4th Of July: Trivia and More

independenceTomorrow is the 4th of July, Independence Day in America.  Here are a few things you might not know about the Land of Milk and Money.

There are more New Yorker Magazine subscribers outside the city of New York than in it, and a lot of them are from that wannabe poser, L.A.

There are 2.2 million farms in America.  However, at its peak of popularity, over 26 million Americans played Zynga’s Farmville every day.  Think about it!  America is so OMG rich that tons more people can play at being farmers than actually have to work on farms.

From space, the brightest thing on Earth is Las Vegas, Nevada which is also the most watched place on Earth with more CCTV cameras per capita than any other city — including Moscow, London and Beijing.

Atheists in America are in big trouble.  According to the legal basis of their system, the Declaration of Independence, Americans are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” notably “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Therefore, strictly speaking, if you don’t believe in God, those legal rights do not exist.

Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber are the same guy — and he might be a Canadian!

miley

If all the Kardashian sisters were laid end to end on YouTube, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.

The larger seller of retail women’s clothing in America is Mattel.  Man, that Barbie’s got it all!

America is very oddly shaped.  Reno, Nevada is actually further west than Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan is north of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Buffalo, New York is further east than Fort Lauderdale, Florida which is on the Atlantic Ocean.

And finally, three trivia questions guaranteed to win you drinks at the 4th of July Barbecue.  As always, the honor system applies — no Google.  I’ll give you the answers tomorrow on a special Independence Day post.  Good Luck!

1 — How many states are there in the United States of America?  (Hint: it isn’t 50)

2 — How many presidents were born in Kentucky?

3 — Legally, the president of the United States must be born in the United States.  However, there is no legal requirement that he (or she) must live, die or be buried there.  So, how many ex-presidents (note the plural) are not buried in the United States?  And which ones are they?

The War On Skinny Jeans

skinny jeansThe attack headlines read, “Skinny Jeans May Cause Health Problems.”  Read about it here.  Puh-leeze!  This kind of fear mongering is not helping to advance the conversation we need to have about women’s clothing.  There are, however, several fashionista groups who continue to speak out and fight back.  Here are a few completely unprompted, absolutely spurious examples.

This is a direct attack on American values.  When you think about it, wearing skinny jeans honours the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our right to wear tight clothes.  If we give in to this kind of terrorism, pretty soon we’ll all be wearing those loose-fitting burka things.
Meghan — Plumbottom, Wisconsin

I’m offended that the media continues to use the demeaning word “skinny.”  It’s encouraging to see that Walmart, eBay, Amazon and Google have changed their policies and are now using the more sensitive “slim-fit.”  However, more work needs to be done to educate the public about just how hurtful the “S-word” can be to women of slenderness.
Glenda — University of Donner Mountain, California

Historically, women’s fashions have always come under fire.  Way back in the 60s, women made a show of burning their bras in a misguided attempt at equality and research shows us that there were isolated anti-corset groups in the 19th century.  I’m certain this “skinny” thing will blow over and the ladies will get back to wearing attractive clothing again.
Dr. Trim Seekprey — Nobel Laureate

This is a nefarious attack on women by George W. Bush.  It’s a known fact that Dick Cheney sits on the Board of Directors of several multi-national yoga pants manufacturers who are taking advantage of this “so-called” health scare to sell yoga pants.  I’m disgusted that we live in a world that puts corporate greed and profits ahead of fashion.
Ruston Bland — ex-comedian

Our 12-year-old daughter was the victim of “skinny jean shaming” on Social Media.  Her father and I were so proud of her fashion choices until she came home from school in tears.  We contacted the principal and were informed there was nothing the school could do.  Apparently, posting an inflammatory news story on a child’s Facebook page is not considered a hate crime.  Ridiculous!  We need to regulate the Internet to protect vulnerable children from cyber-bullying.
Cary and Ann Umbridge — concerned parents #skinnyshame

There’s no scientific proof that “skinny” jeans have any effect on a woman’s body.  The measurable but insignificant changes in temperature and blood pressure should be attributed to a woman’s natural menstrual cycle.  No further research is necessary.
Report of the Strauss Scientific Group — San Francisco, California

In a time devastated by Third World poverty, disease and starvation, it’s easy for First World problems to fall through the cracks.  That doesn’t mean they’re any less serious.  We need to open a “slim-fit” dialogue that engages this issue honestly.  This is clearly about the human right to choose apparel that reflects how we identify ourselves within the entire human spectrum.  Awareness and tolerance can only be achieved if we silence those negative voices who are driving the agenda.
ThinksMart Activist Collective — Chicago

If you dig a little deeper you’ll find that there have been some major corporate contributions to the hospital where that woman was treated.  Plus, there’s a video on YouTube showing a woman, who is clearly Australian, walking into the hospital unaided.  Furthermore, one anonymous source says the only woman given intravenous drip that day was wearing Levi 505s.  Is it merely a coincidence that the hospital still refuses to identify her?  What do they have to hide?
DreadAxe War Anthem — Blogger

If “skinnies” are good enough for The Royals, they’re bloody good enough for me.
Denwin Yelbladder — Yobmouth, England

The Sounds Of Silence

uniformDespite the many hours we spend thumb pumping our phones like half-starved Rhesus monkeys, most human communication is nonverbal.  It runs from the universally recognized one and two fingered gestures that signal the end of an argument to the more subtle, eye roll that indicate open-ended ennui in teenagers.  But the way we walk, or stand or move our hands all say something about us, something that reaches into our primeval need to communicate. Here in the oh-so-sophisticated 21st century, we even use clothing, behaviour and appearance to “speak” to each other.  For example:

Driving a noisy black motor vehicle — means — I’m worried about my penis.

Driving a minivan with a stick figure family in the back window — means — I haven’t had sex since last March.

Driving anything with a bumper sticker — You need to know I think about things.

Dreadlocks on a white guy — Ha, ha, ha!  My grandparents left me a trust fund.

At least 3 tattoos (female) — I watch the Discovery Channel, so I’m spiritual.

At least 3 tattoos (male) — I have lots of disposable middle class income.

More than 3 tattoos (any gender) — Look at me!  Look at me!  LOOK AT ME!

Socks and sandals — I am a tourist.  Steal my stuff.

A low cut neckline and/or a push-up bra — These are my breasts … I will scold you if you notice them.

Bow tie — I’m actually cool … on the inside.

Hoodies — I might live in the suburbs and work at Home Depot, but I’m really a badass.

Hoodies (after age 30) — Uh … That’s just sad.

Shaved head — I’ll bet they’ll never guess I’m going bald.

Long, wiry grey hair (ponytail) — I have 283 Friends on Facebook.

Tight denim short shorts — Would you care to look at my bum today?

Cargo pants (shorts) — I wish I could carry a purse.

Full (Old Testament) beard — You might not know it, but I’m tons smarter than you are.

Short, trimmed beard — You might not know it, but I’m tons smarter than you are.

3 piece suit — I wish I were British.

Knitted cowl — I wish I were French.

Bulky black sweater — I wish someone would take me seriously.

Mom jeans — I’ve have two kids.  I’d like to see you under similar circumstances, bitch!

Torn jeans — I spend a lot of money on clothes … a lot of money!

Sunglasses — When you’re totally cool, it’s always a sunny day.

Yoga pants — For the love of God, we need to do something about those things!