About the only good feature is that it lets the papers be shredded later -- Thanks Stockholm.

The rest of it is pure gimmick. Staples are wicked cheap. A box will last most of us decades. The "evironmental factor" is pretty bogus, although it makes for a good way to shill the product to less-bright greenies. Take an ordinary staple and leave it outside. Within a couple weeks it will be rusted away to nothing. The iron oxide dust it turned to is completely benign and found in huge quanities in nature anyhow. There is no environmental issue with conventional staples.

Yeah, I had to kind of chuckle about the beer/soda can too. Whoever affixed the picture evidently has never SEEN a pull-top can, 'cuz that ain't one!

As a gradeshooler in the 1970s, I remember when some company came in (probably gave the school some $, no doubt) and had us school kids try out varied designs of things to potentially replace the pull tabs then in use. The Sta-tab was among them, as was a peel off foil tab and some other mechanical designs that never made it big. We had to try to open the varied designs and rate which ones were easiest to open, etc.

The most telling thing about this piece is that most of the deaths were suicides. Without a firearm, these people would have sadly just picked another way to off themselves, perhaps one (like jumping off a building or filling their apartment with gas) that endangered others.

Sad incidents involving twisted sickos do occur, but the liberty engendered us by our Constitution and the freedoms thereby prtected are well worth it.

Occasional gun violence gets a lot of airplay in this country, but the reality is that a lot of criminals think twice before invading homes or assaulting someone. There are lots of Bernard Goetzes out there, so be careful about whom you threaten with a sharpened screwdriver!

I'm interested in what it like for the street bums in Japan. In the West, it's pretty well understood we have devolved into a soft entitlement society that sees everyone as victims of their own circumstances. Communities that are especially liberal and embracing of this view (San Francisco comes to mind) become panhandler meccas -- tourists can't walk a block w//o being accosted by moochers.

The stereotype is that Japanese (at least older Japanese) are extremely hard working and not many would be too supportive of lazy people mooching off the system, dirtying the streets with their presence, and/or bringing dishonour upon their families. Is this not true? I'd like a response from a native Japanese who can tell us about how "street people" are viewed in Japanese cities and how it differs from in the West. Interesting stuff...

A few commments:
1. Red China only started doing these green public relations ploys when they became desirous of hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics. If one was allowed unfettered access to the more remote regions of the countries, you would see the true story.

2. In an modern (1st world) emission-controlled vehicle, the amount of carbon monoxide produced is TINY. The engine-out CO is very low to start with and then catalytic converters take care of about 99% of what remains. Even the toughest CO standards are easily reached with modern technology. What is more challenging are hydrocarbon and (especially for diesels) oxides of nitrogen (NOx) standards. That's where the research & development dollars go.

3. What does make a LOT of carbon monoxide are the little motorscooters and put-puts that are ubiquitous in Red China and most of the rest of the Third World. These things generally have carbureted 2-stroke engines without any emission controls. Although tiny and fuel-stingy, they belch as much CO and hydrocarbons as a fleet of modern US / European / Japanese cars.

4. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It and water vapor are the two *normal* byproducts of even the cleanest combustion of any carbon based fuel. If, for some reason, you want to make less CO2, you need to burn less fuel. Making cars lighter is the best first step. The progression of insanely stringent crash standards have resulted in today's cars being about 50% overweight. The insurance companies and government regulators have pressured us all into driving tanks. Even "small" cars like the MINI are now around 3000 pounds, which is crazy.

5. Diesel engines do not produce more CO2 on account of producing less CO. In fact, because they have higher thermal efficiency, there is less CO2 as well. NOx is the sticky point for diesel engines. Reducing the NOx while not simultaneoulsy throwing away the fuel economy advantages is the tough part.

I guess it has more utility than being a cup stacking champion...

This can't be... the ancient Mexicans were just peace-loving farmers and hunter-gatherers until those evil Europeans came and slaughtered, enslaved, and disease-infected them. No?

Wow, nice artwork! Maybe he can get Dan Brown to invent enough "history" around it to slap together into a novel like Angels and Demons.

Jami, if you don't like corsets, don't wear one. Just recognize that a lot of guys think that women look hot in them or in other clothing that accentuates the female shape. So, if you want to compete, you'll need to step up your game in some other area. If not, you may need to resign yourself to spinsterhood.

A small correction -- The eldest "Goebbels child" mentioned to survive the war, was actually Frau Goebbels's son from a prior marriage. Harald Quandt was thus unrelated to Joseph.

Yeah, I like long hair, but not when it gets THAT long. It looks creepy and nasty, kind of like Cousin It.

Hopefully she keeps it up if she is working in one of the many farms, mines, or sweatshopss in the Jiangxi province of Red China. There's no OSHA there and long hair does not mix well with rotating machinery.

The moron who designed this has evidently never purchased and stored fresh fruit. Like many industrial designers, he looks more interested in form than function.

I'm interested in learning the position in which Weebles can get stuck. I don't remember one...

If they are really driving it from the UK to Australia, it had better fly WELL.

Yeah, I'm not opposed to eating critters, but it seems a shame that something which has survived this long, finally goes by man's hand rather than "old age" or a bigger meaner fish. It reminds me of the sad tale of Prometheus, the 5000 year old tree that was cut down to find out how old it was...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_%28tree%29