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Bugged by City's Smelly Water, a Call to Add Pumpkin Spice

Proposal for City's Stinky
Water? Add Pumpkin Spice

Oct 27, 2017 9:10 AM CDT

Proposal for City's Stinky Water? Add Pumpkin Spice

It appears petition in Tempe, Ariz., is a joke, but the water can smell and taste awful there

(Newser) - Residents of an Arizona city with foul-smelling, unpalatable drinking water have proposed a solution that would make Starbucks proud: have the water company infuse it with pumpkin spice flavoring. The Arizona Republic reports on Tempe's tap-water woes, which are so pervasive the city is forced to acknowledge them on...

Eat an Orange-Toothed
River Rat? They Are in Moscow

Nov 26, 2016 4:00 PM CST

Eat an Orange-Toothed River Rat? They Are in Moscow

Nutria has made its way to the plate

(Newser) - There's an emerging culinary trend in Moscow, but it's not for the faint of heart: meaty dishes such as burgers and dumplings made with rodent meat. Nutria, commonly referred to as "river rats"—which the Moscow Times reports are originally from South America but have been...

Why People Are Crawling
Like Babies at the Gym

Oct 17, 2016 10:59 AM CDT

Why People Are Crawling Like Babies at the Gym

Practitioners call it a 'reset' for adult fitness

(Newser) - It's not necessarily unusual to see people in odd positions in fitness classes at the gym—the birthing squat, downward dog, seal and happy baby are all "funny-looking" moves with real benefits, as Shape magazine reports. But crawling? Like a baby? For an extended period of time? It'...

Inventor of Pet Rocks Dies

OBITUARY

Apr 1, 2015 2:40 AM CDT

Inventor of Pet Rocks Dies

Gary Dahl made millions off 1970s craze

(Newser) - Pet Rocks of America, say goodbye to your creator. Gary Ross Dahl, the man who made millions of dollars selling the novelty "pets" in the 1970s—and caused millions of people to say, "I could have thought of that"—has died at the age of 78. According...

'Cinnamon
Challenge'
Damages
Lungs: Study

'Cinnamon Challenge' Damages Lungs: Study

Spice powder poses danger for asthmatics, researchers find

(Newser) - Attempting the "cinnamon challenge"—a long-running online fad in which people try to swallow a dry spoonful of cinnamon powder—is an even worse idea than it may first appear, a new study warns. Researchers using data from tests on animals found that lungs became inflamed after exposure...

'Cinnamon Challenge' Landing Teens in Hospital

Mar 29, 2012 1:35 AM CDT

'Cinnamon Challenge' Landing Teens in Hospital

YouTube dare riskier than it seems, poison centers warn

(Newser) - Kids these days aren't smoking nutmeg, they're swallowing cinnamon—or trying to, the nation's poison centers warn. More and more teens appear to be attempting the "cinnamon challenge"—in which you try to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon without choking—and poison centers have...

Forget Planking: Alki Stevens' 'Cone-ing' Goes Viral

Forget Planking:
'Cone-ing'
Goes Viral

Jun 19, 2011 11:40 AM CDT

Forget Planking: 'Cone-ing' Goes Viral

This summer, grab your ice cream weirdly

(Newser) - Planking is so last month—all the cool kids are now " cone-ing. " The procedure: Buy a soft-serve ice cream cone and take it from the vendor as awkwardly as possible. You might take the ice cream itself in your hand, stick your face in it, or eat...

Rollerblades: A Post-Mortem

commentary

May 30, 2011 12:25 PM CDT

Rollerblades: A Post-Mortem

The rise and fall (mostly fall) of the ubiquitous rollerblade

(Newser) - Flash back to the year 2000, a time of Discmans, Spandex, and ... rollerblades. Believe it or not, a whopping 22 million Americans wore rollerblades at least once during that year, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. But by 2010, the number of rollerblades wearers plummeted 64%, a nosedive second...

These Shorts
Freeze Your
Butt Off—Literally

fitness trend

Jul 9, 2010 12:05 PM CDT

These Shorts Freeze Your Butt Off—Literally

If not, at least they'll keep you cool

(Newser) - The latest way to burn fat without actually doing anything: FreezeAwayFat Cool Shape shorts, which promise to—you guessed it—freeze away fat. Turns out there may actually be something to it, writes Julie Deardorff in the Chicago Tribune . The shorts, which come with gel inserts to freeze and then...

10 Signs the Bacon Craze
Has Gone Too Far

OPINION

Feb 24, 2010 2:03 PM CST

10 Signs the Bacon Craze Has Gone Too Far

Let's find another ingredient instead of putting bacon in coffee: Tim Love

(Newser) - Don’t get him wrong—Tim Love appreciates bacon as much as the next celebrity chef, but “I have to speak truth to power: The bacon craze has gone too far.” When you can get “bacon coffee, bacon cereal, bacon ice cream,” it’s “high...

Facebook 'Doppelganger'
Craze Sort of Illegal

Feb 3, 2010 10:31 AM CST

Facebook 'Doppelganger' Craze Sort of Illegal

Users changing profile pics to lookalike celebs violates TOS

(Newser) - The newest craze on Facebook is “Doppelganger Week,” wherein users change their profile pictures to those of celebrities—heck, even Muppets—that they resemble. Problem is, CNET notes, that violates the social networking site’s terms of service. “You will not post content or take any action...

Women Post Bra Colors, Confusing Men

Beige! Blue!

Jan 8, 2010 5:44 AM CST

Women Post Bra Colors, Confusing Men

Men, and others left out of the joke, scratch their heads

(Newser) - Yesterday's strangest web trend: bra-themed Facebook updates. Women—and some men—used one-word updates like "red," "white" and "pink," to let everyone know the color of their undergarments. Unsurprisingly, "white," "black" and "beige" were most popular. Some got creative, adding words...

Calif. Shelters See
Surge in Chihuahuas

THANKS, PARIS

Dec 10, 2009 1:24 PM CST

Calif. Shelters See Surge in Chihuahuas

Fashion dogs on track to eclipse pit bulls as most abandoned

(Newser) - A Hollywood-fueled demand for Chihuahuas in California has morphed into shelter populations that make up 50% of the dogs in some places. “It's been a slow and steady climb,” a San Francisco animal control spokeswoman tells the Los Angeles Times . “We call it the Paris Hilton syndrome....

Om My!
Dogs Take
to Yoga

Apr 10, 2009 4:47 AM CDT

Om My! Dogs Take to Yoga

Downward-facing dogis more popular than ever

(Newser) - When Fido lifts his leg, he might not be watering a tree, but attempting the challenging yoga position Downward Facing Dog. At least, that's what owners all over America are hoping as they pack yoga classes that cater to people and their doggies—or dogis—reports the Independent. "Doga"...

Smarties
'Smokers'
Stressing
Schools

Mar 20, 2009 9:35 AM CDT

Smarties 'Smokers' Stressing Schools

Exhaling crushed candies looks like cigarette smoking

(Newser) - Parents and school officials are sweating over a new kids’ craze: “smoking” Smarties candies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Children crush the sugary discs into a powder in their wrapper, dump the powder into their mouths, and, in a move eerily reminiscent of cigarette smokers, exhale a cloud of...

Clog-Maker Crocs Falling Off

Aug 1, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

Clog-Maker Crocs Falling Off

Firm has seen drastic decline in sales, share price

(Newser) - Crocs, Inc,. the firm that makes those ubiquitous rubber clogs, is having a bit of a fashion emergency. The stock has lost 90% of its value in less than a year, and the company predicts a 20% sales decline by the end of 2008, NPR reports. The firm’s execs...