I know we have all been busy, so perhaps you missed the big ceremony at Harvard last week when the 2014 Ig Noble Prizes were awarded.  Yes, the 24th edition of the Ig Nobel Prizes to honor “achievements that first make people laugh, and then makes them think.”  The awards are physically handed out by real live Nobel Laureates in an effort to spur people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology.  Here are my favorites from this year.

Enjoy!

PHYSICS PRIZE [JAPAN]: Kiyoshi Mabuchi, Kensei Tanaka, Daichi Uchijima and Rina Sakai, for measuring the amount of friction between a shoe and a banana skin, and between a banana skin and the floor, when a person steps on a banana skin that’s on the floor. (I wonder if they filmed their research?)

NEUROSCIENCE PRIZE [CHINA, CANADA]: Jiangang Liu, Jun Li, Lu Feng, Ling Li, Jie Tian, and Kang Lee, for trying to understand what happens in the brains of people who see the face of Jesus in a piece of toast. (I believe they have already been approved for funding for a follow-up study involving those who see the face of Jesus on freezer chests.)

PSYCHOLOGY PRIZE [AUSTRALIA, UK, USA]: Peter K. Jonason, Amy Jones, and Minna Lyons, for amassing evidence that people who habitually stay up late are, on average, more self-admiring, more manipulative, and more psychopathic than people who habitually arise early in the morning. (I guess I better quite blogging so late at night, but I am so good at it and you will keep reading the blog or something unfortunate might happen.)

PUBLIC HEALTH PRIZE [CZECH REPUBLIC, JAPAN, USA, INDIA]: Jaroslav Flegr, Jan Havlíček and Jitka Hanušova-Lindova, and to David Hanauer, Naren Ramakrishnan, Lisa Seyfried, for investigating whether it is mentally hazardous for a human being to own a cat. (I didn’t think one ever really “owns” a cat.)

ART PRIZE [ITALY]: Marina de Tommaso, Michele Sardaro, and Paolo Livrea, for measuring the relative pain people suffer while looking at an ugly painting, rather than a pretty painting, while being shot [in the hand] by a powerful laser beam. (I wonder how they explained the study to would-be volunteers?.)

ARCTIC SCIENCE PRIZE [NORWAY, GERMANY, USA, CANADA]: Eigil Reimers and Sindre Eftestøl, for testing how reindeer react to seeing humans who are disguised as polar bears. (Wonder if they would react differently to polar bears who are disguised as humans?)

Thought for the Week

Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind. ~Marston Bates

http://www.quotegarden.com

Happy Friday!  Hope you have had a great week.  High school football is underway, college football is underway and this weekend the NFL gets going for a new season,  So, let’s kickoff Friday with a few football jokes.

Enjoy! 

Q: Why did Brian Hoyer cross the road?
A: To get to the hospital on the other side!

Q: How many Cleveland Browns does it take to win a Super Bowl?
A: Nobody knows and we may never find out.

Q: Did you hear about the joke that Andy Dalton told his receivers?
A: It went over their heads.

Q: Why can’t Andy Dalton use the phone anymore?
A: Because he can’t find the receiver.

Q: How many Browns fans does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, they are content living in everyone else’s shadow.

 Q: What do the Cleveland Browns and a Chick-Fil-A manager have in common?
A: Neither one shows up for work on Sunday.

Q: Want to hear a Browns joke?
 A: Johnny Manziel!

Q: Why are the Bengals like a grizzly bear?
A: By Christmas they go into hibernation.

Q: What’s the difference between the Cincinnati Bengals and a dollar bill?
A: You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

Q: What do the Dallas Cowboys and possums have in common?
A: Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

Q: What is the difference between a Cowboys fan and a baby?
A: The baby will stop whining after a while.

Q: How many Cincinnati Bengals does it take to change a tire?
A: One, unless it’s a blowout, in which case they all show up.

Q: How do you keep the Cleveland Browns out of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.

Q: What does a Cincinnati Bengals fan do after his team has wins the Super Bowl?
A: He turns off the PlayStation.

Q: Did you hear that Cleveland’s football team doesn’t have a website?
 A: They can’t string three “Ws” together.

Q:  What happened when Tony Romo got frustrated and threw his iPhone?                               A:  It was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

Q: Why does the U.S. Government want to send Browns QB Brian Hoyer to the Middle East?
A: They are convinced he has the best chance to overthrow ISIS.

Thought for the Week

Speed, strength, and the inability to register pain immediately. ~Reggie Williams, when asked his greatest strengths as a football player – http://www.quotegarden.com

Summer is coming to a close and back to school time is upon us.  I always enjoyed the first day of school, it was about only day of the year when I was not behind. Here are a few school related jokes to kick off your Friday!

Enjoy!

What do you call a teacher without students? Happy!

Teachers who take class attendance are absent-minded

A first grade teacher handed out a coloring page to her students – on it was a picture of a frog holding an umbrella.  When the class handed them in, one little boy had colored the frog bright purple. The teacher asked the boy, “Please tell me how often have you seen a purple frog?”   The little boy answered, “The same number of times I’ve seen a frog holding an umbrella.” 

After reading the homework assignment, the Teacher called little Billy to her desk and said, “Billy, your essay on ‘My Dog’ is exactly the same as your brother’s. Did you copy it?”  Little Billy without hesitation answered, “No, Mrs. White. It’s the same dog!”

Teacher: Who was the first woman on earth?
Boy: I don’t know?
Teacher: Think of the apple story.
Boy: I know, Granny Smith!  

Teacher: If you had one dollar and you asked your dad for another, how much would you have?
Boy: One dollar.
Teacher: Are you sure?
Boy: Yes, my dad wouldn’t give me a dollar!

Teacher: Give me a sentence with the word “fascinate” in it.
Student: If I had a sweater with ten buttons on it and two fell off, then I would only have to fasten eight.  

Teacher: Glen, how do you spell Crocodile? 
Glen: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L.
Teacher: No, that’s wrong. 
Glen: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.

Thought for the Week

Often, when I am reading a good book, I stop and thank my teacher.  That is, I used to, until she got an unlisted number.  ~Author Unknown

 

Happy Friday!  As the time for school to begin draws near, perhaps you might be hitting the road for one last summer trip.  Next time you are out on the roads you might look for some of these car and driver combinations.

Enjoy!

Leonard

A pyromaniac in a Blazer

A barber in a Seville

A creature in a black Laguna

An astronomer in an Eclipse

 A politicain in a Civic

 An orchestra conductor in a Prelude

 A classical musician in a Sonata

 A dog trainer in a Rover

 A band leader in a Tempo

 A bullfighter in a Matador

 An electrician in a Charger

 A snake handler in a Viper

 Barbie in a Malibu

 Sgt. Preston in a Yukon

 Queen Elizabeth in a Regal

 Prince Rainier in a Monaco

 Jim Garner in a Maverick

 Kato in a green Hornet

 John Kerry in a Diplomat

 Speedy Gonzales in a Fiesta

 Wile E. Coyote in a Road Runner

 Elmer Fudd in a Wabbit

 Miss Muffet in a Spyder

 Christopher Columbus in a Voyager

 Blackbeard in a Corsair

 Tonto in a Cherokee

 Carl Sagan in a Nova

 John Mellencamp in a Cougar

 Wonder Woman in a gold Lariat

 Edmund Halley in a Comet

 Nostradamus in a Futura

A Chiropractor in a Contour

An Eye Doctor in a Focus

A Park Ranger in a Forester

An Actor in a Celebrity

An Airline pilot in a Jetta

A Science Teacher in a Prism

A Spy in a Shadow

A Burglar in an Escape

A Fencer in a LeSabre

Robin Hood in an Arrow

A Marine Biologist in a Barracuda

A Maid in a Duster

A Dog-napper in a DeVille

A Physicist in a Fusion

A Cowboy in a Wrangler

Tiger Woods in a Golf 

A Philosopher in an Insight

Thought for the Week

“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.”
― Colin Powell

Seems like a lot of folks are shark crazy this week with all the shark-related shows on TV. I even wasted some time watching a bit of Sharknado II – if you missed it, I am sure it will be on a thousand more times.  So, in honor of Shark Week, here is a little fish story for you.

Enjoy!

One day many years ago, a fisherman’ and his wife had twin sons. They were very excited with the addition to their family, but try as they might, they just could not come up with appropriate names for the two boys. After struggling with this for days, the fisherman said, “Let’s not decide on names right now. If we wait a little while, perhaps the names will simply occur to us.” 

Several weeks passed, and the fisherman and his wife noticed a peculiar fact. When the boys were left alone, one would always turn towards the sea, while the other would always face inland. It didn’t matter how the parents positioned the children, the same child always faced the same direction. “Let’s call the boys Towards and Away,” suggested the fisherman. His wife thought this a bit odd, but lacking any good alternatives, she agreed.  From that point on, the boys were simply known as Towards and Away.

Well, the years passed quickly and the lads grew tall and strong. The day came when the aging fisherman said to his sons, “Boys, it’s time that you learned how to make a living from the sea.” They loaded their ship, said their goodbyes, and set sail for a three-week voyage.

The three weeks passed quickly for the fisherman’s wife, yet the ship had not returned. Another three weeks passed, and still no ship.

Three months passed before the grieving woman saw a lone man walking towards her house. She finally recognized him as her husband. “My goodness! What has happened to my darling boys?” she cried.

 The ragged fisherman began to tell his tragic tale:

“We were just barely one whole day out to sea when Towards hooked into a great giant shark. Towards fought long and hard, but the shark was more than his equal. For a whole week they wrestled upon the waves without either of them letting up. Yet eventually the great shark started to win the battle, and Towards was pulled over the side of our ship. He was swallowed whole, and we never saw either of them again.”

“Oh dear, that must have been terrible! What a huge shark that must have been! What a horrible fish. What a terrible, horrible shark!”

 “Yes, it was, but you should have seen the one that got Away!”

Thought for the Week 

Men and fish are alike.  They both get into trouble when they open their mouths.  ~Author Unknown

 

I admit that I like coffee and there is seldom a day that goes by that I do not have coffee.  I do try to show some restraint and limit my coffee drinking to two times a day….AM and PM.  Yet there is more to coffee than just the little “pick me up” it provides, if you think about it, coffee teaches us a lot about life.  For example it reminds one to expresso yourself, to stay grounded, to slow down and take life one cup at a time, to pause and take time to smell the coffee and it reminds us that it is always better latte than never.  So this Friday morning as you sip on that second or third or fourth cup of coffee, here is a little coffee humor to stir up your morning.

Enjoy!

Leonard

Procaffinating – the tendency to not start anything until you’ve had a cup of coffee.

Behind every successful man or woman is a substantial amount of coffee. 

Stealing someone’s coffee is called ‘mugging’.

Drinking too much coffee can cause a latte problems.

The coffee tasted like mud because it was ground a couple of minutes ago.

Selling coffee has its perks for those who have bean so lucky.

Q: What is best Beatles song? A: Latte Be!

Q: What do you call sad coffee?” A: Despresso. 

Q: What kind of coffee was served on the Titanic? A: Sanka 

A man went to his psychiatrist and said, “Every time I drink my coffee, I get a stabbing pain in my right eye,” The doctor thought for a moment and asked, “do you take the spoon out of the cup?” 

A guy walks into a coffee shop and asks the waitress: “How much is the coffee?” “Coffee is four dollars the waitress says”. “How much is a refill?” the man asks. “Free, “says the waitress.”Then I’ll take a refill!” the man responds. 

 Signs that you are drinking too much coffee (like that could ever happen):

You chew on other people’s fingernails.

You can type sixty words per minute with your feet.

You short out motion detectors.

Starbucks owns the mortgage on your house.

You help your dog chase its tail.

All your kids are named “Joe”.

You name your cats “Cream” and “Sugar.”

You can jump-start your car without cables.

You walk ten miles on your treadmill before you realize it’s not plugged in.

You channel surf faster without a remote.

You can outlast the Energizer bunny.

Your doctor tells you, your blood type is COFFEE.

The only time you’re standing still is during an earthquake.

Your eyes stay open when you sneeze.

You answer the door before people knock.

Your morning cup of Coffee is so strong it wakes up the neighbors!

You look at energy drinks and laugh.

Thought for the Week

“When life gives you lemons, trade them for coffee;” ~ Mr. Coffee

 

 

 

Happy Friday!  This week I wanted to share something that has been circulating on the internet for quite some time that helps to answer that age-old question, “What is the difference between men and women?”

Enjoy!

NICKNAMES
If Laura, Suzanne, Debra and Rose go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Suzanne, Debra and Rose.

If Mike, Charlie, Bob and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut-Head and Scrappy.  

EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Charlie, Bob and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller, and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t want.

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, deodorant, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and one white towel. 

The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify 331 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

CATS
Women love cats.

Men say they love cats, but when women aren’t looking, men kick cats.

FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change and she does.

DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals, maybe.

NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK 

 “A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.” ― Oscar Wilde