Are you ‘tire’d of the same old playgrounds?

Playgrounds have come a long way since the early days of hot, steel slides and open-backed infant swings.

Safety is a big issue on today’s playgrounds, but so is imagination and ingenuity.

Take a look at some of the many unusually cool designs popping up around the world.

 Nishi-Rokugo – Tokyo, Japan

In Japanese, Nishi-Rokugo means Tire Park. The Kawasaki plants are located not far away, so it’s possible they donated the 3,000 tires that make up the dinosaurs, monsters, bridges, slides, swings, and all the loose ones there for kids to stack and hop on.

Here’s nine more parks thanks to Funster

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People with 'no religion' gaining on major denominations

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

Americans who don't identify with any religion are now 15% of the USA, but trends in a new study shows they could one day surpass the nation's largest denominations — including Catholics, now 24% of the nation.

American Nones: Profile of the No Religion Population, to be released today by Trinity College, finds this faith-free group already includes nearly 19% of U.S. men and 12% of women. Of these, 35% say they were Catholic at age 12. Click here to read the rest.

FAITH & REASON: What's your religious path: Any, many, one or none?

Here’s a related article from MailOnline:

We've given up on churchgoing, but not on Christianity
by STEVE DOUGHTY

Two in three of us never go to church, it has emerged.

Just one in ten attends a service every week, meaning most of the population only turn up for baptisms, weddings or funerals.

Britain has not, however, lost its faith.

More than half of us are still happy to describe ourselves as Christians, according to the survey by the charity Tearfund.

And around three million say they would only need the slightest encouragement to darken a church's door more frequently.

Read more here

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Spider-Man lookalike lizard is latest exotic pet craze

A lizard that looks startlingly like Spider-Man - Mwanza flat-headed rock agama - has become the latest fashionable pet.

By Tom Chivers

The vivid red-and-blue coloring is almost uncannily like that of the Marvel superhero, and comic book fans have been flocking to exotic pet shops to snap them up.

Agamas like the Spider-Lizard, as it has become known make good pets, as they become tame and docile if handled regularly. However, they require specialist equipment in the UK to maintain their temperature.

It can grow up to a foot long, and the squeamish may find it a problem to feed – a balanced diet for an agama includes locusts, crickets, mealworms and waxworms.

Native to Kenya, the rock agama (Agama mwanzae) is unable to throw webs, but can change color – the brightly colored males will change brown at night or if frightened. They can also run on their hind legs, and – like Spidey – can scale vertical walls.

Credit: The Telegraph

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The illitterate minority speaks out

 

These pictures say it all. Prejudice is still prevalent, and illiteracy is rampant in protests today.

Click here to see more signs at Dribbleglass.com

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Current economy could use a Depression Glass success

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 09/20/2009 01:27:09 AM PDT

Collecting memorabilia of any kind during this dreary economy may seem a crazy idea at first, but it has its merits.

During the Great Depression, Americans from all walks of life collected Depression Glass. It was inexpensive to make and was given away in promotions. Today you can get surprising prices for that glass.

By using “pressed” glass techniques, manufacturers were able save money and turn out a larger volume compared to hand-blown or cut glass production methods. The process involved pouring molten glass into molds of various patterns and pressing it to assume the shape of the mold.

The early patterns were etched, but hobnail glass, which first appeared in 1930, was the first real “hit.” Like families in today's tough times, during the Depression people spent what money they had on necessities like food. Shoppers could get free pieces of Depression Glass in boxes of oats and other foodstuffs.

The people who marketed Depression Glass sold it at an amazing variety of stores and sales outlets at affordable prices. Even the lower classes were able to enjoy attractive glassware.

Depression Glass came in a wide range of colors. You could collect it free by going to gas stations or signing up for bank accounts. Those early marketers didn't leave a stone unturned.

Some historians have even gone so far as to say the popularity of Depression Glass helped stimulate demand for consumer goods and household purchases, helping the country emerge from hard times.

Click here to read the rest at The Times-Standard.

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Deaf puppy learns sign language

A tiny eight week old puppy is learning sign language in Australia after it was discovered that she is profoundly deaf.

Pixie the border collie is currently being taught to recognise hand commands by trainer Liz Grewal in Coffs Harbour.

Liz has been an owner of deaf dogs for six years and so far she has taught the clever youngster to sit, drop and come forth.

"Dogs understand your body language, your hand gestures, they read all of that. They know," Liz comments.

"Consistency is the key to training any dog but you have to emphasise it more with a deaf dog. You've to train them in a different way, they train quicker than a hearing dog as there are no noise distractions."

In order to get the attention of her four deaf dogs, one of the techniques that Liz uses is to squirt them with a little water bottle.

She adds: "I want these dogs to have a fantastic life, and I know they can do it."

Credit: Ananova

Technorati Tags: deaf dog,sign language

Scientist say sprinkling tomatoes with pee is the key

Gardeners keen to boost their crop of tomatoes may be surprised to learn they can turn to an unusual and free source of fertilizer.

Allotment growers can enrich the soil and therefore their plants using their own wee, according to a new study.

Scientists discovered the unusual addition made crops up to four times larger.

A team of Finnish researchers found that sprinkling tomatoes with human urine mixed with wood ash was the ultimate eco-friendly fertilizer.

It worked just as well with cucumber, corn, cabbage and other crops.

Although scientists have previously tested urine on plants, this is the first one to mix it with wood ash.

Read more: at the dailymail

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Insane killer escapes on field trip to county fair!

Authorities searched by air and land today for a criminally insane killer who escaped during a mental hospital field trip to a county fair that has infuriated residents and officials around Washington.

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS

Associated Press Writer

SPOKANE, Wash. —

Authorities searched by air and land Friday for a criminally insane killer who escaped during a mental hospital field trip to a county fair that has infuriated residents and officials around Washington.

Authorities have said they believe Phillip Arnold Paul is heading to the Sunnyside area, where his parents and many siblings live. The Spokane County Sheriff's Office launched a helicopter on Friday in the search, and the public was urged to call 911 if Paul is spotted.

"He is in a bad mental state," his brother, Tom Paul, told The Associated Press. "Why would they load him on a bus and take him to a fair?" Click here to read the rest at The Seattle Times. 

Technorati Tags: insane killers,spokan washington,mental hospital for criminally insane

Values Voters Attendees Don't Appreciate The Media Coverage

I was listening to the summit organizers apologies just minutes ago on MSNBC.

They knew the treatment of the reporter didn’t reflect well on the Republican Party. And for good reason. My take is that people who try to chase the media away are afraid of something getting out. Simple as that. People like this woman don’t do conservatives any favors.

“While reporting this afternoon from the floor of the Values Voter Summit, MSNBC reporter Brian Mooar was heckled by several audience members who said he was being rude and disrespectful.

Mooar was giving a live broadcast as Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) was speaking to a crowd of about 2,000. A woman in white gets up and yells something at him, which is inaudible.

"Somebody here is not liking what we're talking about," Mooar said as he was about to sign off.

Then, a man came up to him. "You're being rude," he said.

Mooar countered: "We were invited guests."

"Too bad," the audience member said. "You're being rude."

Then another man came over.

"Would you mind? This is about the rudest thing you can do," he said, trying to take Mooar's microphone. "You are rude to do this in front of the public."

At that point several security guards came over and escorted the man out, but left the woman, who continued asking Mooar to leave. "I came here to listen, not to be disrupted," she said.

Even after someone was escorted out, another angry attendee came up and said something to Mooar that the mic didn't pick up.

The summit officials "didn't organize it very well," said anchor Norah O'Donnell, "because they didn't seem to put the press in a way that you could do reporting on what's going on and not be harassed."

To View the Video click here at TPM

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The 300 pound gorilla in the room…

Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner, Washington, D.C.
E-Mail Nate. Visit Nate's Locher Award winning college cartoons

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