reviews. His 2002 film Signs, where he also played Ray Reddy, gained both critical and financial success, but The Village (2004) was a critical disappointment whose box office fell hard after a strong opening weekend, and Lady in the Water (2006) performed even worse. The film The Happening (2008) did financially better than his previous effort but was also panned by critics. His latest film, The Last Airbender (2010) has also received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics.

Cracked.com takes the blowtorch to Shyamalan in this post.
[ Click here to read more ]
40
Vote
   


More Posts
2 Posts
13 Posts
13 Posts
763 Posts dating from April 2006
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:

Ian's Blogs

0 Vote(s)
0 Comment(s)
0 Post(s)
0 Vote(s)
0 Comment(s)
0 Post(s)
52985 Vote(s)
431 Comment(s)
775 Post(s)
48350 Vote(s)
193 Comment(s)
762 Post(s)
47258 Vote(s)
506 Comment(s)
752 Post(s)
Jay's Blog (Member)
3021 Vote(s)
54 Comment(s)
39 Post(s)
Moderated by Ian
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]