…NYC Unveils Public Toilets of the Future, Goths Likely to Become Architects/Doctors/Lawyers, and MORE!

Happy. Birthday. To. You. William. Shatner.
First of all, we at the IMT blog wish to congratulate Mr. William Shatner, who turned 75 on Wednesday. The man whose very sense and portrayal of self defines “irony” and “ubiquity” is the very same who. brought. us. Captain. Kirk. some. decades. ago.

Then there was T.J. Hooker. And who could forget those Priceline.com commercials?

Also, he nearly makes us wet ourselves from hilarity each Tuesday night on “Boston Legal“.

Further, the blog recommends his latest album, entitled “Has Been“, which, in fact, is surprisingly very good.

Happy birthday, “Denny Crane.”

Super-Double-Secret Wal-Mart is Actually Starbucks/Whole Foods/Liquor Store Hybrid in Disguise
A new Wal-Mart Supercenter going up in Plano, TX, is unlike any other retail store shoppers have seen before, reports BusinessWeek.

In addition to a selection of fresh sushi, the new Wal-Mart offers a beer and wine selection you might expect to find at a liquor store with 1,200 different varieties available. There are 500 items that are either all natural or organic. The greeting-card aisles have been redesigned to feel more like “a cozy bookstore.” And, at a coffee shop at the entrance, customers can get a cappuccino or a latte, take it with them as they shop, or rest in a big cozy chair and surf the ‘Net on the store’s Wi-Fi system. There even are flowers in the ladies’ restroom. The men’s room, although nice, does not have flowers.

Until now, Wal-Mart has kept secret what’s been happening inside the building because of competition in retail.

City Unveils Tomorrow’s Pay Toilets
Speaking of restrooms (See previous item.), New York City officials this week unveiled prototypes for long-awaited public restrooms. Cemusa Inc. will pay the city more than $1 billion to install and maintain the street furniture in exchange for the right to sell advertising on the structures.

The coin-operated toilets will cost 25 cents for a 15-minute “session.” A warning will sound when three minutes are left. After the 15 minutes are up, the door will simply pop open.

If You Can’t Duct It…
Forbes recently compiled a list of the 20 most important tools of all time by asking a panel of scientists, historians and engineers to look at the devices that have most impacted human civilization and shaped the course of history. In hindsight, they realized they neglected perhaps the ultimate must-have power tool: duct tape.

The versatility of duct tape is amazing; even astronauts on Apollo 13 used duct tape to help put together air scrubbers to keep themselves alive. (And it cures warts!) (Then again, the government also suggested it as the must-have tool to defend one’s self from a terrorist attack…seal your windows with it? Yeah, that’ll stop ‘em.)

Chew over Forbes’ closer look at the 20th century marvel.

(via Octane Creative)

Goths Not That Dark; More Inclined to Become Architects
Does your child, clad entirely in black, sit in his room alone, in the dark, writing depressing(ly bad) poetry about “the darkness which envelops my soul and pierces the pitch-blackness of my heart that once was?”

Is your kid a Goth?

A British study now shows he is more likely to become a doctor, lawyer or architect. Researchers at Sussex University say many Goths — “identifiable by their white faces, heavy make-up, black hair, piercings and jewelry” (think Edward Scissorhands) — are just middle-class youths opting for a rebellious stint.

Says researcher Dr Dunja Brill:

They won’t like me saying it, but their lifestyle, unlike the punk scene, is a middle-class sub-culture […] Many parents start to worry because they think their children may be depressed or suicidal when they start wearing black, but this is not usually the case. Most teenagers carry on being Goths into their adult life, wearing toned-down clothes, having good jobs, a mortgage and children.

Then Again…
Then again, the above study comes from a nation whose inhabitants we’ve recently discovered:

• Are very much inclined to make naked phone calls; and who
• Wear their underwear for three days in a row, has owned a pair of underpants for more than 10 years, and wears their briefs inside out to get an extra day’s wear.

There’s good reason why you feel like such a hypocrite in judging them.

Going the Extra Mile to Protect Your Employer’s Cashflow
Soon after midnight on Thursday, a man walked into a gas-station store in Knoxville, TN, went to the back to grab a 6-pack of Bud Light, took it to the counter, where he pulled a knife and demanded cash.

The clerk, rather than forking over the money, grabbed the beer and hit the crook in the head.

Knoxville police are pretty sure the man has a large bump over his right eye, where the 6-pack made contact.

You Mean We Have to Drink Coffee on the Job Like Everyone Else?!
Danish manufacturing workers are angry over an attack on their workplace drinking habits, reports BBC.

Only 13 percent of cafeterias in manufacturing companies serve beer for lunch, down from about 75 percent three years ago. Health concerns and demands for greater efficiency have led many employers to restrict supplies and encourage workers to cut back on their drinking.

Oddly enough, employers’ efforts to restrict drinking have been met with considerable resistance. Harboe Brewery workers last year went on strike for two days after they were told to stop drinking beer on the job.

Thankfully, Terrorists Only Use Missiles and Machine Guns
A metal pin about six (6) inches long and one (1) inch thick was sucked into the engine of an F-22A Raptor, causing $6,754,275.36 in damage, an Air Force report said this week.

The incident — called “foreign-object damage” — occurred last October, when the Raptors of the 27th Fighter Squadron were preparing for night operations while deployed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The Raptors were grounded immediately and the planes remained as such the next day for remedial action. “The chief instructed the pilot to shut down the Raptor’s left engine, then scurried under the plane to remove the pin, from which a streamer hangs to make it more accessible,” reports the Daily Press.

During the removal, the streamer and pin were sucked into the right engine, destroying it, and thus costing more than $6.7 million.

Further Wussification of Our Children
Maryland senators on Wednesday debated over a bill to require youth league players to wear state-approved protective gear, reports the Baltimore Sun.

Under the proposed law, the state’s Health and Mental Hygiene Department would dictate the types of safety equipment that youth baseball leagues throughout Maryland would have to use in play.

Sen. James Brochin, Democrat of Baltimore County, argued that inaction would be unconscionable: “We’re telling 8- and 9-year-olds that when a ball is coming at you 50, 60, 65 miles per hour, if you get out of the way, great. If not, and it takes your eye out, that’s the way it goes.”

Though the specific safety gear is up for discussion, high on the priority list are facemasks for batters and protective goggles for fielders.

Millions of Bored Teens Rejoice for Newfound Efficiency
Aptly notes Gizmodo:

If there was ever a task that definitely needed an efficiency boost, it is house TP’ing. This air-powered cannon can launch toilet-paper rolls upwards of 150 feet. It’s time to finally show those pesky teachers why you are the man, Fonzie. The building plans for this project will run you $10.61.

Cheers.