The world’s longest right-turn lane

Road improvements near my home in Vienna, Virginia, added a ridiculously long right-turn lane. That got me asking the question: What’s the world’s longest right-turn lane? Or at least the longest in the United States.
After a Google search gave poor results, I decided this was a great question for AI chatbots to answer. After all, these artificial intelligence tools are supposed to be able to scour massive databases to come up with simple answers to queries.
The right-turn lane from eastbound Leesburg Pike between Baron Cameron Avenue and Delta Glen Court in Reston and Vienna, Va., is 0.6 miles long, according to Google Maps.
To find the world’s longest right-turn lane, I first tried Microsoft Bing Copilot, which uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Unfortunately my queries produced conflicting answers from Bing Copilot.
“The title of the world’s longest right turn lane goes to Interstate 285 (I-285) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Specifically, it’s the right turn lane from westbound I-285 onto northbound Interstate 75 (I-75),” Bing Copilot said. “This seemingly endless right turn lane stretches for an impressive 2.4 miles (3.9 kilometers)!”
That doesn’t sound like a turn lane. It’s more like a highway lane that just ends and tells drivers to merge left or take the exit. That could make the turn-lane distinction hard to quantify.
However, in a follow-up query, Bing Copilot had a different answer for the same location.
“The right turn lane from westbound Interstate 285 (I-285) onto northbound Interstate 75 (I-75) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, is approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers) in length. This lengthy turn lane was part of the I-285/Peachtree Boulevard Interchange Improvements project. The project aimed to enhance traffic flow, reduce bottlenecks, and improve operational efficiency for drivers making this critical right turn,” Bing Copilot said.
So it’s either 0.8 miles or 2.4 miles long. Come on, Microsoft, choose a lane!
Next, I went to Microsoft’s source, ChatGPT. But it gave a wordy nonanswer:

Determining the absolute longest right turn lane in the world would be challenging, as it would require detailed research and measurement of various roadways worldwide. However, some cities, particularly those with extensive road networks and high traffic volume, may have exceptionally long right turn lanes.
For example, cities like Los Angeles, California, or Houston, Texas, known for their sprawling urban landscapes and extensive highway systems, might have notably long right turn lanes in certain locations. However, without specific data or studies on the exact length of each right turn lane globally, it's difficult to definitively identify the single longest one.
In such cases, road authorities or transportation departments in respective regions might have records or data on the longest right turn lanes within their jurisdictions.

Then, I asked Google Bard to tell me the world’s longest right-turn lane. It said lack of records on the subject would make it difficult to get a correct answer.
“That being said, there are discussions online about a long right turn lane near Ikea in Taastrup, Denmark, clocking in at around 900 meters (3,000 feet),” Bard said. That turn lane is about 0.57 miles long.
Bard said its source was a Reddit discussion thread titled “My town has an extremely long turn lane” on r/mildlyinteresting.
I then asked Bard for the longest right-turn lane in the U.S., but it didn’t have an answer.
Finally, I asked AI Chat from DeepAI to tell me the longest right-turn lane in the U.S.
“The longest right turn lane in the United States is located in Houston, Texas. It is approximately 2.6 miles long and stretches along the West Loop Southbound (Interstate 610) exit to Woodway Drive,” AI Chat said.
AI Chat said it got the information from a Houston Chronicle article titled “Houston’s longest right turn lane gets a facelift.”
So, there you have it, no definitive answer on the longest right-hand turn lane. Thanks for nothing, AI.

Photo: Google map of Leesburg Pike in Vienna, Va.

Unusual sexy Halloween costumes for 2019: Sexy Mr. Rogers and more

The United States of America is a great country. It is celebrated for its freedoms and relentless innovation. That creative spark extends to Halloween costumes.
Just look at the category of sexy costumes for women. Our great costume designers have moved beyond sexy nurse, sexy teacher and sexy cop to sexify just about anything you can imagine.
What follows are some unusual people and things that Yandy.com and others have made sexy for Halloween.

Sexy Mr. Rogers

The sexy Mr. Rogers costume for women is advertised by Yandy as the “Nicest Neighbor Costume.” The unsexy male version is called the “Be My Neighbor Costume Kit.”

Sexy Bob Ross

Yandy calls its sexy Bob Ross costume for women the “Happy Tree Painter Costume.”

Sexy Meghan Markle

Yandy has created a costume called “American Princess Costume” that parodies Meghan Markle, the “Deal or No Deal” model who became Duchess of Sussex after marrying Prince Harry.

Sexy Rosie the Riveter

Cultural icon Rosie the Riveter, a symbol of female empowerment, has been turned into a sexy Halloween costume as well.

Sexy Beyond Burger

Yandy will appeal to vegans with its “Beyond Burger Costume.”

Sexy Tariff costume

Yandy has a couple of ripped-from-the-headlines costumes that should appeal to fans of President Trump.
First, there is the “Sexy Tariff Costume.” This is the only way tariffs could be considered sexy.
Here’s the description: “A distant trade war is upon us! Will you resist it? Show off your assets and be the hottest import in town in this exclusive Sexy Tariff costume featuring a sleeveless dress with a money print, a stretch fabrication, TARIFF printed in red block letters at the bust, a sexy scoop back, an A-line skater hem, and a black IMPORT stamp.”

Sexy Fake News costume

Next, Yandy tries to make “fake news” sexy with its “Fake News Costume.”
Here’s the description: “Spread all the alternative facts in this exclusive Fake News costume featuring a white tank dress with a scoop neckline, thick shoulder straps, an allover newspaper design, "FAKE" printed in red across the bust, and a scoop back.”

Sexy Donald Trump

Finally, Yandy is selling a sexy female Donald Trump costume called the “Donna T.” costume. Oh, my eyes!

Related articles:

‘Sexy Mr. Rogers’ costume drops just in time for Halloween 2019 (New York Post; Sept. 18, 2019)

There Is Nothing Neighborly About This ‘Sexy’ Mr. Rogers Halloween Costume (Huffington Post; Sept. 19, 2019)

Pittsburgh Model Featured In Sexy Mr. Rogers Costume That Is Heating Up The Internet (CBS Pittsburgh; Sept. 20, 2019)

An infamous lingerie brand is selling a sexy ‘Beyond Burger’ costume this Halloween (Business Insider; Sept. 20, 2019)

Now There’s A ‘Sexy College Admissions Scandal’ Halloween Costume Making People Irate (BroBible; October 2019)

Now there’s a sexy Popeye’s chicken sandwich Halloween costume (New York Post; Oct. 22, 2019)

T-shirts tell a story

In the vacation beach towns of the Eastern Shore, you can always find shops selling attitude T-shirts.
The T-shirts with a political slant can tell you how mainstream America, aka “Murica,” feels about people and issues in the headlines.
In Rehoboth Beach, Del., this weekend I saw T-shirts that were anti-Barack Obama (“01.20.17 Obama’s Last Day.”) and pro-Donald Trump (“Hair & Change: Trump 2016”).
Even more interesting was the plethora of 2nd Amendment and pro-gun ownership T-shirts.

The United States of Food

Regional food preferences are the subject of a lot of cool online maps.
As part of my exploration of online maps, I’ll spotlight a few here.

The United States of Burgers

Serious Eats made a map of the U.S. with each state represented by an iconic local burger.
From my old stomping grounds in the Midwest, Illinois is represented by the Steak ’n Shake burger, Minnesota by the Juicy Lucy and Iowa by the Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich.

The Great American Pizza Map

The Washington Post assembled a collection of maps showing which pizza chains dominate what areas of the U.S.

Red, White & Food

Thrillist published a U.S. map showing the most noteworthy restaurant chain from each state. (See map at top. Click for larger view.)

Mapping the Rise of Craft Beer

The New Yorker created an interactive map to chart the growth of craft beer.
You can click on the map to see which states have the most breweries per 500,000 people, the fastest growing breweries and other neat statistics.

The United States of Corn

Photographer Henry Hargreaves and food stylist Caitlin Levin collaborated on a series of “Food Maps” that are made out of the types of foods best known from the places the maps depict.
The U.S. map is made out of corn and corn products.
(See photo below. Click for larger view. Also check out articles by the Laughing Squid and My Modern Met.)

Entertainment maps: music artist preferences by state, Hollywood destruction targets

The United States are not homogeneous. There are distinct differences among the 50 states.
Paul Lamere of the Echo Nest released several maps showing music preferences by state. One map showed the most distinctive favorite artist in each state, meaning the artist that each state listened to more than other states.
Lamere and blogger Randal Cooper put together charts showing the Most Ignored Artists in each state, based on the top 50, top 100 and top 200 artists.
One contributor to Reddit created a map showing the best-selling musician or group by state of birth. Some are obvious, such as Prince in Minnesota and Billy Joel in New York. Others aren’t, such as Kenny G beating out Nirvana in Washington State, according to Fast Company.
Continuing with the entertainment maps theme, Deadspin’s The Concourse did a map of the U.S. showing where Hollywood movies have destroyed the most cities in alien attacks, natural disasters and other cataclysmic events. (See image at top. Click for larger view.)

See also: U.S. maps showing movie and TV show locations.

New Yorker magazine obsessed with portraying people glued to their mobile devices

The New Yorker magazine is known for its great cover art. But this year, it’s repeatedly hit the same theme of showing people fixated on their smartphone and tablet screens.
The first time it was insightful, making a commentary about life in an always connected society.
But the publishers have experienced the law of diminishing returns on this theme. We get it – people are addicted to their phones. Now move on.
Included with this article are covers from New Yorker issues dated Jan. 6, May 5, July 7 & 14, and Aug. 4.

Business cliches are ‘table stakes’

Lately I’ve seen a resurgence of the business cliche “table stakes,” a term used to describe something important to a company.
As a search term on Google, “table stakes” spiked last month. In November, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly described price competitiveness as “table stakes” for the consumer electronics retailer.
Just last week, I saw the term used by an online advertising researcher in an article titled, “Programmatic Is Table Stakes.”
NPR reported in June that the term seemed to be popping up all over the place. It’s one of many gambling terms favored by business executives, along with “double down” and “go all in,” NPR said.

Related article: 

9 Buzzwords That Can Make You Sound Dumb (American Express Open Forum; Nov. 25, 2013)

Photos: Poker chips by Play Among Friends.

In defense of streaking

“Streaking,” the act of running naked through a public place, has gotten a bad rap.
Too many people in authority get up in arms when it occurs at public events. They treat it as a serious criminal offense. But come on, folks, it’s a funny prank, a lark, an unexpected humorous surprise. It can liven up a sporting event or other occasion.
That’s what happened on Oct. 6 at the Presidents Cup golf tournament in Dublin, Ohio, when a nearly naked 23-year-old woman ran across the 18th fairway. (See coverage by Fox Sports, Compleat Golfer, Huffington Post, Ride the Pine and Joe.ie.)
The woman, Kimberly Webster, was charged with disorderly conduct and fined $100. That seems fair. You don’t want to encourage such behavior, but you also shouldn’t treat it like a terrible crime against society.
Now look at the case of Christian Adamek, 15, who committed suicide less than a week after streaking at a high school football game in Alabama. The high school principal threatened the boy with expulsion and legal charges that would make him a registered sex offender, as TechDirt reported.
Clearly Sparkman High School and the Madison County, Ala., legal system overstepped their bounds on this one.

Web resources on streaking:

Streaking entry on Wikipedia.

Sports’ most stunning streakers (Photo gallery)

Photo: Kimberly Webster streaks at the Presidents Cup golf tournament on Oct. 6, 2013.

20 fun Tumblr blogs

Continuing my discussion of Tumblr, here are 20 fun and interesting blogs on the service.

1. The Worst Room

The Worst Room is described as “a blog about trying to find affordable housing in New York City.”
The Worst Room got a nice write-up recently on the Laughing Squid.

2. The Brokers with Hands on Their Faces Blog

The Brokers with Hands on Their Faces Blog shows pictures of Wall Street traders with their hands on their faces in shock, dismay or depression.
It’s very similar in theme to Sad Guys on Trading Floors, another Tumblr photo blog.

3. Reasons My Son Is Crying

Reasons My Son Is Crying was started by a father documenting all the silly reasons his young son breaks into tears.
Conan O’Brien parodied the site with Reasons My Talk Show Host Is Crying.

4. Comic Sans Project

The Comic Sans Project sees what the world would look like if companies started using the maligned font comic sans for their logos.
The Huffington Post and Brandflakes for Breakfast each wrote about the website.

5. Does Papyrus Belong Here?

Another font-centric website is Does Papyrus Belong Here?
The answer is always no, according to the website.

6. National Geographic Found

Photos from the National Geographic archives.

7. New York License Lady

New York License Lady is described as “an adventure in stock photography” by its creator Jason Feifer.
The same woman’s photo shows up on everything from hair color products to insurance ads.

8. Andrew’s Little Instructions

Andrew’s Little Instructions features pages from a “Life’s Little Instruction” calendar modified with smart-aleck remarks by Andrew Hamer.

9. Brand Spirit

Brand Spirit is an art experiment where familiar branded products are painted white.
“Every day for 100 days, I will paint one branded object white, removing all visual branding, reducing the object to its purest form,” the artist wrote.
The project ran from March 12 to June 19, 2012.

10. If Business Insider Was Around When …

If Business Insider Was Around When … is a blog that imagines how Henry Blodget’s Business Insider online news service would have covered major news stories of the past.
Hint: the website is not a fan of Business Insider’s style of journalism.

11. Someone Should Start A Tumblr

David Friedman compiled Tumblr blog ideas from suggestions people made on Twitter.
The blog ran from Jan. 21 to March 6, 2013, when Friedman announced that the meme had run its course after 115 posts.

12. Context-Free Patent Art

Context-Free Patent Art publishes “art culled from a wealth of video game-related patents and patent applications, presented without explanation.”

13. Life Advice from Machines

Life Advice from Machines turns lines from instruction manuals into sage advice for everyday living.

14. We Never Look Up

Photos of people looking down at their smartphones and tablets.

15. Pictures of Hipsters Taking Pictures of Food

Another self-explanatory Tumblr blog title.
“Documenting the phenomenon of people taking pictures of food they did not themselves cook. Food at restaurants. Food at parties. Food at backyard BBQs,” the blog description says.

16. The Tutor Crowd

The Tutor Crowd spreads the message of proper spelling and grammar by correcting London’s graffiti.

17. The Pregnant Husband

An expectant father documents life with his pregnant wife through GIFs.
See article by the Huffington Post.

18. WTF, Evolution?

“Honoring natural selection’s most baffling creations,” the blog description says.

19. Kate Middleton for the Win

Photos of Kate Middleton with snarky captions.

20. Models Who Can’t Decide

Another “adventure in stock photography” from Jason Feifer, Fast Company senior editor and creator of Internet memes.
See article on Models Who Can’t Decide in the Huffington Post. Man, HuffPo writes a lot about Internet memes.

Obama creating lots of jobs for trinket vendors

The official unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped to 7.8% in September from 8.1% in August and President Barack Obama has used the statistic to say his economic policies are working. 

The latest jobs report has proved to be very controversial though. Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch and others have accused the Bureau of Labor Statistics of cooking the books. Investor’s Business Daily did a thoughtful analysis of the jobs report. I highly recommend reading it. 

On Friday, I observed firsthand that the Obama presidency has created jobs. I counted about a dozen vendors selling Obama buttons, posters, T-shirts and hats outside one of his speaking engagements. 

One vendor selling buttons said they were made by hippies in the U.S.A. Elsewhere, an artist was selling signed copies of his Obama prints. These products featured the usual iconic Obama imagery – that of a cool fellow, a transformative political figure and symbol of hope and change. 

A cottage industry has sprung up around Obama to sell trinkets that seek to influence and sustain his legacy. That industry was on full display Friday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where Obama was speaking. 

Unfortunately those jobs making and selling Obama paraphernalia will be lost if he doesn’t get re-elected next month. 

Photos: Vendors selling Obama trinkets at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., on Oct. 5.

South Dakota mancation: National parks and the great buffalo roundup

I recently took a four-day mancation to South Dakota with my brother Bill and my 8-year-old son, Chris. It was a short trip, but jam-packed with the kinds of things guys enjoy.
We flew into Rapid City, S.D., on Saturday morning Sept. 24 after an unplanned overnight stay in Denver. (Our plane from Washington, D.C., was delayed because of mechanical problems and we missed our connecting flight that Friday night.)
On our first day, we drove across the state line to see Devil’s Tower National Monument in northeastern Wyoming. The huge column of rock is a spectacular, one-of-a-kind sight. No wonder Steven Spielberg chose to film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” there.
The weather was warm and sunny and a number of climbers were ascending the tower. We took the paved path to the pile of boulders at the base of the tower, admired the view, took some pictures and moved on. After all, we had a schedule to keep.
After lunch at the hard rocking Ponderosa Cafe in Hulett, Wyo., we drove to historic Deadwood, S.D. We stopped by Saloon #10, a bar and museum that celebrates Old West figures like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. There, actors reenact the fatal shooting of Hickok. I got to play one of the poker players at the table where Wild Bill was shot in the back. I even had a few lines of dialogue.
On Sunday Sept. 25, we drove out east to odd-ball tourist trap Wall Drug in Wall, S.D. After picking up some souvenirs, we drove to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.
We experienced the Cold War arms race between the U.S. and Soviet Union up close by visiting a silo containing a decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missile. Hundreds of such weapons of mass destruction used to dot the landscape of South Dakota and the Great Plains. Many have since been dismantled. But others remain as a deterrent to aggressors of the U.S.
After that we toured Badlands National Park. The otherworldly landscape was amazing. The park is a geological oddity and a great place to find fossils. It’s not very hospitable to life. Signs warn of rattlesnakes. Even the cute prairie dogs carry the plague.
We then drove west to Custer, S.D., for the night. We ate pizza at Pizza Works, a pizzeria housed in an old opera house and silent movie theater. It was the restaurant’s last night of operation for the tourist season. They will reopen next May.
On Monday Sept. 26, we got up early and drove to Custer State Park in Custer, S.D., to witness the annual Black Hills buffalo roundup. This event was the reason we timed our trip when we did.
The Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup is an awesome Old West experience. Cowboys and cowgirls on horseback (and in pickup trucks) drive a herd of about 1,300 American bison over the hills and into large corrals. The roundup is critical to maintaining a strong and healthy herd because the park can only support so many buffalo during the winter.
After the roundup, park staff sort, brand and vaccinate the herd for the buffalo sale, held in November. Every year the park auctions off 200 to 500 head of live buffalo. They’re purchased to supplement an existing herd, to start a herd or to eat.
We didn’t stick around to see the bison up close in their holding pens. Instead we drove to Wind Cave National Park to the south. Wind Cave was the first cave to be designated a national park. It features one of the longest cave systems in the world and notable for its rare boxwork calcite formations.
After that, we made a pilgrimage to Mount Rushmore National Monument. Chris and I saw the monument from the sky days earlier on our flight to Rapid City. Now we got to see it up close.
Seeing Mount Rushmore is a patriotic experience. The 50 state flags line the entry way and columns note when each state was admitted to the union. The sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt are fantastic in their scale and detail. We hiked the base of the monument to get a closer look.
With our trip nearing an end, we drove back to Rapid City. We stopped at Dinosaur Park, a quirky attraction on Skyline Drive overlooking the city. The park was dedicated in May 1936 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The seven dinosaur sculptures were constructed by the city of Rapid City and the Works Progress Administration.
We then drove to downtown Rapid City where we took some goofy pictures with the presidential statues that mark the street corners. I also admired an alley that blazed with color from graffiti artists appropriated named Art Alley.
We had dinner at the Firehouse Brewing Co., where I ate a buffalo burger. You can’t go to South Dakota without eating some bison meat. Then it was back to the hotel to rest before our early morning flights out of town.
Now it’s time to plan next year’s mancation.

It’s the iPod Touch, people, not the iTouch

Lately I’ve heard at least four parents talking about their kids and the “iTouch.” Their kids either have an iTouch or want an iTouch.
A what?
Oh, you must mean an iPod Touch, I think.
Yeah, that extra syllable is a real bear.
Parents are always screwing up pop culture references and showing their ignorance about new products that are popular with kids. I’m sure I’ll be in that club soon enough. It’s kind of a joke with middle-aged adults, who refer to “the Twitter” and the like. But I digress.
I did a Google search to see how often people write about the “iTouch.”
To my amazement, there were 24 million search results for iTouch.
Apple, maker of the iPod Touch, and retailers like Target and Amazon.com are wise to the fact that people call the portable media player the iTouch. They’re putting the word iTouch in their meta tags and even buying the term through Google AdWords. (See screenshot here.)
If you can’t beat them, join them.

The Daily Patdown: Making light of the absurdity of the TSA

I’m no fan of the Transportation Security Administration, the agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that handles passenger screening at the nation’s airports. TSA rules have made air travel a royal pain in the ass. The agency’s rules seem more designed to irritate everyday citizens than to catch potential terrorists. Plus, quite a few TSA screeners I’ve seen use their position of authority to bully, embarrass and demean passengers.
The TSA has become the butt of a lot of jokes in recent months. (See videos from “The Late Show with David Letterman” and Reason TV.) It doesn’t help the agency’s reputation when employees are accused of stealing $160,000 from luggage. Add to that reports of degrading searches (like this one or this one). The Wikipedia entry on the TSA documents a host of criticisms of the agency.
The website The Daily Patdown posts pictures of TSA agents frisking passengers.
After looking at the photos on the site, you have to wonder if the agents reasonably thought these passengers were security threats. The pictures show a lot of senior citizens, children and young women getting patdowns.
Let’s give up the political correctness and do profiling.

TSA – target of satirists everywhere

The Transportation Security Administration has become the much-deserved target of American anger and complaints lately.
And because art reflects life, humorists have lambasted the TSA in essays, drawings, music and videos. On sister website One Stop Video, I've posted the Top 10 funniest TSA videos of the moment. Above is the cover art for a fake children's book called "My First Cavity Search."

American public sours on Obama

When Barack Obama was elected president, he became a pop culture icon. His image sold posters, comic books, trading cards and T-shirts.
His image is still selling T-shirts, but the sentiment has turned from hope and optimism to disappointment and resentment. The samples above and below from ThoseShirts.com are representative of T-shirts you see for sale online these days.
Perhaps it was his pursuit of a national health care overhaul instead of focusing on the worsening economy that soured the American populous.
His approval ratings have tanked. Right after his inauguration in January 2009, 68% approved of the job Obama was doing, while 21% disapproved, according to Gallup. In a Sept. 3-5 poll, just 44% approved of the job he is doing, while 49% disapproved.
And now he says he’s focused on the economy.

Bad idea: Silly Bandz as neckwear

Novelty companies now are making Silly Bandz big enough so kids can wear them around their necks like necklaces or, worse, chokers.
Silly Bandz, in case you’ve been living in a cave this year, are those silicone bracelets that come in themed packs with different shapes. Some are shaped like animals, others sporting gear, etc. They’re popular with young kids who like to trade them and wear them on their wrists. Silly Bandz is the best known brand but there are many others.
I’ve seen several news reports about doctors warning parents that the rubbery bands can be dangerous. (See this report, for example.) If worn too tight, they can cut off blood flow to a child’s hand.
So imagine my surprise when my 7-year-old son told me they were making extra large silicone bands that kids could wear around their necks.
Sure enough, we saw a boy at McDonald’s the other day in Norwalk, Conn., wearing some around his neck. (See above photo.) That’s a very bad idea. I wonder how long it will be before we hear about the first injury from this trend.

McDonald's has gone to the birds

Just the other day at the McDonald's restaurant in Norwalk, Conn., my kids and I watched birds go wild over a spilled bag of French fries. It was like Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" -- if the people were replaced with delicious thin cut fried pototoes. OK, so it was nothing like that movie. But it was fun to watch.

Silly Bandz: This year’s kid craze

This year’s biggest kid craze has got to be all those funny shaped silicone bands from Silly Bandz and other companies.
My 7-year-old son has gone to school with a dozen or more of the brightly colored bands around his wrist.
They come in numerous shapes (animals, sports, vehicles, etc.) and colors. Some are glow-in-the-dark and others are scented. Kids collect them and trade them. They’re sold in themed packs of 12 for about $2.50 or 24 for about $5.
Some schools have banned them from classrooms as a distraction, which has only added to their appeal, according to the New York Times.
A handful of companies sell competing products under such names as Silly Bandz, Zanybandz, Crazy Bandz and BandzMania.
Come fall the Silly Bandz craze may have run its course, just like other kids’ crazes like Webkinz, Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi, Pogs, and Pokemon cards.
When I was a kid, humorous sticker cards like Wacky Packages and Odd Rods were hot. Baseball cards were a big deal too.

Photo: My son’s forearm wrapped in Silly Bandz.

Remembering Kiddieland: The amusement park for kids in suburban Chicago

Kiddieland Amusement Park in Melrose Park, Ill., closed in September 2009 after 81 years in operation.
The park, located just west of Chicago, was razed to make way for a Costco.
But thanks to the Internet, memories of the park are being preserved. Theme Park Brochures, which I wrote about yesterday, has a map of Kiddieland from 2002. The Kiddieland website is still up for people to post memories of the park. Wikipedia also has an entry on Kiddieland.
Plus, a fan set up a Flickr photo page for people to contribute their snapshots to a group pool.
I was fortunate to visit Kiddieland with my two kids and my brother in May 2009, during its final season. We’ll remember the Little Dipper roller coaster, the Ferris wheel, the log flume ride, and the free soft drink fountains.

Photo: Riding the Little Dipper roller coaster at Kiddieland in Melrose Park, Ill., in May 2009.

Theme Park Brochures: Check out historic maps like Marriott’s Great America circa 1979

Here’s a fun website for people who want to reminisce about amusement parks from their youth: Theme Park Brochures.
I was able to look up a map of Marriott’s Great America in Gurnee, Ill., from 1979. The Marriott hospitality company opened the park in 1976, during the American Bicentennial. Six Flags purchased it in 1984.
I worked at Marriott’s Great America two summers while in high school in Lake County, Ill., in 1978-79. I worked in the games and arcades section of the County Fair area, running carnival games like the Ring Fling.
I have some great memories of working there. I got to hang out with some beautiful girls who worked there (Jane, Betsy, Edie, etc.) We were able to get into the park for free. Sometimes we’d get off a few hours before the park closed, change into our street clothes and ride the roller coasters.
Some of the rides are still operating, but under different names. The roller coaster I remember as Willard’s Whizzer is now just the Whizzer and the Turn of the Century is now the Demon. Other rides, such as the Tidal Wave, are gone.
I met John Willard “Bill” Marriott Jr., now chairman and CEO of Marriott International, while I was an employee of the park. “Bill,” as I called him when I shook his hand, is the son of company founder J. Willard Marriott.
In 1979, admission to Marriott’s Great America was $9.60 for adults. Today general admission to Six Flags Great America costs $54.99 (but you can buy tickets online for $34.99 each).
Now I feel old.

Photos: Front of brochure for Marriott’s Great America 1979 (top), and inside pages from the brochure (bottom).