The beauty of being a blogger is that I have a platform to share whatever noteworthy topic that pops into my head. Sometimes, the crazy stories I come across on the inter-web or the random thoughts that pop into my mind aren’t really noteworthy at all {on their own}. They usually make me pause, laugh, or just plain roll my eyes and I go on about my day. So, without further ado, here’s this weeks edition of Random Goodness from Around the Web:
Can tons of icky sticky orange peels grow a forest? Well, not quite, but they can certainly transform one as a couple of ecologist in Costa Rica discovered. In 1997 they made a deal with a large juice company: donate a piece of land to a conservation area they could dump their discarded peels and pulp free of charge. They agreed, and the 12,000 metric tons of messy orange guts were dumped and sat untouched on the land for 16 years. “On the adjacent plot, without orange peels, there was only one dominant species of tree. On the side with the discarded orange peels, there were over two dozen species of thriving vegetation. There was better soil, a healthier forest canopy, large, strong trees, and a new species of weasel appeared — all because of the discarded fruit from over a decade ago.” That’s pretty dang cool if you ask me. Thanks Karen for the link!
Say it ain’t so. The band from our childhood is breaking up. New Kids on the Block you might ask? Nope! Bon Jovi? Uh-uh. Journey? Not them, either? It’s the Chuck E. Cheese’s The Pizza Time Players. You know the mechanical band that graced the stage at every Chuck E. Cheese across the country for decades (actually since 1977!!). Now they are hanging up their musical hats and retiring! I remember being fascinated with them and thinking how cool they were. Now kids think they are equal parts charming and creepy (okay, so now I totally think they are creepy, too!), because their expectations of technology are so high! So they have basically been fired. And look at that picture and tell me you disagree!
Fill In the Blank Food
Just when I thought I could not love IKEA more, they went and made a “Cook This Page” parchment paper recipe guide, where you literally fill in the blanks with food and then cook it on up. Yum!
This Book Will Make You WANT Your Cat to Shed
Crafting with Cat Hair: Cute Handicrafts to Make with Your Cat will teach you how to make finger puppets out of the hair your cat sheds. I can’t make this stuff up! You can probably imagine how amazing the comments are.
And that concludes this installment of Random Goodness from Around the Web. Please make sure to leave your random responses in the comment section.
~Mavis
Julie says
How amazing that the orange peel and pulp has composted down and made the area so lush. I’m actually surprised as when making marmalade I always think the leftovers are a bit slimy and squishy for the compost bin so I throw them away.
The cheese people are a bit weird not something I’ve heard of before, but quite glad I haven’t. I used to find Punch and Judy a bit scary when I was a child.
I think the IKEA ‘cook this page’ idea is wonderful. They are such clever people.
The cat fur thing though, kinda gross, I had a friend years ago who used to spin her dogs hair to knit jumpers and things from, I found that a bit gross too. All in all though a very interesting roundup.
lilton says
I don’t know what’s more disturbing about the cat hair book. The fact that it exists, or the fact that it was in such high demand that it has been translated from its original language….
Jean says
Lol!
Indeed!
KC says
I am of two minds about the cat fur thing. Wool is just processed sheep fur, and sheep are… pretty stinky… as animals go. *But* by the time we as customers deal with wool, it has been processed extensively, whereas I don’t know whether there are instructions for how to clean the cat fur before using it. Or is it a “too close to the source” thing, as some people feel about eating animals they’ve named, or feel about human hair vs. paintbrushes made from horse or camel hair? I don’t know. But fortunately for me, the concept can remain entirely academic, as I don’t have a cat and don’t want any finger puppets…
Lisa MTB says
I remember many a birthday party at ShowBiz Pizza (the Chuck E Cheese equivalent in my town growing up). Now, I just think of Five Nights at Freddy’s. Yes, very creepy.