Football Fail!
HAHA this is funny. I have watched a lot of football over the years and I can honestly say I have never seen this happen!
Teen gets life sentence for killing pimp who raped her
Now this just doesn’t make sense to me. A teen girl killed the man that raped her then pimped her out for 3 years was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The girl, Sara Kruzan, was 16 when she killed her rapist. Unfortunately this is not the first time this sort of thing has happened though.
There are currently 2,574 Americans serving life sentences for crimes they committed as children. This specific case has made it to the Supreme Court. Here is the full story!
9 items that are banned at Disney theme parks
If you happen to be planning a trip to any Disney theme park (Disney World, Disneyland etc.) there are 9 things you should know that are banned. Some of these may sound a bit odd, but I assure you this is real!
- Long hair
- Facial hair
- Blake Lively
- Florida State football recruits
- Costumes
- Gallows
- Kids
- Segways
- Gum
If you would like to see an explanation for each of these items here is an article with everything explained.
This might just get you in more trouble
Probably not the best idea if you want people to leave you alone (click to enlarge)
Man sues Axe after product fails to get him girls
A man in New Delhi, India is suing Axe after using their product for seven years without any success. Axe is a inexpensive body spray for guys who’s ads claim that using their product will attract girls. Vaibhav Bedi, 26, is suing the parent company Unilever for the “depression and psychological damage” caused by the lack of any Axe effect. Here is the full story.
The Three Phases of Owning a Computer
Ah I though this was funny. And very true for any of you guys that own a Windows computer, especially Dells.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/computer_phases
The last phase seemed to come very quickly the one time I bought a Dell
Guy catches daughter having sex, shoots boyfriend in balls
October 20th, 2009-the day Julian Harp almost died (or at least got his manhood blown off). Wade Edwards came home to find his daughter having sex with her boyfriend. What he did next will shock some. Edwards, instead of freaking out and stopping the two, left the room and shut the door behind him. But that is not the shocking part. Edwards isn’t that cool of a dad. He wasn’t going downstairs to let them finish. He was going to load his gun. After, he came back to the room and took aim at the boyfriend’s balls. Thank god he didn’t bust one. Julian Harp was hit in the femur and hip a total of 4 times though. He limped outside into the front yard before collapsing. A neighbor saw him and called police. Harp is expected to make a full recovery, and Edwards has been charged with attempted murder and is being held without bail. Here is a link to the full story. Enjoy!
Safety in NASCAR
Imagine being on the last lap of the Daytona 500 and hitting a concrete wall at nearly 200 miles per hour. That is what happened to the legendary Dale Earnhardt, and it killed him. Everyone assumed that he would just walk away like he had done many times before (Montville 12). NASCAR and its hardworking team of engineers have managed to turn the death of a beloved driver into several major safety improvements that have made the sport an overall safer experience for drivers and fans alike. Since the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt, safety in NASCAR has become even more of a priority, resulting in numerous improvements that have saved the lives of drivers.
There have been many single events over the years that have led to safety improvements. Unfortunately many of these events have been the death of drivers (Fleischman 235). To understand the level of safety at the time Dale Earnhardt died, one must first look back at similar tragedies that have taken place in the history of NASCAR. There have been several deaths that have directly led to improvements in an effort to ensure that the same accident does not happen again. In 1964 alone there were three incidents that claimed the life of a driver (Fleischman 238). Joe Weatherly, “Fireball” Roberts and Jimmy Pardue all died while behind the wheel of a racecar.
Joe Weatherly died instantly when he slammed into a concrete wall at Riverside International Raceway on a Sunday afternoon. He experienced a violent blow to his head. At the time, Weatherly was one of the top drivers in the field. As a two-time NASCAR champion he was also well respected among drivers and fans. Weatherly chose to only wear a simple lap safety belt, which did nothing to help keep his body parts inside the car during the wreck. Many years earlier engineers developed a shoulder harness that prevented drivers from uncontrollably dangling body parts outside the car in the event of an accident. Weatherly feared that the multi-buckle shoulder harness might delay his escape from a burning car (Fleischman 235-236). A few years after this incident a quick release lever was developed designed to disengage all the harness points of a multi-buckle safety belt at once. This eliminated drivers from giving the excuse that the shoulder harness could keep them from escaping. Weatherly’s death and a similar close call with Richard Petty also led to NASCAR mandating the use of window nets, which aimed to help keep body parts inside the car as well (Fleischman 237-238).
There were two other deaths during the 1964 season. “Fireball” Roberts died six weeks after a crash during the World 600 in May of 1964 from complications of burn injuries. It was in the beginning of the race when Roberts’s car hit the wall and burst into flames. He was pulled out of the car by a fellow driver and rushed to the hospital. A month and a half later he passed away from blood poisoning and other complications. A year after his death Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. came out with their Racesafe Fuel Cell. The fuel cell is “a military-style rubber fuel bladder” and was designed “in hopes of reducing or eliminating altogether the danger of fire.” (Fleischman 238). Jimmy Pardue died during a tire test at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While traveling at speeds close to 150 miles per hour a tire exploded, causing him to loose control of his car and hit the steel railing. This led Goodyear to develop a tire with a safety inner liner, designed to reduce the risk of failure (Fleischman 238). The tragic death of each of these three drivers directly led to safety improvements that are still used by drivers today.
Thankfully it does not always take the death of a driver for someone to realize that there are shortcomings in safety technology. There have been several accidents and close calls that did not result in death that have led to important safety features. The invention of roof and cowl flaps was sparked after driver Rusty Wallace took several rides through the air at Talladega and Daytona. There was one incident in particular where Wallace was tracked by radar at a local airport. The owner of the team he drove for, Jack Roush, designed flaps in the roof and other parts of that car that were intended to stay flat during normal racing procedures, but pop up during the event of a crash in an attempt to increase down force and help keep the car on the ground (Fleischman 241). These flaps are still used today and are an important component of every racecar.
Dale Earnhardt had many close calls over the years before the crash that ended his life. One accident in 1996 at Talladega had a vast impact on the way the chassis of the racecar was designed. Earnhardt’s car hit the wall before being T-boned, sending his car sliding on its roof. After the incident NASCAR officials examined the wreckage and determined that Earnhardt survived the crash because he was using an extra roll bar that prevented the roof from caving in. Only weeks after the occurrence, NASCAR began requiring the use of this particular roll bar (Fleischman 241).
Today NASCAR officials take many precautions to try and prevent a wreck from even occurring. Many times a caution will be called during a race for debris on the track that may cause a crash. Fans do not particularly like this as it slows down the race and stops drivers from getting in a groove. Drivers are not too keen about it either, but they have a better understanding on why it is necessary. Data from over the years does not exactly support this though. It seems that the number of cautions and the number of wrecks have a positive correlation (see Fig. 1).
NASCAR is an acronym for National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (Kessler). It was founded by Bill France in 1948 (Kenyeres). France wanted to keep the cars as stock as possible. Richard Petty, the all time wins leader, reflected back on the early days of NASCAR saying “There was many a time Daddy loaded me and Maurice and Mamma in the family car, drove it to a race, put us out, raced that same car, then loaded everybody back up and took us back home in it.” (Fleischman 238-239). Today NASCAR is still family owned and run by France’s two sons, Bill and Jim.
NASCAR has come a long way since the days of racing the family car. Modern technology has changed the way racecars are designed, the safety equipment that drivers wear, and the tracks that drivers race on. There are three huge improvements that any NASCAR fan you ask will know about, or at least heard of: the car of tomorrow (now the car of today), the HANS Device, and SAFER barrier walls.
The most recent change in NASCAR is the switch from the car of yesterday to the car of tomorrow, more commonly known as the COT. After years of research and development NASCAR’s top series, the Sprint Cup Series, adopted the new car full time. The COT is full of many improvements intended to keep drivers safe during and after a crash. The COT is also designed to lower costs and increase competition (Stewart 1).
One major change in the COT versus the old car is the position of the driver. “The cockpit is 2 inches taller and 4 inches wider, and the driver sits 4 inches closer to the car’s centerline, all to increase the crush space.” (Stewart 2). There is also the addition of 4 inches of “impact-absorbing foam added to both doors” to try and reduce the amount of energy the driver receives in the event of a crash. The car’s fuel cell has been made smaller, the door is larger so the driver can escape more easily, and the roll cage has been reinforced (Stewart 2).
The changes have had a clear impact on the sport. Earlier this year on the last lap of a race at Talladega, Carl Edwards experienced a horrific crash. His car was hit by another car and sent airborne into the fence protecting the fans, then flipped several times before coming to a stop. Edwards not only got out of the car under his own power, but he ran across the finish line, uninjured, to finish the race. Unfortunately seven fans were injured as a result of the car hitting the fence. NASCAR immediately ordered the fences to be raised from 14 feet to 22 feet, hoping to prevent the same thing from happening again (Menzer 2). NASCAR was pleased though at the way the car protected the driver. It is an amazing feat when a driver can be in a crash like the one Edwards was in and run across the finish line right after.
Not everything about the COT has been positive though. There have been many complaints from drivers and fans. Some drivers are having a difficult time adjusting to the way the newly designed car handles. Eric Warren, technical director for Evernham Motorsports, acknowledged that “teams are definitely struggling” when it comes to adjusting to the COT (Stewart 1). The cars are less aerodynamic than before and there are fewer options that teams are given when it comes to chassis set-up. Many drivers complain that if you lose the pack at a superspeedway like Talladega or Daytona, you will not be able to catch up (Stewart 2).
The COT is not the only piece of technology and innovation that keeps drivers safe. The HANS device, which stands for Head And Neck Support system, is a huge breakthrough in the way drivers are protected during a crash. In October of 2001, seven months after the death of Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR began requiring that everyone wear a HANS device while behind the wheel of a racecar (Bonsor 2). The device, which is a collar that drivers wear around their neck and attach to their helmets, is designed to “reduce the chance of injury caused by unrestrained movement of the head during crashes.” The device is made from carbon fiber and Kevlar and weighs only 1.5 pounds (Bonsor 1). Before NASCAR required the use of the HANS device drivers had the option of wearing it. Many drivers chose not to, claiming that it was too bulky and would be uncomfortable, as well as make it difficult to escape from the car during emergencies (Bonsor 2).
One final important improvement that has been made since the death of Dale Earnhardt is not part of the car or not something that the driver wears, but is part of the track. SAFER barrier walls, which stands for Steel and Foam Energy Reduction and are also knows as a “soft wall,” were introduced and are designed to help absorb the impact of the crash. “The SAFER barrier consists of sections of 3/16 of an inch thick steel tubing, 28 feet long and 8 inches in diameter, backed with thick, closed-cell foam block and retrofitted to the existing retaining wall of a racetrack…the overall wall system is designed to attenuate some of the kinetic energy coming in from the impacting vehicle and mitigate the severity of the crash had it contacted a concrete wall.” (Siska 1). The SAFER barrier is truly a technological breakthrough when it comes to saving the lives of drivers. The late Steve Peterson, the former technical director of NASCAR, played a critical roll in the design and adoption of SAFER barrier walls. Peterson always had a “safety first” attitude. Paulie Harraka, a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity, recalled Peterson always working “tirelessly on safety initiatives in our sport.” (Harrakah 1).
The face of NASCAR has really changed since the death of Dale Earnhardt. NASCAR and many other companies have worked tirelessly in an effort to make the sport as safe as possible. Although not all the changes have been welcomed with warm hearts and open hands, everyone agrees that safety is extremely important and should continue to be a priority in the eyes of drivers and NASCAR officials. Since the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt, safety in NASCAR has become even more of a priority, resulting in numerous improvements that have saved the lives of drivers. Hopefully the days of a tragedy having to occur to bring about change are over. With modern technology NASCAR officials and engineers will be able to identify potential flaws and fix the issue before an injury or death occurs.
Hello world!
Hello! This is my first post using WordPress! What an exciting moment! In many posts to come I plan on sharing with you any funny and interesting stories I come across while playing around on the internet (which, by the way, I spend way too much time doing). I hope you enjoy what I have to offer and come back everyday to learn something while laughing!
