Who doesn't love a good pie chart? This one is my favorite. (link from MisterPants)

The Brunching Shuttlecocks are wacky. Their latest: Twelve Actual AP Headlines Which, When Followed By 'Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah,' Can Be Sung To The Tune of 'Camptown Races'.

Study: Measles Vaccine Safe, Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah. (link from Pop-Culture Junk Mail)

Quiz time again: Who's your TV family? Mine is Leave it to Beaver. Oh no. I hated that show. My sister used to watch it and sometimes I would watch it too, and the formulaic plot made me crazy: Beaver does something slightly wrong, Beaver tries to cover it up and makes things worse, Beaver confesses to Mom and Dad and all is well. I did like Eddie Haskell though... "Gee, Mrs. Cleaver, you're looking lovely today." Who's your TV family?

Taco Bell will give every American a free taco should the Mir space station fall into a predetermined 40 by 40 spot. The odds, of course, are astronomical. Still...how would they know if I had already received my free taco or not? Tattoo it on my forehead?

The Improved Arnold Schwarzenegger Impersonator. Requires Flash. (They don't have my favorite though: "I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle.") (link from John)

Dennis Tito, a California businessman, bought a ticket on a Russian rocket for a trip to the international space station. NASA is not exactly pleased about this, because, oh I don't know, having a civillian who doesn't know anything about running an international space station on your mission may screw things up? Let's not take any lessons from that recent submarine accident now shall we?

I can't wait for tourist-class space travel, believe me, and I'll be shortly in line after my friend Andy. But let's wait until they kinda get things ironed out up there, eh? (link from Robot Wisdom)

Have you ever watched the news with closed captioning on? My aunt is deaf, and I remember watching the local St. Louis news with her and alternately cringing and laughing at the live captions coming through. I'm sure doing captions live is quite tough, but according to this article in the New York Times, even taped shows have plenty of mistakes. (Sorry, you have to register to see the article--it is free though.)

Here's an excerpt:

"At times bizarre and clogged with errors, televised closed captions can appear to exist in a parallel universe. What appears on screen is sometimes inadvertently hilarious: a recent reference by the "Today" show host Matt Lauer to the significant other of Prince Charles came out as Camilla Parker Bowels."

(Link from Fresh Hell)

Well, I guess the link for the monkey noises bit is no longer working. It was an Ebay auction in which, if you won, this person would call you up and make monkey noises. Last time I saw it the bid was up to $105. (Link from Rich)