School Violence

Dead Presidents

If John McCain is elected and goes on to win a second term, there's as much as a one-in-four chance America could see its first woman president — Sarah Palin.

It's actuarial math!

The odds highly favor either McCain or Barack Obama completing a first term in good health. After that, McCain's odds are still fairly solid, but his chances of dying or being in poor health go up faster than Obama's, mainly because of his age.

An actuarial company specializing in life expectancy has run the numbers for McCain (72) and Obama (47), calculating the odds of the candidates dying in office, adjusted for their known health problems. McCain would be the oldest president to begin a first term in office. By the end of a second term in early 2017, he would have a 24.44% chance of dying, compared with 5.76% for Obama, they estimate.

The firm estimates that McCain has a health expectancy of 8.4 years, while Obama can expect another 21.9 years of good health. The calculations are from January 2009, covering two terms in office for either candidate. McCain, if he's like others in his age group, would have a cushion of just about five months. But no one really knows - health expectancy calculations for insurance is relatively new. The estimates for McCain and Obama relied on medical information disclosed by the candidates.

The Democratic candidate was classified with minor upper respiratory problems, probably linked to his smoking. Obama announced in February that he was trying to quit smoking again, with the aid of nicotine gum. In the spring, the Obama campaign released a letter from the candidate's doctor declaring him to be in excellent health. He had very good cholesterol levels, his EKG was normal, his pulse was 60 beats per minute, and his blood pressure was an outstanding 90 over 60. Obama also exercises regularly, but has a family history of cancer. His mother died of ovarian cancer and his maternal grandfather died of prostate cancer. Obama's PSA screening test for prostate cancer showed no sign of abnormalities.

From the Republican, McCain allowed reporters to review eight years of medical records, more than 1,000 pages. They show that he is cancer-free, has a strong heart and is generally in good health. As a three-time melanoma survivor, his biggest health worry is a recurrence of that cancer. But he is closely watched by his dermatologist, and any future melanoma should be caught in time to be treated successfully. McCain maintains a healthy weight and blood pressure, and takes medication for his cholesterol. To underscore his chances of long life, he's campaigned with his mother (96).

Vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin have not released their medical records, although Biden has promised to. Biden, 65, had surgery 20 years ago to repair a life-threatening brain aneurysm. He was out of the Senate for seven months while he recuperated but says he's fine now. Palin, 44, a mother of five, gave birth earlier this year to a son, Trig, who was born with Down syndrome.

For Brisk Hoth Nights

If you want to nerd out Star Wars style, there are limited edition Storm Trooper and Boba Fett hoodies available now. What, you thought the Rebel Alliance was going to dress you?

Abandoned Asia

Abandoned buildings, properties and places take on remarkably different aesthetic character and are treated differently from one culture to the next - particularly in Asian nations where beliefs about the cultural roll of architecture or the whims of a dictator can vary greatly. From the Near East to the Far East, here are some abandonments.

The Lawless Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

In the rogue ungoverned Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong things were so tightly packed that trash blocked off parts of buildings and many occupied apartments literally never saw the light of day. Like something straight from a William Gibson novel, there were no police or building codes - there was no law. For nearly 50 years this slice of Hong Kong was allowed to exist and grow independently due to a legal technicality. After the Japanese left following the second World War squatters swarmed to fill the space, with the population at 10,000 people (living on seven acres) by the early 1970s - a combination of dissidents, outlaws and both organized and disorganized criminals. Professionals who couldn’t get a license set up shop, criminals hiding from the law thrived, and the self-organized community grew to 35,000. Then in 1993 everything changed - no one wants to deal with this lawless place anymore and it is promptly destroyed and turned into a park.

The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea

The Ryugyong Hotel in the capital city of Pyongyang, North Korea, was supposed to be a record-setting testament to the power, pride and ingenuity of one of the most totalitarian and self-insulating nations in the world. The building, meant to be a core monument to the strength of North Korea, was added to city maps and stamps before it was even half-built and was all set to be the tallest hotel in the world. At first the project simply ran out of funding, then as the low-quality concrete of which it was built began to sag and crack the sobering reality began to set it: the structure would need a massive overhaul to ever be completed. Now it goes unmentioned by tour guides, absent from maps and stamps, a symbolic blight towering on the capital city skyline.

The Pod City of San Zhi, Taiwan

Rumors abound regarding this legendary abandoned pod city (aka ‘UFO town’) of San Zhi, Taiwan, which was supposedly built by the government of Taipei to be a luxury resort for expensive holidays on the water. Built in the 1970s or early 1980s the modularity of the designs has raised retroactive suspicions that perhaps these stacks were intended to be built vertically over time. Theories on the abandonment of this massively strange undertaken range from poor insulation in a difficult climate, the dissolution of business partnerships, the failure of a regional real estate bubble or even that so many workers died during construction that the place was abandoned as haunted - unable to be destroyed out of a cultural taboo on interfering with the homes of spirits and lost souls. See it from above using Google Maps.

The Abandoned City of Agdam, Azerbaijan

Once a capital city with over 150,000 people Agdam, Azerbaijan has been variously treated as a ghost town, a no-man’s-land and a military buffer zone in a troubled area of the world. In the 1990s it was vandalized and largely destroyed during Armenian occupation, its buildings looted and gutted and its mosque completely covered in graffiti. Currently considered part of Armenia this husk of a city sits in the heart of an area that is at the core of conflicted set of nations from Russia in the north and Georgia in the northwest to Armenia and Iran in the soutwest and south. It also sits at the curious geographical intersection of Europe and Asia, ambiguously defined as being part of both or either one of these continents. Given turmoil in the region it is unlikely to be rebuilt anytime soon - if ever - and its citizens have been displaced in all directions with little likelihood of returning home.

Bokor Hill Station in Phnom Bokor, Cambodia

Bokor Hill Station is located on the mountain of Phnom Bokor, Cambodia and accessible only by a long trek across an overgrown dirt road to an elevation of 3,000 feet. At the top? The remains of a 1920s French retreat that has been deserted since the second World War including a hotel, casino, church, police station, post office, royal residences and other support structures. And today? The damage from mortar shells can be seen in shattered windows, crumbling staircases and decimated walls. The Khmer Rouge removed everything of any value - including the very wiring in the walls of the buildings. The ruins were later taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1970s before they were finally and permanently abandoned, though land mines in the area remain a danger to visitors who stray from the beaten path. Originally built due to the relatively temperate climate and wonderful views to the coast the area still boasts great sites from waterfalls to jungles and a vast array of wildlife.

Opko Land Theme Park in Opko, South Korea

Once a thriving amusement park Opko Land in Opko, South Korea was abandoned after a young girl was killed in a tragic accident while on one of the ride’s. Though the park was shut down and deserted the family of the unfortunate victim was never compensated for their loss. Most of the structures remain more-or-less intact including roller coasters, bumper cars, a pool building and various smaller rides. The top image above was taken from the highest point of the roller coaster - an ambitious location to seek out and shoot from given the partial disrepair of so much structural elements in this abandoned amusement park. One would think they would go all the way and destroy these buildings before some adventurous building infiltrators and urban explorers hurt themselves.

Chiang Shopping Complex in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The Five Chiang Shopping Complex is a beautiful series of interlocked wooden structures that once constituted one of the most magnificent malls in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a city which (including sprawl) has nearly a million inhabitants. The city attracts many tourists each year who are drawn in part to local handcrafted goods such as umbrellas, jewelry and woodcarving - some of which is evidenced in the wooden decorations, balconies and terraces of this deserted shopping center. The complex was an international joint project that fell victim to conflicting political opinions and a depressed Thai economy and now sits remarkably intact but closed, locked and boarded and utterly unused. However, the local guards are reportedly quite friendly and a few kind words can let you slip past and get some essential background questions answered.

Bat-Horrible

I dare you to find ten worse minutes of film. This is the compilation from hell - the Batman & Robin movie in it's most amazingly horrible, fantastically loathsome essence. It's a rock-hard diamond of pure shit, without a single frame of something not awful happening or being said. It's absolutely amazing.

Inside The Asshole's Studio

So despite the fact that studio head Harvey Weinstein and producer Scott Rudin are basically the same person (and possibly Len Grossman), they’re in the middle of a big fight. At issue is The Reader, a movie Billy Elliot director Steven Daldry did for The Weinstein Company. The film was first delayed 8 weeks by Nicole Kidman’s pregnancy, then faced another, even sexier delay when they had to wait for one of the actors to turn 18 so she could shoot a sex scene. Even though it started shooting four months behind schedule, Harvey still wanted it finished in time for awards season (deadline is in November), despite that the director, who officially had creative control, said that was basically impossible. Rudin, who backed the director, claims Weinstein explored a number of sleazy options for forcing him to finish earlier, including claiming recently deceased producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella “would have wanted” the movie finished in 2008 (I use that strategy with chicks all the time). But this is all backstory. You can get the full rundown here.

Today’s news is that Weinstein offered to give $1 million to charity if someone could produce the supposed email in which Rudin accused him of mistreating Anthony Minghella’s and Sydney Pollack’s families. It seems a charity is in luck, because Nikki Finke just published it:

[From Scott Rudin, who apparently writes just like Variety] Also HW [Harvey Weinstein] went to Minghella’s widow and tried to insert himself into Mirage’s editorial rights so as to insist the film be released this year – which Sydney stopped just before he died. [Harvey] Harrassed Sydney on his deathbed until the family asked him to stop because he wanted Sydney to warrant that we would deliver for release this year.

Adds Finke: As for Scott Rudin, he confirmed to me Monday night that it is his email and claimed that Weinstein’s people pestered him “to protect Harvey and deny the email and lie to Page Six” — so he said he did “in order to keep peace for the next weeks that the two of us still have to work together on The Reader.”

Phew! So there you have it. Jerks.

Palin-O-Matic

Sarah Palin isn't granting interviews to just anyone, and certainly not you. But with the miracle of technology, you too can ask her questions and get wildly incoherrent and stupid answers.

Q: How will you fix the economy?
The economy and putting it back on the side of the United States, in my world, those are the ones who say Israel is a stinking corpse and should be wiped off the face of the Congress today, they know that there are very, very important to us and they don't flag, you know, that has to be a comprehensive, long-term solution found for this problem that America has to be provided the hope that all Americans have, instilled in us, because we're a democratic, we are at a crisis time like this. I'm not looking at poll numbers. What I know is that profound and that important an issue like this also.

Q: What is the role of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Iraq that John McCain has a great plan to get people to understand what he's been talking about the need to have all options in order to stop the terrorists and stopping them over there. do not like the community of New York. Never again. So yes, I do bring to this table, and that's the beauty of American elections, of course, that is what America needs today. I'll try to kind of that closed door, good old boy network that has been allowed to be a comprehensive, long-term solution found for this problem that we have to second-guess what their efforts would be if they believe that it is to take the fight over there.

Q: What is your foreign policy experience?
Alaska Oil and coal? Of course, it's a fungible commodity and they are right there, they are violent, and they do not believe in American ideals. And they attacked us. And now we are able to use them. So we have opportunities for good change. We have opportunity for a healthier, safer, more prosperous and energy-independent nation at this time. People are getting into crisis mode here. I think our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan will lead to war and it doesn't have to lead, as I said, to a Cold War, but economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, again, counting on our allies to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership qualities and the 49th state, Alaska, and Russia.

Try for yourself!

Funhouse Living

If you're living in psychotic surroundings, you must be in Japan!

To NY-based architect-poets (what the fuck is that?) and “reversible destiny” philosophers Arakawa & Gins, comfort deserves only a limited role in the home. In their vision, a home that keeps its inhabitants young and healthy should provide perpetual challenges. A tentative relationship with your environment, they argue, is key to “reversing the downhill course of human life.”

The Reversible Destiny Lofts are designed to stimulate the senses and force inhabitants to use balance, physical strength and imagination, the lofts feature uneven floors, oddly positioned power switches and outlets, walls and surfaces painted a dizzying array of colors, a tiny exit to the balcony, a transparent shower room, irregularly shaped curtainless windows, and more.

For the insane adventurous, two rental units are now available for 220,000 and 250,000 yen ($2,000/$2,400) per month, which is a bit pricey for Tokyo, but not outrageous. Short-term stays can also be arranged, but why go half-crazy?

Uh...Yikes?

Scarlett said that while the stock drop was certainly not the biggest percentage wise in market history, the actual loss of income was about a trillion dollars of wealth. Suckers. At least the govenment is planning to bail out these failing...uh, guess not. Looking around the interweb, looks like it's not going over so well...

Asian stocks plunge after rejection of bailout - because if there's nobody to buy all those Sony and Nintendo products here, Japan is fucked.

House vote against bailout wounds McCain - I don't think he'll get a Purple Heart for this, and God forbid the House puts him in a prison camp again.

Dow plummets record 777 as financial rescue fails - it could have been 666, right?

Jobless claims pushed to 7-year high - who sawhat one coming either

Ex-teacher in Neb. gets 6 years in sex case - this has nothing to do with the economic failure, but just more bad news in general if you're a 26 year old woman who can only get your sex on with a 13 year old.

Superjail

Of course it's on Adult Swim. Awesome.

Le Projet Triangle

Le Project Triangle is one of those buildings that looks crazy as hell and impossible to build, but supercool. To be completed by 2014 in the Porte de Versailles area in Paris, its most impressive feature is that, according to the architects, it won't cast shadows on adjacent buildings. The trick is the orientation and its shape - while it looks like a massive pyramid from one side, the other side shows that it really is an ultra-thin triangle resembling a shark's fin.

Perhaps it will be oriented in such a way that the sun doesn't project shadows over the buildings around it. Architects Herzog & de Meuron say that their stunning structure's shape will also allow for "optimum solar and wind power generation." This is their press release:

“Le Projet Triangle” is primarily perceived on the metropolitan scale of the city of Paris. Its elevated stature will lend major visibility to the Porte de Versailles and the Parc des Expositions site within the overall conurbation. It will also permit its integration in the system of axes and perspectives that constitute the urban fabric of Paris.

On the scale of the Porte de Versailles site, the project will also play a significant role in the reorganization of flows and perception of urban space. The Parc des Expositions site currently forms a break between the Haussmanian fabric of the 15th district of Paris and the communities of Issy-les-Moulineaux and Vanves, emphasised by the visual impact of the peripheral boulevard.

The construction of an ambitious building on the Porte de Versailles site will mark its opening and restore the historical axis formed by the rue de Vaugirard and avenue Ernest Renan.

The square of the Porte de Versailles is a complex space in its current configuration. Its initial semi-circular organisation is difficult to interpret given the many visual impediments and lack of clearly identified public spaces between the Parc des Expositions and the buildings opposite.

Building on the square itself would intensify this problem of perception: our project therefore proposes to free this space by positioning itself along the avenue Ernest Renan.

This move offers three major advantages :

It permits the creation of a public square between the boulevard Victor and Hall 1 of the Parc des Expositions, by reorganising logistic flows.

It creates a strong link between what are known as the “petit” and “grand” parcs, the two parts of the Parc des Expositions.

It marks the Paris / Issy-les-Moulineaux axis, allowing the urban space to cross the peripheral boulevard by activating the entire facade of the avenue Ernest Renan.

Situated along the avenue, the project is located at the heart of the Parc des Expositions site, set back from the surrounding residential areas. Its volumetry also takes into account the impact of a high building on its environment. Its triangular shape actually means that it does not cast shadows on adjacent buildings. The environmental approach of the project is also perceptible in this simple, compact volumetry which limits its ground impact and allows the optimum utilisation of solar and wind power due to its excellent positioning.

Apart from its structural and technical qualities, the filigree, crystalline nature of the project permits its integration in the system of perspectives formed by the Hausmannian axes. This dialogue with the city is not however limited to its silhouette, but also defines the internal organisation and texture of the project.

The Triangle is conceived as a piece of the city that could be pivoted and positioned vertically. It is carved by a network of vertical and horizontal traffic flows of variable capacities and speeds. Like the boulevards, streets and more intimate passages of a city, these traffic flows carve the construction into islets of varying shapes and sizes.

This evocation of the urban fabric of Paris, at once classic and coherent in its entirety and varied and intriguing in its details, is encountered in the façade of the Triangle. Like that of a classical building, this one features two levels of interpretation: an easily recognisable overall form and a fine, crystalline silhouette of its façade which allows it to be perceived variously.

This “vertical city” district stands in close relation to its environment and is accessible to a highly diverse public. Taking up the analogy of urban squares, it offers each individual the opportunity to enter a complex of spaces open to all on its levels.

The base of the project is open to all, from the square of the Porte de Versailles and along the avenue Ernest Renan which regains the appearance of a Parisian street, with its shops and restaurants. An elevated square, on level with the roofs of Paris, will offer everyone a unique view of the district and the whole city. This visit might then be extended in the higher reaches of the Triangle, from where the entire metropolis can be discovered.

The Triangle will thus become one of the scenes of metropolitan Paris. It will not only be a landmark from which the urban panorama can be viewed, but also an outstanding silhouette in the system of axes and monuments of the city.

More Bells Chiming?

The birthday fairy also blesses Les Claypool of Primus today. And he blesses you with some badass basslines.

Tommy The Cat

Master Of Puppets

Nature Boy

Animoneygami

It's money and origami and animals! More galleries here and here.

Dive Of The Dead

Yeah, that's a zombie fighting a shark. Because it's Monday morning, and you need it.

Chapter Eighteen

His Words - Not Mine, per usual, dropping a new chapter on you every Monday like that coyote rigging a safe over a roadrunner. Except we hit every time.

Hail Hail

Famous Sister turns ___ years old today. Hark ye angels and rejoice in this happy birthday! In keeping with our anonimity, you can picture a cross between Ashley Judd and Anne Hathaway with with a legal background.

While We Were Out

Just because we took a few days off doesn't mean there wasn't news...

Mets flop on final day again to miss playoffs / Mets help Brewers earn 1st playoff spot since 1982 - Scarlett cheers while New York weeps...again. And you know it's sad when of the two NY squads, the Mets are the ball team that has a shot at the preseason.

Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds marry in Canada - Another beautiful couple makes it legal. The third messaiah now pending birth.

UCLA group discovers humongous prime number - Allegedly, it had something to do with all the school's football team losses

Heather Locklear arrested in Calif. on DUI count - And they said her career was so far gone she couldn't get arrested in this town.

Wachovia bank in talks to be bought: sources - House of cards or dominos? I smell the next failure...

Mexico pushes national campaign to lose weight - No plans to push national Stop Illegal Immigration campaign.

Hollywood legend Paul Newman dies, aged 83 - Maybe he shouldn't have eaten those 50 eggs.

Pope says tourists must not harm the planet - When all is said and done, I think the souvenir and photograph types are less a threat than the former Nazi pope.

AP Investigation: Palin got zoning aid, gifts - Add typical, self-helping politician to her resume...and for all that routine politicking, she's still incompetent and unqualified.

Brawler Weekend

McCain found his balls (or Sarah Palin let him borrow hers) and has agreed to show up at the presidential debate tonight. It ought to be interesting, not because they'll be spinning the same rhetoric, but Scarlett and I are going to watch with a couple of other non-politicos and play some debate bingo. And yes, that involves drinking. I don't think there'll be anything proven tonight (unlike the VP debate where I expect Biden to bitch-whip Palin), but hey, it's my American duty to follow this election mess.

By the way, did I mention fuck the Republicans?

I'm looking forwad to some great McCain gaffes that hopefully Obama will nail him to the wall on. Going to pick a fight with Spain? Tell us about our robust economy? What other incredible and confused statements he could make are only as wild as our imagination and his dementia. This ought to be a chance to see if he can pull it together and look compitent and not just ready for a nap. And why such interest in the GOP? Know your enemy and see what they're capable of. Because nearly half this country voted red the two previous times, and this election is hardly a lock. Ugh, I can't even think about a McCain victory. It's been a great past eight years, wouldn't you agree?

Vermin vs. Pest Control

Cult graffiti artist Banksy has refused to authenticate five works up for auction this weekend in London. Additionally, Pest Control, the organization tasked with authenticating the anonymous artist's works, said it would not approve any street pieces removed from their original setting, partly to crack down on fakes and partly to protect the original concept.

Banksy's work has become so valuable that several street pieces were salvaged, including a painting attributed to him on a wall in London that fetched $383,000 in an online sale. The cost of removing the wall and replacing it was not included.

Lyon & Turnbull said that the auction would go ahead with the sale of five street pieces even without official verification, adding that it had no doubts the pieces on offer were original. On its website, Pest Control said that since its creation in January, 89 street pieces and 137 screen prints attributed to Banksy have turned out to be false, potentially involving millions of pounds of losses for the buyers.

"Pest Control does not authenticate street pieces because Banksy prefers street work to remain in situ and building owners tend to become irate when their doors go missing because of a stencil," they said. "He would encourage anyone wanting to purchase one of his images to do so with extreme caution, but does point out that many copies are superior in quality to the originals."

Auctioneers said the five works up for sale had been authenticated by the unauthorized organization Vermin. "They are Banksy's, they are in all the literature and everything. And Vermin's authentication service gives all the provenance for each piece listed as clear as day. The market will decide."

Threatened With Release

Stereogum warns us to never forget the possibility of a shitty album that virtually nobody is interested in anymore may be coming soon!

You never do know with Axl and the much-delayed, much-overworked Chinese Democracy, but Rolling Stone claims the post-G'NR opus will be out the end of November, and exclusively at Best Buy. Imagine how much it would suck to be arrested for leaking a release that ends up being sold exclusively at Best Buy? It's like serving time in jail for art theft after nicking a Norman Rockwell calendar. Also, it also seems like Democracy's "If The World" will be used during the closing credits of the forthcoming Body Of Lies.

Until then, take another listen to "Shackler's Revenge" and remember why it doesn't much matter when this album comes out.

Air Traffic Jam

Twenty four hours tracking of all the flights around the world.

My Little Awesome

Mari Kasurinen makes My Little Pony cool. From My Little Catwoman to My Little Predator, they're all improvements on the original.

Lethal Weapon

This is the new XM25 Individual Air Burst Weapon. It looks straight out of the Marines' gun locker in Aliens, and in fact, it can take out an Alien if they actually existed because, according to the US Army, it is capable of killing anyone behind walls, beyond hills or even below a trench. The XM25 is not just a concept: three prototypes will enter the final testing phase on the field next month, which means it could be deployed very soon. Even Army officials seem to be amazed at the firepower and precision of this weapon:

We've done a lot of testing with this and what we're seeing is the estimated increase in effectiveness is six times what we'd be getting with a 5.56mm carbine or a grenade launcher. What we're talking about is a true 'leap ahead' in lethality, here. This is a huge step.

Here's the first look at the final version of the deadly XM25 with all the details, starting with the key for its destruction power, a built-in fire-control system that can program each of the weapon's 25 millimeter rounds wirelessly, in real time, so soldiers can take down enemies around obstacles (like a handheld version of the Printer Of Death):

As you can see in the schematics, the fire-control system uses thermal optic, day-sight, laser range finder, compass and IR light to exactly measure the distance to the target, programming each of the rounds' fuses so it explodes next to the target using a wireless connection. According to the US Army, this gives maximum destruction power and minimum collateral damage, while allowing to save barriers that previously didn't allow to reach the target.

The capability to program the rounds is what allows this weapon to go "around objects". If, for example, there's a sniper hidden behind a trench, the soldier can program each round so they explodes just above the target. The bullets will explode at that exact range, taking down the target thanks to their air bursting power.

The XM25 is capable of firing an air-bursting round out to 600 meters with a 360-degree explosive radius, all with extreme precision according to testers. However, each round doesn't have to be lethal: There will be two kind of non-lethal rounds (blunt and airburst) to neutralize enemies without killing them.

The new system is also user friendly. Apparently, each type of bullet—high explosive air bursting, armor piercing, door breaching, anti-personnel, non-lethal—is color-coded:

All this technology comes at a price, however. The US Army will have to pay $25,000 for each weapon, plus $25 for each programmable 25mm round. The rounds, however, will be absolutely free of charge for terrorists or anyone on the other side of the battlefield

Children, Future, Etc.

WaScrewed

Let me just say, I think offering free checking may have contributed to their downfall. So far, my other two banks have not failed. So far...

Wha...?

You said it girl...what the fuck? I think I'm not so excited to watch True Blood...

Seussed

Classics? Yes! But is there more to the books of Dr. Seuss? Yes!

1. The Lorax. In case you haven’t read the book, it’s widely recognized as Dr. Seuss’ take on environmentalism and how humans are destroying nature. The logging industry was so upset about the book that some groups within the industry sponsored The Truax, a similar book but from the logging point of view. The book used to contain the line, “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie,” but 14 years after the book was published, the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss and told him how much the conditions had improved and implored him to take the line out. Dr. Seuss agreed and said that it wouldn’t be in future editions.

2. Horton Hears a Who! Somehow, Geisel’s books find themselves in the middle of controversy. The line from the book, “A person’s a person, no matter how small,” has been used as a slogan for pro-life organizations for years. It’s often questioned whether that was Seuss’ intent in the first place, but when he was still alive, he threatened to sue a pro-life group unless they removed his words from their letterhead. Karl ZoBell, the attorney for Dr. Seuss’ interests and for his widow, Audrey Geisel, says that she doesn’t like people to “hijack Dr. Seuss characters or material to front their own points of view.”

3. If I Ran the Zoo, published in 1950, is the first recorded instance of the word “nerd”.

4. The Cat in the Hat was written basically because Dr. Seuss thought the famous Dick and Jane primers were insanely boring. Because kids weren’t interested in the material, they weren’t exactly compelled to use it repeatedly in their efforts to learn to read. So, The Cat in the Hat was born.

5. Oh The Places You’ll Go was Dr. Seuss’ final book, published in 1990. It sells about 300,000 copies every year because so many people give it to college and high school grads.

6. Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! It’s often alleged that this book was written specifically about Richard Nixon, but the book came out only two months after the whole Watergate scandal. It’s pretty unlikely that the book could have been conceived of, written, edited and mass produced in such a short time; also, Seuss never admitted that the story was originally about Nixon. That’s not to say he didn’t understand how well the two flowed together. In 1974, he sent a copy of Marvin K. Mooney to his friend Art Buchwald at the Washington Post. In it, he crossed out “Marvin K. Mooney” and replaced it with “Richard M. Nixon”, which Buchwald reprinted in its entirety. Oh, and one other tidbit: this book contains the first-ever reference to “crunk”, although its meaning is a bit different than today’s crunk.

7. Yertle the Turtle = Hitler? Yep. If you haven’t read the story, here’s a little overview: Yertle is the king of the pond, but he wants more. He demands that other turtles stack themselves up so he can sit on top of them to survey the land. Mack, the turtle at the bottom, is exhausted. He asks Yertle for a rest; Yertle ignores him and demands more turtles for a better view. Eventually, Yertle notices the moon and is furious that anything dare be higher than himself, and is about ready to call for more turtles when Mack burps. This sudden movement topples the whole stack, sends Yertle flying into the mud, and frees the rest of the turtles from their stacking duty. Dr. Seuss actually said Yertle was a representation of Hitler. Despite the political nature of the book, none of that was disputed at Random House – what was disputed was Mack’s burp. No one had ever let a burp loose in a children’s book before, so it was a little dicey. In the end, obviously, Mack burped.

8. The Butter Battle Book was pulled from the shelves of libraries for a while because of the reference to the Cold War and the arms race. Yooks and Zooks are societies who do everything differently. The Yooks eat their bread with the butter-side up and the Zooks eat their bread with the butter-side down. Obviously, one of them must be wrong, so they start building weapons to outdo each other: the “Tough-Tufted Prickly Snick-Berry Switch”, the “Triple-Sling Jigger”, the “Jigger-Rock Snatchem”, the “Kick-A-Poo Kid”, the “Eight-Nozzled Elephant-Toted Boom Blitz”, the “Utterly Sputter” and the “Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo”. The book concludes with each side ready to drop their ultimate bombs on each other, but the reader doesn’t know how it actually turns out.

9. Green Eggs and Ham. Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss’ editor, bet him thaat he couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less. The Cat in the Hat was pretty simple, after all, and it used 225 words. Not one to back down from a challenge, Mr. Geisel started writing and came up with Green Eggs and Ham – which uses exactly 50 words. The 50 words, by the way, are: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.

10. No Dr. Seuss post would be complete without a mention of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! There's not much on the book, so here are a few facts about the Dr. Seuss-sanctioned cartoon. Frankenstein’s Monster himself, Boris Karloff, provided the voice of the Grinch and the narration for the movie. Seuss a little wary of casting him because he thought his voice would be too scary for kids. If you’re wondering why they sound a bit different, it’s because the sound engineers EQ'ed the Grinch’s parts and removed all of the high tones in Karloff’s voice. That’s why the Grinch sounds so gravelly.

Tony the Tiger, AKA Thurl Ravenscroft (who is also a singer in Disney's Haunted Mansion), is the voice behind “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” He received no credit on screen for it, so Dr. Seuss wrote to pretty much every columnist in every major newspaper in the U.S. telling them exactly who the famous song was sung by.