Whythenose.com is dedicated to the act of wearing a clown nose, in order to make people smile.

It’s really that simple. In a world filled with distractions and distrust, you’d be amazed at how many people (of all ages) have lost a sense of innocence. Or maybe you wouldn’t…

Wearing a clown nose is fun, it’s childlike, it’s easy and it’s free (if you already have the nose)

You can enjoy the images, send it to someone who needs a smile, or submit your own pictures. Link -via Metafiilter

Around 1963, a McDonald’s in Washington, D.C., decided to boost business by sponsoring “Bozo’s Circus,” a children’s show featuring future “Today Show” weatherman Willard Scott.

It was very successful, increasing sales by 30 percent fairly quickly.

As part of the show, Scott created a new character, Ronald McDonald, that looked much different than the famed clown seen today.

This Ronald had a food tray for a hat and a paper cup for his nose, but Smith says corporation executives were able to see the possibilities for something even more iconic.

But it was another clown who refined the character into a company mascot. Read all about the history of the McDonalds clown at AOL Weird News. Link

Previously: Ronald McDonald’s first ad.

There’s really no trick to clown cars, according to Car and Driver. No trap doors, no hidden panels, and the cars are made from real cars. The vehicle’s guts are totally removed and clowns are crammed in every which way. In fact, they even know exactly how many clowns different car makes and models will hold (the original VW bug holds 17 while the original Mini Cooper can fit 21).

Link

To test the idea, the research team had a medical clown visit their fertility clinic periodically over one year. Of the 219 women in the study, half underwent embryo transfer on a day the clown was at the clinic.

During recovery from the procedure, each woman had a 15-minute visit from the clown, who performed a specific routine created by Friedler – who has studied movement and mime – and a colleague.

The researchers found that, compared to women who came to the clinic on a "non-clown" day, those who’d had a laugh were more than twice as likely to become pregnant, when other factors such as age, type of infertility and the number of embryos transferred, were taken into account.

Link – via Discoblog

One protestor, Fips the Clown, said: ”We are protesting because we feel the Alton Towers Resort’s new horror maze, Carnival of Screams, is an unfair depiction of clowns.

”It only serves to reinforce stereotypes of clowns as evil.

”I can’t believe this – it has taken us years to get over Stephen King’s ‘IT’ and now this just adds to further damage the reputation of clowns worldwide.

”This will do for clowns what Jaws did for sharks.”

The Carnival of Screams will only be open from October 16 through the 31st. Link -via Arbroath

Just kidding. A charity in Northern Ireland is recruiting clowns to entertain sick children in hospitals and hospices:

Clowndoctor Elaine Duncan, aka Dr Twinkle, said she loved to see the smiles on children’s faces.

"The children have the choice whether they want to chat or play with us as we want to make sure they feel as comfortable as possible," she said.

"It’s great when you do something that makes them giggle and you know they are having fun."

It’s a story just begging to be made into a movie. Hollywood, can you feel it? A real life story inspiring a movie inspiring a real life story? Someone call Robin Williams! Wait, what? Oh …

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte told reporters he plans to tickle the professional astronauts while they’re sleeping, and he’s also bringing red clown noses to try to lighten things up on the orbiting station.

“I’m a person with a pretty high spirit, who’s there to crack jokes and make jokes to those guys, and while they’re sleeping, you know, I’ll be tickling them,” Laliberte said.

Laliberte will also use his trip to raise awareness of world drinking water issues. Link -via Dave Barry’s Blog

A clown has been told he cannot wear his giant comedy shoes during his act because they breach health and safety rules.

Valerik Kashkin broke a toe after falling from a high-wire and has been told his size 18s were to blame.

His bosses have now banned the clown – whose routine also includes playing a drum kit, trumpet and double bass at the same time – from using the outsize footwear and ordered him to perform barefoot, instead.

Link

"My season started in February," says Martin Lacey, owner of the Great British Circus, "and I’ve got comedy acrobats stranded in the Ukraine, and Mongolian horse riders who were refused their visas in Ulan Batur." The holes in his lineup have forced Lacey to draft last-minute substitutes. "Our Mexican clown is stuck in Mexico, so we’ve got a trapeze artist pretending to be a stooge just to get everybody out of trouble," he says. "It’s a mess."

And it’s totally incompatible with the needs of Britain’s circus sector. According to Malcolm Clay, secretary of the Association of Circus Proprietors of Great Britain, British circus schools don’t produce artists at an acceptable standard, largely because their students refine skills like tightrope walking or fire-breathing as a hobby, not as part of a life-long career. As a result, British circuses rely on artists from countries with long-established histories of state-sponsored circus schools: they call on Argentina and Colombia for their renowned high wire acts, China and North Korea for acrobats, and Mongolia and Russia for horse riders. (Interestingly, they don’t need to import bearded ladies.)

Link

It’s easy to make a clown horrifying, but Angus MacLane managed to make a clown adorable. Click here for a gallery of images of his Lego Clown Tank.

Previously on Neatorama: Kung Fu Clowns.