Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie

Since I have been growing older, I have learned to enjoy wearing caps. Not for a fashion statement, but more for not getting the top of my head sun burnt. Today's Warped site has some headwear that is not only attractive, but serves a function as well.

The name of the site (and the headwear) is the Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie. An Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie (AFDB) is a type of headwear that can shield your brain from most electromagnetic psychotronic mind control carriers.
Here you will find a description of AFDBs (as they are known to their users), how to make and use them, and general information about related subjects.

They are easy to find, and even easier to make, even for the creative challenged. This cheap and unobtrusive form of mind control protection offers real security to the masses. Not only do they protect against incoming signals, but they also block most forms of brain scanning and mind reading, keeping the secrets in your head truly secret.

There is quite a bit of information at this site. On Rich's Warped Scale, this one is a strong 10, the first one that has been awarded. As you explore this site, you will discover why, as I did.

http://zapatopi.net/afdb/

Bad Fads Museum

Yesterday we looked at a site that featured items that cats wore when decorated by their owners. Today's site is on that has the same sort of theme, only people are the object of wearing something. It's not all about clothes, but it is still a little on the Warped side.

The site is called the Bad Fads Museum, and it involves wearing clothes in the fashion sense of the word. Remember Bermuda shorts, Davy Crockett coonskin caps, Nehru jackets and poodle skirts. They are all here, in their nostalgic glory.

In addition to fashion, there are sections for collectibles, activities, and events. Remember fallout shelters, slot cars, drive-in theatres, mood rings, sea monkeys and pet rocks. If not, how about Pacman, silly putty, and smile buttons. There is quite a bit of nostalgia here, and some of it is coming back in all of it's glory.

So take a trip down memory lane with this site. You may be surprised on how many of these fads you remember, and even more surprising, is how many of them are still taking up space in your attic. On the ol' Warped rating scale, Rich rates this one a 7.5.

http://www.stuffonmycat.com/

Stuff On My Cat

I like cats. They are really interesting animals. My wife has a saying that dogs think they're human, cats think they're God. At least that is attitude of the pair that we have. But they do have an amusing site as well, which today's Warped site shows.

Called Stuff On My Cat, this site is a collection of cat pictures. But not ordinary ones, but ones where the animal is posed in interesting and unusual positions. Nothing off-color or cruel here, but just pictures that show how far pet owners will go to have fun with their pets (and vice versa I'm sure).

There are several categories of pictures (yes, pun intended), such as Food On My Cat, My Actual Cat, and Toys On My Cat. You can submit pictures of your favorite feline, is you desire. On Rich's Warped scale, this one is an 8, just for being such a purrfect site! (Ouch!!)

http://www.stuffonmycat.com/

Phone Spell

Here is a site that is kinda cool, not too warped (in a warped-sort of way), and a great conversation starter around the office computer.

The site is called Phone Spell. The concept is to take a phone number (any number), and see what words can be made up from them. It can help you three different ways.

Now that you can take your phone number with you when you move, all you need to do is enter a 6 to 10 digit phone number and it'll show you what words and phrases your phone number spells. This can help you decide if you want to keep it. Opening a business and need a new phone number? Pick a new 7 or 8 digit phone number by typing in an available exchange (first 3 to 5 digits) and see what one-word numbers you can choose from. Searching for just the right toll free number to advertise? Type in letters and it will show you the corresponding phone number.

This is a cool site, one that is a lot of fun. On Rich's Warped scale, it is a solid 4, but sometimes a little bit of warped goes a long ways.

http://www.capsteps.com/

Capitol Steps

Satire is a way to make a point, and use cutting edge humor to get that point across. I enjoy good satire, and the more subtle the better. Today's site we visit makes tremendous use of satire, and best of all, doesn't have any axe to grind - they go after every politician in site.

The name of the site is the Capitol Steps. They are a Washington D.C.-based group of entertainers who are funnier than Congress. (But they have to work at it, Congress if funny all by itself). They strive to entertain all of us by pointing out, through their songs, skits, and monologues, how crazy our government can be.

Here you can check their touring schedule to see when they will be in your area. but every Friday and Saturday night they are at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in D.C. There is also a radio schedule as well. You can see what albums they have available, and hear clips of them (be sure to listen to "Who's On First" from the "Friends Of Bill" collection.

The Capitol Steps have been around Washington longer than most politicians. They have a unique style of entertainment, and in my opinion, a Warped rating of 6.5.

http://www.capsteps.com/

Totally Absurd Inventions

Our nation has a long history of creative genius. Some of the everyday items we take for granted were thought of long ago, but just needed the right moment to bring them to life. The electric light bulb, the telephone, the motion picture camera. All of them were items that started out as a thought in a person's head, and look where they wound up. Today we warp on over to a site that shows that this creative genius is not dead in our nation, not by a long shot.

The guilty site today is called Totally Absurd Inventions, or America's Goofiest Patents. Here you can find real, honest to goodness, 100% Made in the USA devices. Everything from a Dad Saddle to a Sky Skier, to the Motorized Ice Cream Cone. It's all here.

But the site also has a serious side. Here you can find information about how to file for a patent, how to market your device after you have invented one, and other important information. After all, what good is building a better mousetrap if the only ones who know about it are the mice in your house?

The site is updated weekly with a wide variety of inventions, and you can view the patents for them on the site. Who says that the American spirit is failing these days. All you have to do is read these pages. On the old Warped rating scale, Rich rates this one a 7.

http://totallyabsurd.com/absurd.htm

Extreme Ironing

Gable and Lombard. Strawberries and cream. Batman and Robin. Some things are just meant to go together, or be together, or when you think of one, you automatically think of the other. Then there are those items that you just would never associate as being paired together, even if they are BlueTooth compatible. Today's Warped site features just such a pair.

The name of the site is Extreme Ironing. This is the latest extreme sport, one that combines the thrills of an outdoor adventure while you're getting your shirt and pants pressed. This activity manages to combine the highs of dangerous and exciting with the dull and mundane.

There is a fascinating gallery of where this sport has taken the participants, as well as a brief history of how it all started. Most important, however, is the reviews section, where you can find the best irons and ironing boards, both individually and as sets. I mean, heaven forbid you don't want to be in the middle of Death Valley and have your board fold up on you. do you?

This site combines a lot of elements, and speaks volumes about how far people will go to have a good time. Some would argue that some people have way too much time on their hands if they participate. To those naysayers, I say "Phooey", and give this site a Warp Factor 7 rating!

http://www.extremeironing.com/index.php

Dog Bite Law

Dog bites man, nothing unusual. Man bites dog, headline news. However, in today's world, where anyone will sue anyone else for anything, knowing how to be a responsible dog owner can be very advantageous. This site can provide that sense of responsibility. (PS: make sure your dog reads it as well!).

The name of the site is Dog Bite Law. It is a non-commercial website, authored by the nation's leading legal expert in dog bite law. While this subject has been treated lightly over the years, it can become very serious very fast. The information contained here is relevant, but you can research for your specific set of circumstances.

The attorney whose site this it only represents dog bite victims throughout the United States. His clients are limited to adults and children who have been bitten on the face, or sustained major bite wounds elsewhere on the body. He has been widely recognized as the leading national authority on dog bite law. One thing that makes this site so cool is that he will respond to any dog bite question if you send him an email from this site. How often do you get that kind of response from an attorney?

On the surface, this site seems kind of weird and warped, but as you dig into it, there is some very good information. On Rich's Warped Scale, this site is a 2 for content, but a 6 for the title.

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/

Muffler Men Homepage

There used to be saying, before political correctness settled in, that a good man is hard to find. If today's Warped sight is any indication, there are still a lot of them out there, and this site shows the best of them.

Today's site is one that features an odd collection of men, many of whom are just standing by the side of the road, waiting to have someone look at them. The only problem is that these guys are HUGE, and made of fiberglass. They are known as the Muffler Men!

These colossi were originally created in the 1960s by a California fiberglass company for gas station chains in sizes ranging from 18 to 23 feet. M-Men once beckoned noisy and exhaust-weary vehicles to replace their mufflers. The statues' hands were molded to hold mufflers or tires. As establishments closed or changed owners, the lantern-jawed Muffler Men were transplanted to other locales. While hundreds have been lost forever, many still stalk the shoulders of highways across the nation. There is one in the town where I live, only a few blocks from where my wife grew up.

These bits of nostalgia harkens back to a time when advertising was done with a real purpose in mind, namely to sell products. Nowadays we see huge flashing screens, ugly billboards, and people standing on the sidewalks waving signs in your face as you pass them. This site mixes the nostalgia of what was with the reality of how the times have changed. You can find where these Muffler men are, and what they are doing. It is truly a unique use of the Internet to have fun and explore the off beat side of our culture. Rich's Warped rating for this site is a strong 8.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/muffler/index.html

Dr Demento

Looking for strange and unusual sites can be difficult on some days, and very easy on others. Today we take a look at a site that has something for everyone. If you're honest, you'll admit that you have heard this person on the radio, or watched him on television, or maybe even seen him in person.

The site is DrDemento.com, the website of the infamous and nationally renowned radio personality who for years and years has injected his off beat brand of humor over the air waves. It is a free-wheeling, unpredictable mixture of music and comedy. Most of all, it's really, really fun!

The Doctor plays material that is sent to him by both professional and amateur entertainers, singers, and comedians. His status is legendary, and he has been described as a mixture Spike Jones, Monty Python, Stan Freberg, Frank Zappa, and Tom Lehrer. After graduating with a degree in Classical Music from Reed College in Portland Oregon, he moved to California where he found work as a disc jockey, and as a roadie for the rock group Canned Heat.

It was while he was working for Specialty that L. A.'s legendary free-form rock radio station KPPC-FM asked him to do a weekly program of rock rarities. It was there, in 1970, that Barret Hansen became Dr. Demento, as listeners demanded more and more of such zany blasts from the past as "The Purple People Eater," "Transfusion" and "The Monster Mash." The rest is history.

The Doctor goes on and on, he will always be with us, as long as there are radio stations. For the quality of both his work, and for his quality website, Rich rates this site a 9 on the Warped rating system.

http://www.drdemento.com/

Extremo the Clown

Taking it to the extreme has been a term for doing your best and taking it all the way. Today's Warped site gives new meaning to the extreme, as you will see from the site's main picture.

The name of the site is Extremotheclown.com. This site not related to any circus that I know of. But it has some underlying charm that makes you want to explore the site. And when you do, you will really like what you see, and appreciate it even more.

Extremo is an artist, one who has created some interesting pictures, and some conceptual drawings that are, well, different. Check out the Jesus McCheesus burger! And the car art - if you ever see it coming, you won't forget it. There is a pied piper quality to it, making you want to follow it, to see what makes it go.

There are a couple of good articles here from the press, that allow you to explore the artist in Extremo. A schedule of upcoming shows and exhibits are online as well. On the old Warped Scale of Warpedness, Rich gives this site a 7.

http://www.extremotheclown.com/extremotheclown/index.asp

ComputerPranks.com

Today marks a new journey for me as a long time resident in WorldVillage. For the past 10 years, I have concentrated on finding sites that had social significance, sites that showed the positive side of live and the Internet, sites that showed just how wrong the mainstream media was when they portray our country as teetering on the edge of disaster. Well, at Warped.info, I will still paint a positive side of our world, but with a different slant. I hope to impart some laughs, have some fun, visst some off-the-beaten track type of web sites that show (to paraphrase Steve Martin), that the Internet is "a wild and crazy" place. So lets get started.

Today's Warped site is one that has a potpourri of entertainment value. It is called ComputerPranks.com. Here you can find out some wild ways that people have used computers and the Internet to have some harmless fun.

The jokes and pranks here are presented in a variety of subject areas, such as media humor, funny images, and online fun. In media humor, be sure to check out the "Rising Gas Prices" clip, and "Overworked Mouse". There are software pranks, computer jokes, online fun, and (my favorite) media humor.

What makes this site fun is the amount of user participation. You can submit items, link to the site, and advertise here. You can also subscribe to a free update newsletter.

This site has a lot of interesting material, and shows great promise. Hundreds of items are added daily for both Windows-based and Macintosh computers. On a Warped scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being totally wacked, Rich rates this site a strong 6.

http://www.computerpranks.com/