trucks, vehicle thermometers, 12th man, and shoes

NPR's Linda Holmes posted this amusing article entitled, "I Like Big Trucks And I Cannot Lie: Cars, Trucks, and The Lady Brain" today. It's a humorous reaction to fluffy piece set out about a recent online survey where males and females rated the attractiveness of automotive drivers with regard to their ride. Best line from Ms. Holmes' response? Perhaps " Women do not actually mean "hot" when they say "hot." They don't mean lusty hot, or symmetrical-face hot, or big-shoulders hot. They mean "transported a bar cabinet to my door on his back" hot. They mean "carried a couch" hot. They mean "oiled my hinges" hot. (Hey. HINGES AT THE IMAGINARY CONDO. Don't be gross. This is for science.) ". Tracking the actual survey took a bit of googling, and i only came up with the press release, but it was done by Insure.com, "Insure.com surveyed 2,000 licensed drivers age 18 and over, split evenly between men and women and divided across age groups and regions. The online-panel survey was fielded in December 2013. ", and the whole reporting method is a bit informal.  The commentary on the Holmes piece is hilarious, and yielded this even further response. Also, this is not permission for anyone to ever call me Captain Pickup.

Slightly related, had a conversation last night regarding automotive thermometers (the sort that display the outside temperature). We didn't know where on a vehicle the thermometer would be placed that neither the heat of the vehicle nor sun/shade would affect it's measurement. The best hypothesis, in my opinion, goes to Rup with placement on the antenna. Doing some research, it sounds like somewhere near the front bumper is the most popular place possibly,  around/behind the front grill. This has variability with make and model of the vehicle in question (for my beloved truck, possibly in front of the radiator. For Bryan's  Toyota Corolla, it seems to be inside the grill, under the hood [and for that one, i found the replacement part long before the location]).

During the Superbowl last night, i was reminded that the Seattle Seahawks fans use the term 12th Man. This references the 11 players allowed per team on the field during a football game, and the fans being enough of a force to actually have an impact (a 12th man). The term is officially licensed to/trademarked by Texas A&M University; in 1922, a student player by the name of E.K. Gill suited up and stood at the ready during a incredibly injury-filled game -  a '12th man' ready to play at any time. To this day, all Aggies stand the entirety of football games, ready to be sent in. Anyway, while other NFL franchises have used the term fleetingly (and been called off by TAMU lawyers), the Seahawks settled out-of-court with A&M and are officially licensed to use the term.

This NYTimes article documents the incredibly long names of some Brazilians.

Kelly AT sent me this link today about recycling skateboards, one of which being to turn the decks into high heeled shoes?! Something to keep in mind if mine ever gets beyond repair, i guess. Also, KateB and Jack, this shoes+ design company has the most distractingly colorful  website i've ever encountered (and Kate! Unicorn shoes!!)