Nisheisha lives in Jamaica, but there’s no chance you will find her home. I have learned from experience that you never trust directions given by children or by people who do not drive. I’ve also learned from experience that those are the people who will ask you for a ride. Oh, they may be able to show you where they live, but you’ll be past a turn before they tell you to turn “back there.” Go ahead, ask a child near you for directions to some nearby landmark! -via Cynical-C

I know altering street signs is one of the more dangerous forms of graffiti, but in most cases the changes are minor enough that the sign’s effect is still obvious they’re just a lot more funny now. WebUrbanist has a great collection of some of the funniest altered signs around.

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I think the craziest road I ever drove on was the one lane, ocean-side freeway that hangs over California’s cliffs on the Coast Highway 101. While that got a little intense at parts, it was nothing compared to the terrifying roads seen in this Mental Floss article.

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During a recent automobile trip to Washington, D.C., the author noted with alarm that two cities, Washington and Baltimore, appeared to be moving away from each other.

Figure 1

Materials and Methods

The author made his observations while driving on route I-70 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C.

I used the following equipment:

1) a 1996 Saturn 4-door sedan (silver) equipped with an in-dash chronometer; and

2) a 35-millimeter camera.

Time measurements between road signs were taken, and photographs of the road signs were made using 400-speed color film.

A bag of tortilla chips was consumed during the experiment. Later mathematical modeling and analysis showed both the bag and the chips to be unrelated to the main results of this study.

Results

Two observations tell the story.

An interval of 48 minutes, as recorded by the in-dash chronometer, elapsed between the taking of the photographs that are here labeled Figure 1 and Figure 2.

Figure 2

In the first observation (see Figure 1), it is clear that Washington and Baltimore were 125 and 127 miles distant, respectively. The two cities were—at that time—separated from each other by a distance of 2 miles.

The second observation (see Figure 2) was made just 48 minutes later. At that time, Washington and Baltimore were 67 and 71 miles distant, respectively. The separation between the two cities had increased from 2 miles to 4 miles.

A simple calculation shows that, during that 48 minute period, a drift of 2 miles had occurred between the cities. The drift rate was a whopping 220 feet per minute (2.5 miles per hour).

Interpretation

A late-twentieth-century USGS topographical map of the northeastern United States, including the Baltimore-Washington region. This map may have to be revised.

Ruling out time dilation effects (which we can do because our Saturn automobile never exceeded the 65 miles-per-hour legal speed limit, which is several magnitudes of order below the speed of light), the most likely explanation is the existence of a previously unknown tectonic plate, with a fault line lying somewhere between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland.

The discovery of this plate (call it, say, the “Palucka Plate”) and the associated fault line (which I propose to call “Not Palucka’s Fault”) marks a new chapter in the history of geotectonic research.

Discussion

The drift rate greatly exceeds reported drift rates of other tectonic plates, which are generally on the order of 1 inch per year. This has many implications. The most immediate is that the White House, the Capitol, the Smithsonian Institution and other government buildings will become beachfront property in just a matter of days from now. This implication itself has implications, which unfortunately are beyond the scope of the current paper.

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This article is republished with permission from the November-December 2007 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift!

Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.

This video allegedly shows a machine that can lay 400 yards of brick road a day. But I can’t find any information about it beyond Internet buzz. What do you think — is it real?

via Gizmodo

Waze has a list of the most dangerous or complex roads in the world, including the above Lysebotn Road in Norway:

This is probably the most fun road you can travel on four wheels, and then maybe on your two legs checking out the various hiking trails leading from the area. In fact, this might be considered the most breathtaking place in Europe. It all starts with the narrow road up the steep walls of the Lysefjord, Norway. It has 27 switchbacks and a 1.1 km long tunnel at the bottom, with 3 switchbacks inside. The last 30 km of Lysebotn road is a true roller-coaster! It’s narrow but has a perfect surface, winding left and right all the time. If you happen to ride a motorcycle in Norway, then this is the road you simply cannot afford to miss!

Beyond simply dangerous roads, the post also includes pictures of and information about very complicated interchanges.

Link via The Presurfer | Photo: Rick McCharles

Simon Seeks has compiled a list of the most dangerous roads in the world. Many feature rock slide hazards, hair pin turns, steep cliffs and no guard rails. Still, it’s amazing just how beautiful some of these deadly roads are –often because the views from these places are unbelievable.

Link Image Via Damian Morys [Flickr]

Theories differ, but there’s no doubt Napoleon was a major influence. The French have used the right since at least the late 18th century (there’s evidence of a Parisian “keep-right” law dating to 1794). Some say that before the French Revolution, aristocrats drove their carriages on the left, forcing the peasantry to the right. Amid the upheaval, fearful aristocrats sought to blend in with the proletariat by traveling on the right as well. Regardless of the origin, Napoleon brought right-hand traffic to the nations he conquered, including Russia, Switzerland and Germany. Hitler, in turn, ordered right-hand traffic in Czechoslovakia and Austria in the 1930s. Nations that escaped right-handed conquest, like Great Britain, preserved their left-handed tradition.

Link via Outside the Beltway

Image by flickr user multitrack used under creative commons license.

DarkRoastedBlend has what is indesputably the most comprehensive and impressive collection of dangerous roads around the world – and part six to the ongoing series is no exception.

Want to feel happy and safe? Then gaze on this picture for a while, because the rest of this page is only going to unnerve and distress you.

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