Top Online Reads & Sees

Bacteria Found in Nearly Half of Fast-Food Soda Foundations
By Slashfood Editor, Posted Jan 7th 2010 @ 5:30PM By Catherine Donaldson-Evans

The latest fast food "ick factor" isn't in the burgers or fries -- it's in the soda. A group of microbiologists at Virginia's Hollins University found alarming levels of bacteria, possibly from feces, in fast-food soda fountains.

A scary 48 percent of machine beverages tested contained coliform bacteria – ...

Mind-Reading Systems Could Change Air Plane Security
By Michael Tarm, AP

CHICAGO — A would-be terrorist tries to board a plane, bent on mass murder. As he walks through a security checkpoint, fidgeting and glancing around, a network of high-tech machines analyzes his body language and reads his mind. Screeners pull him aside. Tragedy is averted. ...

Unsold Clothes Destroyed at H&M Until Twitter Roared
Sarah Gilbert, Jan 7th 2010 at 2:10PM, Wallet Pop

New York City's homeless may be wearing a motley collection of castoff clothing: the rejects from the closets of more financially-blessed residents, perhaps, or the logo merchandise from now-merged banks or defunct companies, maybe even some cast-offs from local discount retailers that lingered too long on the clearance racks. Yet, you won't see any such freebies from H& M or Walmart. Instead of donating unsold clothes to the needy, the two retailers have evidently been quietly stuffing unloved frocks in the trash. ...

Hotel Survey Reveals Surprising Trends in Guest Behavior
Libby Zay, January 7, 2010

Each year, the Novotel Hotel Chain polls their workers to identify trends in guest behavior. This year's survey, released today, took into account results—some of which are shocking—from 30 hotels across Australia and New Zealand. Here are the highlights:

Women Behaving Badly
The survey found that women are more likely to 'souvenir' popularly pilfered items such as mini shampoo bottles and other toiletries, and also more frequently take a 'five finger discount' on unacceptable items such as bathrobes, hairdryers, cushions, and even toilet paper. ...

Kids Begged Drunk Bus Driver to Pull Over
by Amy Hatch, s posts) Jan 6th 2010 3:57PMParentDish, AOL Living

A school bus driver who drove 37 students while intoxicated was sentenced to five years probation and jail time, but some parents of her terrified passengers say the punishment is not nearly harsh enough. ...