"I spend 15 minutes on a crappy web site answering survey questions only to find the code inside this package is not a winner? That's just not right."

X-Wing Fighter - Ice Tray

Imagine if HyperCard were combined with the Gopher protocol back in the day to download cards or stacks from remote locations like we do web pages today. Perhaps LOL Cats might have evolved decades earlier in a 1-bit Floyd–Steinberg dithered form.

The problem with this is that, from the bank's perspective, the kid did everything correctly because the system is engineered so that you will eventually fail and incur fees. This is true of not just banks, but also with store credit cards (take a look at the terms on a jewelry store credit card), cell phone contracts or anything else that "ties" you into a long term relationship with a corporation.

From the corporation's perspective you exist to be exploited and separated from your money as quickly as possible - preferably in a way that also penalizes you if you wish to terminate the relationship.

I remember watching both Bob Ross and William Alexander before him in the early Saturday morning hours on PBS (channel 2, Boston).

Even after all these years, I still have my "Mighty Fan Brush"

Dogs have owners, cats have staff.

I work with a Revolutionary War living history group that does this on some occasions. When I was finally taught how to do this, I was harder than I thought it would be - mostly due to the size of the spadroon I was using. I've since found that a smaller swords work better.

This looks like a high end version of a tool I used to use back when I was restocking newspaper boxes. You insert most of the way in into the coin slot, then pull up so you can restock the box without having to carry around a pocket full of quarter slugs. I made mine out of a regular wire hanger.

One large "I Heart 8 Bit Video Games" T Plz.

Oddly, the version of the song in the video is not quite the same as the one used in Civ IV. Compare with the one here:

Samples > Civilization IV (the first one)
http://www.tinworksmusic.com/

And what marketing research firm showed that people were willing to put up with this?

I remember this place in Boston that was somewhere on near Allston/Brighton Green line in the late 80s/early 90s that served similarly sized hamburgers. I think it was called Arbuckle's. I only went there twice, but I remember the burgers there where HUGE.

Anyone know if that place still exists?

Yep, that's more-or-less the way it was at Big Pharma when I was there. Except, when you did get an email containing more than 3 paragraphs for a VP or above it was usually a sanitized version why someone's Golden Parachute was activated and how we should all wish them well on their new endeavor. Those emails tended to be rather long, with a psudo blue pen signature graphic at the bottom (first name only).

Also, Along the lines of what was mentioned by moop2000, anything sent via CrackBerry would always be less than one paragraph no matter who sent it or what level they were.